Mars Bar & Restaurant

San Francisco, United States

4

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 415-621-6277
Website:
www.marsbarsf.com
Address:
798 Brannan St, San Francisco, CA, 94103
b/t 7th St & Gilbert St
SoMa
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miTownsend St & 5th St
0.5 mi4th St & Townsend St
0.5 miKing & 4th
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch, Late Night
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Music
DJ
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
No
Has Pool Table
Yes

Today

Today 11:30 am – 12:00 am
Closed now
Local time (San Francisco) 04:00 Wednesday, 11 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 12:00 am
Thursday 11:30 am – 12:00 am
Friday 11:30 am – 2:00 am
Saturday 12:00 pm – 2:00 am
Sunday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Voted BEST Happy Hour/​Best Outdoor Garden PATIO.

Great Kitchen, organic homemade food.

Perfect for your private parties or events

Always a good time at Mars Bar.

Great Drinks, Great Food and a fantastic Staff. You will always make friends at Mars

History

Established in 2004.

Café Mars as it began during the height of the dot​.com boom in 1994 and was the spot South of Market for 10 years before current owners David & Jenny Kiely & Keith Cochrane took it over in 2004 taking to a whole new level of fun. Renaming it what everyone already nicknamed it — Mars Bar — the space has new life with warm & sexy colors and an informal and inviting atmosphere. The outdoor patio has been decked out with huge overhead heaters and gardens with the kitchen opened up for weekday lunches and evening happy hour & casual dining. Weekends the bar ramps up with music and cocktails til 2am.

Mars Bar is the ultimate place to be right after a day at work or a place to begin and continue your night til the wee hours of the morning.

Meet the Business Owner

David K.

Business Owner

After many years in the nightclub industry, my family and also my business partner decided to have a small, cool place that was great in the days, afternoons, and evenings. Mars was a little tiny drinker bar on the corner that was shot and a beer place at 6 AM for all the meat packing plants and industrial businesses in the neighborhood. In fact, back in the early 1900’s the property was an illegal gambling hall in the basement and a brothel upstairs.

We have strived to keep Mars on that same simple format of just a really cool place to hang out. The addition of the outdoor patio has added to the ambiance. We are humbled by the eclectic crowd from the neighborhood and beyond.

I am very passionate about the quality of our food, drinks and service. We source everything locally and organically. We make whatever we can fresh in our kitchen everyday. I understand that occasionally we make mistakes and I take them very personally. We strive to give you the best experience & thank you always

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20 reviews of Mars Bar & Restaurant

