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Categories: Pubs, Sports Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Lower HaightMon-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sat-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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Charming little place it is. Great pours, great people and TV's a plenty.
My only beef is their obvious beef with either baseball or just the Yankees. World Series, game 6 in the top of the 9th, a two-run game and they have the sound and big screen on MNF. We almost witnessed the greatest come-back ever and instead of hearing Joe Buck's amazing announcing we get Jaws and Chucky. Now I'm no pro but I'd say the World Series takes precedent over week 7 of the NFL.
Either way, I do enjoy this bar and recommend it - especially for futbol.
What happened to the Mad Dog?!
I'd been stopping in here for years for the occasional pint or to watch a bit of English football. Not fancy, but a good, reliable stop in the Lower Haight where you could be guaranteed a few decent pints in a good, convivial atmosphere.
Imagine my surprise then, when the last time I stopped in, the place had utterly changed...! (Admittedly, it's been a couple of years since my last visit.) Now, instead of the comfortably grotty surroundings & the Guinness posters and Aston Villa memorabilia, there are booths and lurid track-lighting reminiscent of a diner (or a strip club). The vibe in the place was dead, and when I went to the bar, I was met with a sullen American bartender (no more jaunty English barmen, it seems) who was mightily inconvenienced to have to serve me a drink (even though the place was half-empty.) Not sure what has happened during my absence, but it most certainly has not been for the better.
An old local hang out for me that I STILL stop by when I'm in San Francisco.
I'm not a regular anymore, so I'll just say, in terms of British style pub. They have fun. They drink lots of beer. They have trivia (a big UK thing - I learned this when I lived abroad...there was always a trivia match in the UK/Commonwealth dominated bars and pubs). Watching soccer matches there is a blast! That was always a the best part for me.
Plus, the location is great. It's pretty easy to get to from downtown. I could walk there in about 10 to 15 minutes from my apartment. That stretch of block has some good restaurants too. It's simply a fun bar in a great location.
Love trivia night! Probably one of the most "open" bars in the city. It somehow avoided the bar + long hallway + too many people = no abaility to move equation, which I enjoy. Pool tables, tv, beer. Its a typical irish-feel sports bar. Yep, thats about it.
Yes the bartender with the funny accent, he is from Northern Ireland.
Okay so I went to Mad Dog to watch the USC vs. Cal game (go trojans) after the Lovevolution explosion downtown. It was nice to walk into a bar and not be overrun by drunk half-naked people (or maybe I had just gotten too much of that on this particular day). There was an empty high top just for my friends and I and we enjoyed several rounds of beer. Great choices available here. The heffe on tap was super. We also ate many bags of Kettle brand potato chips. It would be nice if there was something else to eat, BUT I saw pizza boxes and later some other friends brought in Mexican food so evidently it is BYOF, which rocks.
The outside patio is really sweet and cozy, although not very warm, but that is the fault of the wind.
Tuesday and Thursday night trivia!! It gets packed so grab some food nearby (Memphis Minnie's or Rosamunde's) and plant your ass in one of their comfy booths. Pool tables double as tables on trivia nights. Apparently Tuesday night trivia is easier than Thursday. In my opinion they're just pretty much easier than any trivia hosted by Brainstormer.
Great staff. Love their accents. Lots of beer and recently some Guinness girls have been handing out free samples of Guinness. Remember, cash only!
Sometimes I go here to catch footy since it has what I think is a Euro pub feel, even before the recent remodel to make it more so. The bartenders are nice enough - service with a smile - but may change if you don't order more than one beer while here. However, I would not go out of the way to come here only for this place, since it's difficult to find parking in the area. If have other reasons or passing through, then yes.
The crowd is definitely diverse, though a bit geared toward the European-ish and "hipster" crowd. As a result, sometimes there's a general snobbiness towards MLS and US soccer unless it's a big time event. Still, there are usually a smattering of American fans in full support. Plus, the place makes it up with fun trivia nights.
I'm a big fan of Mad Dog in the Fog. It's a great pub to watch soccer at, it has a good selection of beer and they let you bring in your own food (though they do have some small things). What could be better?!
I like to come here for trivia on Thursdays. The place is packed on these nights, though, so unless you're an early bird, forget about any worms...or seats.
Unlike other places, you can at least be competitive in said trivia, and the music round is particularly good----not steeped in really old, obscure songs (pre-70's) that favor older teams (cough, edinburgh castle).
If you need cash, forget about the fee-mongering ATM machine, and instead hit up Walgreens across the street.
