B412

Fun night on University Ave in Palo Alto. I always go to this bar when vising the area because of the great DJs, strong reasonably priced drinks, and cool, lounge/​patio area. During my past visits, they’ve played hip hop in doors, and techno/​dance outside on the patio. I love all types of music so its nice to have some variety. There’s usually a ten dollar cover, but thanks to my friend, who’s family with the bouncers, we get in for free, which is a huge plus.
The only downside are the crowds. On saturday nights, I’m pretty sure this place is breaking some sort of capacity/​fire code. The bathroom lines are long, and it gets pretty stuffy inside. But this is what you should expect when going to a trendy lounge. Thankfully this place has a good size patio if you need to escape the stuffy crowd indoors. Beware though– like any other bar, there are plenty of smokers. So if your sensitive to nicotine, consider this a warning.

$ 10 cover charge at Palo Alto downtown? You have got to be kidding me. Who does that?! And cash only at all bars? Now you’re just playing dirty!
I honestly want to like B412, but I don’t think I ever will. Even though it’s convenient and the closest thing to a club… it can stress you out! You need to be in the guest list and arrive before 10pm if you don’t want to pay the cover charge. It’s $ 5 if you arrive a little later. and $ 10 if you arrive too late.
Their dance floor is small with pillars between the bar and the tables. It can get crowded and stuffy to the point of grossness. However, I do like the outdoor patio in the back. It’s more open and has a larger bar. The crowd is a mix, and the DJs are alright.

I’ve been here about once a month for the last year and always have fun. The security, and staff in general is great.
However, there are couple things that really need help. The seating area inside used for bottle service absolutely reeks of cocktail spillage and cleaned up puke. I am reminded every time I want to sit there at the end of the night to meet my friends to leave after the lights go on. The outdoor patio is nice except for THE OLD CRAPPY BRICK PATIO. This is the biggest problem for me and all my girlfriends since the house music is played outdoors. This patio wrecks your stilettos heels. When will they pay some money to have some mortar/​cement grout put in between the bricks so stilettos don’t get caught in between bricks and heels ruined? –worst outdoor dance floor ever

I was here for a Nirvino wine tasting, Sprinkles cupcake pairing last night. It was the second Nirvino tasting event i have attended here, (both times I got free tickets through Unilocal.Thank you Unilocal!)
I was VERY underwhelmed by the first event i went to several months ago, but last night was great.
The staff was pleasant, bathrooms were clean, and due to the powers that be allowing less people in, it wasn’t crowded and chaotic like last time.
The space is lovely, with different areas of seating, and tables.
Although the «bites» that were offered were basic cheese, crackers, chips, salsa, and bruschetta, they were kept refilled. I only had a few tortilla chips, since we were planning on getting dinner after.
I really appreciated that they gave everyone tickets for their mini cupcakes. I heard they had run out very quickly last time, (which is no surprise.) Therefore, this system was put in place, and it was a success! It would be a great idea if Unilocal would do something like this at their events.

Although this venue needs a lot of work in terms of the interior. The Main Lounge, I suggest, the booths needs to be replaced and/​or a little deep cleaning to get rid of the smell of old alcohol spilled since the new ownership. The bricks outside on the Skyview Patio is in dire need to get re-​bricked, I say.
Other than that, I love the nightlife events here. The security is firm but understanding as long as you don’t disrespect them. I get along with all of them. It probably helps the friendship as I am a nightlife photographer that covers that venue a whole lot.
The bartenders are spectacular! They take care of you if you remember to take care of them first time around. So tip ‘em… at all times!
I’m currently locked in with 2 promoters that throws their event here every 1^st Fridays & 1^st Saturdays of the month.
1^st Fridays are very diverse, fun and concentrates on both Hip-​Hop, Top 40, Mash-​Ups, Dance, Electro & Commercial House music. I’ve been doing photo coverage since 2009 and I can assure you, they sure do know how to throw a fun filled night!
2^nd Saturdays are classy and an upscale event mainly focuses on House music on the Patio. Bring out your sexiest and glamorous dresses ladies; this is the spot to be scene at on a Saturday night in Palo Alto!
Overall, if you live around the Palo Alto area, I do recommend this spot. It is the only spot in Downtown Palo Alto where you can experience different types of music at one venue.

