The Riptide

My husband and friends and I have been coming to the Rip Tide since it opened. We even came here when it was the Sand Bar and before that the Oar house. However since it has been the Rip Tide, it has been a weekly home away from home for my friends and I.
Since the fire, we have simply been lost without our cozy booth, and our bartender friends and neighbors that we see regularly. We support you and miss you terribly.

It’s a shame about the fire, this place was a great little bar stuck far enough out in the Sunset to keep it off the radar a bit. The bingo games always got the place collectively going, and all of the sudden some dude next to you is your new best friend bc now you have a common goal (other than wasting the day away on a barstool.) The bartenders know how to pour a drink and really don’t take any BS.
There always seemed to be a wave (pun!) of young weekend bar hoppers that appeared and kind of ruined it for a while, but they usually left soon enough.
A very good drinker’s bar.

Read about bingo here on Saturday nights and a few friends and I decided to give it a whirl. It is free and starts at 6:00pm. Space can be a bit tight, so arrive early to grab a spot. There are 3 rounds with a few minutes in between. Parking was a breeze! If you’re looking to grab a bite to eat near by, you’re going to have to look pretty hard if you’re not into pizza/​pasta/​Indian (all in one restaurant).
The bar staff is pretty and accommodating if you’re new to the joint like we were and aren’t quite sure where to situate yourself when there are no tables left. Service seems pretty quick too!
Bingo is spirited and the whole bar gets into it. The best part is the jell-​o shot when O 69 is called!
I’ll be back when I’m in the area or need something fun a cheap to do!

Came here last Thursday afternoon after a walk on the beach and had a wonderful time. The bartender– I believe her name was Adaline– really went above and beyond, recommending drinks and making a very enjoyable atmosphere. Also they had DIY sandwiches– so clever! I would highly recommend this cute little neighborhood dive bar.

The Riptide is a great neighborhood bar. It’s not a fancy cocktail lounge, it’s not a Michelin starred restaurant — it’s an honest, no-​frills bar in one of the few working class neighborhoods left in San Francisco. If you’re expecting to have your ass kissed you should head back to SOMA. If you want a good drink and no bullshit, with a great 70s rock soundtrack, come here on Thursday for Adaline’s happy hour shift.

Great dive bar, right by the ocean with killer sunsets right outside. My dog Mako always has a blast, usually with another dog friend or two, and excellent bartender service! Always surprised at some of the people’s comments — I guess they’ve never been to a dive bar before, or don’t know how to act if someone isn’t kissing their asses all night. They should probably stick to their hipster-​spots in the mission or whatever. Was there just this last Thursday with literally ZERO complaints! I’m usually outta here by 8 or 9 to miss the evening crowd, but the cool atmosphere and good times from 4 – 9 is always a winner. Good prices, good whiskey.

I struggled with the stars on this one.
Most of the time I go there and it’s comfortable, queer friendly, and has a home town divey time. But with what happened recently I probably won’t go back.
The Thursday of the Warriors playoff games my girlfriend and I went to watch the game at 5pm ish. It was on the big screen but with no sound (???) And then I asked the bartender if it would be alright to bring in slices of pizza from next door. (PS I waited 5 minutes standing at the uncrowded bar while she was texting someone) She glared at me and literally barked «As long as you clean up after yourselves» and kept glaring at me. She was so hostile that the people sitting at the bar looked up in shock. I was in shock myself and to keep from saying «Well, you know it is hard for me to clean up after myself or even eat in public especially since I’m only 35 years old…» I just paused and laughed uncomfortably. WTF. Meanwhile there was a nasty little table with cold cuts and bread that people could eat that they had to dip their hands in. WTF x2.
We left at half time and went to Parkside Tavern where the SF citizens with a pulse were watching the game and celebrating.

Could definitely be my favorite bar in the city. Absolutely out of the way from me but nothing makes me happier than heading out towards the beach for some music, some drinks and a good seat at the bar. Everybody knows each other, great prices for the city, dogs welcome… a great spot.

This place is definitely a find. On a Friday night, it was filled with locals who seemed to know each other, a bartender who was speedy but not curt, and some pasta salad and chocolate cake on the house. No hipsters, no techies, no gleaming white buses, no endless bike racks, no $ 7 beers. Just a big screen showing the Giants game, people getting along and having a good time, and lots of street parking. Gosh, I almost forgot how going out in San Francisco used to feel.

Bingo Saturday nights with locals = guaranteed good time! Jenny the bingo lady is awesome, drink prices are great, cute dogs allowed :) and crowd is chill. Also bingo lady’s boot sister is a hottie.
Apparently there’s karaōke as well!

This place is horrible. It’s the only place down at the end of Parkside so there’s no where else to go. Unfortunately I’ve had to come here the last 8 years. Alicia the bartender is amazing but that’s the only saving grace. I find it odd that their clientele is 99.9% white yet the other evening bartender literally won’t even talk to me or my girlfriend, the only Mexicans ever in the bar. When we order drinks she just looks at us and serves us in silence. Horrible customer service. Horrible selection. They can’t even make a simple classic mixed drink (Manhattan). If you live out here, I feel sorry for you. It’s the only game in the area and it’s just sad.

