Insomnia
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: DJ
- Best Nights: Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour: No
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: Outdoor Area/Patio Only
- Coat Check: No
93 reviews
Neighborhood: Lower Haight
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31 Reviews for Insomnia
Holy crap, I have no idea how I even remembered the name of this place to review it. It was that time of the night, and it seemed like a good idea to keep the party going, of course that comes at a price.
The cover was a little pricey, but the people watching was worth it's weight in gold. The crowd is in an altered state, and the artsy shadow porn playing on the wall is hard to look away from.
We stayed long enough to realize the sun was coming up soon. Not sure how often I could come here, but it is a good place to keep in you back pocket for when you are having one of 'those" nights. ;-)
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HA! Reading the review below about the guy who wasn't let in because he didn't have a collared shirt is hilarious-come on, Insomnia. How picky can you be when you're running a completely illegal establishment and could be raided by the cops at any moment? I would think that you'd be doing everything to get people inside the building and off the street asap.
Other than that, this place is very intense. Its a little better than their previous location-that place was a horrible trainwreck. The only thing Insomnia is ok for is another drink when you're not ready to go home after the clubs kick you out at 1:35...which is usually a regrettable idea, let me tell you. Beware...unless you roll with peeps who have the hookup, you're going to be paying exorbitant prices to get inside the space that will be filled with lots of crazy people on drugs and DEEP house music. But, you will be able to get that additional drink you probably don't need, yes.
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9th and Harrison is not the current address of this party. The current address is... lol, I'm not saying. This is a club that serves alcohol afterhours. Crazy isn't it? If you are on party drugs and want to keep drinking after 2am this club is for you/ My friend and I got in for free because I am a bouncer at another club in SF and one of the bouncers at Insomnia knows me and gave me club courtesy. Saved us $40.
So we went into the main room (the only room) and they had a nice DJ setup and nice lights and nice projections. Plenty of places to sit, even a bed.
The crowd was very straight. For me, it was too straight. The weird straight energy was lame. I guess after going to lesbian bars all night we were in for a shock. There were a lot of Asian girls there and many of them were hot, but we had trouble finding any bisexual or lesbian women there. So we left. I would go back to this club if I was on heavy drugs for sure.
It was too hot inside, and the music kept turning off because I think they were worried about cops outside. But I really like the underground aspect of this club. Add an air conditioner and lower the prices and I could give them five stars.
They were playing nothing but house music, which is fine by me. Other people might not like it though. I could smell marijuana being smoked but I didn't see anyone doing it openly. Maybe they were smoking in the bathrooms.
This party reminded me of a 1990s San Francisco underground rave. It was a good vibe.
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Don't waste your time.
Sometimes, it is a good idea to keep the party going. Just not here.
Here is my experience with insomnia: clubs close at 2am. One in our group shouts 'let's go to Insomnia!' With nothing better to do, we follow.
Right off the bat, they don't make one feel welcome. There are signs everywhere saying 'THIS IS A PRIVATE PARTY... WE WILL KICK YOU OUT IF WE DON'T LIKE YOU' or something like that. This is one of the hottest nights that SF has ever seen, and it is balmy as anything in there. We waited in line in this heat/humidity for about half an hour before getting to the front of the line. (As another Yelper mentions, there seems to be only one entrance/exit and the place is totally illegal and paying off the cops so I hope nothing goes down here or we're screwed.) Right before the front, you undergo an extensive pat-down, which makes me feel really safe... wtf do they have to pat everyone down for? I've never had to go through this before entering a club. Do people usually pack heat up in this place?
Note that during this time, nobody told us how much the price was. As with most of these scam-artist-houses, or nightclubs as they are commonly called, they basically charge as much as they think they can extract out of you at the door. The amount of money you pay is usually inversely proportional to how hot, blonde, slutily dressed, and female you are. Now I am at least not 3 out of 4 of those, so the price for me was forty dollars. Some of the girls got a price of 10.
Yes, forty dollars. Forty dollars to go behind the sheet that they called a 'door' and into the ridiculously hot and overpriced 'dance party', which of course is just an abandoned warehouse with disco lights. Where you will pay for even more overly expensive drinks. So, I politely turned to the bouncer who quoted the price and remarked:
"Forty bucks? For this? FUCK THAT!"
And walked out.