No registration required
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
These people are completely unethical and if you point it out to them, they will ridicule you and cast aspersions upon your person and your physical appearance, because that is the only recourse for the unethical person since they have no moral justification for what they do. Their brunch cocktails went from $ 3 each to $ 8 each. They don’t bother to tell any of the many websites promoting their weekend brunch. I even asked when I walked in if they were still doing the weekend brunch with the cocktails thing. I can honestly say I’ve never been treated worse anywhere in my life… so much so that I had to write this review. Avoid this place like the plague.
Place rating: 4
San Jose, CA
Went here for lunch on a weekend. Food is pretty good. Had the burger, medium rare and it was cooked just right. The service is good too, friendly. Overall, no complaint. Will be back if I am in the area.
Place rating: 4
Frisco, TX
Had the pulled pork which was delicious. French Fries were overly greasy so didn’t care for them. 1st Moscow Mule was flat, but the other 2 were fresh.
Place rating: 5
Alameda, CA
I love this place, and come here all the time. The food is always fresh and delicious (tacos, salmon salad and pizzas are my favorite). Love the outdoor seating and full bar. All around great place.
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
im new to soma and always looking for a good lunch spot. i was reading pretty rockin reviews for mars and that they had a patio and it was a gorgeous day, so i started walking over. i was excited because i love a great new experience!
walked in, it was empty — monday afternoon before happy hour i suppose. there was one person at the bar and i saw a sign that said «order at the bar» so i waited.
the bartender said «let me get with that guy then I’ll come to you» … i used to be in the service industry & i would never say that to someone. getting their drink order, along with «that guy» would take no longer than saying you’ll be back to me. at the very least, give out a menu? then he proceeded to quickly take the man’s order, put it in the computer, and run around like there was so much to do… but literally just moving things around… um, hello? maybe he was trying to leave early? idk.
anyways, i asked for a menu and a water, as well as his suggestions on what to order since I’d read great Unilocal reviews about the food. he gave me a few options & i picked a blackened chicken sandwich and asked to add a caesar salad.
i never got my water, but saw they had some hot water and cups outside– i didnt want to bother the really busy bartender again, so i just drank that. food came within 15 min, the sandwich was good. fries were also tasty. wish i hasnt gotten the salad, super bland/​watery so i didnt eat it.
had i been at a real restaurant (this seems like more of a bar), i would have asked to talk to the manager about their employees aloofness, and sent back the salad. but i didnt because they are what they are, nothing fancy! which i expected a chill little joint — which is what it is, just disappointed in the service, so i wont be back.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
This is a great hole in the wall bar. Great friendly staff. Great to meet someone for a first date. Closes a little early on Sunday’s though.
Place rating: 4
Alameda, CA
Mars Bar is part bar, part restaurant. Both parts are pretty good.
Food is fresh enough — ask for their specials each day. Their penne is made fresh, while their fried chicken tends to make the rounds on other days. Also, make sure to grab a
coupon to save some $$.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
First time here for lunch it is a nice mellow place. The food was made correctly and the burger was yummy. Shira, was a really nice person and gave me her best service. Keith was a nice polite person greeted me at the bar not many people do that. Would most defiantly come back here and bring couple of friends. Once they turn 21.
Place rating: 4
Salt Lake City, UT
Went to lunch with my workers and ordered the steak salad. Service was courteous and prompt. The food came out without much delay and tasted as expected. The atmosphere is casual, making this a good place for lunch. Everything was good but not extra ordinary. My friend’s burger and fries looked rather tasty though and I found myself wishing that I had tried that instead, maybe next time.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
I came here with a group of friends for both business and leisure, and this turned out to be the perfect place to have a casual group meeting with good food and beer. I like the variety of food on their menu. Simple yet high quality. We decided on French Fries with Chipotle Aioli Sauce, Margarita Pizza, and Buffalo Wings. SO GOOD! The food is fresh, the beer is cold, and the service is friendly. What more could you want?
After visiting the Mars Bar website, I learned that there are ½ price Buffalo Wings and $ 3 Bottled Beer Mondays! Definitely coming back for that. I also love the vibe of this restaurant. Feels kinda divey with the TVs and neon lights, but the food and service exceeded my expectations for that type of atmosphere. Again, great choice for casual hangouts!
Place rating: 5
Burlingame, CA
Love this place! Its the perfect blend of casual and friendly without any of the douchitude that so many SF bars have.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Mars Bar is my home away from home. Come here for the friendliest staff, great music and only positive vibes.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Can’t beat their happy hour! They have good food and a heated patio. Overall great atmosphere after a long day of work.
Place rating: 4
Atherton, CA
