Levende Lounge

Back in the day this was one of the hottest spots in SF. Maybe too much for it’s own good. I remember waiting for over an hour and having the hostess apologize profusely, promising us a round of drinks which they’d charge us for anyways. Small decent menu but definitely not worth the wait. Since levende died a number of things have tried to occupy this spot to no avail. It maybe Levende’s final retaliation of its demise.

I went here on a few occasions and the first time i went here, it was for my boyfriends graduation and had a few tapas.
The time after, I came here for my birthday and they were completely accommodating and made my own menu. It had my name at the very top and it impressed me that they paid attention to the littlest detail. We had the braised short ribs which are a must have, their kennebec fries were good and so were their fish tacos. Just about everything is good here and all my friends enjoyed their experience at this restaurant and their all picky eaters and some have even told me that they haven’t experienced anything quite like this one, so i would definitely recommend this place.

LOVE the Bloody Marry Bar! Had sooooo much fun with it.
Brunch is pretty awesome here, because you basically design your own dish. Got my eggs benedict EXACTLY the way I wanted it with spicy hollandaise… yum!

The 1^st lounge we visited in the Bay area… Forgot which day of the week we went, but no cover. Bit weird to find, it’s sort of this trendy lounge in the middle of sketchytown.
A little busy, but our friend got us a reservation and we actually got to sit down. Food’s not too bad– good serving size for this type of place… The lamb burgers were tasty, SO even ate one down and lamb’s not her thing. Drinks were delish… not overly priced, good variety, but tasted suspiciously jiggered.
A little crowded for my liking, with the upturned collar preppy crowd in force.

Came here last saturday (3÷21÷09) night around 9:30ish~ I really enjoy the atmosphere and the music that night. Although service wasn’t all that great…=/ BTW Love love love their oysters !! had like a mini orgasm with the oyster since it was that good ahahahah YuMmy~!! I’d ordered their
–kumomoto: washington state small, creamy & sweet 3.5 ea
–artisan cheese plate 14 manchego, sheep red hawk, cow mt tam, cow cayenne candied walnuts fresh fruit baguette
–pineapple & volka
after our little snack we decided to head over to another lounge since it was soul night that night i believe… not really our music/​scene. All and all i would give this place another try ^ ^

First off, The chefs know what they’re doing, and the bartenders pour and mix good drinks.
The service from the bartender (s) and servers was HORRIBLE on Saturday night. A friend of mine had a section reserved for a birthday bash.
I am just to give you the run down on what went wrong:
1– Food was ordered and arrived, but no one brought silverware or napkins.
How does someone serve a cheese plate without a knife?
How do you serve a bowl of shredded brussel sprouts without forks and plates?
Scallops w/​out plates or forks?
2– No one ever came by to clear any plates or glasses away, so our tables were overflowing within 2 hours. Another party for some guy’s 50^th came in, so we let go of 3 of our tables, which was fine, but that meant more people in a smaller space, with all of the glassware and plates.
3– I stacked up some plates and brought them over to the bar so that we could have some room on our table to set down our drinks. The bartender was so very rude and said hastily, «Don’t put those here!» He was gone within a few seconds, not even bothering to take my order. I had to wait 15 minutes for a glass of water.
4– We had a plate from the scallops still at our table (fish plates should not sit around for 2 hours) so I brought it up to the bar, even though the bartender told me not to. No one was clearing off the damn tables, what were we supposed to do? So, I bring it to the bar and the ***hole bartender, shoves it back at me, getting scallop juices all over my hand, and said, «I TOLD YOU not to put these up here. I have a full bar!»
My friend’s husband dropped a lot of $ there for his wife’s birthday, and a lot of us friends dropped a lot of money, too. There is no good reason to be treated like crap by the busy bartender. Get a grip, ask someone for help if you’re tubing. Ass.

