John W.
Yelp
Tl;Dr - Dive bar in the heart of SF that in many ways is the heart of SF. For those seeking uncomplicated drinks, their boilermakers are legendary. Oftentimes crowded in the evening, with playlists bumping. Daytime is laid back and chill. Box kitchen is affiliated with great food you can bring inside. Pool sharks lurk every night.
"Welcome to my office," is something I very commonly say when I bring people over here, I've been coming here for almost a decade at this point. Dirty in a good way, this definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for that certain kind of rugged gentleman, this is all you need.
Beers and boilermakers are the bedrock this place sits on, it's a shot bar at the core but they do try to offer other things like frozen cocktails and a revolving pre-mixed batch offering. Bartenders are cracking, they don't fuck around and it shows.
The solitary pool table is probably one of the most well known in the city, with regulars who will happily throw a little action on it if you get to know them a bit better. They do tend to be a little obnoxious when drinks are flowing, nobody has any business playing bank-only games when there's 10 people in line behind you, but it's the devil you know, right?
But I digress, this is my home bar and I've probably been here more days than I could humanly count and for good reason. It's unpretentious, straightforward, cheap, and it plays some damn fine music. TV's are everywhere so it's a great game-day bar also. They could probably do MMA fights but they probably don't to avoid ratcheting up the broham level further than it already is.
Yes you can definitely meet ladies in here. No, you probably won't take them home. It's loud, and attracts the real ones, not that candy ass crowd.
The Box Kitchen is next door and they are attached to this place so you can go out grab some food and then take it inside. There's even a free arcade but pretty sure we broke the living hell out that multiple times, not sure the joystick works right. Ah well, this is why we can't have nice things.
Still solid gold. You can't keep me away. I'll die in here, and host the funeral.