Dark. Crowded. Supposedly a dance floor, which I never saw because the drinks that I was getting handed to me every five minutes distracted me. Cute guys plus hot girls plus dark crowded bar = great time for all. Even though I have a boyfriend, it's still fun to watch everyone else hook up. The guy to girl ratio here is in favor of the ladies. Yeah, sausage fest 2008! read more

Not too crowded for a Friday night, which was refreshing for that part of town. The crowd was also really laid back. We found a nook in the back - there was an entire room adjacent to the dance floor that was untouched and empty, so (fantastically) the group of 6 of us got to sit down and actually talk and drink. Bartender makes a good Alabama Slamma' and was really friendly.. :) I would add this to a good juke list if I knew of said list to be in existence... read more

Always closing time. Pregnant girls: they drink for free! A night to Fernet. read more

I've tried to love R Bar, I really have. A few friends swear by this bar so I seem to end up here at least once every few moths, but it's just not working out between us. We don't see eye to eye, we don't have like the same things, and R Bar doesn't put out (a big no-no). Everytime I go it's something. Bar tenderrs who always ask "And who are you?" painfully, after you ask for the check. A drunk door guy on New Years Eve letting some people in who hadn't paid, and keeping some people out who had. Some incredibley cheap drinks, mixed in with drinks over priced for seemingly no reason... Not to mention the waste of a dance floor (why have a dance floor when all you have is a juke box?), and the boring atmosphere. And no, I didn't knock them down because of the absolutely hit and miss crowd (They should change their name to "Creepy Guys R Us" from what I've seem most of the nights I've been there). That doesn't have as much to do with a plane jane establishment like R Bar, as it does to do with trends, events, etc. I'm sure it's a great neighborhood bar, great off night bar, great college football bar, great fernett bar (god I hate fernett...), etc. but it's not weekend bar. So, 2.5 stars since out of all my trips to R Bar none have been for a casual week night drink. It's not you R Bar, it's me... read more

I'd actually award 3.6 stars which rounds up to 4. :) (ou)R Bar is a fun, chill bar near Polk Street. I've met some really fun people here and enjoyed many Blue Moon's (though they often have only lemons and not oranges for the garnish...). I don't feel strange showing up in any type of crazy costume either as this bar is not-too-fancy and seems ready for anything. The juke box provides good times as well! You might have a little trouble finding R Bar because it's only subtly marked but you should definitely give it a try! read more

I wasn't here too long, but I liked what I saw at R Bar. Being a Seattle native that was visiting S.F for the first time, I was very happy to see that they served Olympia Beer in the can, like they do at home. If I lived in the neighborhood, I would easily stop by here once or twice a week to get a drink or to watch the game. I look forward to coming back. read more

Came here on a Saturday night after going to a post-Yom Kippur break-the-fast, so I was still in my suit. Nonetheless, the vibe was good and the crowd was entertaining. Incredibly nice and attentive bartenders. Drinks were decently priced (there was a special on Newcastle that night, $3, plus you got a free glass!). I was especially happy with how happy and willing the bartenders were to constantly refill my glass of water (between paid drinks, of course). At the end of the night, as a cherry on the cake, my friend and I were poured a complimentary Fernet shot and ginger ale chaser, I guess for being good patrons and fair tippers. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, I'd certainly come back! read more

R bar!!!! I heart this place. The bartender is amazing, constantly comin up with different drinks. Thank you, r bar for hosting so many parties. I can't wait for the nye party!!! read more

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kinda icky. The barstaff are probably very nice, the customers are like nails on a chalkboard. read more

Your average upper echelon dive bar. The drinks are cheap and the toilet's clean. They have the NFL Sunday Ticket. A good day and weekday night crowd. On any given day, the bartender's the drunkest person in there. That's right, on occasion I drink during the day. read more

My wife and I stopped in here for a drink while vacationing in San Francisco. It was near our hotel and the description on Yelp reminded us of the bars we like at home. The staff was very welcoming and very "generous" with the pour on the drinks we received. We had a great time talking to other patrons and slowly getting drunker and drunker. We were convinced by a pair of friendly locals to try Fernet. It was horrible yet at the same time awesome. I can't stop talking about it so it must not have been as unpleasant as it initially felt. The ginger ale chaser helped a little but nothing could have prepared me for that. It may have been what put me over the edge. We managed to stumble home so don't believe the hype about the neighbourhood. read more

Excessive salmon-colored shirts. Excessive Abercrombie hats. Excessive high-fives. Thats right - Bro Central. Marina part deux. But they got Too $hort on the jukebox and I once dropped a shot of Fernet into the Ginger back thinking I was taking a Jager bomb - causing me to hurl out front. Good times. read more