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+ A place that will take your trashed ass in when it's 2am and staying out seems like a good idea
+ Great music & dance scene/crowd
+ Smoking room, if you're into that
+ All sorts of people high on all sorts of things
- Expensive cover charge (the females were "discounted" to $10)
- Expensive drinks (paying for the illegality of it all no doubt)
- ....toilet paper rations? Really?
- Pray there's never an emergency - there's only one way in and out of this loft
Overall, the place is fairly bare-bones - but let's be serious. If you willingly seek out Insomnia, you're not exactly in a state of mind to be appreciating little details anyways... go, pay, dance! You'll have an amazing night & get home at 6am probably wishing you had more money left.
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one word: TRRRRASHED!
i barely remember getting here. i know i've here twice by jumping in a cab with my more knowledgeable friends. i should have asked where we were going but in my drunken haze, i followed the person with the good ideas... that sounds real healthy huh? ha ha
anyways...insomnia is the kinda place were you go when the 2am call comes away too early and you want to see the sun come up.
prices suck ass but i guess that is to be expected when you're partying and being served liquor at an illegal venue. how else are they going to pay the authorities off?
cover is awful, unless you're a chick or you "know someone". door cover varies. drinks are pricey as well.
house music all night long is the up side. dancing till 6am is the plus.
and i've done things here i wouldn't want my mother to know about. =/ shhh!
they always have some of the best DJs such Trevor Simpson, Frenchy Le Freak, & much more...
Hot spot of the moment! DJ Pheeko - You simply ROCK!
http://www.myspace.com...
LUV LUV! KISS KISS!
P.S. Bring your own toilet paper ;-) or you just hold it all nite OK!
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Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ...
Are we really suppose to even write reviews about an after hours spot?
Okay. I didn't say this. Had a blast. Rocked it. Will be back. Shakin' my groove maker. Do it. To it.
Kiss.
Wink.
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Yes, this place is a shithole...but at this time of the night, does one really care??
Don't go here with high expectations. It is what it is...good djs, a place to dance until 6, alcohol served until the cops come...
Yes the cover was ridiculously outrageous even though my friend and
I talked the bouncer down to $24 for both of us(all the cash I had), and the Costco brand water bottles they sold for $5 a pop was just crazy, not to mention the less than exemplary lighting...
But hell yes I will go back. Maybe I'm a glutton for financial punishment, but whatever. It's illegal and ghetto but that what gives it fucking character. Stop whining.
ok....balance.....balance....GAWD DAMN IT BALANCE! don't even begin to think that this place is clean! you have to do some chinese acrobat balancing acts when using the toilet. other than that, its your normal, not so clean, unnormal state of minded kind of people. but really, who cares. beats going home after the 2am clubs. i'd go back.
I was confused. Am I at the old 520 Mason? Is that place even still around? Wait, did that place even exist?? Was that what it was called if it did exist? I can't remember now.
Out on the town with my European friends (yeah, they're hotter than me, but I usually get to the reap the benefits of their hotness, so its OK) we somehow were delivered here by Lincoln Town Car (how did that happen?).
I remember there being retna scanning and fingerprint identification involved with getting into 520; not so here at Insomnia. It might have something to do with the fact that we had two hot blond Euro babes with us, but we were promptly whisked right in.
So once again, I was confused cuz this place looks EXACTLY like 520 Mason, just slightly smaller. But I didn't come here at 3:00 in the morning to critique the design elements of this back alley establishment. I was drunk and wanted to dance. And drink some more. And dance. And that's what was provided for me by the fine people here at Insomnia.
Plus, if you're jonesing to make out with a hot European guy your chances are really good here. I was totally out of my element here, and I got some booty. And so can you!
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Insomnia the name pretty much speaks for itself. Its the place you wanna go party at right after all the other parties are just about over. Sssshh, the location is pretty much a mystery, but as word spreads around pretty quick, you for sure will someday find out where it is. The crowd is pretty diverse and tends to gather there for the sole purpose of having fun which is not limited to just dancing and drinking till the wee hours of the morning. I have only been there a few times, but have always walked outta there with the longing to return again. Good company, drinks and crowd is exactly what this place is all about. Oh and yes insiders tip: ladies usually get in for free every single time, that really sucks huh guys, but hey wouldn't you prefer having more ladies than guys frequenting that place any ways.
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Always a good time...
...frequently, too good a time.
