The Parlor Bar & Club

I’ve come here a good amount the past year for birthdays, and it’s always a really good time. They have guest list where you can add 3 people, but make sure you get in before 11PM so it’s free! I love how there’s always parking around the venue; I’ve never had to park more than 2 blocks away.
The music is one of my favorites; a good mix of old school hip-​hop (E-​40, Ying-​Yang Twins, etc) and current trap /​EDM. Every single time that I’ve been here, the DJ seriously know what he’s doing because my entire group (~30 people) is on the dance floor going crazy, and then talking about how good the music was the next morning.
There’s a lot of space in this venue too, and two bars to accommodate two different sides of the bar. When you walk inside you see the bar and intimate booths to the right. When you walk down to the left /​right of the bar there’s the dance floor, a good amount of tables, and another bar.
The drinks itself are. standard. I had a vodka soda with lime, but when I squeezed the lime in it. it made my drink disgusting. I don’t know if it was just bad or something, but it seriously tasted like iron … So next time I’ll just do vodka soda without the lime. None of my friends had this issue with their drinks (AMF, Tokyo Tea, other well drinks) so I think I just got the short end of the stick with that one.
Will definitely be coming here again, it’s one of my favorite spots to go out with my friends.

Been here many times for birthdays and special occasions but decide to review the place now: p
They have a bar spot right when you enter and on the left and right of the bar are stairs that lead you to the bottle service tables, dance floor, and bathrooms. They also have a coat check spot on the right of the bar before the stairs to the dance floor. I had two beers around 9pm waiting for my friends to arrive and was super impressed with the old school hip-​hop & r&b music that they were playing. It was early and the dance floor wasn’t even opened yet, but the music was to my likings :) 4 beers and two shots of tequila were around $ 50 before 10:30pm — so not bad. Usually enjoy the music here so I had to review :)

Definitely get there before 11pm; $ 20 cover for this place is not worth it.
Been here twice. First time was a lot of fun. Prompt bartenders, good music, lively crowd… all in all great vibes. Second time I swear the DJ was just playing all his neighborhood friends mix tapes and it was terrible. I mean if you see that no one is dancing for the better part of the night, you’d think that you’d pick up that your music is whack. Some guy was walking around trying to give champagne showers to girls with a $ 10 bottle of Korbel… which was freaking hilarious, but gives you an idea of what the crowd can be like.
So I guess this place is hit and miss. I would consider going back again, but definitely before 11pm and make sure you know what the DJ is up to.

IT’S A SCAM.
A group of 11 of us signed up for the «free guest list before 11pm» a week in advance to celebrate our friend’s birthday. We arrived at the club promptly at 10pm and the guest list had not been printed out. They made us wait outside for 30 minutes until they could get a printed copy of the list, and once they did, they insisted that NONE of us were on it and had to pay cover. Having no last minute options, we opted for bottle service; guys still had to pay $ 10/​each on top of the $ 220 bottle fee, while our lady friends got in «free.»
Two different DJs at two different time slots played the same exact songs during our 3 hours there. Their mixing was terrible, and song choice was outdated. Ini Kamoze’s «Here Comes The Hotstepper» at 1am? On a Top 40 night? Are you serious?
SF is full of great nightlife options. Mezzanine, Mighty, Temple, and Ruby Skye to name a few. Stay away from Parlor. In retrospect, I felt that we were scammed. How do they lose ALL of our names on the guest list? I understand one name, maybe two… but ALL 11 OF US? It’s a complete scam to get people to arrive at the door and pay cover.

I’m not much of a club goer these days, but some colleagues of mine and I hit this place up after dinner at Pier 39.
We were on the guest list, so getting in was pretty easy after the getting past the pat-​down at the front door.
Service here was good — no issues with the bartenders. Very personal and attentive, despite the fact that the club was pretty packed.
Had a good time people watching — and believe me, there is plenty of that to do here!
Every club has its own patron issues to deal with, so don’t expect this one to be any different. I would come back again if I am in the neighborhood. Overall, a good place to visit for a night on the town.

This is a poor excuse for a night club. We paid to get in and they wouldn’t let the birthday girl up to the VIP when she bought bottles. The «security» aka rent-​a-​cop were very unprofessional. I was very displeased with the service that was provided. The club owner was extremely inebriated and I wasn’t impressed at all. This was a terrible night. I’m sorry for the birthday girl. I would definitely not have any sort of festivities at this venues.
PS– I’m an avid club goer and this is really bad. I had to go on Unilocal to warn people about this dump…
–Brad W

Took random last minute Memorial Day weekend and ended up here on Sunday. The drinks were very cheap and good. The bartender however was drunk which was a little weird. But whatever the endless drinks and bottle service made up for it. Don’t ask how I made it back to the hotel, that is still a mystery.
The vibe was good, very friendly. My friends and I made new friends from Florida. Tyler, was our very awesome bartender because the guy bartender was drunk stumbling with our bottles. We all had a good night so it was okay! Definitely going back next time I visit San Fran.

