Blackbird

Good cocktails, great space. Gets a little loud towards the peak hours of the evening. At one point the tamale lady walked in and sold tamales — kind of awesome slash hilarious. The bartenders command all here and that’s perfectly fine with me.

Came here for happy hour one night; it was lively but not uncomfortably crowded. The bartender was nice and serviced quickly even though he was the only one behind the bar. Nice and cozy ambience overall. Would definitely come back!

Wow! This place is awesome. Each drink on the menu is unique and has its own flair, and not over priced for a craft cocktail bar. I’ll definitely be going back.

If you want a quaint little sit down bar with crafty cocktails, an extensive beer list, plush seating and friendly crowd, this is the place for you.
Their happy hour is quite decent with house wines, cocktails and a few beers (and free snacks if memory serves me right).
I love coming here on Sunday nights to sit in one of the booths and catch up with friends over a few drinks. It’s got a chill atmosphere and its decorated well so the ambience is friendly. And if you want to pick up a game of pool, they even have a pool table in the back!

Haven’t been here in a while, since it seems to be consistently packed and it’s impossible to get in the door. But hey, it’s a great bar… Right? Wasnt going to be a secret forever, right? Tonight I finally made it all the way to the bar, but it was a disaster. This place is a far cry from what it used to be. This was always my go-​to place to bring people and get a signature craft cocktail, shaken and everything! Imagine that! If the bartender tonight in the beanie and red plaid told me one more time «that cocktail just kicked the bucket, gotta pick a different one…» –while ushering me out of the way– I might have lost my mind. I guess $ 11 for a pre-​made cocktail that they’re going to run out of by the time you finish your order is all Blackbird has to offer now. We decided to leave instead of pick another drink for the 3^rd time and I don’t think any of us will be back.

So came here with my crew for the first time. Good vibes, there’s couple people here.
That’s not a bad for a Sunday in San Fransisco compared to the other bars we checked out.
Worth trying if you’re out of options in downtown!

I love the atmosphere of Blackbird! It was packed at 5pm on a Friday with all sorts of people from students, to bankers, to the nice little lady selling tamales. I had a drink with sculpin, mezcal and a few other ingredients. Overall I enjoyed the dink and would come back!

Super classy, delicious, and creative cocktails. MUST GO! This place is so unique and bomb.

While visiting in SF we couldn’t find a bar that had a good selection of drinks and a mellow vibe. So we where told of Blackbird and went to check it out because its drink selection would be amazing. Turns put not only was it amazing it was mind blowing good cocktails. If you want a good drink try «It’s all in the technique» such rich flavors. Service is good and the mixologist are playful and funny. Drinks are well priced and the vibe is modernish and inviting. Its a bar to check out.

Quality cocktail bar with knowledgeable bartenders, friendly bouncers, and a dynamic crowd full of professionals from diverse backgrounds. Although it’s a relatively small, narrow joint that isn’t terribly crowded during the day, it can get quite packed at night, but there’s usually enough room to squeeze in, whether with parties large or small.
Dependable drinks at not-​unreasonable prices, all in a lively environment — what’s not to like?

What are the requisites for a great bar?
Thoughtfully prepared cocktail list?
Plush, comfortable seating?
Innovative creations?
Blackbird has all of these things.
And Blackbird is a great bar.
The space is tres cool.
The bartenders are knowledgeable to hell & back.
You can just tell the bartender what you usually like… clear or dark, brand preferences, etc, & they will artfully & masterfully hook you up.
They make their own fireball. That deserves a nod.
I certainly wasn’t expecting to find such a chic spot in the duboce triangle. But this spot charmed & impressed me.
Is it a gay bar?! I had no idea! Even better. Every girl should have a gay boyfriend/​best friend. You know you really can’t take your actual boyfriend w you to the Nordstrom beauty department & have him help you pick your new season lipstick, right? At least not if you want legit help.
Blackbird is a pleasure.
5 stars.

I’m absolutely in love with this bar. Everything from the décor to the drinks, and especially the pool table in the back… great lowkey place to hang out. I’m not always in the mood for more social bars or clubs in the Castro District where I live. Black Bird has that perfect Sunday afternoon ambiance.
It was quite empty when my boyfriend and I visited. We were immediately served at the bar. I had a Bloody Mary, and he had a Pimm’s Cup. Both were fantastic drinks, and the rest of the drink menu looked tasy. We made our way to the back of the bar where the pool table resided. It was only one dollar per game, and there was no one else waiting, so we took our sweet time.
When another group came to play, there were plenty of half booths for them to hang out at. The rest of the time, we were just admiring the décor… the space above the pool table is covered in partial wooden planks, and every piece of furniture seems so well thought out. Definitely coming back here again, now that it has been added to my list of favorite bars!

