The Hearth

Visiting The Hearth has become a tradition every time I’m in the bay area. Homey atmosphere, great selection, and friendly service!

Love this spot. Super cozy and friendly staff. The type of bar where you end up being friends with everyone by the end of the night.

A dive, yes. But a nice dive. And comedy night is classic. Recommended when you’re tired of reclaimed wood and Edison bulbs.

This place has been terribly rude to me and my friends every time I have been here. The drinks are strong but they taste horrible and the customer service is non existent.

Cool place, very relaxed, easy to go to for someone new to the city (and associated snobbery). Good tap selection, divey vibe, everyone seems to know everyone which is cool. Darts, pool, everything you’d expect from a divebar. Easy place to roll up to, sit at bar alone, make a friend or two and walk out.
It is CASH ONLY keep in mind.

This, my friends, is one of the few well-​taken care of dive bars in SF. The customers here are regulars, there’s zero ego (clientele and staff), and the location keeps the Bay Area yahoo hipster duds at bay.
Drinks are stiff, the beer (bottles, cans, draft) is cold, and it’s all quite cheap. CASH ONLY. Every second Saturday, they’ve got a talent show (comics, music, fire breathers!), just show up early to claim your space.
Great spot — can’t wait to go back!

Such a nice and cozy neighborhood bar. I really enjoyed the ambiance of this place… Good Selection of Beer on tap. I did not expect that! Beer from Germany and Belgium.
Cool posters of SF by the entrance… One of them was a poster of old matches from old school restaurants…
Bartender was Super Nice and Down to Earth…
Great music from the Juke Box!
The Perfect example of what an ideal neighborhood bar would be…
I’ll be back in the near future…
+ before or after there are TONS of spots to eat at up and down Geary! Damn!

Good section of liquor! Great beers on tap and decently priced! Alex is a great bartender who knows her customers! Great pool table as well

Ray is not f##cking around; great environment, great people, great beer. My favorite bar in the City.

Dive bars can be refuges: Island gardens for men and women who wish they could sail to distant shores and chop holes in their boat too big to repair. Places where contemplative silences can be honored, where truth can be found at the bottom of boilermakers and at the bottom of seedy urinals, where solace is found in the steadfast light of a cigarette or by the uneven light of a dim overhead bulb. Dives are places for the weary, for outcasts, for introverts, for postal workers, and bus drivers and lawyers. Dive bars are where we go to feel alone, to feel the troubles of a day begin to melt as tension unspools from shoulder blades, shivering involuntarily as we struggle to forget. A dive bar is a place where one can feel the fullness of time as it relentlessly moves its slow haunches, never stopping for a drink, ask though you may.
My beloved Richmond District is going away. My favorite dives are overrun by the hip and noisy, the audacious and beautiful, young men and women who have never taken a moment to sit in silence, in contemplation. The Hearth is not their place. The Hearth is a place where the Richmond District remains. The owner comes in every night, the bartenders know peoples names, the place is dim, clean, a beautiful pool table in a back room. Husbands and wives sit on the banquet, I at the far end of the long bar staring out into the night. There are good beers on tap from the States, and interesting beers from Germany and Belgium. They pour my Vitus in the right glassware, and the bartender smiles at me. I drink, and nobody bothers me. Its a perfect dive: a refuge from the cold, a refuge from the mundane trivialities of my life, a reminder that the world still has these quiet places, these Island Gardens.
We all search for an island garden sometimes. A place where we can hide, jettisoning all dead weight from our shoulders as we retreat from the world, as we face ourselves. A place where we can sit and feel completely hidden, at peace, separate. Tonight, Karl the Fog engulfs the district, but The Hearth is there to warm me, sheltering me from a brave new world I don’t quite understand.
Listening to: Island Garden Song, by The Mountain Goats.

