This four star review of the Geist is not based solely on last nights DYL, although it was my first DYL, which rounds it all out. Yelpers, you're so damn sexy. Come the fuck on. You carry around flaccid dildos for fuck sake. I mean, what the hell? Gratuitous gropage is regular fare at DYL. Making out with the hot chick next to you is no thang. Fuck, grabbing the guys cock and balls next to you is like getting your morning bagel...an everyday occurrence. It's kooky! And you know what? I love it. I'm hooked. It's really not fair. I knew it was bound to happen. That's why I stayed away so long. Now you're going to see me at every mother fucking DYL from here on out. I'll be first on the talk threads, every Friday 7:30am: Hi, Todd. Count me in!!!! Woo-hoo. TGIF. Bewbies! YAY! AnymotherfuckingWAYs. Back to Zeitgeist. Let's be honest. The people that frequent the Geist are not the genetically "blessed" per se. *ducks* (Except for you Pottery Barn Model guy with the English Accent. Call me!!! You and your friend Frodo were hot.) So, the yelpers are obviously the fucking hottest people within 1 square block. And who doesn't like to be the prettiest pumpkin in the patch or beer garden for that matter? 4 stars just for outshining the critical massers on their day. Right? You all are gorgeous. Thanks for a smashing good time. read more

I found it interesting that I ordered the same thing (a mixed drink and a beer) from three different bartenders last night and got charged three different prices: $7, $8, and $11.50. I hate Zeitgeist a little more every time I go there. If it's not the long line to the nasty bathrooms, it's the rude patrons or the overpowering stench of portapotty outside. Lame. read more

Dive bars probably aren't my preferred MO, but somehow I end up at them fairly frequently. It was a Monday so the indoor bathrooms (which were nowhere near the most disgusting bar bathrooms I've ever seen) were fairly free and I did not get the pleasure of venturing into the the porta potties. Nobody who worked there was rude to me so I guess I missed that part of the experience...and I love the huge outdoor area. Plus, as a person who probably drinks more water in the course of a day than the average person drinks in a month...I loved the fact that I could just grab a glass off the bar and get a glass of water from a spout demarcated by a giant orange arrow on the wall. I also had a veggie burger which was great. It took a while, presumably because there was just one guy doing the cooking...who was totally cool BTW. ...and yes, as stated many times, there are definitely sections of the bar that smell like vomit. I also believe I smelled at least three distinct varieties of weed. OK...this is getting long. I'll sum it up: Had fun. Glad I went. Oh yeah...and they had a lot of really good beer. read more

Our night standing out promisingly enough - good beers on tap for a mere $4, nice picnic tables out back, and a thumpin' Les Claypool bass on the speakers. Burgers came up quick and tasted identical the ones my dad makes on the grill. But it was a incident related to the bloody Mary's where things went bad. They make them very, very, very spicy here. I have never had a bloody mary that even came close. The girls in our group ordered a few, and after trying a sample I immediately went back in to fetch a pitcher of water. When I come back, my beer is gone. My friends inform me a dude came around collecting glasses and grabbed it before they could say anything. Who the hell just grabs a beer that is 7/8ths full? My friend goes back in and gets another. Time for a second round comes, and girl from our group explains that she liked it, but can't handle another with so much spice. Barkeep #2 laughs and proceeds to make her one with even more pepper, tabasco, and cayenne than before. Barkeep #2 hands her the drink. She pays him the $7, curses him under her breath, asks me to get some more tomato juice, then goes back outside. I get a glass of tomato juice from Barkeep #1 and tip him for not being a idiot and doing his job. Barkeep #2 then launches a furious temper tantrum lasting 10 minutes about how my friend did not tip him. Eventually some dude shows up who looks like a lame version of Cactus Jack, walks up to our table, dumps our drinks on the ground, and then says she has to leave. We're sitting there in disbelief, but after reading some of the other stories here, it sounds like the staff likes to create these types of situations. While walking out, I go up to barkeep #1 and explain why I has just ordered a glass of plain tomato juice. He says "oh, well. Too bad about that. Maybe we'll see you some other time". Uhhh...Yeah, maybe not. I can pour the same drinks and make the same food on my roof without a bunch of ass clowns messing up drinks on purpose, thank you very much. To the Zietgeist staff - I'll paraphrase Les Claypool here and say that I'm sorry about your small insignificant genitalia, and how you all flunked out of community college because you got hooked on meth. Perhaps you could all give yourselves enemas with those bloody marys and squeeze out whatever's been stuck up your ass for the last 5 years. read more

