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Categories: Music Venues, Dive Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Nob Hill"It doesn't get any better. Sweet as hell. The short bald headed bartender is the man. This place is the anti-marina - but not really.…" read more »
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If I could, I would give Kimos 10 stars!
Yeah, yeah..... my review is coming a little late, but oh well..... I should also point out that my review is for the upstairs with live music as I didn't spend time downstairs.
Great bands, great sound, great vibe - what more do you want out of a live music venue? I went here for the big opening party in May 2008 (like I said, I'm late on my review - deal with it!). Free sushi and sake from Blowfish Sushi, a belly dance troupe, a killer drag queen show, Small Change Romeos, Mavalour, great drinks (bad hangover the next day!), hysterically funny tranny outside the bathroom downstairs - what more could you want for a great night??
I would give ANYTHING to be in attendance tonight at the Family Tree show. I would also give anything for the owners to open up a location here in Chicago!
What the hell is this place?
That's the question my buddy and I kept asking ourselves. The place reeked of pot and incense, and there were a bunch of sketchy almost-homeless lookin' people chilling at the end of the bar. Definitely a weird vibe.. +1 for having complimentary pretzels, but that only goes so far. Definitely skip this place if you find yourself wandering down Polk looking for a beer.
This review is for the upstairs live music. Plenty of room, a full bar, excellent sound system. I'd give it five stars if the beer was less expensive. $6 for a beer on draft is too much.
This is a great place to go for music. My band has played here twice and we LOVE it. The sound is fucking top notch and they have a pro workin the boards. Nice and dark, and there are two bars. Win! Come hungry for sound and thirsty for booze.
This review is just about the first flo', can't comment on the upstairs.
We were out, bellies full of Thai food and we just wanted a drink. This bar does have booze, so I guess in that aspect Kimo's was a success.
Said drinks were over priced and weak. I'm talking $20 even for two kiddie sized vodka drinks and a Corona. Originally ordered the 2 vodka drinks and he said "$15", then Corona bumped it up to $20. $5 Coronas? Seriously?
The music was all over the place, and whether or not that's the bar's fault or some crazy patron on the juke box, the result was the same. First three songs I heard were Mariah Carey, Guns'N'Rose, followed up with Bush. Hmmmm.
The most memorable part of the ambiance was when the wonderful aroma of urinal cake whisked through the bar every time the bathroom door opened. My highly scientific guess is that the wind coming in the side door which was propped open blows right by the bathroom, thus pulling in the bathroom smells directly into the bar crowd. Always awesome when you and your friends all simultaneously make funny smell faces within 5 minutes of being at a bar.
Anyway, I'd pass, just hoof it down Polk a few more blocks and there's much nicer places to hang if that's all you're looking to do.
There is one word to describe this place "SHADY". The drinks were overpriced and I walked into a drag show one saturday. I didn't have an issue with the Drag show but it's just weird that they have that upstairs and downstairs it looks like a very depressing and dirty place. I also got a lap dance from one of the dancers which was definitely an experience.
This place needs help! Bar tender was cool, but not cool to the point that he hooked us up with a player price on our drinks. We were gonna go upstairs and see what all the comotion going on was until the man at the top of the stairs said "5 dollars". Being a so called musician on the local scene should not be about making money, rather music...
My thoughts on this place have improved between my first and second visits. See, I was relatively unimpressed when I came here on NYE '07/8. But, I've just begun working as a legitimate-ish booker and got a show here. My interaction was with Chad (who books and bar tends) and he is responsible, communicative and an all-around pleasure to work with. Also, Jason (the sound guy) is spot-on in what he does and the night went off without any hitches due to his soundboard prowess.
Minus one star because I don't care what anyone says - the drinks are still far too pricey for a joint like this. A $4 tall can of PBR is acceptable, but not fantastic. So it goes.
Divey two-story gay bar with live shows. Not bad. It would have 3 stars but the bartender was kind… Read more »
I went to this place about a month ago and they had great live music upstairs and while the downstairs looked like it could get a bit scary, there was this big white guy all in black who I guess is their security. I swear, I must have seen this guy back 4 or 5 dudes out of the bar at the same time!
Not that great of a place. The drinks are weakly made and expensive ($5 for well bourbon), and the bar always seems really cold.
