Monarch

This is really 2 venues: Upstairs is a bar scene and the downstairs is the club scene that’ll take you back to the era of disco minus the sequins and leotards: Body slamming and no room to breath, love it.
Why not 5 stars? Drinks, the bar part upstairs, nice but the drinks are priced high but quality of a dive bar. Since I have a HUGE alcohol tolerance despite my size, I am still a connoisseur at heart for good booze.
But, let’s face it, by the time one gets to Monarch around 11:30pm, are you really still tasting anything?

Yo man I’ve gotta give this place props for there bathrooms, hella clean and one even has a whole disco scene going on, these gender neutral bathrooms rock. The crowd inside is definitely different then you’d expect. The photobooth is cool, no one would go in with me tho, boo.
The drinks are made really good, fare prices, and the bartenders are great.
The vibe is great and the music really gets me pumped.

Fun little spot before heading to a nearby concert last week — great vibes even though I’m not a huge fan of that area in general (right near civic center).
My friends and I stayed upstairs but I believe you could go downstairs to see live music for $ 10. It looked/​sounded really fun so I would definitely go back and try it out!
Also tried Patron Café for the first time (coffee flavored tequila) and it was delicious!

Piece of shit. Ordered a $ 12 drink at 1:30 that was «confiscated» because it was too late to drink. Consequently harassed by the bouncers who took my phone. If you’re looking for a chill place to dance and have a few beers, go elsewhere.

Awesome ambiance. DJ Robert Hood’s music was freaking awesome. Great lights and music.

I had absolutely the worst experience I have had with a bartender at the Monarch last night — Feb 5. Below is how the bartender (the woman at the front) poured out our drink and practically told us to get lost:
I asked for a shot of rum for my partner and the bartender asked what kind, both me and my partner tried to answer this question at the same time. The bartender made the judgement that I was interrupting my partner too much and threatened to not serve me if I «interrupted him just one more time.» After she poured the drink I said we were interested in two drinks, she asked «what drink do you want sweetie?» I found it distasteful to be called sweetie after being told to shut up. I asked for a vodka gimlet, gave her my cash, and asked her not to call me sweetie. She then grabbed the first drink she had made for us and poured it out and said we could ask another bartender to make our drinks. We left the bar.
Who knows, she might have been having a bad night. But we all get stressed and we all have bad days and most of us don’t take it out on random strangers. We literally exchanged 3 sentences and she decided I needed to be taught a lesson. It was gross and it kind of ruined our (until-​then) happy night.

I liked the lady bartender on Saturday night. She was friendly and on point with her drinks. Even though the place was crowded, she stayed calm and friendly. There is a dance floor under the bar with DJ’s playing different kinds of music. The cover to get in to see the DJ was ridiculously over priced even when there was only 10min left of the performance, which is why I am giving this place 3 stars.

Pretty bougie place. Nice décor and all that. But! In order to hang out with the cool kids downstairs, you got to pay cover. I guess they try to keep out the ghetto people since it is off 6^th and mission. Didn’t really like the music and the scene. It’s a pass for me.

Beautiful spot with a very chill Sunday party and a heart that beats house music and EDM.
It’s a bar or maybe a lounge and not a proper nightclub — way too small.
I’ve been here 3 times and decided not to come back after the last time. Clue should’ve been when a couple in front of me with the «ideal» 1:1 boy/​girl ratio walked straight around and back onto the street without paying the cover.
Maybe as payback the ticket girl overcharged me for the «underground» party. Seriously, we all know the cover is $ 5 and it even says so on the website. Was I dressed too much like an I-​banker? Did I smell?
As a female I have NEVER been overcharged cover in SF — except for that night at Monarch. I guess she didn’t care if the party inside was a sausage fest. ON A SUNDAY.
Jokes on her bcuz my date that night (who was already inside duh) was fooooooine!!!
Ok this review stopped being coherent.
In summation: cute space, love places that support house music, but just no
Also, all the other reviews are correct. The upstairs dance floor is tiny and blocks the path to the back bar and sitting area. You will be crashing into people whether you want to or not. The space works better as a lounge.

Rude woman bartender + rude coat watcher girl, whatever her job title is.
Will not be back here, save your money and go elsewhere.