After a night out on the town we stumbled over to Insomnia at 2.30am, half our group is down for the count, but the rest of us "just gotta dance". We end up walking over to this lovely establishment and partying the night away.
To sum up Insomnia:
1.) Alcohol is served into the wee hours and the drinks, while a little pricey, are STIFF
2.) Everyone here is either belligerently drunk or on some form of substance (controlled or not).
3.) Awesome music
4.) BAD ladies' room situation (be sure you wait in line 20 minutes BEFORE you even have to go)
If you are looking for an after-hours place to go...Insomnia is the place to be.
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What can I say? the place to go late night when your leaving whatever party your at and you don't want to go home.
I've never been that fond of after hour clubs but I like this place. I've only been there twice but both times there was a cool crowd, good music (definite plus) and everyone was serious about dancing and having fun!
Luckily it didn't have that trippy, glow stick crowd...at least not when I was there.
Keep those feet dancing people! I will go back!
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It's last call and my mind is screaming "BUT I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!"
What? I can dance my brains out to House with my fellow after-party lovers *and* have more drinks?
(in my best Napoleon Dynamite impression)...YESSSS!
This place falls very low in the fabulous decor scale, but who cares when you're walkin' that walk and all ya wanna do is DANCE, DANCE , DANCE! If you love House music (and oh how I loves me some House music), I think Insomnia has some of the best in the city. If you like double drinks for the price of a single, Insomnia has that covered too (love u Alberto). If your kinda peeps are the real, non-pretentious, after-party lovin, non-stop smile wearin', listen when you tell them to step-off kinda peeps, you needs ya some Insomnia.
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Worthless.
Completely worthless.
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Great place.. they always have great dj's. The promoter on Saturday night is a complete hottie.. but watch out ladies he's taken ;)
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I knew my weekend wasn't going to be what I had envisioned as soon as I stepped into this after hours establishment. I was planning a fun Friday night for my friend's bday, get home at a reasonable hour, then proceed to laundry, face mask, self pedicure, girly movie, the internet, read and get lots of sleep Saturday night, then go to hip hop and maybe for a run, put away my laundry, and relax the rest of Sunday. However this is not what happened at all...
On Friday night (Lovefest Eve) when the bars closed and all my friends looked tired and ready to cab home, I looked at my friend Max F. and said... "I can't believe it's 2am. I'm totally not ready to go home." So Max F. proceeds to show me a side of the city I had never seen before.
Insomnia is down an alley through a blank door, up some sketchy stairs and then you enter the completely random loft. Multi-colored lights are flashing, Techno music is pumpin, people are making out, people are trippin on some stuff I don't want to know about, the bars are made of card tables and ice chests and bookshelves... The place was everything I'm not. I hate techno music, pda, and drugs yet I had the best time.
The first hour consisted of watching people make out, trying to decide if this one girl was a hooker, and getting invited into the bathroom by some random girls who weren't wearing underwear.
The next hour consisted of dancing to glow stick music and milling about the different rooms. I believe Max F. and I spent the whole hour swing dancing and salsa dancing and stumbling all over the place.
The next hour is when I believe I suffered the most injuries of the night. I got stepped on by some guy - my foot is swollen and bruised, and I have a part black toenail. I also tore off all the skin on my ankle, and mysteriously have 5 bruises. This could in part be due to my dance off with a break dancer. Yes... I challenged a guy to a dance-off. And lost. I did try to do some random break dance moves and in my head, I looked awesome. I also almost got airbrushed tattoo sleeves painted on and I saw lots of people doing drugs. My next trip to the bathroom consisted of girls punching the door because someone was taking too long and at least one fight almost occured, oh and of course more panti-less girls and drugs.
The next hour Max F. slept on the couch in the corner while I pretended to be a raver like the rest of the people on the dance floor. Gotta love energy drinks! I remember at one point wondering when they were going to change the song and then I realized that the songs were changing, they just sounded the same.
Around 6am - I finally realized that I had no idea why I was still out and woke up Max F., caught a cab and proceeded to instruct him how to get to Max F.'s and then how to get to my house (he had only been driving for one week). The cab ride took way longer than normal and was way more than normal. I stumbled into my apartment, shoes in the hallway, shirt in the living room, jeans on my bed, and passed out as the sun started to rise in my window.
