Mayes Oyster House

I have been here to Mayes a few times and always enjoy it. I came here when it was the original Mayes and now. Now they have a nice happy hour with $ 1.25 oysters which is nice.
I have tried their burgers fries and wines cocktails and really just don’t have time to go back but always thinking about it. Very friendly and homey helpful nice ambience priced okay taste ok just wish that they had oysters Rockefeller but they don’t. They are still ok in my book an can’t wait to return.

Let’s see now… I came into this past Wednesday night while visiting San Francisco (¹⁄₂₀) at about 8:30 PM. With the plethora of restaurants and eateries near my hotel in the area, I was already having a hard time deciding what to eat. Lo and behold, I came across this place which was named «Mayes Bar» on the outside, but given that it also stated Seafood beneath it, it was a reasonable assumption that they served food.
When I walked in, I was greeted by the waitress and a man who appeared to be the manager. I already knew that I would carded as I came from Los Angeles. However, after looking at my aged 19 ID, the manager told me, and I quote verbatim, «We don’t SERVE underage people here.» When I inquired as to why I couldn’t just order the seafood or have any DD accommodations, he still curtly replied that the kitchen was already closed and rudely escorted me out without another word.
1. What kind of late night bar closes their kitchen at 8:30?
2. Couldn’t the manager offer any designated driver discounts, mocktails, or just an underage wristband if they were that worried about me getting alcoholic drinks?
I have never actually been rejected from any type of bar that served food, as they were always happy to accommodate and never turn away a paying customer. Given that only about 10% of the bar was filled and most employees weren’t doing anything, it would not have been difficult. For reference, the man who appeared to be the manager had a beard and seemed to be slightly shorter than 5 feet; whoever works there probably know who I am referring to. This man deserves to be fired, or at least to take a course in customer service.
I can’t speak much for the food or the other employees, but if this manager treats its customers this way, its no wonder they are short on clientele.
I would love to see what type of reply this establishment would make to my review. Don’t even think about coming here if you’re underage, whether just visiting or not. You’ll get turned away as if you’re just scum.
Edit: Courtney; what are your restaurant hours then? (because it clearly states 5 – 2 on here). As I said, I was only visiting and am already back in LA, but since this horrid experience I have already warned everyone I know (including he who recommended the oysters to me) to never come here again should they be in the area. How can I be sure me and/​or my friends won’t be so rudely turned away by my specified employee when we just want seafood?

Mayes is a great establishment. It is exactly what you can expect from a restaurant/​club. The food is tasty, the drinks are strong and the music is and the ambiance is comfortable.
I went to Mayes on Saturday (1÷26÷16) with 15 friends for dinner and drinks. We reserved a table online a few days prior through the online reservations on their website. A few of us showed up early to find that our table was not ready, in fact, there was no record of our reservation. No worries, we were able to enjoy a few drinks at the bar while the staff set up a table that could accommodate our entire group. By the time the majority of our party showed up, their seat was waiting for them. The staff at Mayes was very friendly and able to tend to our large demanding table. We all left full and happy.
I was contacted by one of the Managers a few days later to see how our experience was. I informed him of our excellent experience, and even of the mishap with the reservation. he said that they were able to work out the issues with their website. I will be back.

Thanks guys, I had a reservation last night and it was my daughters birthday. You didn’t bother to change the fact that you booked the entire restaurant to a private party. I booked the reservation through your website. Then the bartender was rude when I asked about the tables in the mid section. You almost ruined my daughters birthday.

I can’t speak for the oyster bar; I’ve only been here at night.
Never have I seen or even heard of anyone having such a bad experience at a bar! I’ve been here a few times where I was not all that impressed, but the last straw was when I came here with my girlfriend. She was assaulted in the bathroom by one of the many ghetto patrons who also stole her purse. If you want to dance shoulder to shoulder with a ratchet crowd this might be the place for you, but if you possess even a smidgen of class and don’t enjoy being harassed and brutalized by the street-​dwelling trash they let in, go to any other bar.

I love Mayes! After tonight I had to right a review. The atmosphere is so fun and the drinks are strong but yummy. The five stars truly go to the staff though. I had an outing for a gf bday and had gotten my purse stolen. These guys went above and beyond to search for it. They actually found it after 30 mins and returned it to me. After that I realized there is no place on Polk I’ll ever go out again! I love this place. I wish I knew the name of the man who works the door in the front with the great beard because he is a gem. Anyways a must go to ok Polk for dancing drinks and to see that man with the great beard! Thank you Mayes.