I wish the nightlife here was as good as the brunch sounds.
Friday night it was just so crowded and coat check was full by 10:30pm, unheard of at that hour! What really bothered me was the obnoxious DJ who felt the urge to add his own soundtrack to the music. Ew.
«1! 2! 3! 4… Pop champagne!»
Maybe if he faced the blaring speakers towards himself, he’d realize just how obnoxious yelling into the microphone sounds in a space that small.
Levende is a really cute little place, and I don’t think I’d mind it had the place been less crowded (and the DJ wasn’t playing karaōke). 3 stars for the hope that brunch will compensate for these things.

Came here for brunch the other week and am still liking Levende, though they need to crank up the heat it was freezing at 11 am!
I had the build your own eggs benedict with chipotle sauce and crab cakes. Also the build your own Bloody Mary. I love the option of pepperocini infused vodka, 4 different kinds of tomato juice, all the veggies (so I can fill my glass with spicy beans), and the celery salt. Heaven!

Being that it was first time coming to Levende Lounge last night I really had no idea what to expect. Let’s just say for my personal situation going there wearing a one piece denim outfit was not such a great idea. There’s just something about all denim/​denim on denim that makes the brothas go crazy. Had I known that I was going to get a ton of attention, I probably would have thought twice about my outfit selection. But hey, if you want to be showered with attention and compliments, make sure to wear all denim when you go here. Holla!
Denim outfit aside, Levende’s pros include: Friendly bouncers, the guest list stayed open until midnight, a cozy venue that was nicely decorated, the music wasn’t that bad, the crowd wasn’t too bad, and lastly, star sightings– a few nba players were there gettin their drink on.
I didn’t like how their bar wasn’t quite stocked. They didn’t have all the liquors necessary to make liquid cocaine’s. Yea, yea. I needed one because I felt slightly uncomfortable being in a new environment. I also didn’t like how there was some chick with a clipboard soliciting outside for email addresses saying it was for a chance to win free bottle service. I already knew she’s just going to be sending me spam but I still gave her my work email since she looked like she could whoop my ass and my work email automatically spams shit. haha
Not too bad. This place is a true lounge. I definitely recommend if you just wanna chillax.

Last stop on a night out in the city a few weeks ago. Not too crowded, but not empty by any means. First thing I noticed walking in is a group of about 12 fine ladies all sitting together wearing their finest little black dresses. I gotta say that if I was in that frame of mind, this would’ve been like walking through the gates of heaven. But as fate would have it, I happened to be with a date and a small group of my friends.
If you aren’t lucky enough to encounter a large group of single ready to mingle ladies, the guy-​girl ratio is probably normal for what you’d expect from a bar like this.
The bartender was friendly and attentive, even recommending a specialty drink (Brazillian I think). Levende Lounge has a full bar with a great selection of alcohol. They even keep fresh mint on hand so mint juleps were in order (eventhough I’d been drinking beers all night)…
Bottom Line: Pros– Great staff, not at all crowded. Cons — Super bright inside. I’d definitely go back… Who knows, maybe packs of hot mammas in LBDs come here all the time???

I have been going to Levende since before it was Levende, I am not talking about when it was butterfly, I am talking about when the owners now opened it and called it Living Room Lounge for a very short period before being told they couldn’t use that name. I have always enjoyed my time at Levende, except for one small thing, for some reason the bartenders always seem to suck… It isn’t just one bartender and I have been there at least 50 times so I know it isn’t just a freak that I had a bad experience. The wait for drinks seems longer there than anywhere, and it isn’t because they are packed, perhaps it could be the layout of the bar or something.
Other than my little rant above I truly love Levende, the wait staff and owners are all friendly, the food is very good and they always have good music. It is a nice dinner, drink, lounge, dance if ya want to establishment that has been going strong for many years. They have had some great talent come through like Chuck Love, DJ Diz, DJ Collette and many others who normally play at much larger venue. It is a great venue for dinner with friends, a large birthday party or a just a couple people who want to have a nice dinner and a few glasses of wine.
I am glad to be a supporter of Levende and plan on going back for many years to come.

