Azul

I’m not too crazy about this place. I found the seating to be limited, the décor to be cheap, the music was an awful mix and while the drinks looked so promising on the menu, I was very disappointed with all three of mine. I might give this place another try, but there are so many other places to go in the area so I’d need a good reason to go back to Azul.

FOOD /​DRINK:
1.) Prohobition draft = really tasty. Didn’t know beer could have so many flavors lol
2.) White lightening = Lighter, smooth
3.) Garlic Fries = Really crispy, not soggy or oily. real minced garlic, some parmesan cheese on it
4.) Guacamole & chips = very simple
5.) Fish Taco = oOooh, I tried a lil of this. was expecting the fish to be like processed fish sticks but it was like real pieces of fish! yum! :)
SERVICE:
Ate at the bar :) Yup. It’s one of those things. Gonna start being one of those ppl who like to order drinks & HH at the bar, and have a side of conversation with the bartender ;P
ATMOSPHERE:
I like this place, has a nice look to it. Went here for Dine for Change’s happy hour benefit event :) Not sure if it normally gets crowded. The restaurant is hidden inside between big buildings, but at the same time, I can see that being the charm of the place. Little walk way leading into, with few tables to enjoy the outdoor air. Looks like a cool place for night life though, not too big but there’s room for dancing. Also looks like a good place for promoters to throw parties :)

Dude, where are we???
Tucked away into a little alley in Union Square lies Azul, a small, posh lounge that you expect to find in the Marina or in SoMa. There’s nothing worse than going to a tourist trap and Azul does a good job of being incognito.
On Friday, 5.13.11, my friends and I came to Azul for a pre-​Happy Hour before later hitting up Vessel (down the same alley) for a charity HH event. Azul is located between Grant/​Stockton, in a small alley across from the Flagship Banana Republic store. It’s easy to pass up but once you hear the thumping of music seeping out through the door, you know you’ve found Azul.
PROS:
*Plenty of seating: sofas, ottomans and bar stools.
*They serve food: chips & guacamole, wings, chicken tenders, sliders, fries, etc.
*Sleek and posh multi-​level lounge with zoom white furnishings and electric blue lighting.
*Live DJ (that night there were playing some type of Reggae, I would have preferred Hip Hop though).
*Since it was HH, the crowd were young professionals which I’m sure is different as the night progresses and on Saturday nights.
Neither a pro/​con, top shelf cocktails are about $ 9 and are nicely balanced; no stringent «eye squinting» alcohol after taste.
CONS:
*S-​L-​O-​W SERVICE: Azul was probably 25%-30% filled, yet it took over 15 minutes for our bartender to make a drink (there were 3 bartenders). I asked for a Gin & Tonic NOT a hand-​crafted cocktail with gin distilled from scratch.
*Amnesia-​Prone Bartenders: It was obvious that our bartender forgot our 2^nd round and even more obvious that he forgot to place my friend’s order of chicken tenders. After waiting for 20 minutes, he says, «Sorry, our kitchen is having a hard time keeping up with the orders, they’re preparing food for a large party here but your food is on its way». I look around and didn’t see any «party». Sh*t, was I that buzzed???
*Bathrooms that do NOT lock or flush. Yeup, I walked into a girl using the potty. *covers eyes*

It’s definitely a lounge, meaning it’s kind of small and the dance floor bleeds into the bar/​seating areas, but decent drinks are to be had here. A perfect fit for one of those nights when you want to do more sitting and leering than dancing and close-​quarters-​creeping.
Besides, if you go to any clubs in the Union Square area, you’re probably a terrible person. So come here instead.

