San Francisco's best (and worst) cannabis dispensaries 2019
At the outset of 2019, we made it our mission to visit every recreational marijuana dispensary in San Francisco. It’s been a trip and we still have a long way to go, but we wanted to share the results of our journey so far. We’ve seen dispensaries, big and small, shops with dab bars and consumption lounges. We’ve traveled to neighborhoods we’d never heard of and found hidden gems in places we used to call home. We’ve sampled flower from all over California and consumed countless milligrams of THC and CBD. We’ve done all of this to make buying weed as easy and enjoyable as smoking it.
We’ve visited dispensaries anonymously, made purchases based on our needs (and, let’s be honest, our impulses), and given each of the city’s pot shops a score based on our experience and research. The Grass score is based on five criteria: service, selection, ethics, atmosphere, and merchandising.
Below is a living list of San Francisco’s best (and worst) dispensaries as we see them thus far.
We’ll continue to add scores and descriptions to this page for each shop as we review them. In addition to neighborhood recommendations, future reviews will come with pros and cons and a Grass score represented by these lovely hand icons. Here’s how it works, on a scale of one finger to five.
1 = Just say no! | 2 = In a pinch | 3 = We’d hit it | 4 = It’s lit | 5 = Oh, hell yes!
SAN FRANCISCO’S BEST & WORST DISPENSARIES 2019
Apothecarium
2029 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
SOMA
Grass Score: 4
The Castro’s one-stop pot shop feels authentically San Franciscan, despite its Canadian backers. It may not be locally owned, but Apothecarium is all about community. The service is superb, the decor is on point, and the menu is fully-loaded.
Apothecarium SOMA
527 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
SOMA / SOUTH BEACH
Grass Score: 3
The Apothecarium Howard continues the chain’s attention to interior design, dedication to philanthropy, commitment to education, and extensive selection. Sadly, the service here is unpredictable.
Barbary Coast
952 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
SOMA
Grass Score: 4
Located between Civic Center and SOMA, Barbary Coast serves as a brief retreat from a chaotic neighborhood. The service and selection are on point, but it’s the dapper dab bar and consumption lounge that make this one of the city’s standouts.
BASA
1326 Grove Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
NOPA
Grass Score: 3
The Vogue-approved pot shop has a strong reputation, decent decor, solid selection, and dependable service. There’s only one thing holding it back: a giant sheet of bullet-proof glass.
Dutchman’s Flat
2544 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
DOGPATCH
Grass Score: 4
This weed slinger is good at a lot but its real killer feature is location. Sadly, its days as a hidden gem are numbered.
Elevated San Francisco
2442 Bayshore Blvd.
San Francisco, CA 94134
VISITACION VALLEY
Grass Score: 4
Elevated is San Francisco’s most far-out dispensary, literally. Just North of SFO and minutes from Candlestick Park, the relative newcomer has invested heavily in the neighborhood and in its inventory. It may be a trek from the city’s center, but the selection and service here are top notch.
Flower to the People
70 2nd Street
San Francisco, California 94105
SOMA
Grass Score: 3
Synopsis: In post-prohibition San Francisco, Flower to the People feels like a relic of the past. The shops is entirely lacking in style but has service and product on lock. As is, it’s a strong three. WIth a little finesse it would easily be a four.
Grass Roots
1077 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
POLK GULCH
Grass Score: 4
Grass Roots stands as a monument to stability in a volatile industry. It’s been serving a solid selection with exceptional service in speakeasy-style digs for more than a decade. Feeling a little de ja vu? It’s for good reason: The Polk Gulch staple was basically the blueprint for Moe Green’s and Barbary Coast.
Harvest off Mission
33 29th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
BERNAL HEIGHTS
Grass Score: 3
Welcome to the disruptors’ dispensary. Nothing here stands with tradition, including the shop’s business practices. The boutique-style layout is a nice departure, as is the neatly appointed consumption lounge, but none of it would exist if Harvest hadn’t evicted the previous tenants.
La Corona
3326 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
BERNAL HEIGHTS
Grass Score: 3
We love this little neighborhood bar turned community dispensary on the edge of the Mission. The Latin-inspired decor is a refreshing change of pace, as is its community focus. If it had a better flower selection, La Corona would be a solid four.
Sparc
1256 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
SOMA
Grass Score: 4
At first glance, Sparc isn’t much to behold, but it’s dedication to equity, access, community, and sustainability make it stand out in a crowded neighborhood. The service was barely serviceable but the selection is 100. Bonus: they grow their own.
Urban Pharm
122 10th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
SOMA
Grass Score: 3
There’s definitely nothing like it, which is either a good thing or bad thing depending on your appetite for steampunk decor. What it’s lacking in selection, Urban Pharm makes up for with style personality and service. The downside of UP? Its opaque origins.
Vapor Room
79 9th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
SOMA
Grass Score: 4
This is not a bodega, despite what they might tell you. Vapor Room is a carefully curated weed boutique in SoMa with solid selection and Parisian-style café consumption lounge. It’s hella ‘grammable but selfies are off limits everywhere but the bathroom. (Listen, we don’t write the rules, we just follow them.)
Editor’s note: We have not received or been offered any compensation from the dispensaries we’ve reviewed.