I haven’t been to this place as a club, so I can’t comment on that, although I agree that it seems really weird to have a velvet rope/​bottle service kind of place in Palo Alto. I went to an event hosted here awhile ago & wasn’t super impressed with the space. I did like the plush seating areas, although I would imagine you have to pay to sit there when its operating as a nightclub. It didn’t work well for the event that was being hosted there. The area where the food was set up was very small and ended up being incredibly crowded and there wasn’t enough space to stand around and talk. I think we had too many people for the space. I don’t think it would work well for more than about 30 – 40 people, and even that might be pushing it.
In addition, they catered some appetizers for our group, which were very mediocre. They also didn’t label anything and after we had one piece of cheese quesadilla, we went back to get another one, only to bite into it & discover that it was, in fact, a shrimp quesadilla (I’m allergic). It seems really weird not to label things, especially when you’re putting out something that looks identical to what was out before but has different ingredients and when there are so many vegetarians/​people with allergies. I definitely wouldn’t recommend the food, based on what we had.

Pretty much don’t come here to eat dinner. We came for a friends birthday and had the whole place to ourselves for dinner but it was FREEZING in there. We were eating dinner with our jackets on. It was pretty bad. They claimed they were having problems with their heating system. The food was ok and service was fine. Drinks werent too expensive.
Love the back patio with the house music. They play really good music and I love to dance. It’s a good thing they have heating lamps too otherwise I dont think i could have stayed there for very long. Inside gets a little too packed for my liking so we stayed out back the whole night.

I only ever goto B412 for the nightlife on Friday/​Saturdays since it strikes a balance between a not too crazy night if me & co. are too lazy to head up to SF. I suppose Bistro 412 is the formal name but that would involve a review of the restaurant portion that’s listed elsewhere on Unilocal.
For people looking for a good time out, a night that can go from chill to crazy without traveling too far from South Bay, B412 is probably the perfect compromise. Definitely go with friends.
There’s two areas for music, inside is always hip hop whereas the outside usually plays House or whatever the night’s promotion group has planned. Interior bar can get really packed since the small-​medium sized dance floor is next to it, as well as their bottle service tables. Drinks are usually $ 10 and I’ve always thought bottle service at B412 is excessive.
Outdoor area has two bars and a few tables, the bar in the far back is a lot nicer and better stocked. Before B412 became so popular, the tables were actually open to anyone that was tired of standing and no music was played outside, allowing people to actually lounge and chat. It’s more of a small club vibe now.
Guestlist can usually be found through their Facebook page as long as you find the right event date & promotion group. Cover is $ 10 usually past 11pm if you don’t make guest list.
Not a bad venue, just wish it wasn’t so packed nowadays, but good for them now that it’s pretty popular.

I came here when it was F&A’s…awhile ago. My experience then seemed better then than my current one. I was a few months pregnant, designated driver for a bunch of drunk friends… and I think I had a better time then than I did this past time. Weird. You’d think I’d have a not good time pregnant. Guess being sick is worse.
Saturday night, the boyfriend and I headed to B412 for two friend’s birthdays. They had a table on the patio area. Well, first off, we arrived late… which wasn’t the best plan on our part. Their regular line and «short line» is a joke. Why don’t they have the «short line» to the left side? Who knows.
I went up to the guy in charge in the front by the door, because our friend told us to go to him and say our friends had a table. I went up to the «guy in charge of the not-​moving line» and asked him where to go if our friends had a table. His response was «guestlist is closed». That’s cool if I asked you about the guestlist, but I didn’t. Let’s try this multi-​tasking again «My friend has a table, where do I go so I don’t have to stand in this ridiculous line»? Bouncer: «EVERY0NE, CLEAR THE FR0NT». Thank you for answering my question douchebag.
We went to go stand in the long line again, I was getting irritated at this point. Then one of our friends came out front and he got us in the «short line»…yay [rolls eyes].
0f course, it was a $ 20 cover for the two of us and neither of us had cash… so I had to go in and use the ATM. It wasn’t their fault that we didn’t have cash, but honestly when the guy taking the cash says «HURRY UP PE0PLE». Really? Way to be rude, again. People at the front door are really on some kind of power trip.
We finally pushed our way through all of the drunken people grinding and spilling their drinks everywhere inside and made it to the table outside. I’m only giving this place two stars because the «table» was a big area. We were all able to sit down and talk and we were in good company with people.
Bottom line for my low rating — the staff. They’re on a power trip, especially on the front door. I promote events at many different venues throughout the Bay Area and I don’t think that I’ve ever come across a bouncer staff as rude as these. This isn’t Vegas, hell this isn’t the city or San Jose, stop acting like it. It’s a big bar that’s trying to be a nightclub and no one in Palo Alto knows where else to go.