I’ve been here twice now and have had two bad experiences. The drinks seem fine and the regular bartenders seem nice so no problems with them, and I think this place would be fine if you were willing to pay for an upscale cocktail or pay the cover to their club portion.
However, as an after hours bar, they are pretty dead as everyone is clearly at the club part of the bar. I’ve heard that it’s a really good sound system, but they’re very strict about the cover; no exceptions if they’re going to close in an hour or if it’s your birthday. That’s totally understandable, but doesn’t make me want to come late at night or on my birthday: p
But, today I had such an offensive bartender, that I’ll probably never be back. I came for a free, open bar event and the bartender was the rudest one I’ve had yet. I put my order in and she nodded so I thought she was making them. She then filled 6 other beer orders before making the mixed drinks I asked for. She then proceeded to give my drinks to two guys that had just asked for drinks. When I tried to complain, she said she’d make some, but since it took her 20 minutes to make the other round, I said forget it. She then yelled at me that she was doing the best she could and that it was a free event. Glad to know that, if it’s a free event, I shouldn’t expect to get served and the fact that I don’t have a penis means that a female bartender (the one with pooky tattooed on her) will put me at her LOWEST priority.
I’m sorry, but there’s too many great bars in the city to give this another try.

One of the prettiest bars I have ever been to. Gorgeous framed cutout allows you to peek through into the smaller room and see some of the movies projected. I was absolutely memorized. Drinks were solid, and though I didn’t pay for them, I feel confident that they were probably a little pricey.
Came here for the Motorhead afterparty, and I see it being a good venu for something like that. The space is great for walking around from section to section. Tiny dj area, poor things.
Bathrooms were beautiful.
A place that definitely draws me in and makes me want to come back just to be a part of the lavishness.
I am in love with Monarch.

Deep house down stairs, swanky lounge upstairs. Drinks are actually well priced, a hanger 1 dirty martini and jamie & ginger for $ 20 total in the city. The downstairs can get pretty hot is my only gripe, wish the ventilation was better. Be prepared to pay cover if you wanna dance downstairs, upstairs is free.

I come a lot to this bar and always the same issue.
There is this girl bartender always working upstairs in the entrance that always give us bad attitude but last night she crossed the redline… I ordered Jack Daniels, she asked me if I want to keep the bill open and I said yes, I went downstairs to the party when I came back to got my bill I saw she charge me for 3 whiskey instead of 1.
When I tried to speak to her she started giving me faces and call the security to throw me out of the place…
It’s not even the money issue it’s just the way she treat customers.

I’m only giving Monarch a 3-​star because this place allowed me to make some good memories here with my friends, otherwise for me this place is a 2.5 star.
So this is how Monarch is:
On a Saturday night you stand in a line for 15 minutes, until you get treated by a bouncer who acts like you owe him something. Then you enter, at this point you have 2 options: go downstairs and pay $ 20 to dance with a bunch of dudes, or just stay upstairs and hangout at the bar (where there is no entrance fee for). At this point if you are not much of a dancer like me and like good music, should be convinced to not go downstairs.
There are 2 bars upstairs and one bar downstairs. The ambiance is very hip, and the crowd here is quite chill. They sometimes have a dancer, and they also sometimes play movies on the wall. I have mixed feelings about the bartenders here. Some of them are very nice, and some of them are rude and very into themselves. Drinks are also a bit over priced ($ 9 for a vodka red bull, and $ 12 for a long island iced tea). Overall, this place is just OK.
One thing to keep in mind is that they don’t accept credit cards for orders under $ 20.

I am so fucking embarrassed for the LEGEND that is Greg Wilson… only because the staff at Monarch was mind blowingly amateur and RUDE!!! Some guy who works for Monarch (douche) leaned over, onto his DJ deck, turned down the volume during Greg’s set!!! WTF??? I was face palming so hard, Greg leaned over to the guy and did a very obvious «no no no!!!» and the guy who messed with his set gave a «OH OOPS MAN SORRY!» …WAT
are you fuckin serious? NOBODY, no one, nobody, touches the audio playback while the DJ is active. No, one.
The opener before Greg was probably the worst DJ I have ever heard, how in the gods name can you put that assclown before GREG WILSON? his transitions were horrific, and music choice was bizarre and just, literally killed my excitement buzz.
how is there no barrier between the DJ and the drunk ass crowd? people setting their drinks next to the electronics, LEANING INTO and in front of the DJs hands as he is mixing… Greg had to push some drunk womans hands off. Another guy was trying to high five Greg, I just… what???
Seriously, on behalf of me even having to witness that shit, I am so sorry.
I got stopped leaving the place, with the water bottle I BOUGHT THERE, and refilled THERE… like i had a fuckin bomb explosive and was told to discard it before leaving harshly. What the hell? way to totally put the night ruiner cherry on the shit sundae.
MONARCH — –GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER.
I must say though, the guy who DJs with the sheriff hat is legit and very nice. I like him (he works there)
Greg, you were AWESOME and so so lovely.

I volunteered for a SFFS event. I worked with the Monarch staff on event preparations, everything from food to swag. The bartenders are incredibly helpful, which I feel is a rarity in nightclubs these days. The owner/​manager was also incredibly friendly and was willing to do whatever it took to make the event perfect for the film festival.
The bar itself is really cool. I would absolutely spend time there outside of planning events.
Awesome décor!

