Bar 821

Great wee bar, I’m not quite sure what Amaro is and I’m not a fan of Fernet but they have other things too. Nice vibe comfortable couch seats next to the window. Bartenders are cool, attentive.
The Peat & Peat is damn good (Peaty Scotch, Allspice, brown sugar, angostura and orange) if I ordered it back in Scotland I’d probably get hit with the whisky bottle, but when in Rome and all that.
Opens at 5pm by the way, not 4pm.

I guess Monday’s are pizza and Fernet day. This cute little bar with its caged up liquor was the first stop to our night. He got the Fernet flight which I thought was supposed to be best served AFTER a meal but whatever, any excuse to drink. I wanted a lychee cocktail but the bartender recommended a special drink not offered on the menu. I’m not a fan of cocktails or mixed drinks but this drink was exceptional. Not too sweet, not too strong, perfect for this lightweight.
The bartenders were very friendly and knowledgeable not to mention, they have a great sense of style.

Nice bar. We came here on a Sunday evening. The place was completely empty. Seven of us walked in and brought the party! Bartender was nice, drinks were yummy and the bar’s really charming. Would definitely come here again!

Granted I don’t make it over to Divis as much as I should, how had I never heard of this place? It’s fabulous! After dinner at nearby Nopalito, we were looking for a nightcap before heading home and Bar 821 nailed it. Fun ambiance, not too crowded, and a glowing cocktail selection.
First off, don’t get overwhelmed when you walk in. It’s a smaller bar and they have huge menus up on the walls. Admittedly, I was at odds not knowing what any of the listed spirits /​liquors were, but they also have a paper menu with signature cocktails. You can order wine or standard drinks, but their cockatil line-​up was so fun! I was on a mezcal kick so opted for two different drinks that included this, egg white, and a plethora of other ingredients I’d never heard of. Super tasty. Staff is hard-​working, attentive, and certainly entertaining. My only (very small) gripe is that they seemed understaffed. The place was not crazy crowded, but with one man behind the bar and an eager crowd, it took some time to order.
All in all, such a fun spot that I hope to venture back to sooner than later!

Here’s a strange concept — a bar that specializes in Amaro and Fernet. Yeah, so apparently they’re Italian herbal liquors with digestive properties. Think bitters and vermouth. Suggested serving is on ice with sparkling water. It’s not cheap so if you don’t know if you like it, you can spend even more money to try a «flight» of them. My friend commented that it seemed like they were trying to make this absurdity a cool trend.
We just happened to be in the area and it looked nice inside. It was only 5:11 PM on a Saturday so they’d just opened. The place was freezing and the metal seats felt like a slab of ice under my ass. I shivered while looking at the menu and we finally decided on one drink of the day (a $ 5 happy hour special) and one other cocktail ($ 11). They looked nearly the same with a cinnamon stick and orange peel. Hers tasted like sour orange juice, mine tasted like strong liquor with bitters.
The bartender was wonderful. Helpful, sweet, fun to watch making the drinks, attentive. He asked us how the drinks were and the best we could say is «interesting.» Three more couples filtered in while were there so maybe this place is doing alright. Not sure I will be back but it’s an attractive hipster joint and I wish them luck.

I live about 2 blocks from Bar 821. Have been going since it opened about 9 year ago — at this point will ever go back and likely never to any of the Dajani Group restaurants.
On my most recent visit, as soon as I sat down I was asked if I’d like some sparkling water. Many places are serving on the house sparking water with the ease of using the soda systems, so I said yes. As I was looking at the menu, I looked up and realized a bottle of sparking water had been placed down with some poured in my glass (opened before I knew it). I realized maybe he is going to charge me for this. I’m not one to be confrontational and in my head, if he truly ended up charging me, I’d much rather alert management of the ridiculously of doing this at a local bar. In the end he did — at $ 5. It was happy hour — beers are $ 5 at most places.
I loved the old Bar 821. With the change to an Amaro Bar, I’ve still given it a college try and wanted to support. Before writing bad reviews I did alert management via email and they have failed to even email me back — guess they don’t care and want this sort of behavior to go on, which makes me not even want to support any of their restaurants.

