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Categories: Music Venues, Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Nob HillNew addition to the Punk Rock Sideshow every Monday night,
9-close, Ping Pong in the back room.
Mon-Sun. 4:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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I really like Hemlock! I went there for the first time last night and had a blast. The people were really friendly (of course most people are after a couple pints of Newcastle), the bartenders were nice and remembered what I was drinking even though I had only ordered once, had never been there before and some time had passed between my order.
Some of the reviews of this place are pretty harsh, I deal with the public everyday and it's hard enough with the sober ones, I admire anyone who can work with the drunk and drinking public! I found all of the staff from the ID checker to the bartenders, to be really nice and fun.
The bathrooms are actually cleaner then the ones at the Hooters on Fishermen's Warf and It's a bar so reviewing the bathroom is kind of silly anyway, It serves its purpose there is a toilet, a sink and a shower curtain for modesty! Maybe I'm just a simple kind of girl, but I have no complaints and kind of dig the screaming kitty picture on the way in.
Go to Hemlock, check out some music, make some new friends; regardless of what they are wearing, heck the place was filled with people wearing DEVO hats when I was there (Crack that whip!) and at last call chug your drink cause there is nothing sadder than a wasted pint.
Hemlock Tavern is chill as fuck. I got there pretty often because its close to my place and because its dark and cozy.
On popular nights, the place is packed and has a good vibe. People talking to each other while drinking their favorite drinks under a soothing orange/red light.
There's a covered patio for smoking, there's a cute bartender with a tattoo on his face and the place has a rugged edge, which I like. Go there to have a good time.
SO my final visit here I think signals the final time I go out with my singles friends. I know I'm not old but thi place made me feel like it. I suppose I could grow a scruffy beard or dye my hair black as raven and then never wash either. I suppose I could get some tattoos that make me look totally bad ass but I would just be a poser.
So the Hemlock is a good bar and years a go I quite enjoyed the vibe, friendly . . . sort of and they have peanuts! They also got a very large smoking cage.
It is a down and dirty type of place that has been hoopin' for years for this particular set even when this area of Polk was totally sleazy and toally not safe for your little sister.
In the back there is a performance area that has a very small stage and very loud bands.
Good bye Hemlock; I'll miss your darkness and youth.
It's that time of year... and I feel like Scrooge when it comes to this place.
HUMBUG!
I came here sometime in August one night with two friends to wait for a larger group of friends we wanted to meet with. Here's what I noticed initially - 1. This place is BLEEDING with hipsters, and 2. These hipsters are BLEEDING with pretentiousness. Seriously, I was getting sick from the combination of flannel shirts, skinny jeans, and douchebag haircuts.
So, first impressions are bad, but don't really mean anything, right? Wrong. We ordered beers, one for each of us, just to enjoy in the 10-15 minutes we were waiting for our party. Um, it took about THAT long for us to get our beers! By the time we got the beers, our friends arrived and we damn near had to chug them frat boy style to make it to the event we were attending.
I don't know, maybe I need to give this place another chance (and I probably will). If I want to go to a hipster bar, I'd rather go to Zeitgeist.
When I'm in SF this is a bar I love to visit. When I lived in CA I was here quite a bit and loved that they support the local music scene and have a punk rock night.
The bathrooms are too dirty, the ambiance is a little divey yet the crowd is young and the bartenders serve up some good drinks.
Just make sure you're not coming here on a romantic date ... it's LOUD! If there's a live act playing you won't be able to hear yourself think.
love :)
love the bartenders, love the ambiance, love the mood, love the ping pong Mondays, love the music, love the saloon and sheet bathroom (get over it guys, youre just peeing / doing blow.) Love last call when Dave clangs a cowbell so loud and obnoxiously in your face that you cant wait to finish that drink.
hate cash only.
don't care. Still love.
Here's my Hemlock run-down:
- good location on Polk across from Vertigo (love it!)
- cheap drinks (beers starting at $3, cocktails starting around $5)
- nice bartenders
- cleanish (though strange) bathrooms
- cool clientele
- reasonable noise level: you can hold a conversation with your friends
Hemlock is nothing overly special but it is a cool little bar to grab some drinks with friends... before heading over to Vertigo :)
I stumbled on this bar and have been pleased with it every time I go back. The drinks are pretty cheap, the crowd is mixed and if you're ever in the mood to see a band it's right there for you. It's a good night starter or place to meet.