I hate when one bad person can ruin an experience for an entire business. But that just means that all of the employees need to conduct themselves with propriety as they are representing the name "R Bar". I would definitely give this place at least 4 stars. I forget whether it is cash only or not but I do remember that the drinks were awesome and fast. There was no cover or line which makes the bar even more awesome to me. The bouncer outside was super nice and genuine. There was even a small dance floor to have a good ole' time and shake it down after a couple sips. What bothered me was when the bartender (didn't know he was the bartender) outside dropped his lighter and then shoved his rear end in my personal space. I didn't have the most inviting look on my face and was a bit put off. He stood up, looked at me and said "I'm sure you will feel differently when I'm making your drinks!". So what...? That gives you an excuse to act a fool because you are the great "mixologist" making my drinks? So then I was scared of ordering drinks the whole night...I guess he did a good job exerting his power play... Nonetheless, my friend ordered drinks and tried to go to another bartender all night. But if you were to just subtract that one bartender, we would have had such an awesome evening! I'm excited to go back and I hope I'll be able to write a more positive update. All in all, no cover, no line, great drinks, nice dance floor, but 1 heavyset bartender who acted inappropriately. read more

One of the best low key dive bars in SF. Super dog friendly and the owner Chris is the nicest! They have a delicious taco stand in here sometimes and they're 2 bucks a taco. Great place to watch sports as well. read more

Great place to watch important games Bartenders are friendly and really know how to mix a drink. Good neighborhood dive vibe... read more

So, we stumbled into the loud dimness from down the block at oh, 1am or so, and took a table in the back. Shaking off rain drops, we noticed we were the, er, the most ethnic people in the joint, but figured, every establish could use a little color. Glanced toward the bartender, noticed there's a "Cheap-o drink" menu etched in neon squeaky behind the bar. The choices were infused Svedka vodkas w/ soda for 5 bucks or some God-forsaken beer option. I choose... Cherry vodka and 7-up. Score. As the music permeated, I realized, "WE are the DJ!" So, we stepped over to the ancient juke and flipped thru the oddly listed choices of yesteryear's beats. Submitted our dollar for two choices: Sexy and I Know It and The Children's Story (Slick Rick, duuuuuuh). Many songs later, we had gyrated to every imaginable MJ hit, and still no LMFAO, even though we did a lot of LMFAOing in the interim. After our drunken investigation, we concluded that the person before us must've submitted $5, for EIGHTEEN fricken songs! Ugh, selfish whino. After failing miserably at our revision of the Thriller and Beat It dance, we stumbled out to Bob's Donuts. Regardless- I'm sexy and I know it. read more

My boyfriend and his LP (Life Partner) LOVE this place... Me? Not so much. It gets SO crowded, hot and sweaty in there I can't stand it... supposedly if you go there for HH it's pretty fun, but since I work in SOMA I haven't been able to get there early enough. But don't listen to me... they go there at least once a week and can never get enough. read more

Great relaxed bar. We went there on a Saturday night and it was not too crowded but just busy enough. The drink prices are decent and so is the crowd. The bartenders were amazingly attentive and friendly. The only downfall is that they only have one bathroom for each sex. The bathroom is also very small. That is the only inconvenience. Otherwise, awesome place! read more

This is the bar that my other favorite bars want to be when they grow up. Great music. Cold cheap beer. Lots and lots of shots and shots. People are there to drink, chat, dance, laugh, and drink some more. Bartenders either remember exactly who you are every time, or are happy to fake it, and you'll never know the difference. It's like this: if you bring someone here and they don't like it, they don't like fun. Caveat: gets very full and steamy late on Friday and Saturday. So if you don't like crowds, go any other time, but be prepared cos I swear one time when I was here I heard a booming bass line, a low voice growl "oh... yeah..." and the out of nowhere, Duff Man burst on the scene with the Duff girls and asked who was ready to get Duffed! read more

Say what you will about the R Bar, but it might be the only place to consistently meet attractive available women in the TenderNob. The Bartender is cool, the door guy is cool too. The jukebox blows, but I'm guessing if you're at R Bar, you aren't here to listen to music. Drop by R Bar at 1:45, because at two, everyone is scrambling to find someone who wants to go to an afterhours, or back to their place. "Do you girls want to come hang out at my place? I've got some drinks, and good music if you're interested." I'm not trying to be sleazy, just 22 and single. read more