HOWEVER, they have daily drink specials and an upstairs venue for shows. AND, it's close to public trans (the 19, 47, 49, etc).
I'd only go here if my friend's bands were playing and if we could go to Encore afterwards.
I can't tell you how many times I've cried in frustration at various bars in these United States, "Whose dick do I have to suck to get a drink in this joint?"
At Kimo's, it's not just a rhetorical question.
On that never-ending quest for a good bar after Krav. Yes it is all about the reward at the end of a hard night where I'm deflecting blows to my head and kicks to my ribs.
Maybe it's just the neighborhood but everything around here is a dive bar. But....I like it like that. We want to stroll in, duffle bags in hand, sweat oozing out of our pours, wet hair, and the not so fresh smell of a hard workout. Come to think of it I think we fit in!
The bartender was very nice and he made some strong ass drinks!!! I'm sure dehydration and lack of food might have done something with that, but after 2 G and T's I was feeling very relaxed. The barflys were super nice and didn't seem to mind the newbies that strolled in even after getting jostled by our large gym bags. My only bust, was the juke box that was playing some gawd-awful 80's song, but that's fixable!
Apparently there is an upstairs and we were watching the roadies set up the band, unfortunately we missed out on the show so don't know what it's like up there. Next time....
Kimo's is sort of a mess. But it's a hot sexy divey mess and I love it. Where else could you see a drag queen pull a tamale out of her pants, drown it in tabasco sauce in a martini glass and then drink it just to prove how hot she is?
Yes, it can be shady, and the same people are at the bar that were hanging out there 30 years ago. But the upstairs is a frenetic art house with energy and music and charisma. The new owners promise a Polk Street revival of disco proportions. I'll be there with my hustle.
bartender is cute and on it, but they do need to do something about the smells that oozes out of the bathrooms.....just have more cocktails and you won't notice so much.
Full Moon over Polk Street, Part I.
This is my kind of place. I love dives such as this one. I love Polk Street. The patrons are friendly and diverse, and the place is comfortable and attracts a cool crowd. It's smelly, but not too smelly.
But I'll never come back here. When we arrived at Kimo's, our first stop of the night, we ordered a vodka tonic, a vodka martini, and a glass of water. We don't mess around. The drinks were great, and we were starting out the night having a great time. After finishing my drink, I noticed that my glass of water, which was still full, had been swiped by someone clearing the tables. No problem, I'll just go to the bar and get another. When I asked for some water from the bartender, he returned with a bottle of water and said "That will be two dollars." When I asked, "Why?" he said, "We don't give out free tap water here."
Well, douchebag (and that's how you know you've made me angry), you gave me free tap water fifteen minutes ago. Not only that, but your liquor-serving establishment is breaking the law by not providing free tap water to its customers. I said nothing and paid the $2 -- feeding my water addiction is far more necessary than holding on to my $2. I should have mentioned any number of things to the bartender, but I blame my parents for unfortunately raising me in such a way where questioning authority was completely out of the question, resulting in lovely passive-aggressive behavior, which accordingly manifests itself in this review. Another juicy tidbit of information that came from friends after my departure included the fact that said bartender hooked up outside with a drunk and possibly strung-out girl that he had actually kicked out of the bar himself. Hot!
Well despite getting my favorite jacket stolen during load out, along with my drivers license (which makes a total of 4 times losing my ID in 2008 - i dunno what's wrong with me, i lose everything), ATM card, and money i borrowed from a friend cuz i'm, broke, Kimo's was a nice venue to play a show. Finally, a competent sound guy, and friendly and helpful staff in general. Carpeted stage also a plus. The upstairs venue was pretty spacious, a perfect size really, but too large for nobodies like our band.
Unfortunately, the drink ticket is only good for beer and well drinks, but they let me pay the difference for Makers on the rocks. As I sipped my bourbon I noticed that the dude next to me was in the band before us, and right as I uttered a hello, and before I could say thank you for performing, he threw up all over my naked right arm. I ran to the bathroom to wash it off with warm water and that pink cattle soap, which was probably when my jacket got stolen. Worst show ever for me personally, but we played alright and we'd play there again.