Mehhh because of three things: Dance floor is way too small!!! I do like how there are two dance «floors» — one inside and one outside, but the one inside is way too small given that it’s the one with all the pop/​hip hop music. Secondly, there is a lack of diversity in the dance crowd, but that may be because a lot of the people there are Stanford students. And I’m pretty sure I saw a guy on top of a girl in one of the «VIP» lounges. I just don’t want to see that when I’m bumping to some music. Shouldn’t the bouncer do something?
Anyway, overall, it was meh.

My first low rated review for the year.
My boyfriend and I wanted to throw his birthday at a nice venue outside of San Jose, since most of his partying is always spent there. He figured San Francisco was a far drive for himself and friends to dance and drink. So, we opted to choose B412. I should have known from the beginning, poor management.
We contacted the phone number provided on their website. WARNING! They’re website is well under construction, so you could only call or email them for inquiries based on bottle service, food, and price details if they had any cover charge, etc. Of course, they had no information on their menu and business hours. Yes, it was just their email, phone number and street address.
First phone call attempt, kept ringing and ringing with no response and/​or voicemail/​answering machine. Tried to call a second time around hoping they were too early to contact at 11am (thinking they are a restaurant, so they should be open for lunch hours), so we called at a later time in the evening (promptly dinner time hours). Of course, they did not pick up the phone.
Worried we wouldn’t be able to get a hold of them by phone, decided to email them. Checked email everyday for two weeks, hoping I would receive a response back. In my digress, no feedback or anything!
Upset for the time spent in contacting someone, I was smart enough to find them on Facebook. YES! Facebook! Left a message asking for someone to contact me. Their only response I received, «Email us at the following address that’s left on our website.» Utterly, I’ve been nothing but patient to simply contact management for little details.
Doesn’t stop there, my boyfriend and I, drove all the way to Palo Alto just to drop in and speak to someone. When we arrived, they were closed! Of course we wouldn’t know when they’re open. THEIR WEBSITE DOES NOT CLARIFY THEIR BUSINESS HOURS!
After all these many attempts, I definitely do not recommend coming here if you plan on celebrating an occassion, if nobody cares.

Came here for a friend’s birthday party. Drinks are pricey as expected but was pretty disappointed at the guest list cutoff time. I got there a few minutes late and had to get in through the regular line. I’ve never had their food either but their outside patio area is pretty cool if only less loung-​y because the music is just as loud outside as it is inside. I would have liked to see a more chill atmosphere on the patio for shmoozing separate from the dance floor inside.
Also dress code is misleading. I felt way overdressed in a button-​down as there were people there in oversized polos.

I’ve been to this place many times for various private events, and also on Friday/​Saturday nights for the lounge/​club. I haven’t dined here though, so not sure how the food is. I like the place, mainly because it’s never overly crowded, but there’s enough people to make it a fun Friday/​Saturday night, and they play good music.
For private events, the outdoor patio in the back is great. It’s an open-​air area with another bar, so plenty of space to go around. They open up the patio area most Friday/​Saturday nights as well, so it’s nice provided the weather cooperates.

went here after dinner on friday 10÷8÷10. idk if i should give it two stars because i was already drunk. or if it was worth two stars. LOL.
the bouncer almost didn’t let us into the club cuz he thought we were too drunk looking, yet the rest of our group was allowed in. so it makes no sense really cuz they would lose about 15 paying customers just to omit one of us, which actually is the birthday boy, so yeah. you’d miss out on almost $ 150 ($ 10 cover each) to the club, bouncer man.
music was crap. from what i remember. dance floor is small. and eh at the quality of the people that goes there. then again. it IS stanford’s students majority, so what do you expect? smart kids = not that good looking. :P

I think my coworkers wanted to come here early to avoid the cover charge… and there was no way in hell I was paying cover! Half of us ate here at a table which later turned out to be for bottle service… yet no one sat in the booth the entire time we were there. My Enchiladas Gringos ($ 9) were so damn bland! They were supposed to have chicken in them too, but I mostly saw & tasted a bunch of veggies. We did arrive before 9, and luckily the kitchen was still able to serve us, but our food took awhile to come out. One of the girls that ordered the same thing agreed with me, and she had some grisly chicken pieces in hers. The other, however enjoyed her chicken burrito.
The outside patio reeked of fertilizer. House plays on the patio & more top 40’s inside. One of my co-worker’s Long Island Iced Tea was just straight up booze, not mixed well at all. My Blue Hawaiian was alright. This club is definitely for older folks… cougars, silver foxes, and a 40 year old virgin or two! But, it’s Palo Alto, I expected it!
I guess this place is only awesome for Unilocal parties (last year’s Ugly Sweater Holiday Bash), but what can I say, we came here out of love for one of co-​workers.

