Argus Lounge

Thank you Argua for closing… you wont be missed.

Such a solid little place. Firstly, it’s cheap: 4 dollar drafts of good beer, amazing cocktails for 6 bucks. Weekday and game day specials for 2 bucks and under.
Showed up around 10 on a Friday and ere was still plenty of seating. We snagged the ‘last supper booth’ under a half dozen different interpretations of the work. People were coming by all night to check out the paintings and climb into our both.
Service is helpful and friendly but there’s this weird thing about the bathroom doors not having locks and everybody walking in on everybody else.

Oh Argus how far you’ve fallen. The Argus used to be one of my favorite bars. The bartenders crafted great cocktails, they had pool, it was full of weird décor, it had candles. The new owners took ALL of that out. Now it’s just another bar with a TV.

Came in on Saturday September 10^th, 2011 around 11 PM — and found this place off of Mission. Dimly lit — nearly dark, — the place had a small crowd with a DJ working turntables in the dront.
I was warmly greeted by the bartender, John, who was one of the nicest bartenders I have met in San Francisco so far. He made a few different cocktails from their board — all reasonably priced between $ 5 to $ 8 as well a white linen which was quite tasty as well.
Beer prices were about $ 2 to $ 5 with an Olympia 12oz can only being $ 2. I will definitely be going again. Everyone seemed friendly — not too many females in the place though is my only complaint.

I have a crapload of businesses waiting on me to bust out! I would love to review something that isn’t alcohol-​related, bot that im an alcoholic.ahem. But since I mention in my last review about the bar hop trip on Mission, I will have to finish telling you about my night!
2^nd Stop!
We left El Rio feeling great, but nothing close to tipsy. So according to the Unilocal app, Argus was only less than .5 miles away, so we walked down and hit Argus. Honestly, if I remember right, there is no cover charge at this spot. But bars on mission definitely check IDs. This bar was quite something. Very classy, with dim lighting and hipsterish. Bartenders are very nice and friendly. Tall tables and high chairs, YAY! Place is loud, but at least the music is good.
Their cocktails are pretty cheap. Strong drinks and just right. The atmosphere is very chill and relaxing. Crowd is of all ages and everyone is there to enjoy themselves. Cocktails around $ 5 – 8. They have multiple beers for around $ 3 during happy hour. However, their happy hour ends at 7pm! All i remember was I had multiple cocktails and had a good time!

Good cocktails, beer selection is solid. Dangerously close to home.
Great bartenders – thanks for all the strong drinks, Andrew.
No attitude or scene here.

This place remains another solid spot for cocktails. It’s dark, divey and at times very hipsterish, but don’t let that deter you from the charm of the Argus Lounge.
There is often music, but no dancing. It goes from empty to full in mere hours, but there is always a table or chair at the bar.
I come here for fine cocktails and typically stick to the Manhattans. I also had their Bourbon cocktail special recently, well worth your $ 6.

Totally distastefully named drinks «The Jon Benet Ramsey». Rude bartenders– Seriously I didn’t even know what to say in response to her attitude. Now I hear they have a night called the «Alcoholocaust». Disgusting.
Won’t ever be going back there again.

First of All, if you can’t take a good dirty joke, forget about coming here. I’ve been drinking here on the regular for a while, but only on Tuesday nights. Tuesday is mostly Punk Rock DJ night, and usually there’s a good set. Beat the Wizard is fun if you’re a hard drinker and have a deep passion for obscure music. My boyfriend has won a few drinks :) thanks to that game.
Things to Note:
Bathroom, lock the door, don’t sit on the seat.
Bartenders: Friendly and funny.
Get there early for good seats, the bar fills up really fast.
Great Mexican food across the street.
Try not to get too offended by the JBR :)
It’s definitely my favorite dive bar.

The ‘other’ outer Mission bar. I enjoy two drinking parlors on Mission past Cesar Chavez– The Rio and The Argus. The Argus being the mellower of the two. truly a drinking mans bar/​lounge. The Argus as a typical layout, a smallish rectangle with the bar on the left and tables and stools to the right. Past the bar are the two restrooms and a back room that houses the pool table. The prices are certainly on the cheaper side of the bars in the area. The bartenders are diverse, friendly and capable. They exhibit keen bar vision and ensure that you will not go thirsty waiting for your refill.
Occasional Dj’s play on the set up in the front of the house. Otherwise it tends to be the bartenders Ipod or some such. The crowd is mostly locals and tends be young-​ish and hip-​ish. The place is cluttered with random brick-​a-​brack, on the dim side– and perfectly so. All in all simply a nice stop to quench your wants in a comfortable and cool atmosphere.

