Jay Alexander's show at the Marrakech theater was amazing from the moment we walked in. Even before…read morewe walked in, when we were greeted by the kindest man welcoming us to the experience. Then we were greeted again once we were inside, this time by Jay Alexander himself! He welcomed us, and found us a seat himself for us to get comfortable and order some drinks before the show started. He did this with everyone who came in, took the time to learn our names, and even performed magic while we were waiting for the stage show. That was amazing enough already, then the stage show started. Not only was the magic and mentalism great, his demeanor and excitement for what he was doing was palpable. My wife and I could tell he loves doing this, and that makes it even more fun than it would have been otherwise. My wife and I were also brought 'on-stage' and that was also a lot of fun. I have been to other shows where the magician does not make the spectator feel comfortable, and this couldn't be further from that. He made us feel like the most important thing was that we had a good time, and we certainly did. I cant wait to see Jay again. Next time we are definitely taking the kids too, then I'll have to bring all the other members of my family as well. I cannot recommend Jay's show enough. Please do yourself the favor of going!

Best magic show we've ever seen. Jay Alexander is a master, and very entertaining. We saw the…read moreshow on 5/15/26. The pre-show appetizers were delicious, as was the wine. A very intimate theater setting where Jay interacts with the audience, and the audience interacts with each other. Jay's magic is mind-blowing! Truly an amazing and enjoyable show. Bob& Michelle Page

NightLife at the Academy is always a fun nighttime event to hang out with friends or bring a date!…read moreRewild the City was a special nightlife event that included an open bar and food stations. Same nightlife access with a more fancy atmosphere tonight. 4/5 - Bao Bun - An Asian inspired dish comprised of tangy sauce pickled vegetables, steamed bun, and a chicken tender topped with a sweet, spicy sauce. Super filling and my favorite dish to eat with the drinks. It was a little difficult to eat as a cohesive dish and slightly dry but make no mistake - I was still eating 2 or 3 servings of this! 4/5 - Spring Rolls - The spring rolls were actually vegetable egg rolls that were still cooked well and complemented perfectly with sweet and sour sauce. Easiest snack to walk around and eat! 4/5 - Noodles - They had a chow mein-like noodle dish that was well seasoned and had a kick of spice with their chilis. Pretty decent dish that would've definitely given you your fix of noodles if that's what you would like! 5/5 - Lemon Bars and Strawberries - The outside park had a mini dessert stand and coffee station. The lemon bars were definitely the best dish (though more hidden as it was only one station). The strawberries also tasted fresh and sweet!

Really awesome place. I've been going here for YEARS. I remember the day they first opened the new…read morelocation. I still have my ticket, lol. I haven't been in a long time, so decided to try out nightlife (adults-only night on Thursdays) so I could avoid all the annoying, misbehaved kids during the day. Not all kids (and parents) are misbehaving during normal hours, but a lot of them are and it tends to ruin the experience for others, which is why I tried out nightlife. I'm not a drinker, so I can't speak about any of the drinks, but the overall experience was pretty cool, with some caveats. The rainforest is only open until 7:30pm, so you have only an hour and a half to go there and see that. I suggest going there first. The rainforest is by far, in my opinion, the BEST part of the academy. So many pretty butterflies and birds to see. I love it. The macaws, however, were not there (they had to go to bed early). If you want to see the aquarium areas, it's probably best to do that during normal hours because a lot of the nighttime lighting was on, which makes the tanks dark and hard to see. I was a bit bummed about that. The living roof was cool, but had so much more potential. There are so many beautiful California native plants they could put there, but instead it was very drab and not super interesting. It was a nice quiet area to go to get away from people, though. The planetarium show was about the coral reefs, which was interesting, but short. I'm not sure if I would go to another show. I haven't been super impressed with their shows in the past, so it's probably a skip for most people. Plus, it was very cramped in there and no food or drink is allowed. We went on Filipino night (Mabuhay), which was the theme of the evening, so there was a lot of Filipino-themed food and vendors there. Honestly, though, I was not impressed with the food truck food. Super overpriced and not very authentic to Filipino cuisine, which was disappointing. $10+ for mid boba drinks... Yikes. $20 for some nachos or tacos (and the portions were very small). Yeah, I would skip the food and drinks and eat before coming here. So much of it was a rip-off. The music was SUPER loud, which I didn't like, but night life is more of a party atmosphere, so it's to be expected. At least there are places to go and chill out away from the noise. Overall it was a fun experience and I might go back. But I think to fully appreciate the exhibits, you should probably go during a normal day when everything is open and well-lit. I would probably just go on a weekday in September when school is starting and field trips aren't scheduled yet to avoid the crowds of people and kids. But I'm still glad we experienced it and we had a good time.