Best beer garden I've found in this city. Whenever I feel like being an seasoned rebel, I can put on one of several black T-shirts, practice my 'tough face' (see picture) and head on out for a fine afternoon of pitchers and swear words. The first time I was there was right after the World Cup at Dolores Park. It was ridiculously packed with people in tattoos. I went to get a burger because my friends told me I had to. I waited in line for 15 minutes chatting with some Filipina about the unique brand of etiquette these folks practiced. "You better tip them if you want your burger today," she cautioned. Sure enough, I give the greasy-haired dude my order, pay for it, and: "Tips are generously appreciated!" (slams tip jar down on bar) "Every minute it takes you is a minute your burger is going to take." I backed away quickly before he started demanding my milk money and my sneakers. This is the first time anyone had ever flat out demanded a tip from me. I felt like I was back in South America and some soldier in mirrored sunglasses was asking me for a bribe to let me and my amigos go. For some reason, that made me chuckle. So I went back there and put a couple bucks in the jar, and told him, "I'll give you more based on the speed of service." Well, what do you know? The guy didn't even yell out my name when it was ready. He came on out to the garden, tapped me on the shoulder, and asked, "So how's that for service?" 5 minutes, and everyone else had to wait. Apparently money talks. Here in the US, you usually have to be pretty loaded to pay people off for their cooperation. I'm glad there are institutions such as these that let me feel sly and corrupt for such a budget price. Also the burger was awesome, the pitchers were generous, and with everyone out in the open and feeling great, you can strike up awesome conversations with pretty much anybody. If you slip me a 20, I'll tell you the secret code that makes the bartenders pour extra heavy on the mixers... read more

There is blood in the water.... Most of us are familiar with the term "jumped the shark" it's when a place has just gone too far and lost it's edge, lost the magic that made it cool in the first place. Well Zeitgeist has not merely "jumped the shark" the shark has taken a bite out of this place and now its suffering and its staff is clearly feeling the pain even yelling at guests to "Get Fucked!" (freudian wishful thinking on their part) a desperate cry for help. OUCH they're lashing out on customers so Caution: Stay Clear of Pretentiously Bad Going Downhill fast Has Been bar read more

*ring-ring-ring* Bartender: "Zeitgeist" Me: "Hi, do you guys allow dogs on your patio?" Bartender: "What!?!?" Me - louder: "Do you let dogs on the patio?" Bartender: "No" click. Yeah. She hung up on me. Seriously Zeitgeist just doesn't do for me what it does for everyone else in this town. I go there when I get out voted by my peers. read more

DO NOT ASK ANY QUESTIONS!!!! Just read the menu and if it's not there, don't even dare ask. They don't have chicken sandwiches, "do you *SEE* it on the menu?!?" The cheeseburgers are so damn good that you'll never want anything else anyway! Don't stand too far away from the bar. Just don't do it. Standing "in the middle of the damn floor" is not encouraged. DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT order more than 3 Bloody Mary's. And especially don't order them one at a time. That's a death wish. Death, I tell ya! When at the bar, make sure to be ready to order all drinks at once. AT ONCE! "You are F'ing killing me!?!" And by far, the main thing NOT to do is: DO NOT spend a sunny day in the city anywhere else. This is the place to be. Oh, and you can get a DUI on a bike so don't do that either ;) read more

You wouldnt think that reviewing something would leave you in a state of confusion and indecision but it can. And in this case, it does. When a colleague suggested we get "the best burger in SF" at ZG, I quickly acquiesced. One short cab ride later, we strolled into a place that gave me the warm fuzzies. Most spots in SF are very spare -- with their edison bulbs and their air of pretension -- but this spot was all anger and bumper stickers. I can get behind that. We ordered our (cash only) burgers with fries plzzzz and then promptly ordered a delicious drink to go with it. So here's where the conundrum begins. My bloody mary? Hands down one of my top five. I'm not persnickety about most things but bloody based drinks I can speak to. I dont want a thick bloody mary. It should be a savory drink -- not gazpacho. I don't want a horseradishy bloody mary. As in, I should never want to dip shrimp into it. It should have a garnish -- what? I dont care. But something. And it should have a rim -- salt, chile, spicy, something. This bloody mary had all those things and was just the perfect blend of awesome. However. When I went to get my burger, the man now known as The Surliest Cook In The World took "agin" me and was cold rude. You know rude -- like I dont give a shit rude? That's fine. Like I said, anger and bumper stickers. Rude cook? Not out of place. But insulting cook? Sneering, cutting, pointedly horrible cook? It's a bit much. Four mediocre burgers and sides of fries later, we were still talking about how he looked like he was taking my measure as his next victim of a violent crime. Five stars for the bloody. Restraining order for the cook. If I were a betting gal, it was the cook in the kitchen with the knife. And the burger? A OK. But this is the second time I've been tricked into burgers in SF and since I'm from the land where beef was invented, they tend to fall short. read more

3.5 Quintessential dive-bar meets tamed metal heads, ex-bikers, and a sprinkle of SF hipsters. Has an excellent patio space, probably one of the largest in SF. They have bar food as well and the burger ain't bad. Tons of beers on tap bring your hops heads here! Slower pace vibe around here Cash only read more

Had a few sips of the Bloody Mary...UH-MAYYYYYYZING! More importantly, this place is crawling with hot men. Exhibit A: Short Asian boytoy with a sexy ponytail and spiky hair "antennas" wearing a Hello Kitty shirt that reads "I love white pussy". I am now convinced this is THE place in the city to meet successful, courteous, hot bachelors. And did I mention HOT?!?! read more