They charged by credit card more then what I actually tipped. I left a $ 3 tip, ended up being charged for a $ 17 tip. Terrible! My credit card company will refund me the difference so its no biggie but still, its the principle behind it. They are literally stealing money from me. If i didnt check my statement, they would’ve gotten away with it. I could understand if it was a mistake, but looking at a 9-​key board, theres no way that charge was a typing error by the cashier. It was blatant.
Word to all customers here, make sure they dont charge u more for tip like they did me. Review ur bank statement after going to this place.

Wen’t here spontaneously with a group of friends for one of their birthdays. There was a $ 10 cover charge, which I was pretty much forced to pay since everyone else in our group had already gone in. The place was packed like a sardine can and you can barely move through the crowd of dancing drunks =) We made it to the back of the dance area near the bar. I ordered 5 vodka redbull drinks which came to a total of $ 45. Finished the night off with a great night dancing with friends and making new friends. Later that week I checked my bank statement and saw that was charged $ 50 from Mayes Oyster house. I clearly remember only putting an even $ 45 because I thought it was pretty pricey just for vodka redbull drinks. I don’t know how many other people they take money from but watch out!
Tip: make sure to keep your receipt at any bar and check your statements later that week. You never know when they are going to charge you more than what you signed for!

This review is for the bar. They have a FIREPLACE.
DON’T. MAKE. ME. LEAVE.
No complaints about the music, drinks and etc.

Mayes is absolutely amazing! I have so much fun when I come out to Mayes.
We always decide to go bar hopping on Polk Street, and never end up leaving mayes! The drinks are great and the music is so fun! Perfect for dancing. Can get a little crowded and hot, but definitely better than going to a place that is dead! The only thing that sucks is the $ 10 cover charge, even for girls!!! But overall, I always have a great time when I come here.

Has anyone EVER had oysters here?
I always seem to end up at Mayes with it packed wall-​to-​wall or trying to get a wristband for a pub crawl. And I still don’t understand why.
The flow is a nightmare and you are elbow to elbow all the way to the back (but at least they put on the A/​C /​fans).
If it’s free, go. if there is a cover, laugh and go next door.

I have been to Mayes for their dollar oyster happy hour and huge dance floor in the night time, but what I cannot stand is their service and hospitality for both their happy hour and night life!
First of all, Mayes has an amazing selection of oysters, but it took a full hour to serve Oysters and my group was barely served any time. When trying to complain about it, our server said she would come back to us so we can provide feedback, but she never did. It has taken 30 minutes before, but an hour was just way too much. I want to come back again, but don’t know if I can wait that long!
During the night, Mayes is so packed and they do charge a cover, but I would appreciate it if the bouncers were much nicer when people are waiting in line! They were super rude to our group since we were all guys and when our lady friends came out, they were suddenly all nice. I understand that there needs to be an equal ratio, but don’t need to be rude about it. Other than that, their music is really cool and they make a great AMF! I would come back here for their night life despite the crowded and steamy dance floor!

To be honest this place is pretty awful. I’ve never been here during the day when it’s an oyster house but it sure does undergo a drastic change during the night into a grime-​y, nasty, dance club.
I personally love dance clubs – especially the ones with ratchet music because it’s always fun. The music here is a mainly ratchet rap, but for some reason I just didn’t enjoy this place at all. It’s weird because there’s not really a DJ for the music, it’s just a playlist of ratchet music, and you can watch the music video on the TV screens on the wall… so odd and uncomfortable. The drinks here are also expensive and meh.
I would’ve given this place 2 stars had it not been for the $ 10 cover charge – even girls have to pay $ 10 to get in, what the heck?! This place is pretty terrible but it does get pretty crowded by 11:30pm, albeit a weird mix of very different people.

Okay bar.
dancing okay but It was just too hot and crowed when I went.
drinks about $ 10.00 each
CLEAN BATHROOMS A MAJOR PLUS.