The room in the back is kind of small and hard to actually see the band members but does it really matter? When you're surrounded by good music and a band that in a few years will be selling out far larger rooms...take the small room.
This place is just great; no bullshit, no pretense, just good old fashioned cash-only booze in a dimly lit, comfortable environment. They have live music in the back room but I personally just like to pull up a stool and knock back a few pints of racer five with a few friends. The noise level isn't too loud - you can actually have a conversation - but there always seems to be a good amount of people here, not too crowded, not too empty. The bathrooms are awkward and this is one of the only (ok, maybe THE ONLY) places where I've witnessed a man going into the ladies room because the line was shorter but that does not bother me too much. This place is really everything I look for in a bar.
guess i just have to face it... this place will always have a special place in my heart. any spot that can hold it down on a poppin saturday night as well as hold it down as a decent venue to see a show on a wednesday is good enough for me. at times the place may get a "little too packed" but during the week its just perfect. good people, good drinks, good bar tenders, not too expensive. and regardless of what people say about the bathrooms, i say thats just the recipe for a good bar. shows the "character" of the "characters" that go there. hooray for the hemlock....
did i mention the location?
I only go here for shows and on Mondays for "punk rock sideshow". The bartenders are always super great and on Mondays play killer music. I've always had great Manhattans and their "Shelly Shots" are fantastic.
Minus one star because sometimes there's annoying crowds.
One star for the bar's name.
One star for the eclectic design and decoration of the space-- including the restrooms.
One star for the generous but inexpensive premium pours.
One star for the great lines I overhear in this place. Like an earnest guy to his girl, "Let's stop doing drugs and have a kid." Or a mischievous regular messin' with his bartender buddy by asking, "So, what about that fire you had here last night?" when a city inspector walks through the door. Love it!
I met my fiance at the Hemlock Tavern, so I should love the place. However, the last time I was there my experience made me swear off ever going back again.
I have NEVER been treated so rudely by anyone in my entire life than by the Ty Pennington look-alike asshole bartender - the tall goofy looking guy with a lot of tattoos. He was beyond rude to me, cursing at me to back away from the register when I wasn't anywhere close. He treated me like I was the scum of the world or like I wasn't even a person not like the loyal costumer that he should have recognized because I used to go there all the time!
So if you want to be treated like crap for no reason, then go to the Hemlock, but I will never go back again.
I've regressed back to my old ways. For so long, I was wasting both my valuable time and my even more valuable (in my opinion) sexuality with good-looking but self-centered, usually tattooed, and sometimes socially-akward musicians. I would get frustrated regularly with them; yet I couldn't say "no." I was hooked. They were my vice. Finally, I walked out of them for, what I thought of at the time, for good....for self-centered and very socially-awkward scientists and engineers. But that was only like making a smoker settle for a nicotine patch; it wasn't much better for me. After getting frustrated with a long string of those, it wasn't long before another good-looking, tattooed, self-centered musician spent the night at my house.
I KNOW! And I wonder why I am not married?!?!?!?!?
But, I was at Hemlock last night and I was, at first, very proud of myself. I was seeing one of my buddies play drums there last night. Why am I proud of myself? Well, I have not gotten into trouble with THIS particular musician. Probably because he is neither self-centered nor socially awkward enough for me. I don't know. But it was a good time.
The cover wasn't too expensive. I appreciated how the bar staff were as annoyed with the Chad-ish Polk St. Pub Crawl going on last night as all of us were. My smoker friends got to smoke in their very own cancer room. The drinks were both cheap enough and strong enough that a particular musican of interest* ended up receiving text messages from me worthy of "texts from last night."
I know, sounds like a good time! Why only three stars? Seriously, Hemlock Tavern?!?!?!?!? Would it kill you to get a #@$%ing ladies room with doors that both shut and lock?!?!?!?!?!? Other than that, the place totally rules.
*Particular musician of interest is getting his PhD in biochemistry. I'm pretty sure that is a doomed proposition. Or do two wrongs make a right? Ugh. I'm frustrated with myself.
This place seems cool. We didn't spend much time here but we started out here because the drinks were stiff and cheap. 4.50 for a vodka cranberry made me very happy. I loved the random stuff on the wall. This seems like a chill place to kick back and have a few drinks or take in a show. The crowd was a cool mix of people.