Usually a lovely place to hang, but had to write a review after a few negative experiences, most namely the one I had last night:
Bouncer to get in downstairs (for Damian Lazurus) offered the men in front of us a $ 20 cover, and the two girls a $ 10 cover. When we requested the same price, he told us that it was a strict $ 25 and denied ever offering anything less/​anything different for girls.
Straighten up, Monarch bouncers, or you’ll start to lose your regulars!

I recently spent President’s Day weekend in SF and Monarch made our weekend! The dancing was fun and there was a warehouse-​like party downstairs. For those who are from LA, it’s very much like The Townhouse in Venice.
There is a cover ($ 10) to get into the dance floor downstairs. Both upstairs and downstairs have a DJ so if you don’t want to pay you can still have a good time.
Water is very readily available which I think is really smart of Monarch! There are little coolers on the corner of the bar with cups so you can pour your own water whenever you need it.
Great crowd!

Un endroit magique pour faire la fête en semaine à sf. En tant que français de passage, j’ai passé ma 6 ème soirée la bas et c’était extraordinaire à chaque fois.

There is absolutely no need to pay a $ 21 cover to attend this downstairs club (upstairs lounge is free). It’s not bad but it’s also not superior to plenty of others that offer guest lists all over the city.
The ground level has interesting light installations and an overall trendy décor.
However the downstairs dance floor is rather plain and VERY VERY HOT and stuffy. You don’t even need to be dancing to start sweating bullets.
Tonight’s DJs were deep house. It was nice but not terribly exciting to dance to. Overall, this was one of those rare times that I didn’t enjoy dancing the night away.
I might pop in for a drink in the lounge if I am in the area but as long as there continues to be a cover and no guest list, my friends and I will not return for the club.
FUN FACT: There is a photo booth in the lounge but it was broken when I was there. Broken photobooth for young women is the equivalent of offering candy to a child and then withholding it. Ignorance is bliss my friends.
NOTE: If you aren’t familiar with SF, this street has high crime levels (it’s safe for you, just not your stuff). So if you happen to drive and park by the venue, don’t be an idiot and leave nothing visible in your car or it WILL be broken into. I wouldn’t lalagag on my smartphone either, it will get snatched.

O Monarch é um bar muito interessante. Aqui você pode beber um drink descolado sem gastar muito dinheiro, se aventurar pelas pistas de dança subterrâneas, e até ver um show sensual de uma dançarina.
O SoMa é a alma de São Francisco, é onde tudo começou. E mesmo que hoje não seja o melhor bairro, ainda há muitas opções para os amantes da vida noturna.
Fui ao Monarch duas vezes na mesma semana, numa quarta e numa sexta-​feira. Ambos dias estavam super animados! Hipsters para todos os lados, tomando um drink colorido e mostrando seus óculos de aro preto por ai.
Para escolher o drink pedi ajuda do barman. Disse que gostava de drinks secos e preferia algo com gin ou whiskey. Acabei provando um drink bem gostoso com gin e limão. O mais legal é que enquanto tomava meu drink e conversava com meu amigo, estávamos assistindo o show de dança de uma mulher numa espécie de bambolé voador, incrível!
A vibe aqui é legal, você pode flertar, conhecer pessoas. Se estiver animado desça para a pista e aproveite uma das melhores acústicas de SF! Realmente para dançar até o amanhecer (ou até o bar fechar… rs)!

Wir stehen vor der Tür und werden von einem massiven Türsteher gebeten, unsere Ausweise zu zeigen. Da der Großteil von und schon über 30 ist, hat der Türsteher einige von uns unbeabsichtigt sehr, sehr glücklich gemacht. Während wir vor der Tür stehen, wird gerade ein Typ verhaftet und von der Polizei abgeführt. Die Bar befindet sich also in einer malerischen Nachbarschaft von San Francisco.
Drinnen stechen wir auch sofort als Fremde heraus, aber werden vom Barpersonal nett beraten und bestellen. Mit unseren Getränken verziehen wir und und in das hintere Ende der Bar und quatschen. Immer wieder schauen merkwürdige Gestalten um die Ecke, starren uns an und gehen wieder. So langsam fühlen wir uns etwas unwohl, aber die Cocktails sind super. Nach ungefähr einer Stunde kommt der Türsteher zu uns. «I got a confession to make. You guys are a crowd… A nice crowd. You just sit here, talk and drink. It is nice to have some normal folks around here.» Wenn man sich dank so einer Ansage von so einem Kerl mal richtig wohl fühlt, ist das Monarch echt eine Bar, die man mal besucht haben sollte.