Eagle Drift-In - CLOSED
527 Bryant Street
(between 4th St & Ritch St)
San Francisco, CA 94107 (415) 495-4527
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
55 reviews
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill
"I love this place...It is around the corner from my house and its an easy breezy bar....no scene here..just mellow, cool, good old fashioned…" read more »
24 Reviews for Eagle Drift-In
I'm sorry, in reality it is a pretty grim bar. I walk by it every night and it's only hopping on "game" nights when the Giants are playing. It's very freakin' divey without a lot of redemption. It's getting some kind of face lift now so hopefully it will become an interesting dive.
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This is a fine dive bar. It has at least two friendly over-pouring bartenders, a pool table and a weird elevated platform area that holds a couple more red plastic upholstered booths. The platform is screened from the front area so if you want to see if your buddies are in the booths, come on in and have a look at the strangers sitting there. There's a great mix of drunks, empty space and local after-work drink hook ups. For the last few years they've been making and giving away hotdogs on Giants game nights. That's caring.
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I am quite worried, let me explain......came by here last week because my friends and I love a good dive, and this is a good dive!
As we walked into the street and around the two cop cars parked out front, , at the request of the officers making some sort of bust and arrest, we discovered the place was locked up and definetely closed. We headed down to the Hotel Utah and were informed by the bartender that the Eagle was closed for good.
I am hoping this is not true, and I will be checking back, because its hard to find a true dive, rather than these places the sheltered kids think qualify.
Please let the owners and employees be on vacation, or let there be a temporary liquor licence suspension for serving underage drinkers, please!
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Generally speaking, this place is a shit hole, but they do have darts and a pool table and everyone's pretty nice.
The meth'd out bartender told us they'll be closing anyday now, and it shows. No cue chalk, no more Stella, no Jameson or Jack, not even any toilet paper in the mens room.
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This here is a REAL dive bar. Just because a joint isn't new and fancy and has a kind of ironic appeal doesn't make it a dive bar. No. Dive bars take the concept to a whole lower, darker, sleazier, and funkier level.
And that's the way I likes it.
Dive bars are for serious drinkers (and drinkers that like to smoke cigarettes while they are drinking). Drinking (and drinking on the cheap) is the name of the game at a dive bar. Everything else is just gravy (or slime, but it's all good), although I can't say I don't appreciate the free hot dogs.
And, oh, gee whiz...it's a whole TWO BLOCKS from my apartment. Just like a good dive bar should.
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What a dive bar should be.
Chinaski!
This was my favorite bar in San Francisco. I am crushed that it closed. Cheap, cheap drinks -- the variability of if they had Jack Daniels or not -- indoor smoking [I don't smoke] -- no attitude -- no attepts to be cool -- just a place to hang out with your friends and be guaranteed to have fun.
We decided to venture out to Eagle Drift for Happy Hour just because we were sick of the bars around work and Eagle Drift is definitely different. Once you walk in, you are greeted with smoke. Forget the 'no smoking' signs because the bartender smokes. Not a bad place for smokers.
The place is a bit dark and dingy, but definitely has its own character. Definitely a hidden gem. They have a nice dart board area and pool table. A really fun place if you are into darts. The drink selection is decent. They were even serving free hot dogs cooked out of a crock pot. The staff is pretty cool. Not a bad place if you are headed over to the park for a game.
A hidden treasure for the game players out there, 3 dart boards and a pool table, super cheap drinks and the staff parties right along with you. Sometimes there are people there, sometimes you might find your group alone with the bartender.... which is always nice. They are only open Monday-Friday and there is ALWAYS parking.
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Should be called the Eagle's Dive, not the Drift-In. Nevermind the 'No Smoking' signs all over the place, even the bar tender smokes while making your drink. Good dart area in the back and plenty of open space to sit with your friends while you wonder what the hell you're doing there.
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Eeerrrr... wow. Um. I'm not sure what to say here. Dank. You can drink, play pool and play darts with a view of the trash can. And by drink, I mean beer and a shot. Ordering things like martinis or mixed drinks is really not suggested. The place looks like it hasn't had any maintenance in decades. Generally empty. Jukebox was broke and it was a little weird being in a bar with no music or background noise. Then the bartender turned on the radio. It was even more weird being in a bar listening to radio commercials.
Yet. For some reason. I think I like it.
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One of "San Francisco's Best Dive Bars', Eagle Drift-In alone is about the best name a bar could have for starters. Then there's the mandetory cheap drinks, the odd location in SOMA and the mixutre of people drifiting in and passing out on a nightly basis.
Great dark red booths and dimly lit, pool, darts and usually a real chill and fun vibe for all who fly by. I hope they can keep hanging on as they have for years.
See the Eagle Drift-in and more great SF dive bars here:
http://www.amazon.com/...
The quintessential dive bar: a chain smoking diva working the bar, 75 cent pool table, only a dozen people in the place and everyone calling each other by their first names. Ah, home. It's hard to fit this much kitsch into an area this small. But then again, they've had years to do it. I suppose the 70's faux wood paneling isn't chic (or maybe it is) nor are the vinyl booths but these places are the equivalent of a slab of meat loaf and mashed potatoes to me. Comfort booze...
I often ask what the story is with the place. Is it closing or not? I hear about the new owners hanging around measuring things and brainstorming about design ideas. I was shooting a game of pool the other night and saw them sitting in one of the back booths with their flashlights and tape measures. It seems the end is imminent. Too bad.
