by Deanna J. on This is a wee little place, and one of the main things going for it, as other rateclubsers have mentioned, is the extremely nice owner and crowd. Rufus made the rounds to the tables and just seemed like a straight up nice guy. Russell J hits the review on the head with the mixed crowd and Ryan the Realtor trivia comments - it's really hard to pinpoint a demographic here, because there really isn't anything that all the clients have in common except for a need for a beer and a laid back attitude. Extra points for the mini parking lot - finding a spot is easy if you get there on the early side of the evening. I was surprised that the food was actually really good - you can tell that it's not simply a second thought here to the drinks. I got a salad and was half anticipating a wilted lettuce concoction with a few cheese crumbles, but it was all fresh, with tasty chicken and bacon to boot. The homemade potato chips also mucho recommended. It seemed like our server was the only guy making the rounds, and the entire patio was packed out - meaning he was really hard to pinpoint and get a drink order in. Thankfully though he split our table's (um, of twelve) checks without too much grief. If you need a beer ASAP, just go to the bar instead. Sign on ladies restroom door: "No men allowed. Any men caught using this restroom must buy the entire bar a round of drinks." They're not messing around here, folks.
by Micheal Hedgecock on This new bar is sleek and features an intriguing theme: what appeared to be gothic brothel. Why three stars then, you ask? The art (rad naked lady paintings) and the all-black walls with antler horns were interesting, but did they really have to make their female bartenders dress in black vinyl corsets? It gets to the point where it's past parody and into objectification. My impression was that this placing is trying way too hard and that it lacked organic, natural hipness. Overall, I had a decent experience here but it didn't meet the hype and I found ten bucks for a drink during happy hour to be high (esp. b/c i ordered a crown and ginger ale, and instead of ginger ale, they gave me coke and sprite mixed together). I'd rather go somewhere like Rye and get some high quality cocktails in a more effortlessly cool atmosphere (or John Collins or Zebulon if I was in the SOMA area)