I remember this place when it was home to the original location of Butterfly in the dot-​com heyday. Has held up relatively well. Cool, if pricy, drinks, beautiful space, easy to get a big table on short notice. Service sucked.
Another warning — draws a B&T crowd after 11 pm, when the restaurant clears the floor and starts pumping hits from the 1990s. Come earlier for a drink or dinner.

The extended weekend Va-​Cay was nearing its final chapter so we opted for Sunday brunch at Levende to drown our sorrows in a DIY Bloody Mary Brunch.
The four of us made our way to the Mission, our palates and minds wet with anticipation of the vodka concoctions we would soon create… not to mention the rumbling in our tummies after a late night of bubbly and blow. (I jest on the latter.)
When we arrived for our rez, the other two to our six-​person brunch party was already seated. I was stoked… it was Emily and her new BF. Emily and I have known each other for 15 yrs and it had been at least half that since I’d seen her last. Looking around at our table, I was filled with love and adoration to have such an amazing group of friends to share laughter and food with. I felt… Lucky.
Lauren and I promptly made our way to the Bloody Mary Bar, pint glass of vodka in tow. There were four different kinds of tomato juice to choose from. V-​8, reg tomato juice, somethin’ with beef stock in it and another that escapes me now. I opted for V-8…and scooted down to all the goodies that were about to turn my drink into a meal. Dill pickle? Sure… why not. Horseradish… yum, of course. Worchestire… check. Wasabi? Come again? (shrug) Why not! Olives… oh yes! Tapatio… but of course! And pepper… Can’t fo’get the peppa!
Oh yeaaaaaaah… that’s a damn good drink — which I just MADE! By the third round the ingredients became a little more haphazard… — my head was well-​lubricated with inebriation so I found myself in «Eh…EFF it!» mode.
Time to eat some food —
I ordered the ‘Build Your Own 3 Egg Scramble’ (available in omelet variety, too.) For mah ingredients (and reason 3,456 why I am not a chef) …I chose gorgonzola cheese (yum), spinach (yum) and Zoe’s Chicken Apple Sausage (yum). JUST NOT YUM TOGETHER!!! I mean it was palatable… but dOOds… what the EFF was I thinking with the gorgonzola!!! Oh yeah… I wasn’t (thinking)! ‘Member ^^ ^^ I was in «Eh…eff it.» Mode
! ! ! !
Damnits.
I still ate it, though…
I was hungry.
Had to do it.
The home fried potatoes I ordered on the side helped make my creation more pleasant. Though the BF kept stealing them…
Speaking of the BF — he ordered the biscuits and gravy… which he said «They’re good… but not as good as yours.» (I occasionally do aiight in the kitchen.) Good answer, BF!
I tried a bite of the Spicy Crab Cake Emily ordered and it was yummerz max. Seriously. Good stuff there!
So we sat… and we drank… and we ate… and we drank some more… and we ordered coffee… (that took 30 minutes to show up)… but it was French press… and I was drunk… so I was forgiving in nature… And we listened to the DJ spin some old school hip hop and trip hop… and we ate and we drank some more… and the whole time we were smiling… and laughing… and drowning that End of Extended Weekend Va-​Cay Sorrow in the Love and Adoration of Friends.