Ohhh, I can't even begin to tell you the thoughts that went running through my mind on a Sunday afternoon as the cab pulled up to Zeitgeist. I see "speakeasy" written in neon beside the not-so-welcoming black door and dirty windows. Easy, Nikki...you're not in Dallas anymore. Don't judge a book by its cover! Dude...this place kicks ass! I walked in to what looked like a few regulars picking up pitchers at the chairless bar. Eh, I'm thinking...dead on a Sunday. And that's when I saw it... THE PATIO It was like a beer garden for the homies. I saw a sea of tattoos, 80s biker jackets, purple and blue hair and emo outfits everywhere. Frickin cool. We grabbed a pitcher of Stella, grabbed glasses from the side of the bar and squished on the end of a picnic table. Everyone seemed so at home here, and I felt like a complete outsider. But I still dug it, even in my fancy jeans and Chuck Taylors. Side note: cash only, but there's an ATM in the back or one across the street. I had to dig into "emergency cash" to pick up a cool tee. Yeah...that's right...it was an EMERGENCY, people! read more

Zeitgeist is one of the iconic hangouts in San Francisco. On a warm San Francisco day I've spent hours parked at one of their benches out back drinking good beer, playing cards and eating tamales (not anymore on the tamales, bummer). I'm sure all my friends in San Francisco are going to disagree with me, because in the City they've gotten used to going to bars and restaurants where people are rude to you and that's okay. Well, I'm not okay with that....I'm anti-rude. I wouldn't treat the people pouring my beer badly, why then should they treat me badly? When I started going to Zeitgeist it was a chill spot to hang out, play cards, drink beer and engage in other fun recreational activities. The trendier it's gotten, the ruder the people that work there have gotten and the lower my overall rating of it. I'm sure if someone that works at Zeitgeist were reading this they'd say, "you don't like us, take your business elsewhere" and I wholeheartedly agree with you. Its just unfortunate that a business trying to earn money serving beer and liquor has sold us on the idea that it's okay to be rude to your customers because you're just too cool to be serving us beer. This bar has a good beer selection and the new bathrooms are a VAST improvement over the Port-o-potties they used to have...but the food is still shitty and the people that work there just get worse and worse to deal with. There are too many good beer bars in the city to waste my time at this one. Go...but go at your own risk...oh, and make sure you dress in all black and gray...skinny jeans and a hoodie will help you get noticed faster too...throw in a chain and a few tattoos for good measure. :-) read more

I love any bar where getting drinks is such a herculean task that everyone you know just buys pitchers. I don't fancy myself a freeloader, generally, but hell yeah I'll take a refill. Thanks for offering! I guess the one drawback of being a total mooch is that I can't tell if my friends have terrible taste in beers or if Zeitgeist was limited, like they said, to super hoppy craptastic beers by the end of the night. Either way, minus one star. (That's right, I just potentially blamed Zeitgeist for two degrees of customer bad judgment: my choice in friends and their taste in beer. Go cry your hipster tears in the port-a-potty if you have a problem with that.) read more

Preface -- I love the Zeitgeist. There's nothing like a sunny afternoon on the patio with tattooed bikers, beers and bloody marys. But, I have to say, I'm over the staff's rudeness schtick. Fuck off? Dude, I'm just trying to get some grill. read more

Reasons this place is great: - the bloody mary's are slap-yo-mama good - this is one of the few awesome outdoor bar spaces in SF - the beer selection is pretty good - the Tamale Lady Reasons this place makes me want to die: - the asshole staff Seriously, I don't need you to smile or wish me a great day or any of that shit but if you could just serve me a beer or check my ID without giving me attitude I'd appreciate it. It's like to qualify to work here you have to have a stick up your ass and a chip on your shoulder. And tattoos and flannel.* When I hand you my Georgia ID and point out that the "birth date is in the middle" to help you out you don't have to say "yeah, i know, it's my job" and then give me bitchface. When I order a beer, please fill it to the top or somewhat close rather than leaving an inch and a half of head. And maybe put the change back in my hand rather than throwing it at me. Thanks. *I have a weakness for flannel and tats so that's not necessarily a bad qualifier. read more

Worst bar I've been to in my life. Three scenes before we left this place in a hurry. My friend used to be a bartender, and sees this alcohol Pimm, which he's never tried. So he asks for some at the bar. The bartender brings out the bottle, and my friend asks, "What do you suggest?" The bartender replies that he doesn't know any Pimm drinks and the proceeds to give my friend the most impatient, douchebag stare. Flash forward, we're are walking around the outdoor area of the bar, and one of the busboys bumps into me from behind. I turn around and courteously offer, "pardon me." His response blew me away: "There are a hundred other places to stand in this bar, so why don't you stay off the stairs?" Third scene, we're by the pool table, waiting to get in on a game. One of the guys playing pool at the time puts his cup on the table. An employee emerges from the shadows, tells him to remove his glass from the table. The glass is removed. Then, the employee STARES DOWN THE PATRON for a good 5 seconds and shakes his head. Hahah it was comical how terrible the service is here. Save your money and go to some place where they know the first thing about customer service. There are plenty of other bars to choose. read more