Ugh, with a side of ugh. I have to pass by this hole to get to my apt. every day and usually it is blaring Dave Matthews Band or some other crap while sketchy frat-types hang out in front and check out every girl that walks by. Even with their beyond-wasted Marina girls in tow. "Oh my God, so he said that he wanted to break up with me and I was like, oh my God..." No one attractive ever hangs out in front of that bar--ever. Once, I heard some Sabbath blaring (without the requisite "ironic" singing along that accompanies any older, metal/rock track that someone puts on) so I decided it might be safe--the bartender might be cool and put some Sabbath on. I really needed a drink (crap day) and Lush was packed, so I chanced it. Bartender was really nice and my beer was cheap and cold, but the bar slowly started to fill with the Dave Matthews types so I pounded it and got out while I could. I made it out without rolling my eyes...but just barely. *****Second time is not the Charm 6/1***** I feel bad about this considering how nice the bartender and doorguy are...but I went again out of curiousity last night when it was packed and it sucked royally. My friend and I were trying to figure out the crowd. I mean you can sum it up in one word: douchebags. But, it seems like it is a mix of students, frat boys, average dumpy girls, and weird older, business guys trying to get laid. I feel bad for the staff as they seem cool and it is not their fault about the crowd but still: UGH! read more

Love this place, it just never gets old. -great hole in the wall bar with some character. -awesome jukebox (seems like no good spots in SF have one these days) -not too pricey -great place to start a fri or sat night read more

The last two times I've been to R Bar, Animal House has been playing on the TV's mute with the closed captioning on. I love it. Kudos to the management. The scene here leans a little bit more preppy than its Lower Polk Street neighbors like Hemlock or McTeague's. There's a good range of drink choices from dive bar beer cans to top-shelf cocktails. Prices are reasonable. Service is good. The girls are pretty. It's a fine bar in every respect and definitely a place worth dropping by if you're in the neighborhood. read more

San Francisco dive bar at it's finest! This place is fun and a ton of it. Some of the best drink prices around metro San Fran. We stumbled upon this place a long time ago and always make a point to come back anytime were in the area. Good music, great drinks, and a helluva a bunch of crazy people out to have fun. I'm sure there's classier joints around but why go classy when you can whoop it up and have some fun. When we were drunkenly invited by some more drunk people we met had no clue our bar was really R bar! They said were gonna take you to R bar and I was so confused. All that changed once we arrived. What a blast! Love R bar. Nothing but good times! read more

10.22.10 Always a good time on Polk Street. Just don't end up at R Bar at the end of the night with Fernet. That stuff is disgusting. Why do people like it? I remembered the first time I tried it at Sens. It looked like jaeger, but tasted worse than any Chinese herbal medicine concoction I have ever sipped. Barf, please. That said, R Bar still maintains a chill atmosphere despite being packed most of the time. read more

I'd love to give these guys six stars, but due to the shitty crowd on the weekends, I have to knock it down to five. It's ok, the owners, bartenders and doorguys are all great people and it really is a great place to hang out Sunday through Wednesday. During those nights its primarily a place where everybody knows your name and most of the crowd is industry folk. Yes, when all the marina bro's and ho's aren't slummin' it up in the 'loin on the weekends, this place is a rad little psuedo-dive to get trashed with your favorite bartenders and friends. Oh yeah, this place introduced me to the fastastically disgusting guilty pleasure that is Fernet-Branca. And for that I give the R Bar both a 'thank you' and a 'fuck you' depending on my previous night's activities. But I'm sure I'll always be back for more. Oh yeah, and one more note, if you fellas can ever sneak into the ladies room, there is a great piece of literature all about the 'guys in the striped shirts'. read more

So much fun! Browns fans from Cle here on holiday and got to watch the game with other fans. First win of the season and a great time! Thanks R Bar! read more

Don't be hatin' the R-bar. Maybe I like it cause I myself am a drunken ex-frat boy who is 25 going on 17! Hahah oh well. The other reviewers are right--it's way too loud and crowded on Friday and Saturday, but it is actually a pretty nice place inside even though the facade is all crappy. Plus my drunk ass left my jacket and cell phone there the other night. They had it and didn't even 86 me after I did (???) the night before. There's a great review of "Under the Tuscan Sun" in the men's crapper. read more

I don't know what it is about this place that brings me back time and time again. It's rather simple, rather dingy, and rather lacking of anything resembling decor...but the drinks are strong, the vibe hot, and always full of people that are there to have fun. R Bar has become quite the "industry" bar, so I often run into some of my favorite chefs and servers later in the night, usually about the time I've happily been overserved. Last night they were showing "Captain America" on the screens, we were drinking Fernet and having a great time in a packed bar at midnight on a Sunday...good times. read more

