Hotel Utah Saloon

Love the dive bar. Love the people working at the dive bar. Love the musicians they get to come and play. Really dislike the set up for shows, which is way too small and a low-​ceiling from the upper deck makes it incredibly hard to dance and go wild. I’ll go back for the $ 8 PBR and Jameson shot, but I might wait to see my favorite bands at another venue.

There was a metal strip inside my Shepard’s Pie. I didn’t notice it until I ate half the bowl. After an hour had intense chest pains, and the next 2 days had digestive issues (use your imagination). Basically poisoned from eating at Hotel Utah. The metal strip could have ripped up my intestines /​stomach lining. It was sharp. Good thing I noticed it while chewing before swallowing it, but I’m not certain I didn’t eat any other objects in the contaminated food.

Great old SF hotel vibe but:
Signs it won’t go well: staff r rude, incompetent or both. A beer takes forever to arrive and ordering food is an act of faith.
Advise: bring some of you leftover scripts cause the staff is possibly drug addled. You may get improved service providing Free pills as an incentive.
If your looking to regain any faith in humanity this place will disappoint and depress. Oh and bands I know have been cheated by large undisclosed house takes of ticket sales. A shady and jaded management in an interesting and
historic venue. A pity. Avoid.

Wow, What a dump. went to see a friends band play at this very cool and trendy looking Dive bar. The problem signs were everywhere but decided to stay and support the friends band. First off the service here is the worst. The bartenders act like they do not want to be at work or something, not really sure whats up with that. It could be that they all believe that this trendy cool bar gives them a free pass to act like they don’t need or want to serve anyone. Secondly the bars acoustics are close to being the worst place in history. Everything sounds like it is played in a tin box. Not good on the ears at all. And of course to top it all off the parking was available right up front. Was glad for that at least. That is until I came outside and found that my car window was broken and my jacket and my buddies back pack were stolen out of the car. When I asked the bouncer standing 20 feet from the car what happened he explained that some guy broke into the car and stole all my stuff. When asked why didn’t you stop him he explained I cant get involved. GREAT SECURITY…
So to wrap it all up the bartenders sucked, The place was filthy as hell and the security was a joke… Their are so many better bars in this area to go to. Best to avoid this place.

The bartender was either drunk or high, because everyone at the bar waited for service while she poured to highballs with a snails pace.
This place was also extremely dirty, the bar back was equally slow and lethargic because there were empty glasses across all the tables.
Good news is drinks are cheap, there’s an arcade machine, the place is historic, and has live music.
Can’t give it less than two stars. Will update review if I have a better experience next time.

This is a fun venue for live music — there is a small upper balcony over the postage stamp size stage, just off a longer bar area. The acts are usually pretty good local acts — and the acoustics are alright (I wear earplugs anyway!) — good bartenders, decent toilets and great location.

Interesting place to watch a show. Wow is it tiny, and oddly structured with a huge pillar shooting out of the middle of the room, but its great that you can be so close to the stage. Drinks at the saloon are not fancy, so just sick to straight liquor. Apparently the beer was not very cold either, but at least the drinks are fairly cheap. Overall, a grungy dive with cult movies playing, and a no frills drinks place. Would return to see a show again.

First time here — lunchtime about 11:45 and no crowd but enough local workers (blue collar and techies) to let us know this was a place for good food. The Shepherds Pie and Mac N Cheese were each served in a large mug which was the right size and kind of cool (looking!). The side salads were Spring mixes, and fairly sized. Also threw in a small basket of hand cut fries, which were good and earthy. Iced teas with lemon and a decent lunch for the SOMA area was discovered. Prices are comparable for the area, the service was friendly and quick. The Cheese n Mac was particularly nice with large curly pasta and four cheeses, with white cheddar apparently the base and very smooth.
Only disappointment was one type of artificial sweetener (blue) whereas I prefer Splenda, but it didn’t detract from the lunch. Several patrons ate at the bar, enjoying a beer with their burgers, which seemed the lunch of choice. They offer beef or home made veggie patty, and the beef burgers were quite substantial looking. Perhaps next time …
Also, tabs under $ 20 are payable in cash only — a weird hybrid but doable with advance notice.

I came here for the music, and was seriously delighted at how tiny the venue is. Small stage area, limited room for seating, little balcony, and the music venue (not the bar) was full with probably 30 – 40 people in attendance. This makes for an extremely intimate setting, and the whole performance felt really personal. Great acoustics.
Despite the sarcastic, rude doorman, we really enjoyed our night here seeing Jimmy Gnecco perform an acoustic set. Would definitely return to see more bands. Very chill spot!

I was told to come here for lunch. I ordered a hamburger and waited 45 min for this. I have a limited amount of time for lunch and they said the reason was a large party came in. Only after o started to make some noise, my food came out. The bun was burned and fries were over cooked. It looks like a nice dive to have a beer in, but that is about it

Trashy. Strange people, bar tenders are rude. The short bartender that wears the backwards seems to be a racist.
Many nicer bars around the block!

Sick casual place for non club douches. Great easy spot to chill.
Live music tonight was killer (Machine Love)

My holy grail of bars in SF is a place where I can walk in after work, have a few non-​boring beers with my friends somewhere south of market and none of the following are true: There’s a cover, there’s nowhere to sit (with 2 or 3 people), it’s too loud to hear said friends.
Utah fails in all respects, but I still like it. It just has a style that stands apart in this neighborhood… Maybe it’s just that this neighborhood needs more dive bars. At any rate, this place is worth checking out.

