Madrone Art Bar

Lettuce be reel, whats not to love about Madrone?!
The inside is divey-​ish with décor that would cater to anyone with ADD (DOES THAT DEER HAVE AK47’S AS ANTLERS?! SURE DOES!). its big enough that on MOST nights its not too hard to find a seat at the bar, or booth if youre lucky enough.
This review, though, is strictly for their Motown Mondays.
Did you have a case of the Mondays and just wanna grab a stiff drink while vibing to some soulful music? Me too.
The crowd is diverse, the drinks are stiff and the music is on point. Mondays are no longer manic!
Although they are known to hit capacity early, the staff is nice and fast… ensuring you get you libations swiftly.
Pros:
— Amazing music and great sound system
— Friendly clientele that just came to boogie, no fuss about it.
— Drinks are on the cheaper side (think mission dive)
Downsides:
— CASH ONLY BAR! Their ATM charges $ 3, so come prepared.
— They are known to hit capacity by 10pm, and charge a $ 5 cover as well (cash only, go figure)
Now its in your hands to turn your Monday frown upside down.

There is a cover, just to let you know, $ 5 the night I went. I’m not sure if it changes.
The night I went they were playing Prince and Michael J. Soooo fun! We came in and had a blast. But dang was it really packed in there, really tough to get to the bar and order a drink, very tough to dance. The crowd was pushy, not the nicest, but not the meanest.
Very interesting art on the walls! I am curious to come back and see what else they will have up next!
I don’t even want to mention the bathrooms… they were… let’s just say not clean. And I will leave it at that.
Overall, a place to come for pricy drinks, crowded dancing, and great art!

Had fun… small place, good music and got what you paid for drinks wise. Would definitely go back:)

I came here for the Prince vs. Michael Jackson night. Very stoked since it was a good theme. I guess to have really enjoyed this I had to be a bit drunk. It had nothing to do with the music selection because that was great. A lot of songs I could have danced to had I not been sandwiched by a bunch of strangers or shoved cos everyone had to get to god knows where? Like seriously where a bunch of those people going? To be sandwiched somewhere else? It’s a very small space so for events like this, expect to be cramped like a sardine. It’s annoying cos you’re trying to groove but you can’t cos everyone next to you is trying to groove but ya’ll cramped and there’s the one asshole who’s throwing their hands out or ass out shoving bumping 3 of the 5 people cramped.
I liked the place though, the staff was nice. However I had to walk outside for a bit to be less overwhelmed by the crowd. Once I walked back in, it was more easy to dance and have a good time cos a lot of people left.
Maybe some people like being cramped in and not dancing to good songs but a couple of people and I don’t. I’ll come back on my next trip to San Francisco, but lesson learn to come back an hour before closing cos by then there won’t be so much damn people. It’s a great crowd but I don’t want to be butt to butt with them -.-
Great events like this will draw huge crowds, is this the correct venue though? It’s a wonderful venue but maybe limit how many people come in cos it’s not fun to be stuffed and not able to dance to your favorite jam /​:
TL; DR ?: Really cool place but too small to host bomb events. Expect to shoved and squashed.

Pretty fun time on a Monday night with only a $ 2 cover (seems like the cover might be more on Fridays and weekends though). Come prepared to boogie.

Had an extremely rude bartender on Wednesday ¹²⁄₁₆. He acted annoyed and poured a shitty drink. I was not drunk but he treated me like a drunk annoying bitch. Well unfortunately for him, I wouldn’t buy a drink from him again.

They cover 5 $ for entrance and this is just a regular bar. In addiction, the barlady was too rude. She didn’t know what is a ale beer and she became extremelly nervous when I asked her which of the beers on the blackboard was ale or strong fermentate. So bad!!! Fortunatly the boy was more comprensive and I got my beer

This use to be my favorite place to get my dance on. It was filled with the free-​spirited and quirky.
The bouncers aren’t assholes like other clubs. They’re actually really nice. The bartenders could be friendlier, but they are efficient and on their game.
Recently, this charming bar has been invaded by douchey Marina types. This club is small and it gets crowded. It also gets super hot and sweaty. If this makes you irritable, then find another bar. If someone accidentally bumps into you and you give them the evil eye, this is not the place for you. You are ruining the vibe.