Kimo's is the heir apparent to Club Rendezvous lucrative 'homeless-sex for drugs' business. Where else can you see strung out teenagers get hustled by 60ish year old men with hairy chests and gold chains? This place is a blight on the ass of Polk St, and caters to aging alcoholics who need to start drinking when the sun comes up. The ugliness spills out onto the corner and what has to be the shadiest bus stop outside of the tenderloin.
Tip: Supposedly they have live music shows.
I haven't been upstairs but we stopped in here on my friends birthday because we decided we were going to hit up every bar from Bigfoot Lodge down Polk until he was drunk. This place was odd.
The tender seemed confused that we wanted to be served alcoholic beverages and the bar was out of two of the things we ordered.
Definitely an aging gay man bar, but apparently only the ones who are clearly afraid of young straight people. In the time it took us to finish our one drink we drove out the 8 customers that were there when we walked in.
Odd....just plain odd.
When you've got a little time to kill with someone you're keen on concentrating on, you could do a lot worse than Kimo's. There's nothing special about the drinks. The clientele leave you alone (at least, when you're blatantly not there for them). The bartender doesn't chat you up. There's nothing there to distract you.
Unless, of course, upon entering the bar, you remember that you had been there, upstairs, several years ago in a performance art band, freaking out the patrons by passing out cherry-flavored-Jello-soaked tampons (and occasionally dodging a hurled beer bottle). Then, you have a good chuckle before returning to your quiet conversation.
From reading the other reviews... probably should of checked upstairs. The first level wasn't exciting at all. Largely mixed crown of older (yes 65 and up) and younger peeps. Definitely a dive bar. No cover for live bands a +
After I walked in, all I could think of was Charlotte (as in Charlotte York from SATC)'s comment on the bar they ventured into after the club "Bed" opening: "If the last place was called 'Bed,' then this one should be called 'Smell.'" (Sorry about the SATC obsession here, but you get the gist).
Oh yeah it smelled. Like damp mop and greasy hair.
It was jam night on Mondays. We watched a dried-up Steven Tyler look-alike perform some familiar tunes, and another blown-up Jack Johnson look-alike do some acoustic. Then a drunk girl got on the stage and sang us Redemption Song with a very forced low pitch...
Not my kind of place, in short. I love dives, but this one went a little over... to the dark, noisy, and smelly side.
Made lemonade out of traveling Camel marketing girl and got 2 packs of free ciggies, though.
We went to see a Philippino heavy metal band play last night. It was a work friend of a friend so we went to check it out and they had just finished their set when we go there. Since we were already there we decided to stay and go inside and check the place out.
DIVEY DIVEY DIVE. Yup that is what it is. I'm all for the dive bars but this one: I wasn't feeling so much. The tables were covered in bumper stickers and old pieces of gum, which gets messy since some of them were peeling......the walls covered in Christmas lights, which after going to Cha Cha Cha's was getting old for me. All the furniture was mish mashed, which I think can add to an eclectic vibe if that is your goal but the furniture here was all broken or uneven or something.
I don't know, this just wasn't my scene and you can't say it was because it was a dive bar, cuz I love dive bars. Something about it was just shady! Had I not been there with my boyfriend, I wouldn't have wanted to stay. The crowd there seemed okay, if we were all in a different environment, kinda a punk crowd, but putting that crowd in this atmosphere just made me weary of standing next to the wrong person.
Couldn't wait to leave the place.
Uhhhh. Remember when you put your busted out holiday lights on the sidewalk last year and someone actually took them home? Remember the chairs you broke, the stool that shredded, the wobbly table that someone also pilfered from your sidewalk? It was Kimo's! Every piece of furniture in this joint is broken, gummed up (yeah - found out with my hand under the table) or just covered in a layer of ... something.
Typically, I like dark and dirty. A little mean isn't all that bad, though it can get old. But I can't see myself returning. I went here to see someone's punk band play, which I always enjoy no matter what. It was the seediness that really put me off. That and the regulars.
I can get pretty mouthy after a drink and watch it if I have to pee. There I was, waiting downstairs in line for the bathroom. The man in line ahead of me (the only other person in line) was sort of doing the dozing dance. Time passed. I asked him, far too politely:
"Excuse me. Are you in line for the bathroom?"