The only thing I didn't like was the first bartender was kind of rude. I had 20.50 in my hand so I didn't get change back but he saw the 20 before giving me my drink and brought my change with the drink, I tried to give the .50 but he just ignored me. Rude!
I love when all the Yelp reviews of a place match up. I like this place for a low key bar. The drinks are cheap (all well drinks are $4.50- I dont know why they added the 50 cents) but are a little small. Its a great bar to come to with a group of good friends just to hang out. Very casual so don't come here dressed up. I loved the free joke box.
Bartenders, I like your drinks. Floyd, good job guarding the door and letting Natalye S. and I abuse your stamping.
However, the atmosphere of this place is too pretentious and hipster. I like feeling comfortable enough in a bar to talk to strangers. I definitely wouldn't do that here.
If you like annoying people, a musty sort of feel (perhaps due to the indoor smoking room), and bathrooms with stalls that are closed off by shower curtains, you might find something of value here. I didn't.
On the plus side, drinks are cheap (and cash only, I believe), the music is not TOO loud, and it is spacious.
This is one of my favorite Polk Street bars. It's got a cool, punk rock feel to it, and never is very crowded - even on a Friday or Saturday night. It's always easy to get a drink, and people don't pack in like they do at some of the smaller bars like Bigfoot Lodge. Reasonable drink prices, too.
I really like the live music and lack of a cover charge. It's sort of an insult to be charged cover at a bar.
Ohh Hemlock, we have been courting for nearly a year and I have a love/hate relationship with you.
Your bartenders are cute, you have good beers on tap, you have shows separate from the main bar, and I always know I can come here and see someone I know.
However. You remodeled, and while the new seating screams classy, it also lures in Marina trash that I really don't dig. Plus, you got rid of the pool table!! Bad form.
Your saving grace for all of this is that amazing painting of a kitten on the wall. Thank your lucky stars it's screwed into the wall or else it would most likely be hanging in my bedroom. No joke. But if it happens to ever disappear one day, don't look in my direction.
Minus one star for the abrasive bartender who, when I asked for our individual totals, said "You… Read more »
Been back a couple times now, and i have to say Hemlock definitely grew on me. Nice laid-back bar, nice vibe, and cool crowd. Not sure what bartender people had a bad experience with because the bartender i get every time i go (dave?) is pretty awesome and super friendly. Always on point with my drinks and doesn't leave me waiting too long to where i have to flag him down for attention - before i could even finish my drink, he's already asking me if i want my next one. $2 PBR all night and one time towards closing i scored a jack on the house - sweet!
They had a pretty rockin band here Friday night so the music was awesome. Only caught a few minutes of them in the back room and they're performance was really good - cool name too but i cant remember it. Smoking room is a nice touch for times you dont feel like freezing your arse off on the street - esp. in the TL. And i have to say the peanuts kept me easily amused, as well as the shower curtain in the bathroom.
This bar has seen the best and the worst of me and all of my drunkness! haha I love this bar, I loove the people that all go here and the smoking room is a great place to meet people!
The music is a bit too loud sometimes, I've had times where I'm deffinatly shouting at the bartender for my drink order haha but they have great drinks. Nothing fancy, so don't ask for a mojito or a martini because they will turn you down!!
If you're a hipster then you'll love this place.
I don't care that there are over 400 reviews before mine...I'm still going to tell you what I think about Hemlock.
LOVE it.
How is it that I only just a few weeks ago set foot in this space after living in SF for 15 years? It has a nice, spacious feel that lends itself well to meeting up with a group. A smoking lounge. Hot peanuts for cheap. A bathroom enclosed with curtains(!!!) is not for the timid, however.
Others have mentioned that it's a hipster haven, but my middle-aged, very NON-hipster ass felt right at home.
Caveat: This was a Thursday evening when there were enough people to make it interesting but not too crowded!
i was surprised when my drink wasn't poisoned. 5 stars!
My shiny view of Hemlock has been somewhat tarnished. Although I never really used the pool table, the new long bars they put in are somewhat at odds with the casual vibe that existed. Sure, one of the long bars is better than the smattering of tables and chairs that always seemed intent on tripping me so I fracture something, but I am not sold on it yet.
That being said, this is still my go-to place for a good time where I don't need to be anyone but myself. Which frankly is quite enough to handle.