Awesome place. Nice bar. Went there first time on a Wednesday night to watch and listen to live band. Good ambience and music (funk, rock & roll). Great mid-​week crowd. Excellent mixed drink. No ventilation problem. Will be back.

Way too crowded, way too hot, and way too many guys.
These are problems that seem easily solvable. I’m not sure why they don’t fix it.
1) Get some kind of ventilation systems. The fans they have just blow the sweaty hot air around. As it is, the humidity is off the charts. They need to install AC or some kind of system that brings outside air right into the middle of the bar.
2) It’s unreasonably crowded. I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t always 80% guys. but there’s nothing worse that waiting in a 30 minute line only to enter a huge room of guys sipping drinks looking at each other and the very low number of girls who are dancing. almost all of which are with their boyfriends, or are gay. I hate to say it, but you can fix this problem by making it free for women and charging guys more… or just not letting groups of guys in.

I LOVE Madrone Art Bar. The cocktails are fantastic and the bartender Chris did a stellar job concocting them! Def check out funk night.

Good DJ’s on Blunted Funk Fridays (hiphop, reggae, funk and electro boogie) and Motown Mondays, reasonable cover.
Generally a good crowd that likes to dance (not stand around) but it gets very packed and flow traffic is a mess.

BEST DANCE PARTY IN SF!
MOTOWN Monday is the best place to start your week. Right on the corner of divisidero and fell.
They play feel good Motown music throughout the night and you’re usually dancing around amazing people. Awesome décor, fun photo booth, masseuse on deck, and large PBRs to satisfy your thirst on the dance floor!
Place is a little small, but they have two huge fans I usually stay under to cool off ;) No cover before 9PM and it is CASH ONLY — so bring yo dolla billzzzz y’all!

The drinks are so visceral here that I pet a dog.
The music is so groove here that my pants got wet.
I liken the Unilocal

First of all, Madrone inexplicably charges a cover. This implies there’s something other than your standard bar you can expect… wrong. They overfilled the place, took forever to get a drink, and it was too crowded to dance. It was MJ vs. Prince night so montages of both were playing on the screens, which admittedly is a cool concept, but the DJ was terrible. It felt like they just played the most obscure Prince song on a never ending loop the entire time.
In SF you have enough, much more interesting non cover options than this place. Do not recommend and I seriously don’t get what all the hype is about.

I’m so happy that Fringe is still happening after all these years! I haven’t been in forever until last night, but it’s still just as awesome (except for fewer cute boys and way more packed than it used to be).
+1 star: You can help yourself to water and don’t have to wait in the bar line.
+1 star: The DJ plays requests as long as they fall within the indie pop genre.
+1 star: Everyone is having a really good time. I experience no pretentiousness.
+1 star: I love love love all the music they play at Fringe, and this is the only time I ever see music videos these days.
–1 star: One bathroom is not enough. The line is sooooooo long.
–1 star: It’s wayyyyy crowded… like painfully.
–1 star: Why does everyone have glow sticks? It’s not a rave.
–1 star: Cash only.

I dug this place. Went on Saturday night for the first time. It was a $ 5 cover to get in– and this place is CASH ONLY!
There is an atm right at the entrance and we didnt know it was cash only so had to take money out. BUt the drinks are great– strong and well priced.
The tunes are also wonderful! It is a mix of the current popular songs and throwbacks to the 90s. They were playing caddyshack in the background when I was there.
It is just a fun place to rage and dance and meet a cool group of people!

Came here for a drink after dinner. Great atmosphere and music. Very hipster. There’s a deer head with guns for antlers mounted on one wall and a gigantic «bar freshener» that looks like those pine three car air fresheners. Will definitely be back!

Oh Madrone, how I art thee… Aside from the nasty bathrooms…
Other than that, I do love me some funky tunes, a quality selection of beverages (cocktails, drafts and a sour beer or two in bottles) and people watching. Yes. I think so.
Ps. I am determined to steal the Burberry AK.

