Kabuki Entertainment

8 dollars for a Corona? Even better, 8 dollars for a Bud Light?!?
I’ve always heard the phrase, «If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.» Fair enough. I’ll actually use some restraint here.
No thanks. Never again.

Drinks are $ 10 a pop. $ 20 min drink charge per person. Karaōke’s free but that doesn’t help since we got there after 1 and there’s a 30 min wait for a song.

omakase and sake feast at neighboring ino… peer looking for a cigarrette… finding an empty kabuki night club… sells only marlboro lights. premium price of $ten…cold outside and asking if okay to have it inside the club… not a problem… the rest of the herd enters… small dance floor… young girl, young boy and older women working the club… open karaōke screen and mic… music pumpin’…whiskey and drinks passed around… complimentary popcorn, chips and salsa delivered… group of five in an empty club… dancing and silly… finding another small group entering. behaved and watching our silliness… such a random thursday night in japantown, san francisco…

There is no better place to do Karaōke than in the heart of Japantown, so this place immediately gets a thumbs up for that. A friend rented out this venue for his birthday, and I have to say the staff members were extremely polite and friendly to us. Considering our rowdy group, this says a lot!
The song selection was just average. Mostly old 80’s — 90’s stuff you would hear at a wedding, and many tracks were crossed out as unavailable. Also no jacks to plug in an ipod/​iphone, but– If you’re with a great group of people, you have all the proper necessities to have a blast at this place.

Didn’t think I’d be the first to review this Lost-​In-​Translation cum San Francisco karaōke lounge that is just as classic and unique as every other spot in Japantown. They somehow combine a great view with the ubiquitous karaōke singers, some pros from Asia, some ex-​pats from Asia, and some rare brave locals. There’s a private rooms, many private-​ish booths and pretty girls running around. Whenever I go, I sit at the bar and relish in my memories of living in Asia. The door guy /​ambiance ensurer /​bouncer named Al really has a lot of interesting stories. Drinks aren’t cheap, but admission is free and to have another experience like this in the USA is difficult for sure. Step on in, have a long island iced tea (the alleged best deal) or buy a full bottle (they’ll save it for you in a liquor locker if you don’t finish) and enjoy a true cultural experience. Characters are abound, but whatever you do, behave.

Top notch operation