This place embodies everything I dislike about the mission: rudeness, griminess, and a culture that I will just never understand. Every member of the staff shares two qualities: complete apathy towards the establishment and a rotten attitude. The place, admittedly, is a 'dive bar,' but in every other dive bar that I've been to at least one employee has taken responsibility for, say, clearing the tables once in a while. I'm not sure what the employees are all so angry about; why they feel the need to snap at or insult patrons every time they interact with one of us is beyond me. Maybe it's because they work at such a dismal bar. The staff has many opportunities to exhibit their contempt for the customers via Zeitgeist's bizarre rules. For example, one is not allowed to take photos (and promptly yelled at if one attempts to do so). I can't imagine why this is; perhaps none of the staff actually want to be caught on camera working there. The price of admission for Zeitgeist seems to be a messenger bag, wide rimmed glasses, a fixed gear bike and some kind of unconventional hairstyle (sideburns, handlebar mustache, etc.). I have also seen some even more colorful characters here -- for instance, a man in full pimp suit regalia. In typical Mission fashion, everyone seems to be in a perpetual 'I can be more hipster than you' contest. I'm not sure why certain people feel the need to engage in this game, and I certainly do not count myself among their ranks. I guess I just can't adequately appreciate the fine art of raging against The Man. If you want to pay to be constantly insulted and disparaged, then by all means go to Zeitgeist. If this is not your cup of tea, however, Martunis (the best bar in San Francisco) is only three blocks away. read more

Bomb-ass bloodies, a porch that doesn't quit, and enough attitude for all of San Fran. Zitgeist punched me in the gut and I puked up pure gold. Thank you sir may I have another?!? read more

Thank goodness many of my real-life friends aren't Yelpers or they'd die laughing. Grace... at Zeitgeist? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA..... Simmer down, now....I'm nothing if not adaptable. So... we began the night with a wonderful Happy Hour, then made it to a friend's house for he was cooking dinner. Started the night with ale and champagne, threw in another bottle of champagne and a bottle of white wine.... then a friend calls me and tells me he is at Valencia and Duboce at a bar called ^#%$%#, I ask WHERE? He says ^#$%#$%@..... I ask "WHAT? WHERE??? Spell it." He did. I remained silent before asking again, "WHAT??" His answer: "Just come - you'll find it. On Valencia, at Duboce." Well, OK then.... never let it be said that I'm not spontaneous. So I went, and took my friends with me. It's now midnight. We drove up and down the street but nothing is really standing out until I notice this little doorway with a name I can't pronounce. $%@#$@^ = ZEITGEIST? Makes sense to me, that could be the name that I couldn't understand over the phone. But THIS PLACE??? We don't park either car, and decide I must run in to see if this is the right place or not before committing to stay. "It looks dead in there," says the driver. "I might die in there," thinks Grace. But OK - since I did say we'd be here, I will do a quick run-through while the car will wait right in front of the door to act as my get-away car should I have to make a run for it. So in my little outfit with 4-inch heels, dressed in a manner in which *I* would not let myself in if *I* were the bouncer, I walk up and hand him my ID and he gives me the go-ahead. Sh*t. Plan B then. Wait, I don't have a plan B.... "Entering here on my own might not be my most brilliant moment," I think to myself. I look back to make sure the car is still there before I enter. Big deep breath - - let's do it. I enter. Not too clean... not a lot of people, and I stick out like a sore gangrened thumb. I walk through and to the back and there is a poole table.... my friend is nowhere in sight. It's dead in here, alright.... OK, I'm outta here then, I tried - - I turn around to head back to the door when I notice more sounds and a doorway leading to.... to..... HOLY SMOKES, what is THAT? In all my boldness, I go to the doorway and step out into a WIDE OPEN AREA with pea gravel on the floor, where some 40+ picnic tables are laid out with people everywhere. Whoa.... this is kinda cool.... I might as well look here too, since I did enter looking for my friend. Don't get me wrong, I still stick out but the atmosphere is cool enough now that I frankly don't care. After peering into 15 or so tables (my night vision ain't so hot) I finally find Mr. Wonderful sitting with some friends. I take a last look around and decide this is rather nifty. Smack dab in the middle of SF, here is this outdoor bar where you're free to drink to your heart's content, be as loud as you want, smoke, whatever. COOL.... I run back out to the car, and tell everyone to park, and I head back in. Most of my friends had Chimay beer on tap. Me, being in my Ale Mode tonight, decided to try their darker ales. I took a sip of a friend's Guinness, and it was alright, but it wasn't what I was looking for, exactly. We made a trek to the bar and I asked, "What is a beer like Guiness, dark, and good, but not Guinness?" The bartender actually understood me and recommended something called Russian River.... good stuff. Downed that. Then we had a pitcher of another beer called Lagunitas (?) and while that was a redder ale than my original dark one - - it was SOOOO good too. Loud conversation, tons of laughter, a nice, chilly night out in the open air, while still remaining within SF boundaries.... good beer, and good friends. Good tunes playing ranging from rock to... wow, is that country.... Grace loves country music!! We stayed through last call and eventually the place closed down and the loud voice (I couldn't believe how loud he could be, he sure knew how to work the acoustics in that room) announced it was time to leave. Sadly, I took one last look at the place and left for the night. Zeitgeist is a unique place. I guess it could be considered a true "biker bar" and they won't be afraid to ask you to leave if they feel like it, or if they don't want you there, or for whatever reason. But I hardly think everyone there owned a Harley. Looking around, there were various types there, all out to have a good time on a late Thursday night, and Zeitgeist makes that possible. Hell, they make it easy. Friendly service, fun-loving patrons, and while it ain't "classy" - - - it is a really cool hangout worthy of 5-stars, if this is what you're looking for! **************** Edited to add: $12 pitchers of GOOD beer. Seriously, what more can you ask for? read more