I really thought I had reviewed this place right after we made a visit. Anyhow we were in Burger…read moreKing on Powell and some guy with a post that said 10$ comedy club came through was passing out flyers. My bf thought it would be fun and took one. It said to bring your own alcohol. We start walking there and as I'm asking him if we're close a man standing alone the sidewalk asked us if wed like to go to a comedy show. We of course told him we were actually looking for it. We went to the ATM. CASH ONLY. We were the first to arrive and there was no one inside. It's a very small room with only about 20 seats. The chairs were from the 80s and there were 3 small tables with styrofoam cups on top. Me and my bf gave each other a strange look and burst ed out laughing. We were afraid wed be the only ones in the audience. Thank god 5 min later another couple walks in and we joke around about how we were thinking it was some legit place with tons of seating. Then the last couple comes in 3 min after that. We were all thinking it was nice we brought alcohol. One couple was like were totally going to be made fun of by one of them. There were other people coming in and sat on the side closest to the door. I thought it was strange but didn't realize till later that they were the comics! There were 7 comics (including the guy at the door) and 6 people in audience. It probably lasted a bit over and 1 1/2. It started later than 8 because the guy was trying to get as many people in as he could. I wish it would have lasted longer. Sure there were some dry parts but I did LOL at a lot of them. I recommend bringing alchy and I also recommend going to the later show in case it goes over the time. Real good job guys!!!!

Local comedians, there are about 6 people who preformed, all hilarious. The play is small and…read moreseating is limited, get in line early, better pick. The location had a lot of homeless and drug infested, we drove and parked. If we were to go next time, we will be getting dropped off.

Treasure Island Music Festival is one of my favorite music festivals. I've been most years. I think…read moreI've only missed 3 or maybe 4 years. I really like the stage layout. There's only two stages in an L shape, and the schedule alternates between each stage, so there's only one band playing at a time. This is fantastic because this is one music festival where you can actually see every band on the lineup! The festival is two days long, with Saturday usually featuring hip hop and/or electronic acts, and Sunday featuring rock and indie acts. When this festival was on Treasure Island, getting into and off the island was sort of difficult. One aspect of this festival is there's always free shuttles that take you to the festival. The same is still true now that's it's moved to West Oakland; however it's a bit easier now since the shuttles pick up and drop off at BART. For those in the East Bay, you save yourself the bridge toll if you're driving now. Getting there is always easy since people arrive at different times, so there's never a wait to get on the shuttle bus; however, getting home is annoying because you will have to wait to load the busses. In 2018, the first year in Oakland, I think they handled it pretty well. There were a ton of buses, so we didn't have to wait long at all. Instead of one line, there were several lines for the buses, so this sped things up too. I like that festival feels smaller and more intimate. Previously, you could stand in between the stages and see and listen to all the bands. However, at the new location in Oakland, the stages are much further away unfortunately, so you will have to trek between the stages and move between them to see and hear all the acts. One of the nicest features of the festival is the gorgeous views on SF. Don't miss sunset for amazing views. I also love the surprise touches too like the light up jellyfish the come through the crowd and the massive light up balloon arches. TIP: Also, be sure to bring layers. Your cute festival look will feel foolish once the sun goes down when it turns downright chilly.