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet? I came here with a friend to get some food a couple years ago, but like all good Unilocalers I suppose it’s too far gone to write about their food. Guess it tells you something when I can’t remember it?
However, I was here last night. You’d think that around 10:30pm on a Friday the place would be kickin’, right? Because SF is a chronically overpopulated city, and everyone wants to go out.
But it wasn’t. There were probably six people there, in the entire place, when we (a group of 25 – 30) arrived. We tripled the attendance in the place. Is this normal? According to my friend who set up the night’s events, it was. Odd. It’s a nice space, the bartenders are cool and my drink was only $ 5 (vodka + tonic).
My biggest problem — and the entire reason this place gets 2 stars — is because of the DJ. The guy was playing crazy bad music, like, hipster-​obscure. It was completely undanceable if you weren’t on acid, and absolutely no one was dancing. At Tunnel Top, DJ Madison played Michael Jackson. Everyone was dancing! It was a packed bar!
So we did what any group would do, when at midnight the only people left were people IN OUR GROUP. We started requesting songs. Songs like… Michael Jackson, Sugar Hill Gang, Bell Biv Devoe — classics everyone loves to dance to. No dice. It was sad.
Azul, I’d be more than happy to come back if you guys played some cool jams, but until you do, consider me a lost customer.

I liked this place. I came for happy hour but ended up ordering the $ 10 Whore’s Bath cocktail and not any of the adult beverages on the happy hour menu.
Whore’s bath is worth a return trip. This drink pays homage to the fact that there was a secret brothel in the building. Before the earthquake of 1906, there were many brothels …(i.e Whore houses) in the Union Square vicinity. Maiden Lane was a very populated alley.
There are many signature and interesting ingredient combination cocktails on the menu. Whore’s Bath consists of: 42 Below Manuka Honey Vodka, Ume-​Shu plum wine, Fresh Lemon, and Pear Liquor. Garnished with Dehydrated and Shaved Pickled Ginger Black Hawaiian Lava salt, and babies breath. This drink has won awards and recognition for the owner/​bartender. It was very good.
We also had some bar bites… Yummy in the Tummy fries and sliders.
There was no music yet… I will have to come back at a different hour.

Ugh, not a great experience. Came here with my mom, sister, and boyfriend after an afternoon of shopping because we had a LivingSocial coupon and wanted to grab a happy hour drink. The ambiance seemed cool. Azul has a lounge vibe with plush booths and candles as the main source of lighting. But the vibe was just all wrong for that time of day (5pm). First of all, you only get one menu per group, and it was so dark that we could hardly read it. But we couldn’t verbally discuss it either since the the music was so loud that you can’t hear more than a few inches away. Our waitress seemed nice at first but I’m convinced she was actually drunk. When I asked if she had another menu she replied «No, this is our only one!» Once I clarified that i didn’t want more food or drink options, just another physical menu since it is so difficult to share among three people, she took a menu from the women next to us, who seemed peeved. Already putting a damper on the experience, our drinks took 10 minutes to come out, and they were out of the drink my mom ordered so sent over something random. The drinks were unusual tasting, and not necessarily in a good way. 30 minutes into this terrible happy hour, we had yet to receive our appetizer, only to find out our waitress had forgotten to put it in. 10 minutes later we couldn’t wait any longer, canceled the order and asked for the check. Our waitress apologized and ended up bringing our food in a to-​go box, but it was a little too late.
While they advertise an attractive happy hour $ 4 beers and $ 5 well drinks until 9pm, I can’t see why you would actually want to go here for happy hour. It may be better for late night, or if your’e looking for a clubby vibe without actually going to a club, but it is a terrible place to actually have a conversation or receive decent service.

Really nice place
Chilled atmosphere
No cover.
$ 5 margaritas!
I really wanted to like Azul but yesterday (Friday) Dj killed the mood. Music was way too loud. Especially when it was loud house music = more bass. I had to yell instead of talking to my friends. Maybe I’ll come back again because the bartenders were super nice and quick service.

Hidden and tucked away.
The drinks were solid and bartenders were very attentive and friendly.
The ambiance is quite nice but I would say it doesn’t get that crowded at all. Been here on a Sat night at midnight and it was more than half empty.
Curious to try the tapas though.

