Best Gay Bar 2022 | The Bonham Exchange | Nightlife | San Antonio – San Antonio Current
Winner: The Bonham Exchange
411 Bonham St.
(210) 224-9219
If Pose emcee Pray Tell, immortalized by Billy Porter, was tasked with distilling the Bonham Exchange into a single ballroom category, he might come up with something along the lines of “Gay Disco with a Side of Historical Realness.” Although Porter isn’t among the stars who have graced the multilevel downtown club over the decades, he’d easily find something to love here. For starters, the San Antonio landmark is housed in a former German athletic club built in 1891 — if only walls could talk, honey. After passing through its stately entrance, the grand hallway that leads to the main dance floor simplyscreams for a dramatic runway strut. And around almost any corner, you’ll find your way to a bar slinging budget cocktails to a wildly mixed crowd of revelers. While all walks come here to dance — to trash disco and club bangers that span the eras — theBonham also boasts a low-key back patio that’s ideal for mingling and a wraparound balcony with top-notch views of all the dance-floor action. Recently treated to a COVID-era face lift, the venue’s stately upstairs ballroom is looking mighty fine. It also regularly welcomes RuPaul’s Drag Race stars and local performers alike to a storied stage that’s hosted icons ranging from Iggy Pop to Tina Turner.
2. Pegasus
1402 N. Main Ave.
(210) 299-4222
3. Sparky’s
1416 N. Main Ave.
(210) 320-5111