Good hipster drinks but can someone please fix the speakers, decent music but God it sounds bad.

Weehee I think I found the perfect spot for grabbing drinks on a weeknight.
As you walk in a warm cozy feeling sets in. You look to your right and see 2 big boards with their selection of Amaro and Fernets. Since both of these are digestifs I suggest going here after dinner.
I tried the amaro flight. Don’t remember the name exactly but it had the cardamaro. That’s a great way to introduce yourself to the world of amaro. They also have flights of Fernets.
Bartenders are friendly, people are happy. All in all a great way to drop in for a drink on a weeknight.

My aunt recommended this spot while I was in town visiting from Austin. I told her I was looking for a chill place with a full bar that would be quiet enough for conversation on a Friday night. 821 fit the bill on those criteria, but where it fell far short was in the condescension of the man-​bun sporting bartender. As we approached the seemingly well-​stocked bar, I searched the shelves for their vodka selection, only to find out that vodka is déclassé in this hipster paradise.
«Do you have Grey Goose?» says I, with a winning smile.
«THIS is the only vodka we serve…» says man-​bun, pulling a sad bottle out of the well.
«…Oh… Um, is it any good? Why are you hiding it under the bar?»
«I guess it’s fine. This is all we have, LOSER.» (I added the ‘loser’ part, but just barely)
«Oooookay, I guess I’ll try it, for $ 12. Thanks ever so much.»
We took our trailer-​trash vodka drinks and slunk away from the bar, popping our Hubba Bubba, slapping our flip flops on the polished concrete, and hiking up our acid-​wash dungarees tied with rope, hoping only to drown our shame in off-​brand booze.
If you’re going to have a bar, or any business, for that matter, try not to make your patrons feel like they don’t deserve to grace your door. It’s a sure-​fire way to piss off the hillbilly masses.

Came there on 9÷5÷2015 at 8:55 pm
Bartender let us sit there for almost 20 minutes without even saying hi. He then proceeded to take the order of two girls who just arrived. Terrible service. This business needs a PROFESSIONAL bar tender who isn’t just interested in pretty girls.

Just stepped into this spot for a quick drink, I got a Virgin mojito, my ladies got la diabla, and gin and tonic with Lolita gin and all three drinks got our attention, they are delicious! !

Bleh. It looks like a super chill, relatively luxe hangout spot — but the terrible dance music is so. insanely. loud. you can’t even think straight. On top of that, our tiny drinks were $ 12 each and mine (prosecco, chartreuse, bitters) was room temperature. It took so long to make, even though the place was only half full, that I didn’t want to ask for a replacement — it was easier to just chug it and get out of there.

They’re charging $ 8 – 9 for draft beer. I recall paying $ 1.29 at the Bean Bag for a local beer. This was a few years ago and obviously things change, but that’s the neighborhood I moved to. I’m not sure who Bar 821 is catering to, but the same beer next door at Mini Bar is $ 4. I mentioned to the bartender that these were AT&T Park prices and he just shrugged and handed over a $ 9 beer… and it was flat.

Pros:
— chill, low-​key place where you can actually find a seat!
— the turnover is pretty quick, so tables open up frequently
— HUGE selection of amaro
Cons:
— just another pricey cocktail bar (but what else can you expect in San Francisco :))
Bottom line: pretty average place. I actually didn’t really want to stay here too long because it was so boring. There are more fun bars out there.

