There's this town in Washington that's feels like a walk-through elevator, swimmingly clean streets and sterile folk - the bricks were built of Borders and Fitch. Digression aside (and do excuse my snide), the town has these speakers attached to each street corner, spewing out the most inanimate elevator music an ear could hear. Skipping cities and borrowed parts, I couldn't help but think we'd all be happier with an Okkervil River in our Haight. The comatose silly with his head in a knapsack would drift off - needle to vein, dollar in nose - humming idly to the melody of 'For Real'... "And I don't want to hear you say it shouldn't really be this way, because I like this way just fine..." I walk and wonder, from Fillmore I stray. A decorated brother whips past, stroking his street kid stereotype. He walks with a heavy leg and shoulders weighted with the memory of a broken home. His wording breaks open the footpath ahead, sneering whites both virile and forlorn, "But if I could tear his throat, and spill his blood between my jaws, and erase his name for good, don't you know that I would? Don't you realize I wouldn't pause, that I would cut him down with my claws if I could have somehow never let that happen? Or I'd call, some black midnight, fuck up his new life where they don't know what he did, tell his brand-new wife and his second kid." And so we arrive, my lover's and I - happy for our town, it's streets and a quirky stool with showered friends. read more

I just had to share this little tidbit : Came here last night for a couple beers. As usual it was a pretty chill night - music playing in the background, a decent number of people there, but definitely not crowded or rowdy. We were sitting at the high half-table on the side when my date says "Umm so there's a lady dancing on the bar...". I turn around, and sure enough, there's a shirtless woman (bra still on, don't get TOO excited), doing a "sexy" dance for the guy(s) sitting at the bar. It only lasted about 3-5 minutes, but it was definitely a sight to be seen. I sure have been known to do some pole/bar dancing myself, but I uuuuussually save that for clubs. I have to applaud the bartender for allowing her to stay up there. It made Noc Nocs even more endearing to me. FYI we drank: $4 Hefeweizen and $5 Rodenbach Pilsner. read more

Amazing San Francisco original. Incredibly chill, psychedelic atmosphere. Mood lighting and artistic elements. Great bar and service.

This place is great. It kind of looks like a cave, but on drugs. It's dark, dingy and they have cushions so you can sit on the floor. They don't serve liquor, but have a solid selection of good beers. No cheap domestics here! The sake here is delicious. There are lots of little cubby holes if you want some privacy. They have nice selection of board games behind the bar if you want to play some chess or Othello while you have a beer. You used to be able to smoke in here, but alas, no more. No cigs and no doobies. Bonus point for being the bar where I pulled my first ever threesome and also for meeting a girl there who was willing to have sex with me in the bathroom, happily using her face as a doorstop :-) read more

Noc Noc is TOTALLY like fraggle rock... but with beer. Anyway, the bartenders are super nice! I ordered a Lagunitas Gnarly Wine and didn't like it, I should have sampled it first... Anyway, the bartenders were generous enough to pour me a different beer that I was more familiar with, no problem. Thanks Noc Noc! read more

The decor was already outdated and not cool anymore in 1995 and it smells. The patrons are either 17 (not kidding, I've been in there maybe five times in the last 14 years and every time it's full of high school students) or still upset because they didn't get into that gallery show back in '97. Yet for no explicable reason, they think they are the cat's meow. read more

I luv u Noc Noc I luv u Noc Noc I luv u Noc Noc I luv u Noc Noc I luv u Noc Noc There, one for each star. Ramaht, you are the man! Thanks for being so good to all of us over the years. D.J. Stereo Steve is also the man. D.J.s really make this place stand out. I had Tuesday nights myself here for years. Todd is there in my place and gives his sets the passion they deserve. He is also a great guy. Say "hi" and tell him Josh sent you. Another cool thing about this place is that it is the ONLY bar ever where you can discuss religion, politics, death, taxes, or whatever and nobody ever gets offended or heated. What a bunch of mature adults! Please name another bar where that happens. I dare you. read more

This place is for sure from another world... i love the beer selection The bartender Samson is a real nice guy and he can recommend some great brews. oh and they dont have booze but they do have saki! read more