Great place to grab a drink after work, they have a nice pool table in the back which has spacious seating for those who like to watch instead of play. They also have a long list of cocktails which sound very tasty, they have great selection of Tequila, I asked the bartender what tequila would be closest to Hornitos and he said, well «hornitos» is a crappy tequila, why don’t you try Mezal, I was down and so was my husband. We each had a tequila sunrise, they were tasty and strong! You must try this bar out, plus one block away is Brewcade so you can play some games!

This place is magical. No idea why I haven’t been coming here more! It’s steps away from my apartment. It’s crazy the places you’ll discover in San Francisco by just going out with friends!
I came here for an old friends birthday. The place was packed, but by the grace of god we ended up located a cute little table by the window that fit us all. Slightly cramped, but adorable so.
I ordered the spicy margarita. Well, I ordered 3 of them. They were delicious. The perfect amount of spice. They were strong to (which I love).
On top of that, the whole group took a shot of Tequila in honor of our friends 24^th. The bartender gave us those shots for free. That was nice of him!
Perhaps a little less than perfect because the place was a little too packed for me But, hey, you get what you get. The crowdedness of the bar didn’t take away from the experience I had.

One of my favorite happy hour/​cocktail spots in the upper Market area!
Blackbird serves classy cocktails + craft beers in a divey-​chic setting. I came in here the other evening for a quick pop. I only had $ 10 in my wallet, and I knew that the bar was cash-​only. Fortunately, they offer happy hour from 5pm — 8pm on weekdays. And much to my delight, one of their discounted drinks was an Old Fashioned (one of my personal favorites) for just $ 6. That’s a steal!
There was only one bartender working the crowded room. But this guy was working his butt off. I saw him mixing two (maybe three) different cocktails at a time. With one hand he was stirring a drink, and with the other he was shaking a martini shaker. It was really quite a sight to behold — almost the equivalent of patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. In any event, I got my cocktail in a timely manner. It was very stiff and served with one of them trendy, overly-​large ice cubes. It definitely hit the spot after a long day at the office.
The bar attracts an eclectic clientele. It’s a nice mix of gay, straight, hipster, and neighborhood bar flies. There’s nothing pretentious about the place. It’s just a straight-​up good bar.
My only complaint was that my $ 6 happy hour drink wound up costing me $ 10 because the bartender was too busy to give me change. But at the end of the day, the busy guy made me a damn fine cocktail, and it was worth every cent.
Long story short — I will definitely be returning here the next time I’m in the hood.

Came here with friends to get a drink before dinner. Location is prime and the setup inside is pretty nice. Service was friendly albeit slow. We ordered some drinks off their menu which were good — but honestly they each seemed to be one ingredient too complex.
The Martinez has a very flowery gin that made the drink taste «perfumy» — we ordered it again with a different gin and it was very good.
The Mash was ok. Solid Rye drink but the added mint gave it a weird flavor.
Lastly I got their specialty oak-​aged Manhattan with some sort of dry cocoa liqueur. Again, it was good, but the flavors did not really mesh well together. The oak and cocoa were battling to give it it’s ultimate flavor.
I wouldn’t seek this place out, but I also wouldn’t object if we were to go again. It’s probably a four-​star spot once you know what drinks there you like. My first experience was just a bit off.

The hipsters strike again.
A great place to come for happy hour after work-​inexpensive but great drinks, I got a couple whiskey sours, which were great.
Cool vibes all around. Definitely recommend.

Ok, so I haven’t been Unilocalful in a very long time– but I just want to say that after coming here on a whim last Friday, I was so so SOOO ecstatic with my overall experience at Blackbird, I had to write this review. Let’s start off with the preface that I love Game of Thrones, and Blackbird has an entire menu of drinks named after this show. Can someone stab me already? Am I dreaming?
There were 3 drinks that my party of 3 ordered: Castle Black, Mother of Dragons, and a Cucumber Gimlet (yes, I don’t think my friend who ordered that was a Game of Thrones fan). But all three drinks were great, and for all the pyros out there, you should definitely order the Mother of Dragons :)
This bar gets packed really fast and the interior is dimly lit. Overall, I would definitely come back for more. Also I would have preferred to stay longer but no one really wants to start off and end the night at the same place, especially on a Friday night!

Cool spot in Castro.
Good luck finding a seat if you like to sit.

Talk about an incredible specialty cocktail.
The drinks at Blackbrid are uniquely handcrafted, fun and unusual. All of the cocktails listed (or you order) have a little something «extra» added to them. Blackbird puts their own twist on each beverage to put it over the top.
They have a rotating specialty cocktail list that is based off of pop culture, which I think is a really neat idea.
PS this bar is no longer cash only, so come on down because they’ll take plastic.