Columbus Cafe

Today the female bartender knocked over a drink onto my open laptop and onto my clothes. She didn’t apologize or offer any concessions, other than handing me some paper towels, after going to finish serving another customer. WTF? Perhaps she had a few drinks before her shift? Or has a laptop-​phobia? Or doesn’t like customers in general?
SF’s best happy hour becomes much less happy when this kind of behavior comes with it. I’d rather pay more for decent service.

Poor service. Their staff is rude and partisan to their own agenda. I do not recommend unless you like to be harassed by entrapment.

Karlee is the best bartender you’ll ever find, she’s a bad bitch on all fronts. Oh and there’s booze here too.

Big fan of Columbus Café! Great beer selection, and always a good vibe. We rented the downstairs about a month ago — which is a great deal if you’ve got a big party. They were cool with us bringing in outside food too.

*If you are on the waitlist for Tony’s Pizza, come here to kill time*
We came here since it was pretty close to Tony’s pizza and our wait time was about 2 days… jk. It felt like it.
Cool thing about this place is that they give you a poker chip during happy hour, which is good for another one. You could come back any other day.
This place is a dive bar, so expect to dive in, sit your butt down, get a drink, watch TV, catch up on your day, and leave (aka don’t expect to hook up with anyone or dance around to top 40s, although I really did apprciate the throwbacks)
I do have to say that the bartender did forget to give us our tokens, so it was a little awkward asking for them. She was cool though and gave it to us without making us feel weird about it.

Bartenders overwrite shitty juke box selections with HEAVY DEATH METAL! I’m sorry but what the fuck more could you ask for?

Let me just say karly and Laura made my whole experience .can’t compliment them enough… prompt service reasonably priced drinks… yaaassss hunty

I reallllly like this bar! It has a great vibe and it’s a great place to watch sports. It was really crowded during the Warrior’s playoffs (but what sports bar wasn’t?). I also came when it was a little low key and they have nice barstools and tables. The bartenders are really friendly.
It has a nice casual vibe but sometimes, you may encounter a random weirdo who walks in with a suit.
Another cool thing they do is something with tokens. I actually haven’t quite figured out what it is but basically, after a night at Columbus Café, I end up with some tokens in my purse. I think it leads to another drink? I have to keep going to explore this.
Golden Boy Pizza is right next door. You can order your pizza (cash only), then walk back over and enjoy your IPA. I highly recommend this as a great place with da homiezzz! :)

Actually like this bar normally but had to leave due to the bar tenders playing the most heavy metal awful music I’ve ever heard. Nothing like playing music that caters to the .03% of the patrons… Not a good business strategy… How about not play what the 2 bar tenders want and play what the patrons want…

As a somewhat regular, I really hate to do this, but when staff can’t be bothered to ask a violent customer to leave after witnesses have attested to seeing the person hit several times and push without provocation, there’s a huge problem. Rather than address it, we were told to «stay in our corners». All it would have taken was for me to walk by the group on my way to the loo, and a fight would’ve ensued. I work hard all week and don’t have time for that garbage. Karlee’s AMAZING (hence the 2 stars instead of –5). Why she’s not manager is beyond me and another thing that’s wrong with this place. Big fail on two fronts and definitely time for a new hangout.

Experience wasn’t great.

Possibly the best hapy hour I have found, good staff dont leave you waiting. pool and tv’s and always a crowd and good music playing on the jukebox.

I wanted to give this bar 5 stars. Then the bathroom problem started. Not only did we get a HUGE Whif of shit after the men’s bathroom door open and closed but the women’s is so nasty I actually threw up the first time I went in after that I had to spray perfume to even let me use the bathroom to pee. Each and every time. Also, the website says you can use your chips after happy hour is over til 9, they «changed» their policy a few months ago. If you change that then, you. Can change it online took we had to hold on to chips we don’t use or go to a bar except for bar league … Sucks they don’t keep customer service up and according to their website. Other than that, next time I come all my drinks will be free since you CAN keep your chips from the time before and cash them in after …

Bartenders overwrite your juke box selections with HEAVY DEATH METAL. I’m sorry but what the fuck?

Go. One of the best dive bars because of the 2−4−1 beers and the people. We went in for a beer and ended up staying all night. Has a pool table in the back and a $ 5 photo booth.
Great music played and a decent amount of beer selections. North beach is a nice place to walk and see the town.

Fresh squeezed greyhounds! We went in during afternoon hours when it wasn’t very busy — great punk music (thinking it was probably the bartender’s playlist rather than the jukebox). Great/​friendly bartender (I think her name is Laura?). We came in later that night as well with some other people. Music was definitely jukebox then (lame — but not the establishment’s fault) and the clientele was a bit frat-​like at that hour. Good spot — I’d go back!

A very good dive bar. Pool table adds the feeling of being back in college. The beer selection is great. The place is a bit dirty but that is the feel they are going for.

Thank you Rich you are an awesome bartender that saved my cell phone. Being out of town I was using my phone for gps… Rich saved the day with his excellent beer pouring technique, great personality and plethora of phone chargers… ps the pizza 3 doors down makes a great accompaniment to the beer
Great local spot with good happy hour.

A bit torn here, Columbus café is a solid dive bar and I always have fun when I’m here. Their happy hour is pretty clutch with their drink tokens — buy a beer get a token which equates to a free drink. Essentially, it’s buy one get one free but the tokens also don’t expire so you can come back another night and get you free drink, which I think is a fun concept.
The one thing that REALLY bugs me about this place is the music/​jukebox situation. They have a digital jukebox, you put your money in and then select your songs. However, if the bartender doesn’t like the song you picked or deems it not good enough they’ll skip the song. This happened on Saturday and when I asked the bartender she said ‘I didn’t like it so I changed the song’. If the bar wants to control the music that is fine with me but then don’t have a jukebox. I paid money to hear 27 seconds of the song I chose and you to flip it to some teen angst punk rock song? No thanks. I think it’s just a stupid concept, don’t take people’s money if you’re not going to play the music they selected.

True story: the only reason we came here is because we were waiting out our reservations at Sotto Mare next door. BUT! We lucked out because Columbus Café is pretty cool. Here’s why:
1. Our bartender was really great. Friendly, speedy service & super accommodating. She let us charge our phones behind the bar, with her cord! And when our buzzer went off, she quickly got us our tab & we cashed out in like two minutes.
2. We got a glass of house white and a beer, and our tab was $ 12. I don’t know how that sounds to you guys, but I’m used to NYC prices & that is a straight up bargain.
3. We were so comfortable! We found a pair of stools right at the bar, & the vibe was easy & relaxed. There were a few locals, as well as another couple at one of the tables behind us. The group was lively — but not loud!
All in all, we were surprised at how great a time we had here. I wouldn’t mind stopping in here again the next time I’m in town!