Look for the peacock feather sign and you know you’ve found Argus.
This is another standard neighborhood bar. Let’s just say that it get’s the job done.
The front can be a little crowded so I prefer the back.

Fuck this place.
The bartender on Wednesday night may have been the biggest asshole I have ever met. It seemed like a decent dive bar, somewhere I might otherwise like to hang out at, not busy at all. Here’s the rundown of my encounter:
I walk up to the bar and the guy just stares at me so I say, «Can I get two Tacates please?»
He asks for my ID then walks away. 3 or 4 minutes later after he’s done chatting with some other people at the bar he walks back over and when I go to hand him my ID, he turns around and fiddles with the cash register. Then he turns around and says, «I’ll take a look at that ID now if you wanna hand it to me.»
I look at him for a second to see if he’s joking, he’s not. I hand it to him, he looks it over then glares at me and says, «Ahh, a Gemini. That explains the love.»
He opens the cans and says it’s $ 4. I hand him $ 5 because asshole or not, I always tip the bartender. So I went back to the table and sat down and as I’m explaining to my friends how big of a jerk this guy is, he walks up to the table and slaps a dollar bill down on the table and walks back to the bar.
WTF?! What kind of douche bag bartender gives back a tip?
I can’t speak for anyone else at that bar but the tall black guy with glasses has a stick up his ass (no, it doesn’t matter that he’s black, I’m just saying it so you know which one to avoid). Stay out of this place unless you know the secret hipster hand shake or something.

I always wondered what the building with the pretty peacock feathers painted outside was…
A charming dive bar. I came here on the dusty vinyl dance night… there was no dancing but the music was really nice. It was a nice spot to sit with friends, listen to good tunes and drink good beer.

The Argus comes with a casual, but engaged atmosphere, a decent tap list and great prices on drinks.
There’s a pool table in the back, a little stand up front where there’s sometimes a DJ, and the bartender’ll take care of you.

Well hey there, Argus. Are you free tomorrow night? I’d like to press my back up against your booth and sink in for a while. I’m sorry that it took me so long to notice you. Truth be told, I liked you from first blush though — eclectic DJ, playful ‘tenders, sassy décor. I felt comfortable with you from the start — you’re just my speed. Like the beast you were named after, I’ll be loyal, I promise. Now slide down one of those whiskeys, please.

I was having a great time here. A 4-​star night. What was not to like? $ 2 Tecate’s. Hot buttered rum, which was a hot/​butterscotch tasting drink that had to be one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. We had the backroom (w/​pool table) for our group. Cute dogs running around. Found parking right outside. And, most importantly, hanging out with great people.
So why 1-​star? A certain drink, posted right above the bar, made me sick to my stomach. It was called a «Jon Benet Ramsey» and one of the ingredients (which was underlined to emphasize how sick these people are) was «CRUSHED cherries». I don’t know what world these people are living in to think that a raped and murdered 5-​year old is funny.
After this, we stopped giving our money to this place and just waited for our carpool to be ready to get the fuck out of there. For those that saw how my mood changed drastically, this was why. We tried to just pass the time by walking around the area, but my back was too fucked up.
Fuck this place, Fuck anyone that thinks this is funny, and Fuck whoever came up with this drink.

There have been several bars in this space since I started dropping in about 8 years ago, and I’ve liked them all. Perhaps the room is haunted by a benevolent, beer-​drinking ghost?
I serendipitously ended up at Argus last Wednesday evening after the group I was with found El Rio closed. It couldn’t have worked out better; there was a lively crowd but still plenty of space for our group to spread out in the back pool room.
I hadn’t been since mid-​2003 so it was a treat to be back, particularly since THIS time I was able to enjoy plenty of tasty adult beverages; back then I was pregnant and could only watch forlornly as everyone else boozed it up. Happy hour was a GREAT deal… I got my favorite combo of a tequila shot (GOOD tequila) with a Mexican beer back and it only cost me $ 9.
Argus is dog-​friendly. So friendly, in fact, that I witnessed a particular pooch who shall remain nameless (Matilda) stealing beer right out of her papa’s glass. I hope this anonymous dog (Matilda) is at least 21 in dog years.