Wasn't it such a nice day today? That is, before the dense fog rolled in and smoothered everything in it's deep, billowy seduction. And luckily, right before the fog rolled in, the BF and his family and I managed to walk over to this "secret" spot highlighted in an incredibly out-dated tour book of SF.
It has a lot of plasma TVs. It has a beer garden.
We sat outside under a huge umbrella and looked at all the vintage beer adverts on the walls. The bartender was nice and talkative, the bathroom was clean, a couple regulars were sat at the bar knocking back a few.
And I've got to say, this place pours a mean diet coke. Whew! Almost didn't make it home after that tall frosty glass. Beer and wine only, and recently I think wine makes me angry. Like my bug bites.
Friendly staff.
Trivia!
I miss it since moving to the burbs... but I'll be back!
Great neighborhood bar; the staff is very nice, the beers are great, the booths are comfy and trivia night is always fun.
It is just barely okay. I like it that you can usually find a booth to sit in, or at least a bar stool. Quite often they play good music like the Cure or the Smiths (at least until the DJs show up). It's not too loud to talk.
The downsides are it's not particularly cheap, I think it's $4.50 for a beer. There is little atmosphere to speak of. It wasn't that nice before the remodel, and it's even more soulless now. There have definitely been several rude bartender incidents, though I haven't spotted the worst offender in a while, she seems to no longer work there.
Has rear garden where you can smoke. Pretty standard Brit pub. Haven't seen the Queen here.
Not a destination for me, but if I'm in the area I may stop in.
One star for pub trivia.
One star for pear cider.
One star for outdoor patio.
Minus one star for cash only.
Minus one star for beer and wine only.
I go here to get out of the house.
Not because I am a shut in.
But because I need to escape those god damned housewives of NYC.
I am addicted.
Oh Kelly, get on with it, you are past your prime.
And don't even get me started on Ramona.
Good beers, cash only.
Reality.
I'm giving this 3 stars (with a slight shed of salty tear) only because of it's recent remodeling job.
Love trivia night, love the beer selection, love the soccer games...but they've tried to go and make a dark, moody, slightly cramped but loveable English-style pub all swanky and la-di-da!
The last time I went there for trivia, the place had undergone a MAJOR overall complete with circular booths, mirrors and wood paneled walls and bye-bye to most of the super cool World Cup posters on the wall.
3.5 because I have mad love for MDITF but I liked the decor before.
The decor and service is nice, but I've never really had a fun time here. I've usually visited in late afternoons and early evenings, but I've never seen a group of people here that looked like they were having an especially good time. I do recommend the beer garden in the back, especially if you're a dog owner.
I was in town for the second game of the Dodgers/Giants series @ AT&T Park. Came with an old friend who has a cousin that stays off Market and 9th. Went to this spot after the game and the atmosphere was great. Plenty of TVs, not overly crowded, 2 bar sized pocket billiards tables, and live music. Grabbed a few pitchers of the 250 stout and watched the highlights from the game. Great place. Definitely planning to come back.
I dunno, I want to give this place 4 stars, but it just doesn't do it for me. Unlike some people, I don't believe that a bar sucks if it doesn't serve hard liquor.
However, it has to make up for it with something else. Toronado does so by serving one of the best beer selections in the city. Noc Noc does so by also serving wine and sake, as well as having a one-of-a-kind interior.
I still go here frequently for trivia, which is fun; but a great bar should be good every night, and even better on certain nights, which isn't really the case here; I can't really see myself going here on a non-trivia night. If I were a soccer fan, that might change, but I'm not. Danny Coyle's is a much better place to watch a game.
Ahh, Superbowl Sunday. Rugged men in tight white pants chasing around a tiny ball, and most importantly, the greatest excuse of the year to go crazy and down nachos, chicken wings, mini corn dogs and beer like there's no tomorrow.
Somehow I always end up at Mad Dog for the Superbowl, probably because it's the only sports bar I really know of that I can go to without feeling like I'm at a frat party. Plus, there are always a few token Irish at the bar, already wasted at 3 p.m. slurring drinking songs and adding to the overall credibility of the place.
I love how you can bring in your food to Mad Dog... pick up a sausage over at Rosamunde or some beef brisket and beans from Memphis Minnie's and sit yourself down for an afternoon of draft brews and sports shenanigans. There must be 10 flat screen TVs in the place, and their booths are super comfy for squeezing into with friends.
You can even shoot some stick should you feel such an inkling, though I warn you, their pool tables are seriously slanted. Either that or I really, really suck. Let's go with my first theory, shall we?