I once heard a friend describe the Noc Noc as "the bar that looks like the inside of alien intestines." It's a great divey, Lower Haight haunt if for nothing else but the decor alone. It's dark and trippy and helps create a specific mood. You can sit on pillows on the floor or in the dark recesses of the bar. Some nights you can even still smoke inside. The bathrooms can get nasty sometimes (but that's why you love it) and they don't serve hard liquor: only beer, sake, and wine. read more

Hamat & Sam are some of the most friendly people I've ever met. I have traveled to Egypt & Tunisia & I KNOW ;) My 1st st trip to north Africa was in High School in 78.....quite unusual & it ended up being a fantastic trip for us. We learned so much in a very short time & as always we had fun in between. Im not going to indulge........ Hey, as we say in Denmark; det er fanme fedt..... Noc Noc is absolutely the only place in SF where you can do anything within moral norm's....capice..it's a cave for f... sake & I love it... read more

I was walking around on a Saturday night and stumbled upon Noc Noc. It was pretty busy but not packed. It has very interesting décor. They had a good selection of beers. I would definitely visit this place again. read more

Staff are really nice.... lots of beers, and wine available. I was a little scarred to come because these couple of streets looks sketchy and I feel like my car is going to get broken into, but it turns out it's relatively safe. There are other bars/club/restaurant which keeps the street lively. They close and shut the doors at exactly 2am, so last call is at 1:40ish. They come around at 1:50 to make sure you finish your drink, then lights and music stop at 1:55, for you to hit the door at 2. They have this process down... I guess they just want to go home. It's ok, it's probably time for me to go home too. read more

Great bar with just great beer on tap and in the bottle. I'm so glad I have Noc Noc so close to me to be able to call it one of the local haunts for me...it is also nice to take my out of town guests too. If it original by SF standards imagine what my friends from AZ or the midwest think...so far they've all loved it. Seriously, a great place to chill and get away from the Toronado scene (which I also love but totally different mood) and embrace your inner mole-man self. This would be the type of bar the Morlocks would frequent from Wells's classic "The Time Machine." I have to say it is my second best cave bar experience. The first being a real cave, with a bar, in Prague, that was once used as a bomb shelter, and now as a jazz bar...and randomly seeing Branford Marsalis play a set. read more

Wow, what great happy hour prices! $3 for all the beers on tap (and I'm not talking about coors, bud, miller). I had a $3 Guiness and a $3 Brown Lost Coast. Very sweet and attentive bartender. The decor in this place rocks - very creative welding and just all around funky. I'll definitely be back to this place for another beer. read more

Embrace the weirdness. You'll either love this place, or haight this place. Therefore, it's very likely that you might read my five-star rating and think this is a one-star place. And we can both be right, and also just be different people. The drinks are great, a very solid selection of quality beers on tap, lots of sake, and wine. You get used to the lack of hard stuff pretty quickly. The interior is like nothing you've ever seen. There are funny-shaped chairs, some on the floor, weird movies, pictures, and music. But I think it's pretty awesome. read more

I'm biased because I used to just live down the street and go here all the time way way back in 1992...yes, I'm aging myself just a bit. So maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but last time I dropped by, my friend Steve was still working there as the DJ and I was welcomed home with a big hug, so that gets five stars right there. This was always the best bar because you always saw a friend....yeah yeah yeah...I need to get over it! But I can't and I won't..... I will remember paying $275 a month for a room down the street and meeting Goths in the shadows for a snakebite here and pretending that we were never going to grow old and get real jobs....well, it was fun while it lasted.... Does every single bar in the world have to fit a singular, fascist standard!?? NO...NO...NO!! Long live Noc Noc! read more

Growing up on a farm in Iowa, it's what I pictured a bar in the Lower Haight would be like. If I was on LSD. And for that - I thank you. read more

Noc Noc is kind of freaky, in a cool way. If Mars were populated and had a capital city, this would be one of its swinging night spots. I like their beer selection and the staff is nice. What it's missing is the cantina theme from Star Wars. read more

This bar is really strange. I felt like I was in alice in Wonderland. I walked into a room thinking it was the bathroom and it was full of like 10 dudes and it looked like they were snorting or doing something. The guy quickly ran outta the room and pointed me to the toilets as he was paranoid as hell. I would love to say though that the beers were cheap and reasonable. it was also next to Rosamunde and that Pizza joint so this definitely has its advantages. read more