Insomnia was the start of my wild and crazy weekend and I will most likely be back the next time I decide to live the life of a rockstar.
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Where in the world did this place come from?...Yes, the cool factor is high here as the new "after-hour" club has hit the SF night-scene. As the clock ticked to 2AM, the line started to form and stretch onto Harrison Street.
Isomnia is hidden away in an alley right behind Stud Bar, the infamous gay bar in SOMA. You reallly have to know someone in order to get in. The crowd is definitely mixed...and friendly. This is a word of mouth place...
There is no cool decor and it is a total de-constructed space. Only in SF where an old tired space in a C-quality building at the end of nowhere would you have people dying to get in. If you get Burning Man, you get this place...the place is cool, because you are cool and you say it's cool....and it will continue to be cool until the "next new thing."
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I really don't know how we ended up here but there I was standing in line with seemingly normal looking people to get inside of a warehouse. The music is not my type of music so I spent the first hour people watching and loving as two of my girls danced to music I could not understand. To avoid a creep who just wouldn't let me sit in peace I proceeded to the dance floor and ended up having an awesome time. But by 4am the crowd was getting a lil to happy if you catch my drift. It's an experience for sure and it's something new. Everyone there is very nice and I'm surea majority are on drugs! But it's fun and if you depart when you start feeling uncomfortable with the surroundings like we did then you leave with happy thoughts about the place. Good way to end a random night.
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ok a bare bones after hours night club...what can I write that might change your mind....
1) No Last Call...(Lovely, aint it?!!)
2) People there to have a good time NO MATTER WHAT!!!
3) A good vibe from all the people partying. (felt more like that old rave term PLUR)
4) did I mention No Last Call?!?
This is a cool spot, only problem is it can be pricey and packed. The bathrooms are bare bones, bring some Purrell, and I'd leave sober for sure.
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I would love to review this place but they wouldn't let me in without a collared shirt. All I wanted to do was dance so I went to another underground in SOMA and they warned me about my tshirt but let me in with a warning. What is up with collared shirts and afterhours? I've been to plenty and never had problems before. Could it be because of the two homicides in the new year near clubs?
Update: Ladies room situation worsen... bouncers use their authority to walk girls up to the front of the line. Ugh - why does my bladder shrink to the size of a walnut when I drink....
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I was pretty buzzed when I stumbled in here from Vessel, so when I had another beer, I could barely see. All I know (and remember) is there is only one ladies room, and I guarantee you there will be at least 10 girls in line, so if you're a lady, you better foresee you need the bathroom in at least 15 minutes or you will be SOL.
The music is good and the people are chill. The bouncers are a bit rude, but I guess it's because they are dealing with all the drunk-asses(like me).
Update: my new favorite place
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After party!!!! Not ghetto like 1015 Folsom. Good music and peeps! If you got happy feet and want to dance more after 2am, this is the place to be.
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1. Always good dance music.
2. They sell liquor forever.
3. People are friendly.
4. Place to go when you just don't want to end the night.
Every time I leave this place I scream in the alley that I will never come back, but I always find myself coming back.
WORD OF THE DAY = UNNECESSARY!
I guess I just haven't come in terms of who I really am :(
" Moderation is a fatal thing... Nothing succeeds like excess."
- Oscar Wilde
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This place is an absolute mecca for after-party. We hung out at Fluid until 2 AM and then made our way here. Very soon the house was full and it was rocking. The decor is not that great - resembles an old basement w/ low ceilings but it works out well with the accoustics. The drinks were $10 each but they were quite strong (more like a double-shot). The best part here is the music - DJ played some kickass house. Felt like I was partying in Paris. If, like me, you're prepared to sweat a lot and dance like you don't give a fuck about the world, you need to be here.
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Ohhhh myyyy Godddddddd
a perfect place to have an after party. I love the random people that float in from all other parts of the City. Totally cool peeps, awesome music - hey did I hear pantiless girls? Hmmmm.....
Just go.
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Anyone been to the new location yet? Are they opened now after the soft opening?? Love that Insomnia musik! Freaky! Reviews please.
i barely remember stumbling in and out of this place... bathroom line was pretty lame... but thats my only complaint. excellent djs but overpriced drinks... but at least there is somewhere to go after-hours!! friendly for industry people too... woot woot
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house music non stop! the best thing for this club is that it is so hidden! like a bat-cave!
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