The Gallery Lounge

Sad, this place is one of the few low-​key, chill bars in SOMA.
«BOOOOOOO! :(«indeed.

I believe Gallery Lounge has closed:
.
BOOOOOOO! :(

This is definitely a lounge spot, although smaller than how I thought it would be.
Crowd: Mixed. When we came here Saturday night, there seemed to have at least three different parties going on and by 10:30 — 11:00pm, it was pretty hard to maneuver through the crowd of people.
Cover: None
Bar: Pretty long bar area with two bartenders with 3 large LCD tv screens hanging on the wall (since the Olympics were in progress, they had it playing on 2 tv’s while everyone cheered for the US teams). Bar seemed stocked with the exception they didn’t have Remy (they had Hennessy instead). Compared to a club, drinks were very decently priced — it came out to about $ 8 per drink ($ 40 for 2 shots of Hennessy, 2 shots of Jaeger, and a vodka redbull).
Music: Top 40’s/Hip hop, but no dancefloor. Music was pretty loud, don’t expect to use your «inside-​voice» here.
Bathrooms: One woman’s and one man’s (yes, singular). Ladies, believe that you’ll have to wait in line.
Parking: Street. Although we found parking without having to circle, I would say it might be harder at times considering there is another club located a block away and a couple other bars in the area.

Went here after dinner for NYE 2010 and it’s a nice, small laid-​back spot for drinks. They some great deals including $ 5 martinis and a decent selection of beers on tap. Loved how they played Transformers 2 in the background while playing hip hop & pop XD

The Gallery Lounge, in Michelin parlance, is definitely not worth a detour. It has nothing much to recommend except that it can be convenient as a meeting place and is unlikely to be crowded. I’m boring myself so I will end this review now.

So I really did not want to go out Friday night. All I wanted to do was stay in bed and eat and snuggle.
A $ 25 cab ride with the best Cat Steven’s playlist later, I found myself here.
I am the type of person who needs to prepare to drink and I was definitely not prepared. I wasn’t sure what the lowest calorie drinks were (go for the martini) so I was worried all my drinks had 500 calories. Haha.
Started off with the peach martini. I really wanted the mango but the bartender Stephany told me peach was better. The peach one was delicious but I really wanted to try the mango one so I got that one next. She was right. It was terrible. I had to gulp the whole thing down. It didn’t taste anything like mango.
Was there with my loverman and his coworker. They were set with drinking glowing green Tokyo Tea all night. Thank God for the three flat screens playing something else other than sports since the two assholes ended up talking about work all night as I sat in utter boredom. Haha. At one point I noticed one of the flat screens had a video game and people were playing video games. Haha.
5 Stars for the ridiculously clean bathroom, the fact that you can bring in your ipod or phone if you don’t like their music, the delicious taco truck outside which I hear is always there, and the super nice and friendly bartender.
I didn’t notice any art but the light bulbs hanging over the bar area kept holding my attention. They were so cool looking. Haha.

Chill atmosphere, no cover, awesome bartenders, clean bathrooms. What’s not to like?
We were here for a private party last weekend. It feels pretty great to have the bar all to ourselves. You can be as loud, belligerent and obnoxious as you want without the repercussions of someone wanting to fight you or whatnot. Just sayin.
Minus one star for broken credit card machine the night we were there. Though the people taking trips to the ATM at the front of the bar made for great photos.

We stopped by this place randomly because 1. there’s plenty of parking 2. there’s no cover and 3. the drinks are great and reasonably priced. It’s the perfect place to come with a group of friends if you’re down for a nice, chill night, or to grab a drink or two before heading out.
This place has a great vibe– it’s chill, dark, and totally relaxed. The bartender was super cool and made us feel at completely at home.
I give it 5 stars because of the drinks, the service, the ambiance, and an extra star because of the game they had on TV and the the taco trunk out front. We grabbed a billion tacos and brought it into the bar, ordered up some beers, and went to town. I had originally planned on just stopping by for a drink or two, but ended up staying the entire night.

I’m dedicating my 200^th review to you, Gallery.
Uhm happy hour till 9 anyone? Helloooo!
I’ve never had a bad experience here. The boys behind the bar know what’s up and I may leave here lookin like a hot little mess but I always have a great time.
One thing I don’t effing understand is why it can be super dead on weekends when there isn’t a private party.
All in all, great place to mingle with friends (or make new ones), solid strong drinks, a block away from my apartment so I won’t complain, and awesome bartenders. Do me a huge favor and go here. k thnx ;)

I came after work on a Thursday evening with friends. The happy hour here lasts until 9:00, with $ 5 peach cosmos (and other flavors) that AREN’T watered down! Parking was plentiful because it was after 6:00 — very convenient. They have some sort of artsy faux corpse hanging from the ceiling near the bathrooms which, by the way, were relatively clean for a bar.
Awesome place to just hang out and relax. Will be back!

Parking is pretty easy around here but be VERY careful of the midnight cut off of some of the spots near here. So you either have to move your car before that or just park somewhere better.
I had a great time here but the loud music was enough to make a conversation with 2 others impossible. You must talk in someone’s ear most of the time. Happy hour til’ 9? What a great place to unwind after a busy work week!