...
(a little louder) "Excuse me. Sir! Are you in line?!?"
... snore snore ...
(I leaned in and poked him obnoxiously) "Are You In Line For The Bathroom?!?"
... he looked at me...
and then gave a scream to let all of the other body snatchers know I was human.
I am not kidding you.
Kimo's is a schizophrenic dive bar.
Downstairs is a hot mess and honestly, I never spend more than 2 minutes down there whenever I'm around. The regulars have a tendency to hang out downstairs and as someone mentioned before, the regulars seem like they've been going to Kimo's for decades; yes, they are that old.
Upstairs is where Kimo's really shines. The live music is played upstairs and that's where you start to see the true beauty of Kimo's. There's a small dance floor and stage with a decent sound system. The bartenders upstairs are not only competent, but friendly. And the drinks are mad even better by the fact that they're cheap; ~$6 will get you just about any cocktail (with change). And the music, while hit or miss, is more often hit than miss if you like hard rock and/or blues.
The new owners are attempting to change the way things are done at Kimo's - we'll see if it happens. But so far, some things are changing. If it wasn't for the regulars that plague the downstairs portion of Kimo's, it would easily get three stars. If you stay upstairs, you'll have an enjoyable time.
Oh yes, one tip for the ladies: don't go in the bathrooms. They're disgusting at the best of times.
This is a deceptive little dive bar. As soon as you go in, there's nothing really much to it...chairs, bar..kinda boring. Then you go upstairs and its there's just enough light on the red splashed walls to make you feel like something is gonna happen...something kinda ominous and freaky. They have a stage where both crappy and great bands play. It's kind of the luck of the draw, unless you know who's playing. But I'm not complaining. Drinking with my friends at a show in a little dive bar. Belly up to the bar to get a drink, pull up a chair, and enjoy the show!
Only came here a couple of times in the past for a drink downstairs before heading further down the polk, but never have good vibes off of it.
Just visited upstairs for the first time last weekend when my band, Goodbye Nautilus played and I have to say impressions were good! We were surprised just how good considering all of the mixed reviews displayed on Yelp about Kimo's.
Overall...
(+)The staff was friendly and jovial!
(+)The sound guy Eric was really good and very friendly!
(+)Sound was good in general.
(+)Upstairs was well decorated.
(-) The surrounding neighborhood ain't that great...I got threatened for cash from a guy who just got out of fed pen & two drunk homies within one minute
(+)Good Food Nearby
I didn't drink that night, so i cant speak for the price of drinks, but I would be happy to play there again or go see a show anytime.
It's skeezy, a total dive, and it's one of the last vestiges of Polk St gay hustler culture. I hear it recently sold, and I dearly hope it does not become another upscale straight bar.
If you're at all curious about the gentrification that's been going on in the Polk Gulch, you should read this article in the Guardian. http://www.sfbayguardi...
Yeah, sketchy. When I walked in here (at the behest of a companion that needed the restroom), all the men at the bar turned around in unison and welcomed me in. Creepy. Then some weird guy strikes up conversation and makes me shake his dirty hand. Where's my Purell? Finally, le creep originale that I was with asked me if I needed to go to the bathroom- b/c we could go together *......* um, no, I'm super, thanks for asking, see you never.
Two stars for the bartender that was nice and made a good drink for me. If punk bands play here I totally get it, rock on and all that, but yuck!
-------------------------------------------------
It's been called to my attention that this is a gay bar. Perhaps then the only creepy guy was the one I was with. However, as far as decor, still creepy.
Um, WHAT is this place?
In place of a bartender, they had a British-accented imposter who poured drinks by very carefully filling a metal shot glass half full and throwing that on the ice in the glass. Also had no idea they were out of Ketel One, had no Citron, and didn't know the difference between soda and tonic.
And the clientelle were just bizarre. Some homeless guy in the corner asked for change for a drink? WTF.
Obviously, it IS polk street, but I've been to better gay bars in San Leandro. The Cinch, of all places, was more fun.
Dropped in here on my way to the Hemlock....and thought it had a weird vibe so I downed one drink and was on my merry way.