I always seem to end up here, even before i found out it was a Jets bar for Sunday football. It's totally a hole in the wall but I always seems to have fun. Things I love about R Bar: 1. relaxed atmosphere but always a fun crowd 2. good variety on the jukebox - although you should be warned it takes forever for your song to play if it's a crowded night. 3. J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets! I was pumped to find a Jets bar in SF. 4. Bartenders are super nice I take away one star cuz the bathroom is kind of grimy- but it's a dive so I don't take away too much. read more

ERIC! Lets take a shot!!! ::insert rum punch:: ERIC!!! LETS TAKE ANOTHER SHOT!!!! ::insert two rum punches:: To friend..."I don't think the bartendar likes me" Friend "Why" "My shot is only half full" "No hunny, that just means that he's tired of being yelled at..." "Oh..." ERIC!!! FILL MY SHOT UP ASSHOLE!!!!! Stumble Home. Just another night at R Bar... read more

Its a bar. It's a long bar... with some mirrors, appropriate lighting and a cheezy small space that at the end of the night turns into a dancefloor for over intoxicated, under intelligenced frat boys and girls to shimmy up to one another for a night full of potential regrets. There's nothing special here, its a bar at the end of the day and the clientele was such a turn off that I doubt I'll be coming back. We had encounters with way too many folks in college or more acurately, of college age but of a high school demeanor. There are so many watering holes in the area that I don't see why one would want to park themselves at this one for the course of a night especially when 3 shots of crap well vodka costs $19. WTF?! read more

R Bar = drunkards. R Bar = crowded. R Bar = debauchery. Wasted + not claustrophobic + feeling slutty = good times at R Bar. read more

Supposedly no other establishment in the U.S. sells more Fernet than R Bar. It could be a rat infested, single wide trailer in the middle of a skin head enclave...I'd still love it anyways. Lucky for me, and everyone else in SF, it's actually a pretty spiffy spot. Kinda douchey on the weekends. But a fave during the week. read more

Why do I always forget about this place? I guess I spend too much time on the Northern side of Polk Street...and I need to change that immediately! Great things seem to come in pairs...just like the NStar and Shanghai Kelly's, R Bar is in cohoots with Pier 23. Usually if you love one, you'll love the other. I rolled into R Bar last night with some lady friends and we had a blast. The drinks are decently priced, the bartenders are good looking and friendly, the patrons are chill, and they play awesome music. Also, for those of you who know me well, it's a Fernet bar!! They are the number one buyer of Fernet in the nation! That's crazy. Long story short, don't be caught of guard by the somewhat seedy neighborhood...just pretend to be on your cell phone (am I the only one who does this??) and walk briskly down Polk and make a turn at Sutter. It's worth it....trust me. read more

I don't care for this bar as much as my friends but I do dig their hot bartender. I also got some ass the night I was there so what am I complaining about? Oh yeah, this is before I got mugged by a homeless man in the Tenderloin. He took a bottle of my Bordeaux! read more

So I have to admit it, I've succumbed to the "if it's not in my hood and don't really need to go there" syndrome. I live in the lower haight and I like it there. The bars are purty chill and usually the crowd make up is mostly local. Every now and again you get some "bridge and tunnel" folk coming in to the 'hood, probably cause they read about it on yelp ;-) Any who, my friend lives in the "Tender Nob." Uh, you just said "Nob, Beavis!" We talked about grabbing some food and seeing as I was driving home from work, I just rolled straight to his hood. Hmm....I'm not used to the inner city. There's a lot going on. Different, Mikey likes it! So we roll to Osha for dinner, but that's a whole nother review ;-) After dinner we rolled to the R Bar 'cause I told m friend I wanted some thang kinda low key and divey. R Bar is purfect. Drinks are good. Bartenders are not dicks, they are nice in fact. The crowd was good albeit a bit male dominated. The jukebox was bumping some good tunes although I put money in and my songs came out in a strange order and really, really spaced apart....this is good I guess. I hate when people totally monopolize the juke. Oh yea...delicious vodka gimlet! Fresh lime juice...yum! read more

I love this bar. I've been here like 6 times and have absolutely no memory of it what so ever. None. Minus one star for ... I'm not sure what but I'm suspicious of a bar that I never think to go to when I'm sober, but always end up at when I'm already drunk and in the hood. read more

Hooray for R Bar. I have been going there for years, and always have a good time. Tonight, we had a fun time chatting with Eric and people watching. Can't beat it. This type of review is what happens when one drinks and Yelps. read more

I didn't know this was a Browns backers bar... might have to give it another try during football season to see if it can redeem itself at all. Otherwise... why do people like this place? So-so drink prices. Relatively unfriendly bar staff. The whole place smells... like the Tenderloin. I'm not sure I've ever been in such a filthy and smelly bar restroom, and I frequent some pretty dive-y places. God, the piss smell.... read more