I was very excited for my first visit to the famous Saloon for a friend’s show. One of the bartenders was very friendly while the other one was downright rude. The bar was very crowded and I was trying to be helpful and pass my drink to my pal but the bartender snapped and told me to basically stay out of her space. I also watched her snap at another patron in a rude manner. I was a bartender for many years and I know you can have off days and moments but this person might want to find a new line of work. The bouncer also bit my head off when I excitedly called out to a friend. He told me not to yell and that I hurt his ears. You work in a bar/​music venue dude. Lastly a patron belligerently screamed at myself and others outside of the bathroom on two occasions. What the hell is up with this place? Ghosts of aggressive pasts possessing a few choice persons making them aggro?

Great place for live music, food good too. Been there a couple of times ands have many memories ands have seen many bands. My only complaint would be the doorman, not nice or welcoming

So there’s always an obvious ID check, but they also basically ask upfront, «Are you here for the music?» They have great live performances here, and considering everyone is in a limited space, the music can be heard by all for the better, even though certain rooms are directly for their concerts. Awesome!
Once into the saloon only, my other half and I shared two beverages, the first of which is standout:
–Watermelon Margarita
–Saint Archer Blonde
Apparently, there are also such menu options as Spicy Buffalo Wings, a Utah Burger (veggie option available), a BLT, the Utah Club Sandwich, a Cobb Salad and more. Good to know such meal options are available if you’re extra hungry at night.
Would really like to return for a live acoustic vocal concert — they’re always happening not too far in the distance. Guitars strumming and notes a’flumming.
Intimate and awesome.

I have 2 reasons for this bad review. #1. We showed up before noon (6 of us) and ordered our food before noon. It is now 1:20 and we haven’t gotten our food. There was one other table of people who arrived after us but that was it. No other people. We had to leave without eating. #2. This is a much bigger problem. There was a man walking around the entire place kicking his leaking colostomy bag all over the floor. Pee literally leaked everywhere and nobody seemed to care. Not only was this completely disgusting, it isn’t healthy. Completely unacceptable.

I normally dont write reviews on Unilocal especially ones when I’m complaining but im sitting here doin nothing and Unilocal offered me to review this place so oh well!
here it is… maybe I was overthinking it but the male bartender was a dick! I get it’s a dive bar in SF. I’m not unfamiliar with stuck up hipsters. but let me just tell this tale of this particular dickhead bartender. It is humorous.
i stopped here when I was traveling. i was just passin through i wasnt trying to impress anyone to say the least. I’m passed the phase in my life of trying to fit in to a situation and earn others approval. I wanted to drink and listen to music.
I was trying to get his attention for a beer right away and he was blatantly ignoring me. It was earlier in the night, wasn’t crowded. Thus I assumed that he was just a barback, and so I went to the otherside and got a beer from someone else. However she told me it was a 20 $ limit for drinks if you pay with a card. thats BS but i was already there and so I gave in like an idiot.
Came back up to the bar, and Turns out that guy was a bartender. Since I was taking a bus to LA in a few hours I casually asked him if there was any drink or beer that was more expensive but wasn’t strong at all. I just wanted to reach that stupid 20 $ limit. The guy took me for a fool and says with a fake grin «Well I can get you a long island iced tea!» I was just like uhh are you serious I’m not an idiot and he keeps going by sayin «well its only 4 shots! its not very strong!» I may of just turned 21 but I’m not naïve. That pissed me off because what if I didnt know? I wouldve gotten too drunk and could have missed my bus or DEFINITELY gotten sick on the bus. He was trying to screw me… why? because he is a douchebag. that it is why my friends.
I still tipped because I know how it is and the ladies were at least polite.
Thus here is my message to you dbag: Props to u! Along with thousands of other people, you managed to live and work in the oh so cool and trendy city of san Francisco! u go glen coco! and congrats on your shitty job as a bartender! Your overall energy is just so endearing. I hope having a shitty, judgmental attitude and spreading it around really is working for you. I was just looking to pass the time and we could have some good conversations. I’m a nice, open minded, genuine person. and you tried to trick me you fucker!
*…it was worth it though because I watched some good music acts. There was this girl on the violin and piano and this guy playing guitar and they were great. They were called Westerly. It was some time in march 2015. Peace yall

Hidden live music venue!
I came here last night for the first time after walking past it so many times before. My friend’s band was performing and I came out to support him!
It’s quite a small bar, and it definitely has the saloon theme to get you in that cowboy or cowgirl feeling.
They have plenty of beer to go around, with a nice abundance of draft selections. Magic Hat #9! Yay!!!
They also have a kitchen that serves food until around 10pm and I noticed that they have a salad that is vegan friendly, as well as a vegan lentil soup. I saw a veggie burger, but I did not ask if it was vegan-​friendly or not. I hope it is so that the next time I come back, I can have a full meal!
The music started around 9pm, and there’s usually a cover to get into the stage room. It is quite small, with a couple tables and couches. So if the band gets a good turnout, it can get quite hot and packed. There is also an upstairs deck that you can stand and watch from above-​which I think provides a great alternative view.
I love that this place really supports local musical acts-​they have shows almost everyday!
How often I’ll come to brave the dark and dirty dungeness of the venue? I don’t know.

Best wings ever. Cool bartenders, always friendly. Show up casual and just chill!
They have a great selection of hard liquor, and prices are reasonable. They also open late everyday till 2 am!