The bars start to blend together as you run along divisdero and Bar 821 is just another one in the long line of options in this area. If you are looking for a story or a place that you have to recommend to your friends to go to this probably not going to be it. Nopa, La Urbana and Candybar will probably fit that bill better. But if you actually live in the area or want to avoid the tons of overflow from NOPA and the Independent this is a nice place to duck into. It doesn’t get to busy there and you can talk to a couple people over a nice mix of drinks.
The place has some pretty decent cocktails but this is the kind of bar you go into knowing what you want. There is usually only one bartender and they are pretty knowledgeable about the drinks. It’s a no frills bar that is set up like a frills bar. The décor is inviting and there is usually ample seating. It feels a little more upscale because of the deco so if you aren’t looking for dive bar but don’t want to be surrounded by a ton of people Bar 821 and its neighbor Mini Bar are great alternatives to the hip and overpriced neighbors done the street.
Its still expensive though with about 10 dollars per cocktail but you are probably used to that by now.
This is one of those places you will end up frequenting more and more because you want to avoid the show and dance of going to the other more popular places down the street.

Raised voice.
Growing up Mom did it all the time. Apparently calling her out of class so she could pick up the latest version of Legend Of Zelda was not a good choice.
Here at 821 despite two very good cocktails for aa very good $ 17 can’t give more than three stars. We pretty much had to yell while conversing over rather loud music.
Detracted from an otherwise relaxed and inviting vibe with a friendly bartender.
Tone is down and stars will be up.

Another Cash-​Only bar, 821 I would rate just a tad above Madrone because it’s MORE chill when it’s not busy. Drinks are good and cheap and they bring dog-​friendly to a new level by stocking Milk Bones for your companion.
Bartenders are extremely friendly and even offered free drinks in trade for our group’s dog which says a lot about the atmosphere.
I definitely recommend 821 and hell it’s pretty close to a lot of good eats.
Again though, CASH ONLY so bring your greenbacks.

Bar 821 has a lot to offer but are horribly understaffed on busy weekend nights. It’s part of the Dajani Group, who also owns Nihon Whiskey Lounge on Folsom which is awesome.
Saturday night was the second time I’ve been out to Bar 821. As tradition goes, my friend sets off for San Diego mid June, so I try to squeeze every last hang time out of the month of May that I can. So we had a nice light dinner and wine at my place, then cabbed it over to NoPa for a change of scenery.
The place is very cute and upscaley feeling without upscaley prices. We both had specialty soju cocktails: she had the Lychee Mermaid and I had some kind of «Gin» Negroni. Her drink was sweet and subtle, mine tasted like earwax. Yes, I know what earwax tastes like, judge away. Surely it’s difficult to mask soju in a gin flavor. And, real-​talk, I didn’t know it was soju until after I ordered.
Around $ 8 a cocktail and a very ncie ambiance, I can’t complain too much. OR CAN I? One bartender for the whole place? Really? It’s NoPa. A ton of people head this direction for a similar purpose as my friend and I. Also, just want to say, it’s misleading when a bar back looms around behind the bartender and sips water.

Cozy neighborhood bar with incredible cocktails! You want a negroni? an Old fashioned? Or how about champagne cocktails?
All cocktails are $ 7. Cash only.
Go.

A nice, small neighborhood bar with an impressive selection of liquors and cool atmosphere. This was the first place that came up on the Unilocal app when we realized we still had some time to kill before a show at the Independent.
The bartender was working hard yet still made eye contact with us as we sidled up, telling us it would be a moment. A professional at work.
Drinks were strong and tasty. They made a mean Old-​Fashioned for my friend P. And my Bombay and tonic was perfect.
My only complaint was the place was packed at 9 pm on a Friday and space was quite limited. I made an attempt to hit the single, unisex bathroom, but the long line made me do an about-​face and decide to look elsewhere. It was time to go to the show anyway, just a block away.

A big group of us wandered in just after they opened, and we got a warm welcome even though the bartender was still getting everything prepared.
Their cocktails are pretty inexpensive for the city ($ 8) and delicious. Comfy booths, a larger-​than-​expected wine list, and just being a fun place to hang out — these round out the list of reasons I’ll be back.
That, and it’s fun to judge your friends when they order the happy hour special: $ 5 for a shot of Irish whiskey and a PBR.
Keep in mind, it is cash only. There’s an ATM there, and a few up and down the street.