Nice bar, small and crowded but always nice to be early and get a table.
Finding parking can be a pain, plan that.

Not a bad bar. The art cycles around so it’s interesting to see what changes month to month. They also hold special shows for artists and have h’ordeuvres sitting out sometimes. I came here when it wasn’t super busy so the atmosphere was pretty relaxing. Drinks aren’t too pricey (because it’s cash only) but to me that’s also a negative as if you don’t want to deal with third party ATMs, you’re pretty constrained.
The place is super dog friendly and just lounging around I counted at one time 4 dogs on site.
There is also a photo booth at the front which is a pretty nice touch and of special note is the live music which is PHENOMENAL.
I’d give this place a solid 3.5 but rounded down to 3 simply because I’m not super partial to cash-​only bars.
If you’re in the neighborhood though, you might as well stop by Madrone for a drink.

After a few years living in the neighborhood, I recently checked out Madrone. From the outside, it’s hard to tell how big it actually is. Once you’re inside, there’s a decent amount of seating and a hell of a lot of cool stuff to look at while you’re sipping your pint.
And as for the beverages, you won’t be disappointed. There are plenty of interesting beers to choose from (certainly more than your average bar offerings), on top of a huge wine list and many spirits.
You can tell that this is very much a neighborhood bar, which can be a good or bad thing. When I got there, the bartender chatted it up with a regular/​friend for about 10 minutes while I stood there waiting patiently. It wasn’t a big deal, but I could see how someone new to the bar might take offense to it. I definitely would like to check out Madrone more frequently, and maybe then I’ll be one of the regulars.

Who wants to stand in line for forty-​five minutes on a Monday night?
ME! Oh, God PICK ME!
As we finished our leisurely dinner I was somewhat perplexed by my friend’s increasing anxiety about getting to Madrone’s. After all, we were exactly one block away and it was Monday. How bad could it be?
Unbeknownst to me, Madrone’s is apparently where ALL of San Francisco’s coolness descends on Mondays because in this city it is REALLY awesome to stay up until 2am then wake up at 6am for work the next morning. In fact, someone I met invited me to a before-​work party the next day, which boggled my mind and filled me with simultaneous feelings of envy for a city with all the party one can take, and confusion as to why anyone would have to party so much. Perhaps to keep warm.
But I digress.
The positive of freezing in a line that creeps forward roughly every eight minutes is that you become better acquainted with your acquaintances AND make friends with the people behind you. Not the people in front of you as they are facing the wrong way. Though I suppose we were the people in front BUT we invested the action of turning an entire 180 degrees around and therefore were able to make friends. I’m pretty sure I have dissolved my point. If there was one.
Once inside it was, wait for it… WORTH IT. Worth it in a really really really crowded but fabulous way. I also found a hook for my coat. Finding a hook for my gigantic coat (Without out which this Hawaii girl would surely perish) made me extremely happy. As happy as if you handed me cake for no reason at all.
People were friendly, drinks were obtainable, and I discovered if you dance vigorously enough people will make space for you. I made an awesome new friend who dances with possibly even more gusto then I do and it was an amazing meeting of kindred spirits, two people harnessing their highest energies into skillful, jaw-​dropping, performance-​ready dance moves. At least that’s how it felt. It may have looked a little bit like «Two crazy ladies on the floor! Clear the way before their flailing takes your eye out!», but I’m mostly sure we were glorious.
There was also a bevy of hot dudes. But I didn’t notice because I am married. My radar completely missed all of the dimpled smiles, the chiseled jaw lines, the thin t-​shirts stretched over rock hard pecs…
What.
SO. Great Monday night, worth the wait, super fun, good good good. One word of caution, do NOT dance near the toilets. The toilets are one-​person and absolutely disgusting. If you accidentally venture too close you will suddenly find yourself jamming in an atmosphere of eau de fecal matter and essence of pee. The opposite of sexy. If you’re particularly weak you may even throw up.
Yes. Good times.