One of the things I've noticed from living in San Francisco is that pitchers of beer are a rare commodity up here. I don't know the history behind it, but I've always wondered. Were they banned by a fun-loathing mayor who spearheaded his campaign on the slogan "Put The Pitchers Back And We Won't Notice The Crack"? Was it a fanatical priest hissing the sins and evils of pitchers of beer to his congregation, vowing eternal damnation and searing burnt flesh to all who drank from this most unholy container? There are a lot of churches up here.... Maybe it stems back to the gold rush, when pitchers were used to bludgeon the head of the man next to you if he found gold before you did, and now it is some sort of weird localized social taboo to drink from them. Regardless of the reason, Zeitgeist has pitchers. Hell yes they do. And they have Racer 5. Hell yes they do. And when you put the two of them together....yeah, you know what happens. People go fucking mega-ton. Or at least I do. Slap on a huge backyard picnic area, hamburgers, daylight / starlight, sunsets, pink elephants, awesome staff, Porto-potties, staph infection, pebbles, televisions and you have one of my favorite places in this incredibly strange and beautiful city. read more

(ZAI-Y-GUY-ST) .... this is how you say it for those who are terrible at pronouncing words ( like me!) Came here for a friends birthday last week! The place is located on Valencia and Duboce. At first, I thought it was a super dinky little bar but it turns out there's a nice spacious patio area right outside! The place is intimate on the inside due to the place being super packed on a Friday night. They also serve food here too! I got the turkey sandwich with came with potatoes. The total was 8 bucks. Took about 10 minutes to make. Quality? It was alright. The turkey was really salty and it reminded me of my daily high school meals. Yikes. The alcohol here is cheap compared to other bars that I've been in SF (1015 Folsom charged me 10 bucks for a shot of Fireball lawlz). Ordered a pint of Death and Taxes and Guinness which came out to a total of $14 after tip. The ambience here is relaxing despite the heavy punk/metal music that they play here. I don't live in the city but I would totally come here more often given the chance. PS: Beautiful men here, ladies. *wink wink* read more

It's hands down the bar where I had the worst experiences ever in San Francisco. While my two first visits were actually nice (the open area is very cool, the music even better), I had two absolutely terrible interactions with the staff there. First experience: the person at the entrance was extremely rude to one of my friends who was simply asking if they had an internet access so he could contact me over the chat. The problem was that he was 20 and 10 months old and we totally forgot that he could not drink yet. That was our fault, yes, but it's excusable since we can drink at age of 18 in Europe and we're all originally from there. I'm living in the city but my friend was visiting from Europe and unfortunately could not connect to the normal mobile network (shitty SIM card, yeah...). The Zeitgeist guy basically said it was not his problem, that he was wasting time with the request, while he could have simply replied "we do not provide internet here". It felt like we were in a movie: instead of going for a simple answer, the guy spent his time criticizing the request and whatsoever. When I spoke to him, apologizing greatly for the disruption (even if I didn't think it was but meh; let's be clever instead of stupid), he pursued his bad behavior with a *racist* comment (no kidding!) saying that it was US law (which I understand and respect) and that my friend was suppose to know it before coming to the country and if he was not fine with it, that he should not even bother traveling here and he should stay in his country. All of that... because we forgot the legal age. Important notes: we didn't even try to push him inside as we highly respect the law, and we never ever spoke bad to anyone. We even apologized for our mistake, but the person was extremely rude, impatient and pretty much didn't give a sh*t about our explanations. Second experience: we met the biggest Zeitgeist assh*le on earth at the kitchen. A seemingly drunk guy (who wasn't the problem) ordered two burgers, and while he had some difficulties to talk, he was nice, pretty clear to understand and never talked loudly. The kitchen staff was extremely rude to him, asking the customer not to talk next to the ketchup and the mustard even if they were... directly on the counter in the obvious middle. We ordered our food right after this, and the staff told us it would be ready in 10 minutes. The whole order actually took 30 minutes (including 20 minutes waiting in front of the kitchen), and during this time here is what happened: - The kitchen staff didn't care about the customers in line most of the time, and when they were speaking to them, they were rude (like: REALLY rude, not the "normal" rudeness you can expect from someone having a bad day). Bad attitude and all. - A customer took the order of the drunk guy by mistake (they had a similar but not identical name; I could have been confused too), and while this isn't cool, the staff was even worse: they told the guy that he had to wait 15mn for his order again (that he had already paid). The customer argued, and after a very short time the staff held the customer's money back to him saying they would not take their order anymore. I didn't even understand why they did this since the customer was angry but not rude and obviously didn't insult or attack anyone -_-' - We asked three times how much time we had to wait and three times they lied to us, saying it would take 5 more minutes while it respectively took 20, 15 and 10. - We went to the bar afterwards to order a pitcher of red ale and... guess the price... $100!! The price of one glass of red ale is $10 (displayed on the chalkboard), so if you order 5 of them (which is pretty much the size of one pitcher), it costs you $50... I asked twice if they were not kidding and they replied they were not. I then asked for a pitcher of Belgian ale, and they told me it was... $80! For reference, a glass of the same beer is $8. So I finally went for a pitcher of Anchor Steam, guess the price: $17 -_-' Zeitgeist, if you don't want to serve a pitcher of an ale you have, just don't serve it instead of lying on the price.... I will basically never come back there. The time before last time was already a pretty bad experience, the accumulation of everything that happened at my last visit just confirmed everything I thought about the bar: it's a nice place but it's owned by the worst persons ever. Don't give them money, they don't deserve it. read more