Excellent time here for hanging out… but for wining and dining, different story.
My friends and I decided to kick the weekend off with a nice dinner and drinks. I was pretty excited to try the eats here since I really enjoyed the nightlife. We arrived for dinner around 9ish for dinner (thank god parking was easy to find at this hour). I looked at the menu before hand and had been limbo-​ing between two dishes… Pequillo Pepper hoisin babyback ribs/​coleslaw ($ 14) vs. rocky jr. all natural chicken choy mui/​baby corn/​garlic mash potatoes/​chicken jus.
We ended up ordering (drinks & entrees):
— mojito (cocktail)
— la fresa (cocktail — $ 8)
— Pequillo Pepper hoisin babyback ribs/​coleslaw ($ 14)
— sake & miso marinated halibut lychee/​spinach/​peeled cherry tomatoes/​tomato jus/​niora pepper ($ 26)
— warm bread cilantro/​scallion/​citrus/​garlic/​olive oil (sides — $ 4)
— grilled asparagus ricotta salata/​citrus (sides — $ 9)
— strawberries stuffed with crème fraîche (dessert — $ 7)
MY THOUGHTS OF THE ATMOSPHERE:
its not a clubscene but it was a nice lounge, sit and eat environment. the music was dope. loved it. live band playing during dinner hours. mix of dj’s coming and spinning tight beats. it was nice and i appreciated the scene.
MY THOUGHTS ON THE FOOD:
— la fresa: not too sweet and not too plain. I enjoyed this drink with a fresh strawberry hanging off of the glass
— warm bread: absolutely amazing. I thought this was my favorite taste of the night. and it was the cheapest too.
— grilled asparagus: very good. i was hesitant and thought i was only going to get 5 spears of asparagus but they had a good amount stacked on the plate. definately complimented the dinner.
— Pequillo Pepper hoisin babyback ribs/​coleslaw: only three ribs. too much glaze of hoisin sauce coating the meat and there was no coleslaw, the coleslaw was the bed of the ribs and it was there for decoration. shredded purple cabbage with no taste should not be considered coleslaw.
— strawberries stuffed with crème fraîche: eck. too sweet and not worth the price for half wripped strawberryes stuffed with a dap of crème and laying on a bed of syrup.
MY THOUGHTS ON MY FRIENDS DISH:
— sake & miso marinated halibut: it was just that the size of your palm for $ 26 bucks. i only saw like four tomatoes… actually one tomate sliced into four pieces, not even the large tomatoes, more like the marble sized tomatoes. All the other extra stuff mentioned in the description was just decoration on the plate. But the fish looked delicious and inviting to eat.
I would not come back here for dinner but would definately be back for cocktails and hanging out. I think the dinner was overrated and overpriced.

Levende is hip, cool, fancy-​casual and has a good small plate menu, pricey but strong drinks and clean bathrooms. That is, in my book, not enough.
I know when you serve me alcohol after midnight I may not be that cute little mogwai that walked in, but that does not mean you should ignore me BEFORE midnight, because I WILL wait the extra 20 minutes it takes you to acknowledge me.
I will wait at the bar since the waitress won’t make eye contact with me when she walks by. I will wait right there next to the striped shirt asshat who is ordering a complicated pineapple foo foo drink next to me. I will wait while the Asian call girl and her 85 year old date order some overpriced well drinks. I will wait while the same waitress, who mistook me for the invisible man, has a conversation with the bartender at the end of the bar… and I will be one pissed off Gremlin once midnight does hit.
So, why, armed with this knowledge, and the knowledge that I will sing a VERY dirty rap song on karaōke Wednesdays, would you not serve me quickly, and get me so drunk that I am slurring all of the sexist lyrics, making them a little less offensive to the upscale clientele?
Instead you get me good and angry so the whole neighborhood can hear my sad attempt at rapping lyrics I cannot repeat without fear of getting my review yanked.
Bad Levende, bad.

Another terrific brunch spot in the Mission!
Love the look and feel of the place — earthy modern décor with in style furniture, very chic. The service was friendly, food delicious and prices modest too.
I ordered the Build your own Benedict with chipolte hollandaise, texas toast bread, and added goat cheese, it was ridiculously yummy! I also had a fruit salad on the side and it was super fresh and very tasty. I loved that they serve coffee in a french press, was another bonus to the place.
Yeah, I’ll go back.

I’ve been here for brunch twice. It’s the kind of place that’s hip enough to make one feel cool. But not so hip that you feel out of place when you sit down for a birthday brunch with a group ages 6 – 50.
They do well with groups. The first time i remember my breakfast being super yummy — the fruit salad with crème fraîche and a side of bacon (nice quality, thank you). This last time i wasn’t as impressed. The biscuits in the biscuits and gravy were too small and dense, like they had been overmixed and the gravy was a little glommy for my taste. And my scrambled eggs, though pretty good, had some brown on them (and my friend D says — brown on eggs = instant fail in cooking school). I’d return again though, it’s a fun spot with overall good service and food.