Wow, this place....where do i begin. How the hell did i ever end up in this distant planet?! I felt as if I was inside the belly of a roaring volcano, inside The Star Trek Voyager, all inside an African Voodoo dungeon/lair. I had this crazy beer called Delirium and it got me feelin pretty weird, then i stepped outside and greeting me was a homeless man who wanted to sell me his mixtape. I listened to his mixtape and I don't know if it was the Delirium in me, but his flow was pretty dope! I shoulda bought his mixtape. read more

Once you're eyes adjust to the dim light with blacklight accents- you will be wondering, "did I just stumble into Delia's art studio or into the Netherworld- in which case I want to know where I can find Juno's office. This bar has a delicious variety of beer on tap and a fun menu of beer mixes. Try the P&P or the Snakebite. They play a good mix of songs and the crowd isn't rowdy like Toronado and definitely not like Molotov's. Definitely try it out- you'll want to go all of the time- just don't say "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetleju-" read more

Came here on the art walk and what a great place. Being already buzzed, coming here was like walking in a deranged "Alice in Wonderland" type of place. I LOVED IT. Super chill and fun to come hang with friends. All the bartenders were super nice too even though they were super busy! Props guys! Only bad thing is it was unbearably loud :/ read more

Janelle is the best bartender in the city. She is so warm and kind. I came into Noc Noc at the end of a rough work week and seeing her was so refreshing. While so many bars in the city have become cold cookie cutter places where you just go to get drunk, Janelle reminds me that the soul of San Francisco is not dead. Highly recommend sitting at the bar and chatting with this lovely person. read more

I used to go to this place a lot back in the day, even before I moved up to SF from the Peninsula; went once a year ago, and I still like it. I drink hard liquor sometimes - but I usually go to Noc Noc to drink up their supply of plum wine. read more

Of the bars in San Francisco I have spent the most time in, the Noc Noc beats all of them by at least two fold. Ramat is the nicest person in the universe. The beer selection is great, and you never have to worry about how cool you're dressed, or what the bartender's mood is. Thanks Noc Noc for facilitating my debilitating alcoholism. read more

Honestly, I can't remember when I was here. I think it was sometime around spring break of this past year, just back from the effing frigid temperatures and Obama-mania of D.C. And honestly, I looked the place up on yelp. After BARTing in from the East Bay and determining what Muni we'd have to catch to get back and not get stranded in SF, we dragged our asses into Noc Noc. I loved it. It looked like some sci fi bar with serious Blade Runner or Mad Max vibes. I kept expecting David Bowie to pop out from one of the dark cave corners and thrust his lycra-clad crotch in my direction while singing "dance magic dance." And to me, this is always an excellent vibe to get from a bar. My friend and I sat on the ground, drank what I remember was some pretty decent beer, and watched (from what i remember, once again) fish swim by on a giant screen. I figure I had a great time because both my friend and I blacked out and have no clue how we got back to BART. I may have very well paid a homeless man to piggyback me the whole way, as far as I'm concerned. Regardless of missing hours of my life, the hours I do remember from Noc Noc I enjoyed, even if Bowie never did serenade me or buy me a beer. read more

This bar is what comes to mind when I think "dive bar in lower Haight" :) I walked in and felt like I was in an asteroid or something! My friend frequents this place and has people guess where the DJ is. Nope, not behind one of the shiny one-way mirror looking things near the entrance, and nope not on the ceiling next to all sorts of strange decorations! You'll have to check it out yourself to find him :) I had an interesting concoction with ginger and sake. It was really delicious!! Try out their drink specials, the bartenders are awesome! I think it was really late when we got there because we had no problem finding seats. At some point I think an outside vendor lady with hot dogs walked by because suddenly my friends were all eating hot dogs hahah. A cool spot, I would definitely come back! read more

Could never imagine coming to this place during the day, but damn it's cool at night. It's a cozy space and it feels like you've walked into someones psychedelic batcave trip. Parts of the wall seem to have been lifted from the Agrocrag and the entire concept is sort of like something from Ah! Real Monsters with black lights. Great beer selection, staff was fantastic, drinks are sort of pricey though, hence the 4 stars. Worth a visit if you're looking for a change of pace or want to expose a visitor to a "cool SF bar." read more