What the FUCK happened to this place?
It now looks like Danny Coyle's, Nickie's, or any other faux-chic Eurotrash bar in the neighborhood.
The greatest thing that this place had going for it was the fact that it was the preeminent soccer bars in SF, if not along the entire West Coast. Kudos for knocking down that wall in front, but those diner-style booths take up too much space and are only going to make this a horrible place to watch a game. The people sitting won't be able to see above the people standing, and the booths don't have any sightlines to the tv's that are mounted directly over them.
Attention rival SF British/Irish bars and restauranteurs: The 2010 World Cup is just over a year away, and there's a new opening to be THE place to watch it in SF. Mad Dog has clearly thrown in the towel.
The beer selection is not Toronado's, but the wait staff are friendly and it tends not to be crowded.
I mean, I had my birthday party there, so that's gotta tell ya something...
This place gets a good crowd for its Tuesday night trivia contest -- run by the same guy who does the Pig & Whistle's. The patio out back is nice and the layout inside is pleasant enough.
Great hangout on soccer nights! I love the trivia!
I checked out Mad Dog for the first time the other night, and loved it!
Any bar that plays reggae all night is awesome.
They have a couple pool tables which is great.
Lots of seating with large booths.
The only thing i would change would be to add liquor to the bar menu! Beer and wine only folks.
Go in. Sit on a couch or sit at the bar. Have yourself a pint and enjoy. How can you not with a name like Mad Dog in the Fog?
SF is full of so many cool places it is truly hard to know where you should go. My best bet is to always wander, and that is how I wandered into this bar a long time ago. I'm glad to see it's still there. Apparently from the reviews I've read they have spruced it up, but I won't know for a couple months until I make it back into the neighborhood. I think I'm long overdue for a trip home to the bay area.
So this review will be on Mad Dog Pre Beautification.
I love you Mad Dog, you could probably replace my BF one day, yes my love runs that deep.
We normally rendezvous on Thursday night for what others call trivia and I just like to think of it as our alone time. U bring me a large pitch of Fat Tire b/c U know that loosens me up a bit. Then a strange man walks in and begins interrogating me in a foreign accent. He asks me questions like, what country is north of the red sea and which Spice Girl was featured on Mazim. Now, he knows I don't know but he dangles prizes in front of me like free a free pitcher of beer or a used currency bill. I can't resist so of course I indulge him by writing down an answer that is more than likely wrong.
I never win Mad Dog, ever. Its like you hate me and you no longer want us to be together. Do you know what I have to go through for us to be together? I stalk out tables and give ppl my Mad Black Woman look in order to get them to leave so I can be closer to you. I bring in Rosemunds Because I don't want to have to leave you when I get hungry.
Thats dedication....
You can thank me by simply letting me win....
P.S. never change baby u r perfect just the way u are.
Oh trivia...trivia...trivia...trivia!
I have never won.
I have never come close to winning.
I probably will never win.
and you know what?
I don't care.
why you ask?
Because I love you Mad Dog...I LOVE YOU.
(even though you now charge me $2 more for a pitcher)
"I moved to SF in 1990 and found the Lower Haight a great place to hang out and read the classified looking for apartments and bands. At the time, a full flat was $550/mo on Haight between Fillmore and Steiner. These days its about 6x that price as we all know.
Well, at the time the mad dog was my fav place to grab a pint for $2 and read the rags. I went back last night (Saturday) and ordered a half pint (although I really think it was a 12 oz) and the price? $2. I think pints were $3. Just didn't want that much. Nice to see somethings dont change.
2 pool tables, great bartender (Jules), and nice Pub atmosphere. Lots of booths and bar seating. Nice smokers lounge in the back if you partake, and nice beer, etc selection. Cash Only I believe.
Still a super cool spot to chill 18 years later."
At the risk of making my identity known (there are several people who say they know I'm on Yelp but can't find me, for good reason), I was here last night for the Pub Quiz.
Anyone that has been around me knows that, while I can impress with useless knowledge of random facts (i.e., ants have alcohol in them so they don't freeze), a *plethora* of facts dating from the 70's to the present, from current events to music, you can't really count on me for. Luckily for me, my team- The Bush Doctrine is Not a Grooming Decision- comprised of stunningly intellectual individuals.
While drinking beer with my teammates, I was informed about Mad Dog's reputation for having .75 cent sex toys in the ladies bathroom. Despite them being unreliable and more than likely to finish before I do, I reminded them that it sounds like most of the boyfriends I've had, so it's not like I would be any MORE disappointed than I have been in the past.
