Mr. Smith's

I attended a birthday party here. It was a fantastic party and I had a great time--they reserved the top floor of the bar and the space was perfect for what they needed. My hesitation to give a higher rating comes from the pricing and the location of the upstairs bar. It is a small window that makes ordering a drink very difficult and causes a lot of congestion. The prices are a bit on the high side and there is not really a cheap option--Bud Light's cost the same as some of their more upscale beers. I would recommend trying their happy hour--I imagine that would be more my scene.

Pretty interesting place on the edge of SOMA. If you're looking for a lounge area and a dance floor in the same venue, this place is it. There is a small patio in the front for you to wait in line if its raining, and the place is a little hidden that the one way you can tell its there is by the bouncer or people in line. On the weekends there is usually a $10 cover. There are two main floors. The lounge floor is visible as soon as you get in, and it's pretty nice. There are a good sized bar and plenty of benches and tables for groups to chill in. Downstairs is the dance floor, which is pretty sizable and has a smaller bar. I recommend getting your drinks on the lounge floor. The drinks here aren't too pricey. Most drinks range from 8 to 15 bucks, depending on what you get. The bartenders serve pretty strong drinks. The DJ here tends to play mostly hip hop from the 90s and 00s, with some today's music mixed in. I highly recommend this place if you're going out with a pretty sizable group. I like the fact that I can talk to someone on the main level then go downstairs if I want to dance. I recommend anyone that's looking for a good night out to check this place out.

I came here for a bachelorette party, and I was surprised a place like this exists in Mid-Market. The decor is speakeasy/saloon on the ground level, and the dance club is at the basement level. There isn't much room to dance down there, so I can see myself being really uncomfortable if there a lot of people the night I went. We reserved a table with bottle service. But if we didn't, I know we would be struggling to find a place to sit because there isn't much seating overall. The staff was really friendly and made sure we were comfortable. Of course it helped that one of the beautiful ladies in our party caught the eye of the owner.... Jokes aside, the hostess/waitress who brought us to our table took good care of us that night. The music was pretty good. The DJ that night played a good mix of 90s hip hop, today's pop, and other remixes. The crowd at the basement level was a bit less classy than that at ground level as the night progressed. (Or I'm getting old and can't stand the youth anymore...). I feel like Mr. Smith's wouldn't be the first place in my mind to go dancing, but a place where you can get wind down with good company over drinks. And with that in mind, I'd like to go back for happy hour soon.

I thought I would like this place seeing that it's highly-rated but it failed to impress. I might have had a better time though if I wasn't trying to have sober fun. I dislike not remembering tidbits of my night, but I definitely would not have minded having a hazy memory of this place. There are three floors: entrance/main bar, small upstairs balcony with small bar, and a downstairs basement/dance floor. The two upstairs room are mainly just for lounging. The dance floor disappointed. It's pretty small and was SUPER crowded. My friends and I were getting pushed, elbowed, shoved in all directions and it was annoying. I do not appreciate getting elbowed by drunken fools while staying in my spot. The DJ was pretty bad too. He started off with the normal hip hop music that everyone knows and can dance/sing to, but then started playing some other stuff during the second half that no one knew. It was a major buzzkill to my already weak buzz. It wasn't until the very end that he started playing good music again. Also, there was no ventilation and the fans weren't working that night, so the room was extra stuffy. All in all, definitely not my favorite place to be. If I end up going again, I'll be sure to be plenty boozed up.

This place has a really solid selection of booze at a fair price. The downstairs dancing floor is cozy but not claustrophobic. Be aware that sometimes the bouncers can be rude to the point of seeming downright sinister, but the bartenders more than make up for them.

I've been here a couple times since it is in close proximity to the Civic Center BART station. There is usually a $10 cover but I really like the crowd as its mid 20s-early 30s so its always fun and you will get to meet some pretty cool people. I really like the 7th street gimlet here, it's their most popular drink. I also really like how theres 2 floors, so the people who wanna dance and the people who just wanna sit and enjoy their drink can each enjoy their time separately. I haven't been for awhile but I wanna come again soon just thinking about their yummy cocktails.

Mr. Smith's is a discreet looking spot that doesn't have a brightly lit sign or anything outside, but always has a long line of youngsters there on the weekends after 11 PM or so. It's a cool multi-level spot with a VIP section up top, a bar on the main floor, and a dance dungeon down below. They actually play some pretty decent music and mash ups of 90's and 2000's hits which cater to their young post-college crowd of scenesters. Their mixologists make some pretty decent mixed drinks at 10 or 12 bucks a pop and they also have a couple of mainstream beers available downstairs as well.

I've been here a few times for Happy Hour. Beautiful inside with a great group eating area upstairs and downstairs. However, what I loved about Mr. Smith's was their happy hour 5-dollar specialty cocktails, and they've stopped doing that. Bring that back and Mr. Smith's is perfect.