I’ve come here a few times for lunch and for drinks after my nearby internship. The bartenders are fast and fun and the food is crazy good. Their taco tuesday is hard to beat– 2 substantial tacos and chips for less than the cost a starbucks latte. I’ve sat inside and out and had takeout– I’ve enjoyed every experience and look forward to coming back again soon.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
The bar is nice and has an excellent environment. My bad experience though had to be getting drinks at this place. The server, Andre, clearly ignored us for over 20 minutes, serving other customers before us. When I waved him down, he rudly yelled «i see you», but he clearly didn’t because he served well over 7 other customers before me. I usually judge bars by how well they serve customers and Andre was definitely at the bottom of my bar experience.
Place rating: 3
San Mateo, CA
The lunch special is a good deal. We had the $ 2 carnitas tacos which were very good and nicely seasoned. The meat was nice and tender. It comes with a side of tortilla chips but no salsa which would have been nice. We also had the Asian steak salad which was nicely done. The only thing is that we asked for medium rare steak and it was medium done. It still tasted good and was not tough but we wished it was medium rare as we requested. The service was quick and friendly. We chose to sit in the outdoor patio garden. I would eat here again if I am in the area.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
They say good things happen to good people. Well how about people who are just regular? I like to think I’m not that bad. My thoughts of rage on the smelly, crowded bus are really just thoughts anyway. Well folks, I’m here to tell you that good things DO happen to good, bad, regular, in between, you name their lot in life, good things can happen to them.
On the first day of jury duty, my dear friend gave to me… one gin and tonic! That’s right, my friend bought me a drink. But wait, there’s more! He happened to be going to the Giant’s game that evening and, donned in his Giant’s t-​shirt, the kindly bartender asked if we needed some extra tickets as his boss couldn’t make the game. Super stoked at the option of getting myself to one of maybe a handful of games this season, I gladly accepted said tickets, free of charge.
Bias due to this happy come-​up aside, Mars is pretty cool. I didn’t eat this time around since Senior Sisig was making an appearance by the ballpark, so ya know, but the gin and tonic was one of the best I’ve had, and that’s saying something. Outdoor patio area, lots of TVs, cool glazed wood tables, awesome artwork, great bar tending staff. I went back in yesterday evening after a long day of jury duty in need of a stiff drink, and my favored bartender was there! He gave me a much appreciated heavy-​handed shot of Fernet (thank you!!). I’ll surely be back.
Place rating: 5
Kent, WA
What a great hang out for a busy sunday afternoon in the city. Nice patio and free wifi. I brought the labtop and people watched. Service was fantastic. Drink was pretty good too and GREAT DJ Sunday afternoon. Will definitely come back :)
Place rating: 3
Oakland, CA
The food was very tasty. I got a good olé fashion cheese burger with garlic fries. I was very happy. I ordered medium rare and the beef was cooked correctly! Don’t you hate it when the burger joints give you a well done cardboard pattie? My lady got the steak sandwhich and she had no complaints. I would have rated the place four stars but I knocked a star due to its service. This is the second time I have been here… The service was poor the first time as well. Just expect the poor service if you decide to dine here and you will be happy.
Why was it bad? Well, no greeting or anything. We sat at the outside patio (very nice and spacious) for a few minutes before I decided to get up and ask the redhead at the bar for two menus. Her facial expression was classic! She gave me the look like I was bothering her. Keep in mind there was maybe one or two people at the bar and one other couple outside.
We decided what we were going to order and made the proactive decision to order the food at the bar (don’t expect that lady to take your order). When asked if an order could be placed at the bar, the redhead gave a half-​nod with a stale gaze. So I waited several minutes until the order was taken. We grabbed our own water (request returned with a slight frown) and sat down. She brought the food with the «I’m not happy to be here attitude,» but whatever. They forgot my cheese but it was remedied.
Even on the way out… We asked to close the tab and got the same look when I asked for the menus! Maybe this lady was having a bad day… But this place has good-​olé American food but piss poor service.
Place rating: 5
El Cerrito, CA
We recently hosted a private event at Mars Bar to celebrate our startup company’s launch. Keith (the owner) and his staff were extremely helpful every step of the party planning process and went above and beyond for us!
The Space
The space is larger than you’d expect — it really opens up in the back to a nice outside area with a tiki bar. We were able to comfortably host 250+ guests without it feeling cramped. As a bonus, they allowed us to decorate, put up signage and move tables around however we wanted!
The Food
No complaints here. The food served for our party pleased the crowd. We ordered lots of finger foods like sliders, skewers, quesadillas, etc. I’ve had lunch here a few times outside of a party environment as well and was very impressed with the salmon sandwich!
The Service
We couldn’t have asked for better. The team helped us create a signature cocktail to be served throughout the night and wore our company swag. A few hours before the party, we realized we needed additional help to check in party guests. Keith pulled through by arranging extra staff for us, no problem. :)
Overall, I’d highly recommend this space for a fun, laidback vibe event! We’ll certainly be back!