A San Francisco landmark! One of the great bars with a great history! Critical Mass meetings, illegal soapbox Derby meetings! Amazing burgers on the back patio! I highly recommend the Dead Elvis or their Bloody Marys! Fantastic atmosphere and a great jukebox! read more

Zeitgeist isn't really a "dive" bar as much as it is a "tetanus shot" bar, because you feel like you need one right after entering. And one after sitting on the outside benches. And one after touching the walls. And two after going to the restroom. Zeitgeist just isn't for me. Perhaps if I was a biker, had my head shaved bald, sported a fu manchu mustache and had 75% of my face covered in piercings I would feel more comfortable here. In fact, I feel like I need a tetanus shot just writing a review of Zeitgeist. In summation of my central point, the zeitgeist of Zeitgeist is dirty. read more

After hearing negative comment after negative comment about this place, and being able to successfully avoid it for 2+ years, i was finally talked into meeting up some friends for a few pitchers of beer. I approached the bar with apprehension, half-expecting to be swarmed by a horde of pompous hipsters the moment i walked in. I heard stories about the "asshole working the front door", the "asshole who buses the tables", and the "jerk who makes the food". Thing is, no matter how rude pretentious, or self-important any of the staff may seem, no one, and i mean NO ONE can match my sense of self-importance. You see, i walked into Zeitgeist like i was the muthafuckin' man, and i bet the staff sensed it. There was some short dude busing tables, running around yelling at people to get out if his way. That didn't bother me one bit - you see, my inflated ego allows me to shield my emotions so as not to be affected by such trivial things, this way, i can enjoy myself pretty much everywhere i go. I have no chip on my shoulder, so i can enjoy places like Zeitgeist just as long as i'm not personally insulted. The outside patio is a great place to enjoy a nice cigarette, a pitcher of beer and possibly make some new hispter friends. After all, why rant about a particular social group's lack of acceptance in one sentence, while bashing hispter culture in the other :-) read more

This bar/beer garden is just up the street from Burma Love. We walked in because it was nearby and we opted to get a drink. It's CASH ONLY, so you either need to have it in your wallet or you need to pull it from the shady ATM. The beer prices are very reasonable and they advertise all the local craft brews. Sean C. opted for the Pinchy jeek bourbon barrel aged pumpkin ale ($4.50) which was smooth and drinkable. We walked around checking the place out and it turns out that they have a lot of space. There is a pool table and pin ball machines. We found a free game while checking out the pin ball machine! It had a loaded ball so we played it thinking someone must have left it behind. Lo and behold, it was a full 5 ball game. There is a large outdoor beer garden with communal tables that is enclosed complete with barbed wire above the fence. It's got a post-apocalyptic feel to it. They serve food so there was someone cooking burgers on the grill. Had we not already eaten, we would have tried the food. The bathrooms are kind of sketchy and they are very small. The walls are covered in stickers but at least the toilet seat isn't covered. This is an interesting dive bar with a good selection of beers. It's a cool place to check out if you aren't looking for frills. 3.5 stars. read more

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Although these places are never really quite my scene, i can't deny the fact that Zeitgeist is pretty awesome. I've heard a lot of good things about it here and i had to check it out for myself. I love the outdoor seating. It reminds me of a park with lots of drinking and smoking. I met up with Greydon U., Stephanie B., and Sarah E. It was like a small reunion. I had a great time. There was also toasts going on through out the evening for some guy named Jack. Then later on Will A. showed up for his bday celebration. How awesome was it to run into people out here. Anyhoo, beers are cheap. The atmosphere is awesome. Port-a-potties were outside for your urinating pleasure... bikes are stacked everywhere. The smell of "oregano" was all over. It felt like my college days. How can you give a place that brings up nostalgia anything less than 4 stars? read more

It's a LOT like Linda's, only bigger and meatier (yes, they have a giant smoker out back). It's a 'order now, or outta the way, moron' type a' place that boasts a serious beer selection and a crazy collection of liqs. On a warm, sunny Thursday afternoon, their 'backyard' (about 20 picnic tables on gravel) was filled to the gills with about 200+ 'cool kids' gettin' their drink on. Their Bloody Marys are served all day long here and they looked amazing (lots of veggie accessories!). We had Lagunitas, of course, and made pals with the BBQ dude who let us in on a secret.. 'For a few extra bucks, yer burger comes out a lot faster if ya know what I'm sayin'.. eh??! Hahyahahaha.. Totally, brah. I got ya. Zeitgiest rocks, y'all. read more

It's a good thing Yelp doesn't drug test, cuz the amount of second hand marijuana smoke I inhaled here was enough to fail a urine test. That's saying a lot about a place when someone who lives in Ocean Beach notices the ganja aroma of a bar. It makes a lot of sense though. You gotta be laid back to overlook some of its shortcomings. It's cash only, unsanitary, and service with a "What the f*** do you want" type of attitude, but there's something about Zeitgeist that I really dug. I can't exactly put my finger on what it was, but I something about it had me hooked. Besides the bloody Marys or the burger with deliciously seasoned home fries, or the massive outdoor patio perfect for people watching there's a certain buzz that one gets from a visit. Oh wait... maybe I was just high?! read more