I've been to a lot of irish pubs, sports bars, and the like. They're a lot of fun, but perhaps a little homogeneous for my taste. Noc Noc will put the 'hetero' back into your night by serving up an experience like no other. Consuming magical fungi won't be necessary, the ambiance should do the trick all on it's own. No hard alcohol keeps it from the 5 star rating. read more

"Spaceship Lands in Cave on the Lower Haight" Dark ambience, great microbrews on tap and some truly otherworldly decor that recalls the Star Wars cantina. A must-see on anyone's list in the Lower Haight. read more

Considering how close I live to this place,it ms kinda ridiculous that tonight was my first time in! Beetle juice vibe with a decent beer selection, I'll definitely be back read more

This bar is funky, eclectic and just the kind of place you want to stumble upon. A little psychedelic and cave-like. It's dark in here too. It was late, and I think a weekday that we visited, and the place was nearly empty. Since we wandered for awhile for a bar, as tourists I didn't realize we were in the Lower Haight which doesn't attract as many tourists. I don't understand why, this is the kind of place you want to have a drink - and a place you'll remember! We attended a wine tasting prior to this, and we were wasted by the time we left. I almost broke my husband's camera, and we got into a fight in here, and then we got lost and couldn't find the bus. But we still remember this bar, and all the murals on the street, so if I can say "you'll get into a fight but it's still awesome," then that should say something. read more

If having your feet in a puddle of booze, food and broken glass all night is gross then call me Divine. So i meet up with a very drunk friend who texted "co#8m n0w feee drks". Of course free beer is the only reason needed for me to put on pants and run out the door. Black and brown i think it was called.........YES! The drink of the evening. Nicely accompanied by the beetle juice house look. Im talking creepy art class chairs, all the furniture came straight from Lydia's house. The bathroom door didn't lock, so no poopies should be dropped. read more

The ambiance deserves a separate review for itself... Not sure why a submarine launched ballistic missile would need an oxygen mask, but hey, I know I will never forget that image! Perfect bar with no pretension, the owner reading a book as he serves patrons, and a good playlist read more

Smurfs, Beetlejuice, and the Flintstones would love this place. Neon lights are the main illumination and there are strange cave paintings everywhere. Seats by the bar are thick and serrated and there's a weird body pinata loomin' over you as wait to get a drink. Place is pretty dim and strange, but I kinda liked it. read more

this place looks like a wacky metal cave videogame end level bar thing bar somethingorother. Good beer selection and I dig the vibe.

I came here with a good friend of mine that's been coming for years. It's a legendary bar in the Haight. It's dark ominous and reminds me of something you'd see in the Flintstones world or something. There's lots of cozy places to sit and it was nice to have a conversation in such a unique place. I was surprised that I was brought here for a couple rounds of warm sake. Who would have thought they would have sake in a joint like this. If you're visiting SF you should definitely stop by and then after get a yummy vegan sandwich from Love and Haight next door read more

If you're tired of the normal pub style decor you might dig this place. A day of drinking and wandering around we ended up here. The door said they opened up at 5 but we went in a little earlier as we asked if he was open and he said sure come on in. It was only us for awhile until a few others came in. This was my first trip here, but I would go back. They have a good beer selection as well. read more

Noc Noc - Interior - Dive Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Shatangi first discovered the Noc in the late 80's and it has not changed a bit since. Nice place to hang with a few friends. Good beer selection. Rockin furniture. Shatangi told you read more

Like a rad mini-rave revival for grown-ups who aren't really into raves anymore. Live DJ spinning actual vinyl (not a macbook), tucked away in a tiny cave in the back. As someone who isn't overly into dance music nowadays, I still really enjoyed my time here. We found a place to sit, never had to stand shoulder to shoulder, bumped elbows, or had drinks spilled on us like most other respectable bars on a Friday night. We sat in a booth area in the back but noticed cushions for floor seating next to us and traditional bar stools around the middle. The interior decor is a little Fred Flintstone discovers a black light. As the night lingered on, the crowd went from sparse locals to a bit of an SF State crowd. Excellent beer and sake selection. I live down the street so proximity is a bit of a factor but I'm excited for my next visit already. Just can't believe it took me so long to try it. read more