When I wrote my original review, I referred to it as poisonous. I know refer to it as addicting.… Read more »
I think it's safe to say that Hemlock is the one cash-only bar I'm in love with. That's usually an automatic star subtraction. Not here. Never.
They have my two favorite things here: peanuts and Christmas lights. I'm severely anemic so I need my nuts. I usually prefer sunflower seeds, but peanuts will do. And peanuts while you're drinking? Perfection. I think the only person that doesn't like Christmas lights is my dad, and that's because he has some weird conspiracy theory about them. I won't take him here.
They have a room for the smokers. Very nice. I'll chain smoke and drink my Red Bull and vodkas in the smoker's room, thank you very much. It's all very sultry.
Hemlock removed the pool table which is kind of a bummer, but replaced it with a nice bar table.
The really cool new thing is the Hammond organ foot pedal board mounted on the wall as art. That is kind of inspired, I'd say.
The music room is small and sounds like ass during soundcheck when the room is empty, but it fills… Read more »
When i dont want to get dressed up, and just feel like i'm in the mood to slum it around, usually i will go to hemlock. This place can get super packed. And i mean SUPER packed. Im talking like a can of sardines. And when it gets like that, the service can be pretty bad. ie. waiting at the bar for a long long long time.
But they do have live bands and a separate smoking room and it is pretty roomy when its not filled. This place is super chill. It has the kind of hipster vibe that totally beats the yuppie crowd any day of the week. I mean hey, i'll drink a nice ice cold bottle of PBR. In fact, i think i'll have one at the hemlock very soon.
snob hill has a grunge scene?....this is one of the many bars on this polk street that i recommend~awesum alternative if u dont wanna deal with the marina/yup yup scene or the hipster missioners...every time ive been here there always a band playin~good crowd....@ times theres a line outside at this hot spot
I don't mind the hipsters that inhabit every corner of this place or the random hobo on the other side of the bar. Nor do I even mind the loud, monotonous guitar rifts that make up hipster music.
But I do mind when the bartender yells at our birthday girl for not tipping him after we paid $20 for the "free drinks" he made her.
*** UPDATE ***
Some people are getting the wrong idea about my post, which is understandable. It went something like this:
Birthday girl: I would like drinks because its my birthday!
Bartender: Your birthday? Then they are free!
Birthday girl: ... No, please take money for them anyway!
She then gives him $20 (Which should at the very least been a $4 tip, if not an $8 tip). You have to understand that she's never done this on her birthday before, so she didn't know its customary for birthday girls to get free drinks. Then 10 minutes pass.
Bartender: Hey, you never tipped me!
I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was much ruder than what I just wrote. Maybe he was just forgetful or confused us for someone else, in which case I can forgive him. But, when it comes down to it, the rating is based off of experience and it still stands.
OK
I agree with John, I want to love this place but i just don't because of many reasons, I have a hard time to put it down in words without crossing my own line ( not really just lazy right now).
I think Hemlock, tries too hard in every way, the bartenders try to hard or don't try at all, the crowd is uhh, i am trying to understand the reason for the attitude because you guys are just not that special, atmosphere is bullshit and the only thing that makes me want to come here is because on rare occasions a descent band plays here other then that, Hemlock I don't go for that fake want to be like that cool bar in the mission (that's probably not that cool to start with).
I am good buddies with a couple. And unlike most annoying pairs, I genuinely don't mind playing third wheel as they are both wonderful individuals on their own and are never obnoxious when together. However, I have one issue with the little trio we've developed when I hitch onto their weekend activities.
You see, I'm tall. She's tall (5'11) and he's tall (6'4). It's cute. In their eyes, however, it'd be a lot cuter if I had a tall boyfriend so that OMG OMG DOUBLE DATING! And so whenever we go out, they both pimp me out to men. For over a year, they've been trying to hook me up with a mutual friend. He's a cool guy and aesthetically is right up my alley and not to mention tall, but there is ZERO attraction on both sides. Chemistry and mushy gushy feelings are kinda important, y'know?
After she put a caption on a facebook photo of the two of us with "Aw...," I called her and channeled my best Regina George: "We are not going to happen. ____ and I are not going to happen. STOP TRYING TO MAKE US HAPPEN!"