If you are a grown-​ass woman with a grown-​ass life and a real job which you wish to keep, do not go here on Wednesday night with all of your grown-​ass drunk girlfriends who think «karaōke» is synonymous with «binge drinking and flashing tit». Trust me on this. Levende karaōke, hosted by Prince Charming himself (Roger Niner) will have you at HELLO and you will be forced to check your good judgement and sensibility at the door.
I don’t know about the food. We came here to drink and drink we did. The wine list is decent and the cocktails are strong. The bartenders and management are engaging and the chef is hot (but not as hot as my boyfriend). Whatever you do, do not stay here until closing time and then go home and argue with your boyfriend. That is not what Levende is for. Levende is for good (drunk) times with friends (likeminded hookers) in a great location with lots of ambiance and little attitude. Especially on Wednesday nights, when the karaōke crew is in full effect and I can probably be found binge drinking and (sigh) flashing tit. Try it. You’ll like it.

WOW! this place surely is amazing…
after my man talked about this place about 50 times within the last 2 weeks, we finally made it there last night, friday night.
as soon as we walked in, it was great… the ambiance was classy, the staff very courteous and the food absolutely tasty.
the menu is interesting, with clear and well explained items. prices are good, between $ 7 and $ 25 for a plate, but portions are satisfying. as usual, we ordered too many plates, but ended up eating everything, that’s how good it was.
the lobster and shrimps cakes are incredible! it comes in 6 mini cakes for $ 14, but so worth it… the ma-​hi ma-​hi is a good deal too: the plate has 3 big pieces of fish for $ 18. the cheeses fondue comes with lots of bread, figs and fruits, and is also a great buy at $ 11.
there is so many other plates we wanted to try but after 5 plates, a desert, and drinks, it was more then enough. we’ll definitely come back to try the rest!

Levende’s Boogie Brunch with Bloody Mary Bar was tailor made for me! 3 of my favorite things with 4 of my favorite Unilocalers makes for a great Sunday afternoon.
BOOGIE: The DJ was spinning some good tunes but no one was dancing on the tables or anything. People hadn’t ordered enough bloody mary’s maybe?
BRUNCH: Damn we are some good cooks! OK technically Levende did the cooking but we picked the ingredients and doesn’t that count for something? No?
I had an Eggs Benedict and you have a choice of breads, hollandaise sauces, veggies, meats, and cheeses. I picked an English muffin with smoked salmon, spinach and a caper sauce and it was pretty tasty.
I had a taste of Anita’s scrambled eggs (she added in tomatoes, mushrooms and goat cheese) and Natasha’s buttermilk pancakes (she added in blueberries) and these were good too. Peggy liked her Huevos Rancheros and Trinh’s Stuffed French Toast was unusual and tasty (corn flake crust, ricotta & raspberry stuffing). The side of spicy home fries hit the spot too.
BLOODY MARY BAR: Not only are we good «cooks,» we discovered a newfound knack for bartending as well! 4 types of mixes (including V-​8, original, and tomato), about a dozen types of hot sauce, fresh ground pepper, olives, pepperocini, wasabi, pearl onions = all the makings for a killer bloody mary just the way you like it.

— REVIEW BASED ON THEIR SUNDAY BRUNCH —
Based on their under freeway location and their reputation as an evening place, I was initially surprised that almost all the seats were filled at 11:30 am on Sunday. After enjoying their brunch, which included an interesting corn flake crusted french toast ($ 7), I understood why it was so popular. They serve quality brunch dishes, like fruit plate ($ 5) which came with an unique sweet cream cheese. Their complimentary bread basket included chocolate croissant!
D.J. keeps the happy Sunday beat going at a non-​intrusive decibels and their décor is Mission-​ish trendy with comfortable living room furniture. Their three skylights keep the place bright, which is the environment I like for brunch.
Items look cheap at the initial view of their brunch menu, but their dishes do not include any sides, so you need to add on potatoes & bacon, so at the end, it’s not too cheap.