By Josh Wilson

THEY MAY SEEM far away – and they certainly are far from the high-volume chic and equally high-volume consumption of the Mission District bars and the South of Market clubs. But if you can manage the haul and the blankets of fog, the sleepy neighborhood bars of the Sunset and Richmond Districts yield warmth and plenty of personality to those fleeing the chill summer wind.

A great place to meet a med student, with the UCSF Medical Center looming over Parnassus Heights, the Inner Sunset is a thriving cultural nexus defined by the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Irving Street and the N Judah. There are dozens of bars and restaurants within a five-block radius, and Golden Gate Park and the Music Concourse are within walking distance, for those who feel like mixing their booze with a bit of nature or culture.

Head north across the park to the Richmond, and you'll find a certain amount of symmetry, but the Richmond and the Sunset are hardly mirror images. The latter has a precipitous sense of descent as you approach the ocean, and the fog looms off the coast with an ominous inevitability. The Richmond is more wooded, more rolling, full of small hills and shallow vales, all sharply bounded by the Presidio, Seacliff, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, and Point Lobos. Geary Boulevard is the central artery running the length of the district, packed with Asian and Russian restaurants of every description and many, many Irish bars. Advice: Avoid St. Patrick's Day like the plague. It tends to be amateur hour, and that means streets full of sloppy drunks with poor self-management skills.

The Inner Sunset

When it was still under construction a few years ago, the Canvas Gallery (1200 Ninth Ave., S.F. 415-504-0060, www.thecanvasgallery.com) seemed a little out of place. The building at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way looked so boxlike and dot-com-esque that it was presumed by locals to be some sort of Super Starbuck's. In fact, the Canvas is exceedingly warm and comfortable inside – and always bustling. A full bar recently upgraded from beer and wine, a classy kitchen, and an array of coffee and espresso options are available to satisfy various appetites, and the ample parkside lounge provides a raised stage for live music (mostly jazz and electronic), spoken word, and indie cinema. The rest of the place is taken up by funky chairs, cozy nooks, and art installations, with a bias toward mixed-media and sculptural works. One wonders how folks can stay so engrossed in their books and laptops, but the Canvas is equal parts studious and chatty.

Right around the corner, the Little Shamrock (807 Lincoln Way, S.F. 415-661-0060) makes up for its lack of Inner Sunset chic with decades of rumpled sitting-room charm. It's the second-oldest bar in San Francisco – continuously operating since 1893. Couches and armchairs offset the utilitarian wooden tables, and a shelf full of books and board games helps patrons while away the hours; it's the kind of bar you could stage a writing party in when you're sick of coffee shops.

Ninth Avenue's eclecticism nudges another end of the envelope at Eldos (1326 Ninth Ave., S.F. 415-564-0425), a Southwest-style restaurant and hearty NoCal brew pub on the site of the former Golden Gate Brewery. Management has been experimenting with different Friday- and Saturday-night entertainment options, including live jazz, hip DJ sets, and solo acoustic performance, and the place is often bumpin'. The real attraction, though, is the home brew: Eldos plays to the connoisseur market, boasting on its menu not just alcohol content but also specific gravity. Complement your ale or lager with an enchiladas plate; they ain't Mission burrito prices, but the happy hour's a deal.

While you're on that block, take a gander at the Mucky Duck (1315 Ninth Ave., S.F. 415-661-4340), across the street and down a ways. A dependable sports bar and local hangout, it's also notable for providing visitors with the unique sensation that they've stepped through a matter transporter and wound up in Quincy, about two hours north of Lake Tahoe. Where do the flattop haircuts and pickup trucks come from? Whatever the answer, there they are, mixed in among the med students and the yuppies with their SUVs.

Over on Irving, the most amazing thing about Yancy's Saloon (734 Irving, S.F. 415-665-6551) is the colossal TV in the back next to the dart boards. This is a capacious joint, with couches, plenty of table seating, and nice, homey wood interiors. It can be honkin' busy, especially if there's a game on, and it's a great place to watch playoffs – especially because it's not a total meathead scene. Folks get into the game, but you can do other things too. Read. Eat. Talk geopolitics. You know.

Before the Fireside (603 Irving, S.F. 415-731-6433) was the Fireside, it was a cheap, decayed, but beloved old-man bar called the Wishing Well, with a jumbly piano and an Ol' Blue Eyes kind of jukebox. These days the clientele tuck in their shirts a bit more, and there's a furniture-polish gleam to the place. It's also evolved into a bit of a neighborhood spot, with chatty crowds packing in well past midnight.