I have 3 words for you.
Hot. Buttered. Rum.
Good lord in heaven, hallowed be thy name n shit. That drink made me wanna get religious on a mother fucker and start stabbing bitches with a crucifix from the pure pleasure of it all.
I love the layout of The Argus. It was a perfect spot for me and my friends to congregate in the back near the pool table and basically have our own little private New Years Eve Eve party. The bartenders were all hella cool and accommodating and the drinks were reasonably prices at around $ 7 each.
In the end, I lost a perfectly good joint that was given to me by someone special here so, if you find it, please return it to me ASAP. Thanks

5 shiny stars for allowing 20 Unilocalish miscreants who were supposed to be a-​partying @ El Rio (um, hello, ER, closed on 12/​30, porque?) to take over the «pool room», serving us well and putting up with our semi-​ruly behavior including birthday cake, pupusas and a wily half coyote half dog.
Props for good beer selection and I don’t care much for fancy cocktails but they did have a whole bunch of very fresh looking mint hanging out at the bar so they must take all that seriously. The music was great but don’t ask me what it was.
–1 star for their signature house cocktail, the «Jon Benet Ramsey» (vanilla Stoli, ginger ale and a crushed cherry). There’s just nothing right about that. Mister T. pointed out that they miiiiiiiiiight get away with a Nabokov Cocktail (12 year old scotch and a crushed cherry), but the bartender was not motivated enough by his suggestion to whip one up. Why that’s funny but not JBR I don’t know.

I don’t get the hipster movement.
No one can express my sentiments better than the #79 issue of ‘Adbusters,’ but this is not a review about a left-​leaning political/​social publication.
Argus caters to the hip crowd. The cookie-​cutter skinny jeans, ironic t-​shirts, thick non-​prescription glasses, handlebar mustaches, and other endemically pertinent accessories — including Grandma’s purse circa 1960 — abound here.
‘Tis true that the friendly yet tacit competition of who can be the most esoterically nostalgic of previous generations — or who can cock a J-​Crew wearer’s head to the greatest degree (ear to shoulder = consummation) — thrives at this spot.
But.
Argus presents an all-​inclusive environment without judgment. Entering in my perhaps passé non-​skinny/​non-​baggy jeans, sneakers designed in this decade and intended only for podiatric dexterity, a nondescript laundered shirt — as well as no bangs or tattoos — I felt welcome.
They have a great pool table, occasional weeknight cheese and crackers, fantastic drinks and nice bartenders. The space is fun and the vibe is friendly.
So, you — yea you — with the tallboy PBR and unnecessary comb-​over: let’s hang out. You can tell me about my unenlightened music preferences, my stagnated ability for self-​expression, and my tragic lack of artistic promiscuity — and I can ask you about any potential concern over blood clots due to increasingly shrinking skinny jeans, as well as your clever social commentary via lo-​fi photographs.
It’s OK — we’re both fans of Argus — let’s see what else we have in common before one of us departs on a fixed-​gear bike and the other on unfashionable Asics sneakers.

Classic Dive
The one problem with cafes on the West Coast as opposed to the East Coast is that they all close so darn early. So despite my lovely evening at Socha, was shooed out of there right on the clock at 11:00 pm. My Irish date volunteered that we walk on over to Argus, located just down the street.
Loud. Packed. Hipster central. As we walked through the human jigsaw and wondering aloud between us about the recent fashion trends echoing the 80’s return: tight pegged jeans and floppy hair. I’ve never worn acid washed, thank you very much. Regardless, walking into this place felt like walking into a room filled with friends. Every body there facing the entrance was smiling.
The bar runs the first half through the dark front room, flanked with small tables and stools. There was absolutely no room here but towards the back, a pool table and lo and behold, bench seating.
Music was pretty cool. A good mix of 80’s with a little foreign flair thrown in (French alternative, merci beaucoup) a little too loudly from the speakers positioned above. We were practically yelling at each other between watching a couple play pool.
Otherwise, a good location, right off the strip, and packed with friendly people and comfortable/​casual enough to catch up with a cute blue-​eyed lad with an Irish accent :p