Last night a couple of friends of mine and I went out to Azul for an open Scratch + Beat Box Session. The last time I was here was about 10 years ago. As we walk in the place was really dark, and in a mood setting of a social lounge.
As me and my friends sat down and got drinks, there was also a special cook off for some of the guest. The local cook from the SF area was trying to promote his cooking. He served a couple of his specialties which were his Chicken Adobo, Chicken Adobo Burrito and Empanada. For those of you who don’t know what Adobo is, it is a popular Filipino dish which has chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves and black pepper. Empanada is a Spanish and Portuguese stuffed bread which contains meat or vegetables.
The outcome? The Adobo was kind of salty, but everyone makes theirs different. The Adobo Burrito hmm I had too much sour cream on mine but was A-​OK. I still like Papalote’s Chicken Adobo located in the Mission. The Empanada was delicious. It was not just your ordinary Empanda found at local Filipino or Spanish bakeries. The Empanada was wrapped inside a wonton and had seafood inside. Something different and extraordinary.
They even sold cool T-​shirts for promotion.
I’ve never came here for their food during the day as it is a restaurant as well, but came here in the past for the night life. It’s a cool spot but its hard to find parking around this area.

I was totally feeling the music last night! Reggae in full effect and the feel good hip hop!
I was out with my girls, dolled up looking for a fun place to go. A friend suggested Azul because the ladies were free on this Friday night.
It was a good crowd that night, everyone out to have a good time, no drama, no sloppy drunks. Just a fun time.
FYI… there’s two bathrooms in the building! One by the dj booth and one downstairs. The one by the dj booth doesn’t have a line :)

Azul was part of a night of random bar hopping courtesy of a coworker and internet phones. There are two levels, and the basement of restrooms.
We were lucky enough to snag a table as another group was leaving. It slowly tranferred into a dance floor type of atmosphere, but with bad 90s music playing. Good thing the couches were comfortable.
Quick and friendly service to boot.

After my Cellspace session with Mr. Ant Man we decided to mosey on by in this particular lounge. A good friend of mine who DJs and had his birthday here also appreciates this spot in the city. I was curious to check it out, we came inside and the dress code wasn’t necessarily enforced so it was good to be in casual attire for a night lounge.
Needless to say paying $ 5.00 cover was the consequence for it being so laid back but I’m not complaining about that. Going inside a dim blue light, is the setting and the vibe this place sets out. Apparently we dropped in for a «Network Monday» theme night. Full of hip hop artists and associated professionals within the immediate Bay Area (more so SF than anything).
I bumped into an old acquaintance of mine and caught up with him throughout the night, wondering what kind of stuff he’s been up to since our old days of promoting and supporting the Asian Import Scene. Afterwards we got settled with a few drinks on hand and the bartender Mo’ is quite the host and mixer considering his skills behind the bar, giving us the following:
–4 Cranberry Vodkas
–2 Tokyo Teas
Now don’t get me wrong, Cranberry Vodkas should be a really easy drink to make. However there’s been several instances where I’ve gone to bars that tastes like crap. So kudos for actually being able to serve up a decent Cranberry Vodkas. The Tokyo Teas were hard hitting but not to the point of severe inebriation.
The total amount of drinks altogether was about $ 30.00 odd dollars with tax and tip included (if I remembered correctly). So a chill time, and good drinks, what should I be complaining about then, why not five stars? Well the floor is pretty small, and you expect people to up jump the boogie? I don’t really think so especially if Bboys/​Bgirls occasionally come through here from what I hear. Not my place to take up space, and increase the possibility of hitting someone no thanks (ugh son did that just rhymed?).
Overall, a good spot well worth coming back to when I have the time in the city!

So I’ve been to Azul twice this year. One with my homie for drinks. We walk in at happy hour so drinks were cheaper then usual. Blue moons mostly. We were there for a good hour or so. The place was dead and this was on a Saturday. Music was cool.
The last time was with a bigger group for a bday drinks. A bit later but it still was as dead as last time. Sometimes it can be a good thing. It didn’t bother us. We made it popping.
This place is cool but it needs something new. Time for new promoters or management or something.