Good place to come and just relax. I was here with my co-workers around 4:30 yesterday and the place was empty..it was perfect because Eagle's was dark and mellow, just the mood I was in. The bartender was a middle age women who was sweet and kept calling me dollface.
Ok so it's strange giving this place a 5 star rating (especially as I don't do it very often) but man I loved it! Ok so this place is a real dive bar, it's kinda dirty and rough but it's the closest thing to a real pub I've seen since moving here from London. It's got a kinda charm that I liked and had some character. I'll probably go back when I need to a dirty pint after a hard day at work.
Dear Eagle Drift-In,
You don't belong to anyone named "Eagle". You just have the name of a bird. But I can see the resemblance. You are pretty fun, and usually empty.
I don't think any of the SOMA-loft lovers would be caught dead in here. Another great place to just get drunk. If that's your goal then this place is for you. Kind of small-ish. Great bathrooms, I vaguely remember being able to see myself in the mirror while i was going, but i was super drunk (bartenders do their job!), so who-knows. Booths are swanky, they have darts, etc. An overall "interesting" place, check it out just for the heck of it.
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i can't really add anything to my review. so i ditto what my friend, mark c, had to say:
"Generally speaking, this place is a shit hole, but they do have darts and a pool table and everyone's pretty nice.
The meth'd out bartender told us they'll be closing anyday now, and it shows. No cue chalk, no more Stella, no Jameson or Jack, not even any toilet paper in the mens room."
-------------------------------------------------- -----
however, i can add a couple of things:
1) beware of middle aged drunken man pushing you out the way to get his free hot dog at the bar.
2) bathrooms aren't very private.
3) although the bartender wouldn't let me touch her iPod, she did play some oasis when i asked her. bonus points there.
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Eagle's Drift In South of Market
This isn't the gay bar that the person below is talking about. That place is called 'Eagle Tavern'. Both are fun. this bar is very much a dive. It used to be some fine steak house that is why it has the big bolstered leather booths and the taky carpet. It is a nice place to have a group of people becuase it is normally empty. Party on.
less one star so people dont start flocking here. good dive bar in the work hood. there is a pool table and it isnt crowded. you can actually hear your friends' gossip without screaming it for other tables to hear. friendly and efficient bartender
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As of 4/07, the EDI is CLOSED!!! sniff
There seems to be lots of confusion between this place and the lounge out in the Sunset, which I have been assured by Tiffany while having the same owner is NOT a franchise, though I question the lack of creativity in naming as well as the the patrons who seem to think one of the two establishment is the genuine "Eagle" the other an impostor. It seems both switch around the "In" and the "Inn" in its name when referred to in reviews and listings, but lets let bygones be bygones and just shut the hell up and enjoy the freedom of this wonderfully skeevy bar. This is _your_ 4 star SoMA dive. The carpet is nasty orange. The false ceiling is legit. The jukebox is rockin'. The hot dog machine dispenses wieners of questionable freshness. The pool cues are mostly straight. The dart boards are precariously located near where people drink and aren't paying attention. (Don't assume you will find 3 darts on the premesis- bring your own.) Tiffany will play dice with you if it is a slow night or if she likes you, both of which is likely the case because she is that awesome. Oh, and the drinks are f-ing STIFF. Besides being my hump-day hole, it is also my de-facto choice for drinking before Giants games because it is close enough to get inside the park before your buzz softens but far enough not to be packed to the gills with suburban yokels.
Trivia Fact: During the Dot-Com Boom this bar served as an office for Oraganic (web design) insofar it was listed on their directory as a legitimate meeting room. For reals.
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based solely on potential. I poked my head in yesterday as I walked by. Never knew the place was there as it's kinda hidden among the auto-body shops. It looked like a very comfortable easygoing place - the good kind of dive. Top of my list to check out soon.
FOUR FABULOUS FANTASTIC AGING STARS FOR EAGLE DRIFT IN! I happen to be a SoMA loft dweller who stumbled into this gem in my hood last night. Do you know that it used to be a courier bar? Yeah, mostly bike messengers hung out in this joint, but now it's locals and regulars, people looking to quietly drink in dark corners, perhaps plotting something terrible or just weird. It's much cleaner on the inside than the exterior implies-- come on, this place has clearly been around for years. The tables are OLD SCHOOL with those crazy black vinyl benches and the dart boards are good. Real cork for real sharp darts- none of that plastic kiddy krap that lights up like the Love Parade when you win. They have a good pool table, the bathrooms are clean (the ladies room is, anyway - I didn't see the men's room) and the bartender is very friendly and courteous from the giddyup. This brings back a nostalgia long-forgotten of the bars my mom used to take me to when I was 8. Yeah. Those were the days.
Oh... hot dogs in a crock pot on the bar on game days - NO other place in SF does that, do they? Didn't think so.
UPDATE:
SOOOOOOO bummed that Grandpa's basement is closed... but word on the street is that a new pretty lounge is being installed in its place. Word.
Neat little place. I don't know quite how to describe it. I like it though.
I've had many, many, great times at this place. It's been a while since I've been there, mainly because my friends prefer other places now. On Giants game nights, they have free hot dogs. They have fairly cheap drinks, and are usually pretty generous with the booze. The best nights to be here are the nights when it's you with two friends, and there's one or two guys at the bar watching TV. Jukebox isn't half bad, either: lots of Iggy, Clash, and standard classic rock/country favorites.
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