When a bar has to offer a Unilocal check in, I think you know something is up. If you check in on Unilocal,you get a drink for $ 1.
I’ve been here a few times and it is either empty or full of drunk people. If you go towards the dance floor, everywhere is sticky from spilled drinks. Be careful because I’m sure someone will spill on you. People there are a little ratchet, but the DJ’s are decent. This won’t be my bar of choice and probably won’t come back unless friends are going.

The only thing going for this place are it’s drinks and bartenders. Now on to the club aspects of the review.
One negative about the Parlor is that it tends to use the same rotation of talent and promoters which leads to the same vibe and atmosphere every Friday and Saturday. If it’s a standard night out that you’re looking for, you’ve found the place.
It’s also the type of club that has 11 or so dudes roll through and every one of them just stare at the dance floor.
the place is roomy, lots of tables and great for group parties. Not necessarily the best in SF.
With that said, the nights are always guaranteed «open format» which is a mix of everything… from cumbia, nirvana, hyphy hits, David Guetta… or hell, even all four of them on one song.
So if you want a more mash-​up driven night or possibly just all tech house/​edm, you might get ticked off by the Parlor.

Bartenders are great! They are fast and even when it’s packed they will get to you…
However…
Dj — eh. Music is wishy washy. Like one reviewer said… one minute its top 40, then its 90s r&b… The minute there’s a «good «song it changes to some strange trance remix.
The security folks inside the club are good natured — but the ones outside… man oh man… watch out. It’s as if they’re salivating to bite your head off. even if you ask a simple question. If you dare ask if you can put your jacket in your car that’s parked right outside, 25 feet away = the answer is no with a snarl :(. So… why do we get stamps on our wrists???
The bar/​club itself is a good size and there are multiple tables for table service/​booths for sitting.

I actually really enjoyed the DJ last night and everyone we came with had fun. There were about 15 of us there and we danced the night away… Until the end when the security and a guy who apparently thinks he owns the club disrespected me, my sister and some of the girls. The security snatched my sisters water out of her hands and said «wtf do you think your doing u can’t drink this shit outside!» When he could’ve just told her she had to go back inside with her drink. Simple as that. But no. They both aggravated us and did nothing but escalate the situation.
The night would’ve been a great night if we didn’t have to get into a fucken quarrel at the end. But all in all, DJS ARE GREAT! I’m rating this based on my experience at the end cuz it killed it for EVERYONE.

Ahh The Parlor. We meet again. Look I get it. I get why this place has a ton of one star reviews and a ton of pissed off people. When you look at how popular this place is and the location they can get away with a lot.
As an experienced club goer I have seen all of these traits a million times before and we just learn to anticipate them and work our way around them. That way we are never caught off guard and upset. That comes from practice and several trial and error experiences.
This is why places like this, The Grand and Infusion never get to us the way they can get to other people who aren’t used to this style of club. The bouncers are going to take less shit, they are going to strictly enforce dress code and they won’t tolerate drunk people because they don’t have to. So yes you may be a customer but they won’t put up with your shit so even if you have a table. Which of course is a terrible idea anyway. They will kick you out and give you no refund if your group starts acting like dicks. You might not get in the club if you show up after 11:30pm. You might not get honored for that guestlist reservation because they stall the line past 11pm. You might be told to take something off or tuck something in or leave. That is just part of the deal and once you realize that you can actually appreciate the Parlor.
I have to put Parlor up there with the top places in SF because of a few reasons. One is its size. Its a huge place that doesn’t seem that way from the entrance. A great place to bring a party or large group. The VIP looks legit if you are into that kind of thing but you shouldn’t be. Second the music. The dancefloor is pretty workable and you can reset and disappear on this dancefloor which is essential to a great club for me. I don’t want to keep running into the creepy drunk girl from before or the skeazy group of guys running girls off the dance floor I want to be able to move and totally get away from them and you can actually do that here. The music is great. Usually hip hop on both Friday and Saturdays and usually majority hip hop. I can get behind that.
Now the main detraction and it was the same thing i listed for Vessel, this place skews incredibly Asian. Holy crap I don’t know what happened here but as a minority you will feel like you should make friends with the first Asian you see so you aren’t on the wrong side of some large scale battle you didn’t know about. Also this place is just generally too expensive which shouldn’t be a shock given that it is located in the North Beach/​Marina area but still. Huge cover charge and expensive drinks are a terrible combination.
I already knocked a star off for the fickle bouncers and shenanigans that they pull with the line outside but like I said once you get used to that you have to admit its a lot of fun inside. The DJ’s are usually well known acts from the city and play the best top 40 and hip hop.
All your other typical club requirements are there coat checks, seating and efficient bartenders. I am sure if i lived closer to this area this would be our spot but since I live downtown it really is a long trek which means a taxi or driving which is not something you want to do often.
Parlor is in the top five locations in the city but that is definitely with a lot more asterisks that the Barry Bonds home-​run record. You are going to dance here, its not overly crowded and you will have a good time. But it will be a hassle and you will feel like you went to a night club. This is no dive bar and this is no lounge. This will test the limits of what you will go through to have fun and they don’t discriminate if you are a guy or a girl which I LOVE. Women have to pay just like guys and will get kicked out for being drunk just like everyone else. And really isn’t this what we are striving for in SF? A place that everyone can get get kicked out of a club no matter their gender or color of their skin? I have a dream.