This place is a real bar. The interior is dark, the bar long, and the drinks strong. They’ve got an internet jukebox, a small back patio, and a cool vibe.
Happy hour is 4 – 9 with popcorn, $ 3 beers, and $ 5 martinis. When you’re done drinking you can stumble to the Caltrain or back to your SOMA loft.
My only complaint is that sometimes they play the music a bit loud to try to attract passersby. The place is kind of easy to miss so make sure you veer off 4^th and check it out.

Ash and I dropped in here after the San Francisco Online Community Report April Meetup to grab a quick drink before the «Lady K» was coming to pick us up. The meetup was great featuring Unilocal staffers Nish and Michelle who talked about Unilocal’s successes and hurdles of growing, managing a community and about the many offline events.
There was a lot to digest so a drink and some of this city’s best bar pop corn was to be had! We missed happy hour (4 – 8) but I still believe a $ 4 pint of a microbrew is a pretty great deal. The service has always been spot on here the numerous times I have dropped in after work, on the go or after a meeting. The atmosphere is very low key. The room is dark, a TV plays above the bar, music from a CD player skips in the background and a monthly art show hangs on the walls.
I heart the Gallery Lounge. Enjoy!

Relaxxxxxxxx
A friend of mine just finished a midterm and was needing a glass of red wine in order to rejuvenate himself so I agreed to meet him in SOMA since I was already down there and The Gallery Lounge was an easy walk.
An establishment paying tribute to the new face of the lounge bar: incorporating several features into one pleasant bundle so that full immersion for the patron is inevitable. Warm. Comfortable. Anyone stressed would appreciate the casual vibes and energy here.
Once in, I located my friend against the wall ensconced on one of the wonderful cushioned chairs, glass of red on the table. This is the prime area to sit and observe others move about and mingle in this creative medium. Fantastic changing art spans the walls and leaving the table every once in a while to view a work of abstraction is an open invitation from the artist.
I’ve been feeling slightly stressed as well, most in due part to a technical failure (that you, my friends, would know all about) and the typical oppressive bouts of boredom, so to be in good company, I had a piquant Syrah. Amidst the candle lit tables emanating low light, it was easy to lean back against the wall and converse over many things as life took other forms in front of us.
There is a fantastic happy hour here from 4 – 9, which no doubt attracts the rest of the neighborhood and after an hour the entire middle space was packed and bustling with noise. This is also a good place for dates because of the casual yet inspiring atmosphere and if the first step is good, Fringale is nearby for lengthening that positivity a little bit longer.
Great space and conducive to relaxation and spontaneity, if one so requests.

I went to the Gallery Lounge on a week night to catchup with a friend. It was around 10:30pm. When I got there, it was just me, my friend, his girlfriend, and an empty bar. Even the bartender was going in and out of the bar area. While I can see how this place is cool for a happy-​hour type scenario, the experience I had was merely so-​so. When I did order my drink, the bartender was very transactional and didn’t say anything. Perhaps it was because of the time of day that I was here.
If I make it back here and have a different experience, I’ll be sure to revise this review. Otherwise, I’d say don’t come here after the happy hour time frame. Might as well just drink at home. By yourself.

«My friends live a couple blocks away from this place…» — Tom Y. (From below).
I am one of those friends. And Gallery Lounge… I am a fan.
Not only is it 2 blocks from my apartment, but the drinks are cheap (esp. during happy hour M-​F 4−8pm), the atmosphere is hip and relaxing, and the bartenders are extremely chill.
I’ve come here about 5 times now and each time I’ve had a solid time. The place is never too busy although sometimes a bit too empty. However, I usually get past that when I’m surrounded by good friends and I’ve got a few drinks in me.
Sometimes, the «hipper» and «classier» bars/​clubs just don’t do it for me. Sometimes, I just want to chillax and enjoy a beer or 2
…or 3
…or 4.
When that is all you need, then Gallery Lounge can be your salvation.

Great happy hour spot in the SOMA/​Mission Bay/​Caltrain/​Ballpark area.
Good drinks, great price, good music, and nice ambiance (dim lights). They also have a nice patio out back where people can chat better or have a smoke.
This place can get PACKED at night where you can’t even find somewhere to sit.
I think on game nights, there is free food like hotdogs.

Gallery Lounge reminds me of Ricky Gervais’ David Brent on The Office. GL takes itself far too seriously for a dark little dive bar and the results are hilarious. In a pathetic kind of way. It’s laughable. I was actually told to keep my voice down in here on Friday. Dude, it’s a BAR. It’s Friday night. The place is packed. BITE ME. We showed up and there was some political agenda in place– some lady with a grating voice and thick accent shrieking into a mic that was spitting out all kinds of feedback and then some people dancing. You would have thought I killed someone’s cat when I tried to walk around the «stage» to go to the restroom. Imagine! Having to pee after a few beers!!! How vile. Oh yeah– did I mention the $ 10-​$ 11 mediocre cocktails and the crazy long wait to order a drink or close out a tab?
I won’t be back. And those two stars? They’re for the doorman and the vodka shot girls– you guys are alright with me.

2 and ½ stars for offering Chimay and Duvel.
2 and ½ stars for the hot dogs.
Done and done.

Unwind post-​work with a pint of Fat Tire or Stella. Super clean bathrooms, a bartender who’s on top of it and my personal measure of a serious drinking establishment — hooks to hang your coat underneath the bar (I’m of the belief that every bar top should have coat hooks beneath it.)
I could easily become a regular at this SoMA spot.