Oh god. Flashbacks. My date said she works at Google but knows nothing about computers. She considers herself a barbie and only dates guys who can treat her. She doesn't really like black guys but would make an exception for me. Oh and this was the first date. Awesome. Oh yea Zeitgeist. So when I was busy navigating my way around any meaningful conversation with this person the bar had its certain charms. The outside patio and seating is the big draw. You have to love community tables and talking with a bunch of people and weed smoking everywhere. Its like a little woody harrelson oasis back there with a ton of tattoos and beards, and loud loud extreme rock music. Seriously I never felt like a place was trying to dictate its clientele with its music choice than this place was. Damn I felt out of place. The beers were good and cheap and they had a few ciders on tap which is always a plus for me. At this point the date was waxing poetic about getting manicures weekly and massages bi-weekly. Inside there were video games and a cook in a window but i didn't try the food. There wasn't much keeping me in this place. It was just like being back in my drunken Fraternity days. Wood interior bar with smell of stale beer check. Outside patio with weed smoking and blaring loud rock music? Check. Sketchy bathrooms and too many people that you don't feel happy around check. Some are going to love this place and it will be their favorite and I say good on you. For others this place is going to feel like someone explained the punchline to a joke before you arrived and everyone is laughing and you missed the whole show. Some people get it and love it and some don't. read more

I love beer bars with outdoor space. Zeitgeist has all the ingredients for a perfect bar except for the perfectly horrible jerks that work there. The last time I went on a beautiful sunny day, the place was packed. To be understood since they have that great patio. While my friends waited in line for drinks, I looked around outside for possible seating. I tried to survey the area from the stairs and a bouncer came up and told me to keep moving. I walked down the stairs and out into the gravel and tried to look around more only to have the bouncer come and yell in my ear "I TOLD YOU TO MOVE!" Freaking a**hole, I did move! Was he going to follow me from place to place and just tell me to move? Someone take him off his 'roids please. Needless to say, we left and went down the street to Sneaky's BBQ - mega yum! Zeitgeist let me know when you get rid of the jerk bouncers everyone complains of. I will happily come back. read more

I go here, on average, once a year. Usually for a tap takeover. I try to limit it to that. 3 pints deep, I remember it's my dad's birthday. I go outside behind a gate to stay out of the rain and ring him. Security homeboy let a few people with bikes out, so I get out of the way. Back inside, another pint. That's enough. Grab the bike, make like the other folks I saw and leave out the back door. Security homeboy comes out, throws a hissy fit, calls us ass holes, and all the while my drunk ass self doesn't even know what he's yelling about. Oh - you're mad at me for using the emergency exit you let all your homies out through? My bad, honest mistake. I thought - since all these folks were leaving out the door - bikes go through the door. Honest mistake for a guy who tries not to go here more than once a year and is 4+ pints deep. But when there's a Sierra Nevada tap takeover, I make an exception. Not again. I imagine a good bit of the staff must be on some sort of rehab program or something, because the exceedingly short and especially furious security homeboy looked like he was ready to deck me in the face over this massive offense - for which I apologized profusely, by the way. But he probably needs this gig, like real bad, so he had to hold it together. Zeitgeist sucks, and there's no excuse for brazen douchery. I'm a mellow guy. I like the burgers and fries, so a star to you. We're taking our group of 30 to El Rio on Sunday instead, and forever forth. In my experience, El Rio even charge consistent prices for their beer. read more

When a lion leaves the plains, it quietly misses the annoying clatter of people trying to jump start their right-side drive 1984 Land Rovers. Then, when the lion returns they, oddly, want to hear that engine turn over, and over -- even if it means they had to sign a waiver to be in Brett Ratner's most recent safari sequel. In this case, I'm the lion. That's right, boys. And the plains is Zeitgeist. The sound is the port-a-potties clapping doors over and over. I returned last night after a few years and, what is this... walls on the kitchen? A real bathroom? And no port-a-potties? I'm still a lion, dammit. Once I felt the wafts of the burger grill, I was rest assured that at least this much has remained. I was ready to wait however long it needed to be to eat the burger. But then... something I've never seen before happened: I make my kind order, I make eye contact while tipping, the cook turns over his shoulder to notice cheeseburgers at the ready and hands me one then and there. I'm sure now that I've mentioned this in a Yelp review that I have made the cook angsty, I miffed all karma I had and I'll never see this happen again. Wait or not, I'll return. And if you see a port-a-potty door in a man's arms to nail to the fence so it flaps and flails in the Zeitgeist microclimate winds of getting you high, that's me. Drifting across the plains no more, I'm back for more & more roaring. read more

Still going strong. SF has changed. The patrons have changed, but the Venue it still solid. Two beers and a burger after a bike ride is magic. I got three blocks away and realized in a panic I'd dropped my wallet. I raced back. Just as I was asked for my ID, the busser dropped the wallet to the security staff at the door. Matt, Thank you. You wouldn't take a tip for yourself or even the Team. Thanks for doing such a good job! read more