Just a regular old bar. That’s how I would describe the place. Came here for drinks last night and there were a few people inside. Because it was a random Thursday night, one could easily find parking outside.
I got a glass of wine and my friend got some drink as well. TVs were located in the booths, they were a bit bright. Turning down the brightness might help. Maybe coming here on a weekend might be a whole different experience.

We used to come here a lot but stopped coming for some reason. Last Saturday, we found a reason to come back again: my best friend’s birthday.
We had a good time! We really did. Mainly because my friends made it fun but it was also packed that night. We saw a lot of familiar faces too! Plus, they played hip hop! I just wish they would play more of each song before cutting to the next song. The DJ changed from one song to the next so fast that I could barely enjoy my favorite songs!
We got two tables with two bottles on each. Each bottle was about $ 200. We ended up getting 2 bottles of Grey Goose, a bottle of Hennessy, and a bottle of Ciroc. This is a lot cheaper than my birthday celebration at Infusion, which was $ 900 for 2 one liter bottles of Grey Goose. So are the bottles worth it? Yes, I believe so. You can get in 6 people per bottle so even though we arrived past 11:00PM, we all got in free (technically).
Also, the line can get long so if you don’t want to pay cover, try to arrive around 10:00PM so that you can have ample time to circle around for parking AND get in line before guest list closes!

Right now, if you check in, you get ~$ 1 off drinks!
$ 10 cover after 11 PM on Saturday nights. Spacious, so it wasn’t too crowded. Dress code is fairly casual, so no need to come here in dress shoes or super clubby dresses. They have a section in the front where you can play pool and still drink, and another dance floor with full bar further inside. The night we went, they were playing mainly Top 40s/​some hop hop/​some EDM and the female DJ was super upbeat! I don’t usually see a DJ at a local club really try to hype up the crowd, so props to her! If you’ve been to Loft in DTSJ, this is like the bigger, better version of it. Similar set up, vibe, and atmosphere. Overall, I had a decent time here, t’was okay.

Nice stop on our walk around the wharf area. We were feeling thirsty so we stopped for a drink and a place to chat it up in the afternoon on a Saturday.
The Blue Moons were great and the bartender was on his game taking care of the entire place. The vibe was comfortable and casual which made it a great place to just chill for a minute. Not riddled with tourists which was great!
They have a pool table and some great seating area all around the place.
College Football and UFC were on some of the TVs around the place. They had about 5 big screens which were awesome. A few of their TVs are in booths, so I guess you can ask them to change it to whatever game you want to watch while you eat/​drink.

By the time our trolley party hit The Parlor, I was a little teeny tiny tipsy. The music was jamming and it wasn’t too crowded. The drinks were decently priced and there wasn’t a line at the bathroom. Check check check!
However, besides the above points, the décor and venue was pretty lackluster and there wasn’t much to look at. Just your basic North Beach divey bar/​lounge.
Bonus for no cover charge… and playing hip hop.