I came her with my friends on a Saturday night. It was crowded and very stuffy. The dance floor is small and there is barely room for you to move around. They have an outdoor where people could get some fresh air and dance to house music, but it is not that great.
They also have a cover of $ 10, but if you are on the guest list, then it is $ 5. I don’t get why they even stamp your hands if there is not coming in or out of the place.

This place is okay. I wouldn’t go again but only because of my own personal taste.
You would think a bar in Palo Alto would be somewhat classier than the bars you see in San Jose or SF. But nope, you have your little ghetto bar hidden right before your eyes on the streets of PA.
The first thing you will notice, after passing the two bigger than necessary bodyguards, is the aroma. The not good aroma. The kind of aroma that makes you want to look around and see who the heck is contributing to this scent. Then if you’re buzzin’ then you’ll probably ignore it and head over to the bar. The bar that is totally packed, where you see creepers standing to the side trying to see what girl is going to get the most drunk that night. And there are some people who seriously don’t even look close to 21. Does this place REALLY check IDs? Who knows. Then your body heat will hit extremely high temperatures to the point where you’d rather die than be that hot. Then you’ll notice the exit to the patio. SAVED! Fresh air! Not. It is just as packed outside as it is inside. Where is the air? How can I breathe?
This place needs better ventilation. One extra star for good music. ;)

My friends and I headed here after Melt Lounge was filled to capacity around the midnight hour on Saturday. Walking just few blocks away, I was thinking I was going to see a long line for B412 as well. But remarkably there was hardly one at all. Yes there was a $ 10 cover charge we had to pay, but those are rules you play by if you want to enter a place such as B412.
Inside it was pretty packed. The bar area is on the right with a dancing area in the middle and booths on the left. And the collection of people generating body heat was immense. It felt like you were in a sauna. As soon as one of my buddies got in, he said his glasses were literally fogging up. Looking around the windows were fogged up as well. So after a few uncomfortable minutes in the sauna room, we headed to the back where the patio was.
The patio was mildly cool, that is until you entered the area under the tent. Then it got hot again, especially with the heat lamps entering the picture with the masses of people outside. We had some drinks outside. Bartenders can be a little ornery but with everyone trying to grab their attention for a drink order, I can understand. Grey Goose shots in plastic cups was a nice touch. At least the Coronas I had were cold.
We then entered inside, caught some open space by the entrance, and proceeded to dance until it was closing time. I’d say it’s a decent place to dance it up. I wasn’t paying too much attention to the ghetto-​ness of the crowd. Make the best of things and it’ll turn out alright I say. And for that night, we all had a nice time.

Staff and bartenders were friendly and courteous, and the venue appears to have good upkeep. Modern décor, a comfortable layout and enough space for dancing and hanging out. The DJ (not sure if he’s a usual location staple) was also very good, mixing poppy tunes with a little bit of house flair. Special thanks to B412 to opening up their doors for a YEE this year.
As I don’t get over to Palo Alto very much, it’s a venue that I otherwise wouldn’t have visited (but now may return to on a normal Thursday/​Friday night). Downside is that drinks tend to be a little pricey (and judging by the price, I’d expect them to be a little stronger).
But B412 is A-​OK in my book.

Do you like to wear «designer» jeans with loud back pocket designs, and even tattoo-​ish designs beginning on the back and ending up on the leg? Are they boot-​cut?
Do you like to wear t-​shirts made by brand names that are supposedly made for MMA fighters? Or do you wear t-​shirts with tattoo designs on them? Do they have that «bedazzled» look? Are they overly done and finished with sequins and shiny metal studs?
Are your shoes pointy-​tipped? Are they mock cowboy boots? Do they also have cool tattoo style designs on them?
When you roll up your long sleeved dress shirt, with the many syllabled word you never use in daily vernacular embroidered across the back, does your super cool «sleeve» tattoo show and impress all the ladies?
Does your chest hair peek out from the top half of your unbuttoned collared shirt with the doilie-​worthy embroidery?
If so, you are a douchebag.
And you should go here.