This review is based on the nightlife, not the daytime dining experience. Showed up with a group of friends on a Friday night at around 11:30pm and had to pay a $ 10 cover. No problem, it’s expected. Just so you know that there IS a cover on busy nights.
The venue itself is quite big and extends far into the back where there is a central dance floor with lights and TVs. I liked that there were tables near the entrance where people could relax and get some fresh air. though didn’t like the fact that there is no patio (or not that we knew of). Bar itself was not too crowded, bartender was friendly, and LOVED the fact that they don’t charge for club soda (for the sober folks). Drinks were strong from what my friends told me and price is standard for SF.
However, this place was PACKED and was definitely a huge sausage fest despite the cover charge. I think they can do a better job in managing the room count even if it means waiting a bit in line. Air flow also wasn’t very good – felt very suffocating on the dance floor. But what do you expect from a club?
I think Mayes is a great place to check out but not somewhere I would want to stay for the rest of the night. We ended up going to a chiller dive bar just around the corner to wind down and that was very much more enjoyable.

I was excited to try this place because they had happy hour until 7 but I was not impressed. The food is extremely pricey and it wasn’t even that great. I asked if the wings were going to be spicy because it said made with their special «house sauce» and the waiter said its barely spicy so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out they taste just like buffalo wings which I cannot eat at all.
I’ve been here at night when I went bar hopping with my friends and it’s a chill place to go to at night but during the day, no thanks.

My friend and I came in strolling in with a party of 5 including ourselves on a Saturday afternoon. At 4 pm, the place was practically dead and we were the only customers.
I noticed that place was had a pretty weird set up. A bar area, some booths and a dancing floor? And also, the oysters were now $ 1.25. Bummer … But still a good deal ish?
At the end of our «snack hang out», we ordered 8 dozen of oysters and had 2 appetizers and some drinks. The server was joking or not joking how we were going to eat all of their inventory for oysters.
The first 3 dozen oysters was the best. The server also said it was the Washington oysters? And they were delicious. The other batch was a different kind of oysters because they ran out of the Washington oysters. It wasn’t as great, but still pretty good.
Not too shabby place for HH oysters.

#1 tip: If you’re a girl, dont waste your time and go find yourself a security guard and ask to get in for cheaper or even for free sometimes LOL
«Lets go bar hopping on Polk» almost always means… «Lets go to Mayes.» Their playlist is pretty repetitive but most of the time no ones even really paying attention. It’s a great place to dance/​drink/​have fun. They have 2 bars, one in the front and one in the back! Their bathrooms are tiny and feel like a sauna inside so try not to go if you really don’t have to. Oh and also, hang on to your phones everyone, you’re in SF… hold on to that shit or dont be surprised if it gets stolen
UPDATE 7÷27÷15: Dumb security guard said my friends out of state ID was fake, when obviously it wasn’t. Even after running it under his light, still said it was fake and sent us away. So I guess if you’re out of state, don’t come here cause they don’t accept anything but CA ID.

I’ve been to Mayes before for happy hour. On Friday, May 1^st around 11:45pm, I came here for their night life. I honestly have no idea if there’s a cover or how much it is. My friend got us in, so he may have paid for all of us.
I was definitely way too sober to be here at first. It was super crowded and plenty of people having lots of fun thanks to a little too much alcohol. My group hung out by the bar drinking shots of Jameson before heading to another club /​bar down the street. We did come back and end the night here. It was fun, but I was really grossed out by how slippery the floor was. Realized someone had yacked by the bar. Eeewwwww!
I definitely prefer Mayes as a restaurant over a dance club. Maybe if I was 21 again, I wouldn’t care how gross the bar felt. But in my 30s, I’d rather stick to the oyster house.

After hitting some of the cool bars on Polk Street on a Saturday night, you know you’re going to end up at Mayes Oyster House for more drinks and dancing. It doesn’t matter if you get there early or late, cause there’s always going to be a line (yuck) and the place is going to be packed (double yuck). If you’re the kind of person that likes personal space, then you’re SOL. Imagine you’re riding on BART during peak commute hours except everyone is drunk-​grinding on you and there’s mainstream music being blasted. (And I’m not exaggerating when I say blasted. My ears were ringing for a good two hours after I left.)
You would think a $ 10 cover would keep the creepers away, but alas, that is not the case. Or maybe I felt like it was a breeding spot for creepers because it was a total dudefest?
Bartenders are friendly and efficient. Music is definitely fun to dance to. Mayes is a good place to end a night of debauchery!
… It’s okay, you can repent the morning after.