This year marks Treasure Island Music Festival's 10th and LAST year. I was so amazed at the free…read moreshuttles to Treasure Island, but was very disappointed at the very last minute warnings for cancellation of events. I know that this event is usually more organized and rain is hard to plan around, but it's just sad a few acts were cancelled. Ran by Another Planet Entertainment Music, treasure island has a great amount of acts and a good amount of food trucks. With the bay bridge in the background and a colorful Ferris wheel, the festival offered beautiful skyline photos! It's very sad that this music festival had to end on a rainy note, but at least they won't lose business next year because there will be none next year! Will miss you TIMF!

This is one of my favorite club nights in SF. It's britpop, so really, how could it not be? When…read moreall the djs are on their games, it's impossible not to drink and dance all night. Suede, Smiths, Blur, Stone Roses...a britpop fan's dream. And even when they're throwing some questionable tunes in there (last time i checked pixies are from NEW england, and that no one really likes the fratellis), you'll still have tons of fun. Unfortunately, I never got to experience Leisure back in its hey-day at Annie's. From what I hear, those were some fun times. When it was at Paradise, I feel like half the place was filled with people who didn't know what was going on because they were too-drugged out of their minds. Cat club is an improvement, but still not really ideal in my opinion. The $8 cover charge is lame and the drinks are a bit pricey. I'd love to see Leisure move over to a place with real personality, but I suppose it's too big for a lot of the smaller clubs around town. Though it's not really my bag, you can also do britpop-themed karaoke in the front room.

If you're a fan of Brit Pop, Madchester, Mod than there's nowhere else you want to be than at…read moreLeisure the first Saturday of every month. You can expect all the tunes you have9had) in your own collection. It's just great to hear them on a big sound system. Morrissey, Pulp, James, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, yes and even Oasis(YAWN. So over them). But they're the band you love to hate, no? Solid monthly that's been going on for years, with a solid scene too. Makes for some great people watching. Lots of stylish eye-candy, 'crumpets' as it were : )

I booked this fireworks cruise after I saw availability two weeks ago. I swear I read Yacht. For…read more$150 per person it included drinks & some lite food and a view of the fireworks at the Golden Gate Bridge. I arrived at 6:55pm to find a line. It was confusing as there was also a line for the Yellow water taxi. Instructions were that loading was to begin at 7:30pm. I met these two cool ladies from Concord who let me stand in line with them. Standing in line was dangerous enough as there was uneven cobblestone with huge cracks just waiting to take an ankle out and mess up all your plans. If you wear heels beware. When I looked at the boat, I thought that's no yacht, that's a tugboat. We are now loading and this boat is two leveled. Some paid $25 extra for a reserved table. The ladies had a table outside. Great! Right? Not for them as we embarked on the sea. It got cold, windy but I loved it. I was bundled up with my Comfrt sweats which are super thick & my heavy Smoozy Koo blue coat I got in Chicago. I was set. These ladies ended up chilling inside as this was a booze cruise, a night club on the sea. The food was not free. I paid $25 for basically high school football concession food. Chicken Flautas (3) & Nachos. Not the hors-D Uvres (spelling) I expected. The restroom issue was the worst I heard. Like the line didn't move & one lady could not wait. Makes me think I should buy one of those travel pee funnels because you never know. Thankfully I didn't have to use the restroom. But get this, the lady who had the accident was given clean, dry pants to wear. What?! They have extra women's clothes to hand out? Now on to the firework show. The show started at 9:30pm and we were still racing trying to get out by the Golden Gate, or so I thought. We were way in the hell in San Pablo Bay and Carl the Fog was there to ruin the fireworks show. I thought we were going to be close like near Presidio. We got GOT! We were able to see other cities fireworks show in the distance and on the way back to Oakland. Honestly they should have done the fireworks from the Bay Bridge instead. Everyone around me was feeling like we got ripped off. Every time I saw a fancy yacht go by, we said, "There goes our Yacht." Just cruising by us with speed & elegance. Lol Funny enough, it was my and the group of ladies around me, first time doing this type of cruise firework adventure. We all had high expectations and realized why it costs $300 in San Francisco for a cruise line this on a nicer, bigger boat. I didn't have any mocktails because they didn't have a menu for one. I had a Paloma. The female bartender upstairs made that perfectly tangy. I left meeting four new ladies from the Bay all hoping to stay in touch. Thanks ladies for a fun night. See you some more on Yelp 2026