Weeks later my buddy asks me why I was in a male gay bar on a Saturday night, in which I promptly replied that the ratio looked good. Heck why not? I had no idea it was a gay bar.
I guess that explains the weird vibe and the fact that not one man out of more than a dozen offered to buy the only two girls in this bar a drink. Mystery solved. Phew! I was beginning to worry.
Don't know if I caught it on an off night, or what, but it didn't seem like a gay bar at all. The upstairs was just plain old hipsters, and the downstairs consisted of your standard locals. Cool place though, not too crowded, okay atmosphere. I'd go back.
The downstairs was mostly older dudes, but non-threatening ones, and a cute and friendly bartender. The upstairs had experimental music and Christmas lights, kind of a weird setup for music, but it worked. (It's true that the beer up there was served in plastic cups. Not sure why they do it, but an easy remedy is to get your beer downstairs in a real pint glass and then take it up. Problem solved.)
After all, it's Tendernobby, so you can't expect it to have two functioning bathrooms and not smell a little bit like piss -- but that's part of the fun. If you want bars with no edge and patrons from Silicon Valley, probably don't come to this neighborhood, in general.
I was involved in a chocolate pudding wresting match at this place with 2 girls a few years ago, so that get this place 3 stars and a big fuck yes. Besides that I dont remember anything worth remembering about Kimos so I guess its not all that great after all. If in the area you should hit up Lush Lounge, or OSB instead for a nice drink without all the weirdos.
I haven't tried the bar downstairs but saw a friend's band play upstairs. It was kinda small and dark.
Times visited: 1
One of the Polkstrasse's main gay draws, filled with hard-core, hard-living drag queens working hard - but not necessarily well - for their money. Expect some third rate carbon copies of Cher and Celine Dion with lips not quite in sync.
For review purposes, they really should break out Kimo's downstairs and Kimo's Penthouse upstairs. They're like two totally different kinds of places, though you can say that the combination is more than the sum of its parts.
Kimo's occupies a very central, prime corner of Polk Street and Pine. Though historically an area bordering on dodgy, this corner really seems like the transition point and central axis of Polk Street. Go south, and you are slowly transitioning into the Tenderloin/Tendernob, Polk Gulch. Recent gentrification in that direction (SNOB, Mayes, Space Gallery, and yes, Hemlock and Lush Lounge have gentrified, etc., ) means that there are a lot of places to eat, drink, and step around panhandling bums but still pay for $6 cocktails and $5 for beers. Go north from there and it immediately starts to get more yuppified and even Marina-like past Broadway.
Kimo's downstairs is divey and full of mainly older gay neighborhood men-- and sometimes younger hustlers-- and seems to reflect the south end of the street. But upstairs is small, crowded, and seemingly always full of hipsters and live music. Though not yuppie-marina-like, the crowd is definitely on the younger, hipper, and straighter side. Seems a lot of them come straight over from the live music back room of the Hemlock. It's more like the north end of Polk, despite protests to the contrary. You can bet your peglegged jeans and hipster ballerina slippers on it, baby!
There is usually a cover upstairs and bands are usually local, rough-around-the edges type garage bands. But any place that supports local live music is very cool.
Imagine that corner if Kimo's, heaven forbid, were to disappear someday. It would take an awfully long time and great place with unique flavor to fill the void.
played here a few weeks back. Must have been a light night on the hardcore ness, because after we opened the show, we had the downstairs crackin till 2am. and yes we fillllled the place
I really don't want to give one star because this place sucks so much. I will say that there was one really nice bartender, but the rest of the people that worked there were cranky bastards that gave off an aura that they were better than you. Here's a great quote from one of the bartenders; "F**k off, f**k you." So happy.
Uhhh... I went here because my friend was playing upstairs. It was deserted on a Friday night although there were plenty of people out on Polk. The drinks were inexpensive, but who cares? The bathroom was unusable (I know it's repetitive, but find me one woman who disagrees).
This place ain't shit without BOOM!
This place was always extra strange for the Gulch. Alcoholic older gay men downstairs and really bad live rock music upstairs. But when the Rendevous closed and all the emaciated street hustler boys needed a new venue, somebody must have nominated Kimos. Yeesh.
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Category: Music Venues
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Category: Dive Bars
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Category: Gay Bars
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