I heart Zeitgeist. What's not to heart about it? Well, they don't have anything I can eat there... Yeah, yeah, they have a "veggie burger," but I'm scared of how Zeitgeist would interpret the veggie burger. And that's okay. It just makes them cooler. And that's what they have the TAMALE LADY for, people! They have every kind of patron you can imagine, all mingling in that grungy den of a "back garden," with pink elephants dancing up the side of the neighboring building and weird murals splattered across the fences, disrupted by nasty port-a-potties. They have GREAT music, blaring on the jukebox, and surly cooks screaming for drunk people to come pick up their orders from the grill... They have no-nonsense bartenders who can make eight of the best bloody marys in town at once without missing a beat. And barbacks that can chuck spent kegs ten feet into the keg pile in the back corner of the porch... They have sunshine for about two hours in the middle of the day, until the whole place falls into shadow, and even though it's a "gorgeous, Zeitgeist-kind-of-day," suddenly you're freezing. But you don't care. Because you're at 'geist, surrounded by pitcher upon pitcher of beer and all your friends. Friends you may have come there with, and friends you may have made 20 minutes ago as a result of squishing in at the same picnic table. When my friends and I decided to start a "bloody mary Sunday morning" tradition, there was no doubt in our minds where we'd go. Loyally, we gathered every Sunday through the fall until the rain came. And now the rain has gone... Oh yeah... read more

I swear I'm going to be here every Saturday from now on. The most perfect Bloody Mary known to mankind. Total equal balance of alcohol and tomato juice. Yes... the place is bit run down and messy but the outside is perfect for just lounging around on a sunny day. Bartenders were awesome and were doing a great job of making our drinks quite quickly. read more

Zeitgeist - Bloody Mary and Stella - Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Our hero isn't sure what the appeal of this place is, but this hipster mish mash of a bar is a bit too scattered for him. It's a tamale shop and bar in the front, a pool hall and burger joint in the back, and a hipster picnic in a construction zone (complete with porta-potties) in the outdoor area. Upon entering, the door man took a quick glance at our hero's ID and said "oh yeah, YOU... I've seen you here plenty of times." Actually, no you haven't. And you probably won't ever again. PROS: - Lots of outdoor seating. - Quick service at the bar, likely because most people prefer sitting outside. CONS: - Horrible restrooms. - Way too hipster for its own good. - Gets too smokey out on the patio for non-smokers. - Even the door man seems to be on something or other. read more

Top Ten Awesome things that happened at the Zeitgeist: 1) I had my birthday party there last year and my housemate got drunk and was pretending to drink from a container of bleach that was lying around only the cap was loose and it came off and spilled bleach all over him. We felt bad, but we laughed anyway. 2) Talking to some random people sharing our table one time, we spied a guy sporting a utility-kilt. As if that wasn't awesome enough, random girl #1 bet random girl #2 she couldn't slip a tampon into one of the pouches of homeboy's utility kilt, which, in the most anti-climactic bet winning move ever, she did two seconds later when he dropped something and bent down to pick it up and left one of his pouches totally exposed to tampon insertion. I'm betting he found the tampon days later and thought "oh THAT'S where that went." 3) My other housemate got a job there barbacking and checking ID's, so once when I was with a big group of people all going in he looked at me and just waived me on through. Awesome. Also, I am convinced that once the bartenders realized I knew someone who works there, I started getting my drink orders taken more quickly. 4) I ate a really yummy hamburger (many times). 5) I ate a really yummy tamale from the tamale lady (many more times). 6) Had a half-hour long argument with friends over whether the pink elephants on the wall are supposed to be a tower of pink elephants falling off a motorcycle or one pink elephant jumping down, frame by frame, onto the motorcycle (I say it's just one pink elephant--why would a whole crew of pink elephants all have the same Zeitgeist tattoo on their legs?) 7) Didn't have to wait for an hour to use the bathroom because there are port-a-potties right there! 8) Saw Quentin Tarantino (he was kinda fat). 9) Made out with a stripper (off-duty). 10) Oh yeah, I sat outside in the sun and got sunburned drinking pints of vodka lemonades and/or bloody marys and didn't give a damn (many many many times, and surely many more times to come). read more

How in the hell does this place average 4 stars? I went here tonight and it was absolutely horrible. To sum it up in one sentence: Bitchy bartenders and bouncers that were complete dicks. The place itself is a decent setup. They have a nice, large outdoor patio and on a nice day like today, it has the potential to be a great place to enjoy a beer under the sun. They have a pretty good selection of beers on tap, and the food that was cooking on the grill smelled pretty good. However, the place was packed like a friggin' sardine can. Lots of smelly, grungy guys and girls. Not my kind of crowd, but I thought they neither added nor detracted from my experience. I have no idea what bug crawled up the bouncers asses, but picture roided up, neckless slobs in sweat stained wifebeaters on a total power trip. One of these charmers screamed vulgarities at the top of his lungs to one young woman who had the audacity to stand up for a second on one of the wooden benches to look for a friend in the crowd. Completely unecessary. He also blew a huge snot rocket on the deck about 5 minutes later right in back of my friend as I was talking to her. I shit you not. This sort of place might appeal to some small segment of of the population that enjoys spending their hard earned money to be ignored by bartenders, berated by bouncers, and generally treated like shit, but as for me, I'd rather walk through hell in gasoline boxers before I ever step foot in here again. read more