Lastly, you can split your Irish pub experience two ways in the Sunset on Irving. The Blackthorn Tavern (834 Irving, S.F. 415-564-6627) offers a heated outdoor patio, darts, some damn good Guinness, and both kinds of live music: Celtic and Johnny Cash covers. Farther toward the Pacific, Durty Nelly's (2328 Irving, S.F. 415-664-2555) features traditional and modern music sessions and a full-fare Irish restaurant. In both places the Guinness is poured conscientiously (i.e., slowly) from the tap, and the barkeeps know that you should be able to doodle with your pinkie on the head of a properly poured pint.

The Richmond

The Plough and Stars (116 Clement, S.F. 415-751-1122, pweb.jps.net/~jgilder/plough.html) stands out as a low-key enclave at the upper end of Clement Street. The bartenders there pour a fine Guinness too, and better still, the place offers smashing acoustic music sessions. This is far from a young-rowdies kind of pub: the patrons trend toward the more mellow and happily dance jigs and reels as if they were back in the old country. You'll find a more rambunctious spirit at nearby spots like the Bitter End (441 Clement, S.F. 415-221-9538), the Dog's Bollix (408 Clement, S.F. 415-752-1452), and of course, Ireland's 32 (3920 Geary, S.F. 415-386-6173, www.irelands32sanfrancisco.com). Named for the 32 counties of the isle of Eire, the latter bar serves all the native spirits and brews, provides pub grub and traditional breakfasts on demand, and is naturally a mainstay for fans of Irish hurling and football.

If you're truly a music fan, you've probably already been to the Last Day Saloon (406 Clement, S.F. 415-487-6343, www.lastdaysaloon.com), next door to the Dog's Bollix. The downstairs sports bar is pretty standard-issue, but upstairs is a groovy little music venue that has seen, heard, and hosted it all – including some of the biggest names in music, across many genres. Buddy Miles, John Lee Hooker, Etta James? It's the blues truth! Big Head Todd and the Monsters, the String Cheese Incident, and Leftover Salmon? My jammy pals, the Last Day hosted their San Francisco debuts. George Thorogood, Albert Collins, Zigaboo Modeliste, Derek Trucks? Your classic rock and funk fix could not be better attended to. The Last Day brings to the stage everything from jam bands and roots reggae to dub and hip-hop. Felonious workshopped their Beatbox raparetta there for months. Canterbury, England, O.G. Daevid Allen of Gong even took his mind-bogglingly hot University of Errors there a few years ago, and it was louder and more heavy than anything making the stage at Slim's. Keep your eye on the concert calendar; you just might be amazed.

A block away, former old-timer joint the 540 Club (540 Clement, S.F. 415-752-7276) has been taken over by a crew of young folks with a little bit of Mission hipniz to them. They more than make up for the missing tuff-enuff rock 'n' roll scruff of the old Other Place (now the Dog's Bollix). The DJs go deep with eclectic old-school mixes, the tattoos are foxy and visible, and the happy-hour liver tonic is as much of a deal as you'll get in any local dive.

Back on Geary, Trader Sam's (6150 Geary, S.F. 415-221-0773) embodies a certain bygone Bay Area kitsch that mandates a visit at least once a year. It's a tiki bar – really tiki. Everything's straw mats and bamboo and carved totems. The horseshoe bar specializes in plus-size exotic drinks whose sugar and coconut seduce while the wicked liquor works its terrible magic. You'll be reduced to a drooling stupor in an hour or so if you're not careful, so please stick with the 38 Geary when visiting this fine joint – which, aside from the massively increased potential for debilitating hangovers, is actually a great spot for a first date or breathless assignation.

And down at the end of the line, where Fulton Street meets the Great Highway, book your table at the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant (1000 Great Highway, S.F. 415-386-8439) for a ringside seat to sundown over the Pacific. It's a nightly light show that more than makes up for the somewhat pricey comestibles: hearty American fare like steaks and burgers as well as seafood standards. Aside from the views, the Beach Chalet's draws include its microbrewery and the Works Progress Administration-era mural. Try an ambitious bicycle ride that eventually leads you to Ocean Beach. At that point you've earned the sumptuous meal, and you can work off any remaining gourmand guilt on the ride home.