Great bartenders, friendly regulars, open mic night. this place is great!!! My second favorite bar in the city

Best bar in the inner Richmond!
These guys are real. Their shot are generous, the bartenders are friendly, and you don’t even need to shower .
This bar is only two blocks from my house, if I bring you here I will probably try to sleep with you, especially if you are a lady.
But seriously, if you need neighborhood bar look no further. The Hearth meets all your criteria. Just spend a few nights here and you will understand.
Top self and bottom shelf. Arcade machine with ms. pacman donkey kong, and jr, donkey kong. Goldeneye pinball machine, a killer dart board, and a full sized pool table. What more can a guy ask for.,
Sometimes, I guess, there are ladies in here. But this is a dive bar, don’t expect much in that department, but to see the defeated men not looking to get laid; is worth the trip.
Take the 38, get off at the hearth get drunk and go home… America rules…
You can also get donuts a block away… Oh my god! What is this the 70’s?

It’s a fine local, neighborhood dive bar. However, if you’re not a regular your opinion or needs aren’t respected. I got verbally accosted by a drunk «regular» (who also flashed me her IQ). She informed me that this was not my bar but theirs and even though we were all watching the Giants preseason game, one guy came in wanting to watch a NCAA game. He bullied them into changing the TV — even though one of the other TVs had a different NCAA game on. When i mentioned that I was watching the Giants game they said it didn’t matter because it was preseason and this wasn’t my bar. Nice and welcoming. There’s a reason I only come here when I have to for Pool League. Usually the bartender is great and doesn’t take any crap, but tonight she didn’t bother. Why would a non-​regular want to stop in here?

It says no whiners (or no whining?) on the wall outside, which made me hesitate because I’m capable of whining and want to feel free if the spirit moves me. But once we were inside I understood — there is nothing to whine about!
It feels like a real neighborhood bar with all kinds of people, the kind of neighborhood bar that welcomes you even if you have never been there before. Even if you are not really from the neighborhood but from the other side of the park, which was us. Our super friendly bartender really set the mood for everyone.
They have an unusual selection of beer on tap. My husband and G. both chose the grapefruit beer and were very happy with it. I can’t have beer so I had an Angry Orchard Cider, which I have not seen on tap before. We only had one round but we’ll be back to try some other stuff. We all wish it was our neighborhood bar.

Texie is the best!
Does a great job making sure everyone is helped out. Solid vibes, mix of crowd. Table, pin ball & darts.

what a dive! and i mean it in a good way. it’s everything I’d expect in a dive and a little more. cheap drink, beers, pool table, a little beat up inside with a jukebox. yeah it’s a dive with a really good neighborhood feel.
there isn’t really that much more to say other than if you’re expecting craft cocktails, you’re in the wrong spot. go down the street to the craft bars.

I drank the absolute worst Bourbon Old Fashioned I’ve ever had in my entire life here, but the bartender was a sweetheart to the customers.

Service is extremely friendly, you always feel welcomed. Drinks are pretty cheap. We came here for blue moons and it was $ 3 each i believe. Its always fun to sit on the side to play some of the games.
The only thing that kinda sucks is the size of the place. But if you do trek over here on a week day, its not as packed. =)
Cheap drinks, good company, and great service. What more can you ask for?

Low-​key little neighborhood bar with a super fun game room:
Arcade machine with old skool games (pacman, donkey kong, dk jr, dig dug, galaga) — 50 cents
Pinball — 75 cents
Darts — free
Pool — free
Street & meter parking. This place is fun :)
Not quite 5 stars because the arcade machine’s pacman is on the slooow setting. It’s like playing in molasses. I wish they would speed up the setting. Also, some girl busted the pinball machine while we were there. Stoopid girl.

Cool easy going bar — nice atmosphere. Reminds me of being in a bar back east at Christmas time. Just kind of dark w/​little lights everywhere.
Ding Dong bring in Christmas Cheer.
A really cool woman was bartending — forget her name but she’s there often and is really cool to everyone. It’s not that we don’t know you pose — it’s ernest and sincere. A few tv’s playing the games, a good drink for
an inexpensive price.
Saddle up!