Big Night Out for Two Single Ladies...and a Stressed Out Mom!

[judes76]

Hi Chowhound....

I am going to be in SF next weekend...staying in the Marina District and planning a BIG NIGHT OUT for two fun single ladies and a stressed out mom of triplets who needs a break.

We have a dinner reservation at The Slanted Door on Sat night but would love a good, FUN bar to hit beforehand and then some suggestions for after dinner. Perhaps, an area with multiple bars...We like to dance, talk to people (aka guys) and drink some great wine and fun cocktails.

I am doing my research on the threads and via Google but I thought I would ask again as there don't seem to be tons of threads focusing on bars specifically. Not looking for cheesy pick-up bars but places where people are open to chatting and having fun....

Thanks in advance!

JF

PS I am coming from Boston, and the others from LA and the SF area.

[Emily Winemonger]

Boulevard is nearby and has a lovely bar

[bbulkow]

Geeze, you people

Areas with bars and dancing and guys are roughly:
Polk St - like Vertigo
16th and mission - like Dalva, Cassanova, kilowatt, Jack's Elixir
Up and down the mission - Dr Teeth, Doc's Clock, that rooftop one, lazlo, the Makeout, El Rio, the Mighty, 29 Palms, there are 650 (literally!) hits for "bar" in "mission district" in yelp, although looking through only the first hundred or so are bars (the bacon dog cart is not a bar)
11th - Butter, DNA, Slim's, WISH, Mercury Lounge
Marina - union street, like Bar None (I don't know the scene over there)
North Beach - I don't really know the scene, I sometimes like Vesuvio and whatever is downstairs from Broadway Studios and miss the black kat.
SOMA - everything's scattered about

The fact is, there are so many bars and so much nightlife that you have to have a plan. Is it a chill night? is it a dance rowdy night? is it a bar-hop night? carefully mixed sazeracs? stoli & tonic? And, just about every decent restaurant has a decent bar, some with more scene than others (and some with better deserts).

But CH is about food not dancing and only marginally about bars. Lounge like places with good mixing get talked about. Steve H's HoS, TT, & Bix is a nice mix. In reality, you need a local guide or you need to find the ChowHound of clubs/lounges.

[hyperbowler]

Rooftop place is Medjool.

[judes76]

Thank you all for your great ideas!!

[Ruth Lafler]

Since you're staying in the Marina district, you should probably plan your post-dinner for that area. There are plenty of bars on Union Street and Chestnut Street. While the scene there is considered atypical for SF, your LA friend should feel right at home.

[judes76]

Thoughts on the Redwood Room at the Clift Hotel for this type of night? A good place to start?

[mariacarmen]

i couldn't have said that better myself.

[steve h.]

I used to stay at the Clift back in the day. The bar is really gorgeous. The bar scene back then was what I would categorize as "professionally aggressive."

[pane]

There are a lot of professionals there, for sure. It wouldn't be my top pick for a place to hang out in San Francisco.

[tonyarosenews]

I really like Rickhouse. It has well-made, artisan cocktails and an old-timey aesthetic which I think is a little more fun than your run of the mill bar. I also hear they have live music on Saturday nights. Definitely worth a look.

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Rickhouse Bar
246 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA

[steve h.]

The Pied Piper Bar in the Palace Hotel might work for you. It's an easy walk to/from the Ferry Plaza. Drinks are good, the Maxwell Parrish mural is the counterpart to the one in New York's St. Regis Hotel King Cole Bar. Across the side street from the Palace is House of Shields. It's crowded and loud but interesting in both its history and patrons. It has music. Tunnel Top for after dinner drinks (take the California cable car in front of the nearby Hyatt Embarcadero) is loud, crowded and really raucous. There is music, cash only. Bix, in Jackson Square, is sophisticated fun with live music. It's a very short cab ride from the Ferry Plaza.

Choose your poison.

[Ruth Lafler]

I'm guessing most people who are into the SF bar scene aren't reading Chowhound on a Saturday night. If you don't get any good responses, you should bump this thread up Monday morning.