Fk parlor. They need to get their s**t together cuz they’re wondering why they’re losing money and why no one goes there even when they got one of the bay areas biggest DJs spinning on a Friday night.
Well here’s why: you got a stupid white girl doing the stupid guestlist entry at the front with her stupid list asking for cover charge before midnight when YOUR OWN WEBSITE specifically said free for guestlist until midnight. LEARN HOW TO READ AND ADHERE TO YOUR OWN EVENT
Right when I got there you already asked for $ 10. Fk that. Then you pull some BS on me saying guestlist is closed at 11. Yeah I pulled out my phone and showed you the event and you had the balls to say «there’s a different list» when there’s only ONE list you get on it through your own damn website.
Next up, got a 5 friends rolling thru 10 minutes later and you ask for $ 15! One of the dumbest btches I’ve ever seen.
Learn how to do business parlor.
1. Don’t hire some dumb broad like her and try keeping the cute girls you had before doing the guestlist.
2. ADHERE to your own stupid event details that is posted on your website.
3. You would have made so much money on drinks from me and my group of 12 since it was one of my buddy’s birthday and you just lost 12 customers there on a dead night
4. Don’t promote $ 3 absolute drink specials if your bartenders don’t even know about it and have to say «oh really let me check I’m not sure»
I’m not even pissed about the money. It’s more about a business not taking ownership to what they promote as a nightclub or lounge. That’s just stupid and that is how you’ve lost so many loyal customers that come on a weekly basis yet you don’t even know it

This is the place to go to if you want to dance to hip hop. I’ve been there multiple times on Saturdays and it’s usually a mix of old hip hop, top 40’s and limited house.
Of all the times I’ve been here, it’s ALWAYS packed and hard to dance. Dance floor is really small and it gets filled up by 11:30. Not only that, but it’s pretty ratchet here. Seen fights break out multiple times and almost got knocked down one time when security ran to the scene. Not the place for a skinny fragile girl.
Also, be careful with all the stairs. I’ve seen multiple incidents where people slipped/​fell (guys and girls) and it looks pretty painful.

This used to be one of my favorite clubs until the music started to drift a little.
There were times where they’ve listed that guest list closes at 11:00PM online but when we reach the line, the bouncer and promoters who are in front says it is 10:30PM and it has always been 10:30PM. I really wanted to whip my phone and show them that online states differently. But I really did not want to argue with them, if they are really going to charge someone $ 20 bucks, I would rather go someone else or use that money for food.
Music is usually hip hop and Top 40’s. It is really rare that they play EDM. There are also some nights where they play old school hip hop and rock. It is a good place to go if you would like to relax and sip on drinks with the unce unce turned down a notch.
Drinks are at a good price $ 9-​$ 10 and there are 3 different bars. Two big bars, one in the entrance and one by the dance floor, and a smaller one by the bathrooms. Dance floor is a great size and it is never packed where you can feel someone else’s sweat.
I would check on the website what kind of music is played the night you decide to come here so you can be prepared of what kind of music and crowd this will attract.
Depending on your company, crowd, and BAC level, you will have a good time :)

I love this place.
The lounge and casual feel of this venue is created from the low-​lighting ambiance, the brick walls, wood furnishing, and staff.
The Parlor is located on a street corner between Beach & Jefferson Street. I’m usually here in the evenings (1^st Saturdays, 11P — 1A) to take pictures.
I have not had a problem finding parking on the street. There are a public parking structure a block away if you you can’t find parking spaces on the street. There are a couple of eats spots around this venue if you were to get hungry after a long night of drinking from this spot.
Unlike a lot of spots in San Francisco (at least the venues I’ve been too) they do not hold the line here. Once you approach the entrance (door on the right), they check you in right away (guestlist or no?).
The first room is a bar-​like area. The bar long the stretches from one stair case (left) and to the next set of stair case (right). They have a pool table here but it is covered during club hours (10P — 2A).
The next room is more of a lounge/​nightclub area. Right when you walk down the set of steps straight forward from the entrance, you will find another long bar on the lower level on your left. Here, you’ll have a table that divides the bar and the dance/​lounge area of this room. Further down, you’ll find this room is filled with booths for table services and seating area covering 50%. Right ahead of these stairs is the dance floor. In front (your right) is the stage where you have VIP bottle services and the DJ area. Live DJ entertainment is there during the club hours and usually spinning a lot of Dance music (for the girls), and Top 40, and on request (some DJs don’t take requests) hip-​hop.
The people who go here are usually pretty casual, well dress and fairly friendly and mature. what caught me off-​guard was that there were surprisingly a lot of women who goes here (nice! makes my job enjoyable).
I dislike driving and parking in San Francisco, but I have to admit: the nights where I’m booked here, I really look forward to it. I always meet new and friendly people. Well, I do at least.
I have recommended some of my co-​workers and ol’ friends to this spot.
I would like to hang out here one evening with I’m not working. Perhaps next month? (My birthday month!)