However, when the quiz was fully underway I found myself engrossed in trying to figure out the answers, screaming and shouting, smiling and cursing, and everything in between.
Then came my moment.
When I ride the elevator up to my floor, I read the television screen's "Top Headlines" or snippets from them. It's a nice way to be informed of our failing economy and a reason of why we should all panic. Yesterday I happened to glance at the screen that said, "Two Americans Released Today from Syria". Hm, whatever.
This time, not whatever. Suddenly, they called out the trivia question: "What country released two journalists today?" My group stared at each other and shrugged their shoulders. SYRIA. SYRIA. WRITE SYRIA. I was going insane, and unable to contain my excitment.
When the answers were finally read, I think we were the only ones in the bar to get that answer right. High fives, fist bumps, and more drinking led to the end of an amazing night with friends. Also, I was drunk, so of course it was amazing.
Out of the +10 teams that played, we came in 3rd place. I'd like to thank Syria for that.
4 stars because, despite pub quiz night and their beer leaving nothing else to be desired, the patio was pitch black, and one of my friends almost went head-first into the urinal from lack of your even flooring. Then again, the patio at night would make for a great first-date spot if you were set up on a blind date.
I will be back, and this time, Syria had better release two more people, because that's my answer and I'm sticking to it.
I really like this bar. They've got stiff drinks, good beer selection, friendly staff, trivia, and a patio! What more can you want. Plus they are conveniently located in the lower haight making it a great place to meet up for a drink, or a place to pass the night.
I don't really do sports, but my soccer-loving pals tell me this is the place to be.
Might as well change the name. They faux bricked over the Mad Dog.
Maybe now it should be called "the Sports Bar that looks just like that Irish Sports Bar on the Hudson in NYC".
Update
Had to take away 2 stars for the total ignorance of the people who run the place, and have no…
Read more »
I used to come here all the time. I took a break and recently returned. The entire place has changed. The bar knocked down a wall and really opened up the place. They added comfy and roomy booths too. It wasn't too crowded on a Friday night but busy enough to not feel weird. They had decent beers on tap at 4.50. The bartender was nice and attentive and the crowd ranged from yuppies to hipsters, but all friendly. I will definitely be back. It's a great friday or saturday night stop.
A note, my friend said it's an awesome place to watch soccer. He's been there at 7am and the place was packed.
Since the remodel, I have become a bit of a lingerer in Mad Dog. It's clean and welcoming with plenty of seating as well as an outdoor patio.
Serving only beer and wine creates a nice pub feel that's amenable to conversation. They have a several English beers on tap (love my Boddington's) and it's not as frenetic as the Toronado. You don't get the Toronado's selection but I'm not that hardcore of a beer connoisseur.
If I were a soccer fan, this would probably be my place of choice to watch the game but since I'm not, it will have to be my favorite place to eat my Rosamunde sausage, enjoy a brew and visit with the people I heart. After all, friends don't let friends go to bad pubs.
Great lower Haight bar, only serving beer and a damn fine trivia night! Now that the wall between the bar and the pool tables has been removed, there's more room. The patio outside is ace on a sunny day, and sports are always on the large screen tv's.
Good clean fun, cool bartenders and no attitudes!
Great bar- probably one of the better Lower Haight Bars and one of the top sports bars in the city
Pros:
- Trivia (FYI, Tuesday is the easier night; Thursday is tougher- starts at 915)
- Good beer selection
- Friendly barstaff
- Really comfortable vibe
- Best place in the city for watching European soccer. This place gets packed around World Cup / European Cup / Champions League time.
Cons:
- No hard alcohol
- Tables are hard to come by
- Would be nice if they had more bar food (although Rosamunde Sausage is right across the street!)
Decent. Been here a couple of times with a Brit friend of mine to watch his club (Sunderland) play on the TV.
Unfortunately I've now been to enough pubs and bars that, unless something compellingly dysfunctional happens or the bartender blows me (which I guess could qualify as the former), I can't get excited about neighborhood watering holes.
If I lived near this bar, I'd be there every Friday night. Friendly employees, big, clean space and a fun crowd. Dogs allowed. Also saw some kids bring their pizza in to eat. A totally laid-back "neighborhood pub" feel. Even though my friend and I closed the place, they never made us feel like they were eager to get us out of there.
My only complaint is a trivial one...the lightbulb in the bathroom burned out so I had to, um, take care of business in pitch black darkness. Good thing I have lots of practice.
$4 Draft Beers!
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