I went here a ton during the six years or so that I lived in the neighborhood, mostly because it was great to be able to walk to blocks to the bar and not worry about how I was getting home. The place is not big, but there’s usually plenty of people there to socialize with. I definitely saw a few «altercations» there over the years, but for the most part it’s a very chill place to hang out and grab a few drinks.
For what is is – a dive bar in a neighborhood full of surfers — it works extremely well. The only reason I don’t give it five stars is that I wasn’t ever a fan of the bands that played there. They’ve got plenty of other events going on every week though.

O69!!!
There are dive bars, and then there are dive bars. Usually dive bars are… well just dive bars… but THIS is an AWESOME dive bar. It’s near the ocean side of San Francisco, so I got super lucky, and it was insanely easy to find parking… unlike in the Sunset… or some other crazy part of town. If you look over yonder, you can see Ocean Beach! Wooooooooo.
I was excepting… well… divey… but this. This place is homey; yes it’s small (there are two parts to the bar which is divided by… well the bar), but even when it was a little crowded, it didn’t feel that bad. The only thing I felt bad for were the dogs people were bringing into the bar… like people please… dogs? In a bar? Where they’re at ground level and drunk people can’t see and step on them? :/​Poor doggies… plus it’s loud and kind of rowdy… so I imagine them getting kicked around a little bit.
Drinks are cheap, but I didn’t come here for drinks that night. I came here… for BINGO. Bingo, you say? The old people’s game? No. This bingo is awesome bingo. Riptide does Bingo on Saturday nights at 6 pm. We were late, so we only got to play the last round out of three total rounds (come early because sometimes the rounds finish quickly), but it was still awesomely fun. It was a blackout round, so you had to blackout all the squares. The emcee was hilarious (pretty sure he made the game); drinking with the patrons, telling funny jokes, and he was super nice and let us play the last round.
Here’s the thing about this bingo. Everytime they get the O69 ball… EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE who is playing the game, gets a free jello shot! How’s that for advertising. Makes the game pretty fun and everyone’s obviously in a great mood.
Love the décor, there’s carpet in some places… which seems like it would get really gross, but it wasn’t, there’s a random fireplace too in the back! Seemed to have enough space for the people in the bar… and I didn’t feel too claustrophobic inside.
Definitely on my list to make it back to. So much fun! Oh also, don’t forget. This place is cash only! So bring moola!

You know that place in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — the last bar at the end of the universe? That’s what I think of when I come to Riptide. Venture out to the Outer Sunset on Taraval past West Portal, past 19^th Ave., past Kingdom of Dumplings and Marcello’s, past Sunset Blvd., and you will come to where San Francisco ends — the Pacific Ocean. And right before that, a stone throw away, is this little bar. It’s the perfect place to huddle up with friends and just let the time stand still.

Came to hear Jinx Jones play rockabilly recently, my first time at the Riptide. The beach is two blocks away, I loved hearing the surf while nearing the place. The tavern has two doors and seems like it may have been two separate spaces at some time or other, united by the bar. Drinks can be ordered from either side.
I was very impressed by not having to wait long to order and receive my beer each time, despite the place being quite crowded. Also liked that I could talk to and hear my friends, the music wasn’t deafening. Was further impressed by the diversity of the crowd: old, young, a table of lesbians, loners, dogs, definitely a few rockers.
What a great place!

Always free Always fun
Love the Rip and the Staff
Best Bar in the Surfers Sunset

Cool lil spot with alot of things going on within the week and a nice lil list of drinks. I tried em all they’re all good. In fact the crowd was soo nice there I had people buying me drinks. The bartenders are great, no matter how loud it gets it seems like they can hear what you requested without you even having to yell and no matter how busy it gets they give you excellent service. It was packed and I didn’t have a hard time ordering my drinks at all. The karaōke gets pretty happening here on tuesdays.
Theres a nice variety of people in here. No clicky types, everyone seems to make me feel welcome. There seems to be a big college crowd here. I also find it to be a great place to watch the game. gotta check out the drink specials from 4 – 7, but they also have specials for the certain days of the week that last all night too. The food is delish.

I can’t count the times I’ve staggered out of Riptide after a rip-​roaring good time and somehow made it onto Muni AND stopped for Seniore’s, girlfriends in tow.
If you’re looking for a fun, neighborhoody divebar to head to on a weeknight, look no further than Riptide. Drinks are strong, staff is friendly, and they usually have *FREE* nachos or hot dogs (eat at your own risk, but I’ve never had a bad experience) to soak up some of the strong drinks you’ll most likely be sappin’ on during the queue for Karaōke.
Oftentimes there’s live music and the spot has a homey kind of feeling to it: a bunch of people who know each other, or you’re with someone who knows other people, or you’re a stranger and go to bars alone, either way, you will likely be able to find someone who will converse with you.

This place rules. A quick hop, skip and a jump away from the beach and you’ll be in an authentic beachy cool bar.
The décor is interesting and not cluttered. It’s clean inside, but not hoity toity. The tables? Maybe my favorite part of the bar. They are made of thick slabs of beautiful wood. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see a show here. However, next time I’m in town it’ll be a must.
Cash only for drinks here. The beer list will satisfy any palate and they are reasonable priced. AND, they have free snacks… which included tator tots when I was there!

Aint nothing better than getting ripped at the rip tide especially for new years: New years resolution… give up booze.
bwaaa haaaa haaa… but seriously.
Best new years ever. Well almost. They had a ramones cover band… and they were awesome. At 12 we all got lovely champange jello shots.
Love this place and will be back next year… hopefully.