If you're looking for a boat with an open bar, and simply that- this is the boat for you. Don't let…read moretheir AI generated visuals fool you. It's a plywood janky ass boat; and when you buy "plush VIP seating" it's a cocktail table and high back wooden chairs shoved to the edges of the "dance floor". I felt bad for all the folks with tickets who assumed they'd have a seat- they didn't. The bathroom is deplorable and literally swimming in piss. The "catering" is someone with an air fryer and homemade food. There was a man who was detained for trying to fight someone - kinda expected with open bar; but the worst part was a woman was unresponsive and unconscious coming back to the dock and literally NOT ONE employee helped her. It was all people on the boat trying to help her. Then they let everyone off the boat instead of waiting for the paramedics to get in first. Again if all you want is a bay breeze and a drink; then cool! But this is absolutely oversold as some sort of yacht-like experience and is far far from it.

Great shows - funny people!!…read more I've been a few times and it's always worth going. The setting is really intimate so the shows feel crafted for the crowd as opposed to the bigger clubs. Also, you can bring your drinks/food in and there's no 2 drink min. A couple of times I arrived late and there was no room. Last weekend we made it on time and got seats - good times!!!

Good comedy show to have a fun and spend some quality time with your date. The venue has a full bar…read morewith decent bar food. Get the fish and chips because you'll get a ton of potato wedges. Would definitely recommend for a quick get away. Go check it out and to support your local comedians. Joe is hilarious AND he does shots with awesome couples that walk through the door. Tell him this review sent you.

WOW WOW WOW. Masterful performance by Kevin Blake...! The Illusionist is seriously the best show…read moreI've seen in the bay area, likely in my entire life. You need to take your friends and family and coworkers and neighbors and mailman and everyone you know~~~! After seeing this show recommended across several threads on Reddit (of all places...!), I booked tickets for my family and partner 2 months in advance-- was very pleased to see ADA-accessible seats available. Located under China Live, the Palace Theater is a gorgeous, Prohibition-themed club and bar; meticulously upkept and tastefully furnished. Fantastic, welcoming, accommodating staff. We arrived 30 mins beforehand to locate seating with spare time to appreciate the venue. Intimate but not claustrophobic... You can see everything up close. The show. Is. AMAZING. Simply blown away by the tricks and performance. Expect a great variety of illusions, mentalism, and tricks that actually had us questioning physics and reality. All parts of the audience are engaged, regardless of seating. Despite being on the fringe from the central tables, even our party was involved in one of the tricks...! I couldn't help but think about how incredibly high quality and well-rounded the overall production was. Kevin himself is as charming as he is quick, and seemed to maintain an air of sly composure amid the hilarity and drama... For the rest of the evening, we literally couldn't stop talking about the show (STREET MAGIC :D)... Even on the drive back home, we were still buzzing from realizing that magic is indeed REAL... ... We were waiting for the elevator when we encountered Kevin on his way out-- he was so generous to stop for a few photos and chat for a moment. We were totally starstruck and grateful for the time. You've made lifelong fans in us! Eagerly awaiting season 4 and onwards ^_^

I highly recomment the magic show: - One of the tricks was…read morekind of lame, but the rest were really impressive. - A lot of the tricks are clever and unique; you have not seen this stuff before. - There is a good combination of skill-based magic (card manipulation), stunt-based magic (levitating things), and psychic-based magic (mind reading). - Besides the magic act itself, Kevin Blake has an amazing level of showmanship. He is able to involve the audience in a very intimate way. Come for the magic, stay for the showmanship. The cocktails are hit or miss: 4.5/5: Conjurer's Orders: A good manhattan with a green chartreuse edge. 4/5: Afternoon Alchemy: Great Tequila/Aperol combo. 2/5: Caribbean Queen milk punch: It's a clarified milk punch with all the flavor removed. 2/5: The Telegraph tipple: A sparkly elderflower highball that is too dry and boring.