Sort of like Hemlock Tavern. The couple and I head here often, and as much as I WANT to like the place, I never do. I SHOULD like it. It's full of a fun mix of people and I've enjoyed many a tasty redheaded slut at the bar (get your head out of the gutter. there's only been one of THAT kind and he was in Oakland).
I don't like Hemlock and I can't really put my finger on it - maybe it's that they only take cash, or maybe it's the layout, or maybe it's the bathrooms with the weird curtain doors, or maybe it's that the people may be fun but are still kind of odd, but whatever it is, it's just not gonna happen.
There are a couple of times when we've been drunk together that I've looked at ____ and thought, eh, you're not so bad. And there have been a few times I've wandered out of Hemlock and thought, eh, that wasn't so bad. Hardly reason to dive in.
Conversation overheard at Hemlock between a drunk acquaintaince of mine and a hipster dude:
Drunk Acquaintance: "You look like Robin Thicke"
Hipster Dude: "I hate you."
Drunk Acquaintance: "Well I hate your stupid f*cking scarf."
Hipster Dude, to his hipster bud: "When I finish my Budweiser, I am so hopping on my fixie and getting out of here".
That pretty much summarizes my experience at Hemlock. Oh and the bartender that ignored me for about 45 min. I went another time for a band and it was alright but this was lame. Maybe 2.5 but don't love it.
Sorry, Hemlock Tavern is NOT a dive bar. If there are at least 5 Marina dudes, and more than 10 hipsters, simple mathematics will tell you that Hemlock is just another freaking bar.
Dude bro dude man with your popped collar, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only chick with tattoos that you've seen in your entire lifetime so please get over it. Lady chick girlfriend with the coke leaking out of your nose, don't waste that shit. Hipsters are so dumb. Bros are so annoying.
The bartenders here are kind of douches, which is maybe the only thing that makes this bar SORT OF a dive. The drinks are affordable, but sometimes they reserve me my beer in my old glass, which is pretty fucking lame.
This is a cool place to visit on a Wednesday, when Marina people can't stay out late. It's sometimes a bad ass place to see bad ass bands, when it's not crowded and full of pretentious jerks. The smoking room is cool, because....Hey. Smoking is cool. All the cool kids are doin' it, man.
It's almost always crazy crowded here! Normally that would annoy me, but for some reason I actually… Read more »
Service was bad the one time I went here. Place is alright. Had a bad experience and probably will not be back.
This place will not be 5 stars for everyone. Yes, the bartenders will ignore you for a long ass time, especially if you are me and are bartender-attention-getting-challenged.
But...
On a second or third date with B, we went here to see Rum Diary and he finally kissed me for the first time.
So five stars for that.
3 stars for being able to order peanuts, eat them and throw the shells on the floor. For that bit of amusement I might stop by again.
hmm. I am definitely overwhelmed by crowds and this place had a lot going on. There were definitely some shady types lurking around, but maybe a) that is the said "hipster" scene that I am not familiar with, or b) it was very late at night. The layout was so haphazard and confusing... for some reason I am very concerned with business layouts at the moment. It is definitely more of a beer-bar, and it is totally acceptable on those merits.
This place sucks. Just because it's a shitty bar, doesn't make it a dive. The bartenders are complete dicks, who will intentionally overcharge you and then be bigger dicks about it when you confront them. The clientele will pour drinks on you if you're not participating in whatever drugged out oblivion they are existing in. Went to see a band that I really enjoy, and will NEVER go back, not even for a band I really, REALLY enjoy. (The only reason I'll even grant it one star is for the awesome stuffed marlin on the wall. Who probably wants to shoot himself after having to spend every night in that shit hole.)
Stephie chuckles to herself when she reads the reviews about bartenders ignoring customers, because Stephie used to be a bartender herself. Bartenders are like hot chicks; they're bitches because they hold the power. With hot chicks, it's the vagina. With bartenders, it's the booze. So to get your bartender you have to play them the way you would a hot chick... act aloof and pretend you don't want them.
The smoking room is cool. The music in the smoking room is cool. They have toilet paper. Cool. The music in the bar area is mixed with the music in the paying venue. Not cool. It's a good place to people watch while you drink. Noone really gets down in there, because the music isn't clear. Not a dancing place fa sho. There are a lot of non-attractive guys there, but there are a few gems for you single ladies just looking for some flirty fun. Not too many attractive women, so no competition for your loveliness.
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: Lounges
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: Pubs
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Art Galleries
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: Dive Bars
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