Icon Ultra Lounge

Had a mediocre experience at this mediocre club. Arrived 10 minutes before the guest list closed. There was no line, yet it took the door guy ten minutes to pat us down. When we walked in at exactly 10:30, a rude, unpleasant hostess told us the guest list was now closed, and had each of us pay a $ 20 cover.
Inside we found music with abrupt, disjointed transitions between each song. The dance floor was flanked with girls in slootersuits who were «kinda dancing». A guy dressed in a black on black mobster costume suit added to the douchey vibe.
This place was the epitome of all the negative aspects of nightclubs.

Icon is now calling themselves F8. Beware it’s a coverup for how sh^tty Icon Ultra Lounge was and still is. Not fooling anyone in SF.

Love this spot. My new home away from home.

One day not long ago, a small group of friends and I were feeling like dancing. It was already soon approaching 1AM and we had to figure out a place fast. A local buddy had the keen idea of going to Icon after going there for a recent happy hour. We didn’t have any expectations, other than the hope of good music and a nice after midnight crowd. After all, it’s not every day you go clubbing in SOMA.
Stationed at the corner of Folsom and Rogers, Icon looked like a place that could’ve been a diner at some point. From the pics it looked somewhat chic, loungey, and intimate. Instead, it was uncomfortably hot, somewhat beat up, and had some of the stickiest floors I had come across in awhile. That’s what I get for showing up past midnight.
The DJ did his best to keep the bodies moving on their very small but semi-​packed dance floor. Music either makes or breaks the crowd, and this guy was on point with a little slosh of hip hop here and a mosh of dance music there. No angry music thankfully, just enough to keep people’s heads bobbin and hips poppin.
While sipping on one of their overpriced cocktails at the bar, I got a little attitude from a bartender about a credit card minimum when trying to close out. Rather than put up a stink about imposing impossible limits, I just ordered more drinks to make up the difference. He was much friendlier afterward.
Would I come back? Certainly not in a group. If it were peak hours, the smallish place could get very crowded and very fast. Speakers aren’t as strategically placed as one would hope. My ears were ringing, feet were tired, wallet was way more empty, but the experience was unremarkable if not unpleasant for the rest of the group. Repeats are not necessary with this joint, even if it is somewhat iconic.

The music at Beat Church is good and the bartenders are cool and not pretentious at all. Nice!
But if you’re in the mood for a well made drink, versus just beer, I wouldn’t recommend Icon.
On a freezing cold night all I want is a nice Hot Tottie to warm me up (my favorite cold weather drink). But what the sweet blond girl behind the bar gave me was hot lemon water with a little honey and Jameson. Bless her heart for trying, but it was the worst drink I’ve ever had. Seriously.
Bottom Line: Great music, cheap cover, really nice staff, but just not the place for a good drink.

If ya’ll want to rage in an awesome tech house beat factory on a wednesday night… Icon is it!
+ 2 rooms
+ Full bar
+ A nice little gem in the middle of SOMA! Got there around 11pm and raged until a little after 3am
— Some dudes try to pawn off their drinks ladies, be careful.
Conclusion: If your a tourist in SF and want to listen to some gooooood house beats on a wednesday night, this is your best bet!

This place has a pretty diverse random crowd. Drinks are overpriced. Whiskey was more like a shot of whiskey, so that reminded me that I would not be getting drunk that night. One of the bartenders thanked me for dancing that night in which I replied:
«What?»
“Oh…(pause)…you’re not the dancer of the night… are you?”
«No, but I can be if you pay me.»
I guess I’ll take that as a compliment?
The best thing of the night was seeing a guy wearing a blue sequined shirt on roller skates. He was pretty awesome and he was doing tricks!
Alright place. Electronic music my sister prefers, not me. Restroom. Well you have to wait or use the mens restroom unless you want to pee your pants. Cover. Always suck.

I’ve been to this space in the past, but it had been a while, so I’ve waited to review after refreshing my memory at an event in September. The size of the space is larger than I’d remembered and the sound is definitely better than I’d recalled it being. Had a great time dancing with friends in the front room (never bothered checking out the DJs in the back room).
Service at the bar was quick and drinks were reasonably strong, but I also thought the bar was overpriced. Next time, I’ll probably make it a point to come early for the hosted bar or to drink before I come. One thing that was a bit of a hassle was only having one restroom stall per gender. On a busier night, this could be a problem for us drinkers. (As it was, in a nearly empty club, I had to repeatedly wait in a line for a restroom).
At any rate, I’ll definitely go again for the right events, but wouldn’t make this a normal stop when going out.

Just went here for a fundraiser on Wednesday night and had a really good time. We couldn’t believe that someone/​company sponsored the «free unlimited champagne from 7pm until 10pm to guests. That was pretty awesome!!!
That definitely made the night much more interesting. Starting from the Asian guy who walked by us, who did a 360 degree turn to bust a dance move, then moved on.
In the back, a group of younger kids told us that they were talking about ‘penises’, so we wouldn’t want to sit in there with them.
Whew, what a night.

I went here for a friends birthday and got a bad first impression.
We arrived shortly after my friends had arrived; they were inside already. I go through security (check ID, metal detector) and go inside to the «cover» table. I tell the unhappy snorting girl (perhaps allergies) that I am here for «Janel’s birthday» with a private room for bottle service. She sends me outside and tells me that I must tell the security outside to call my friend to come out and get us. I follow the directions and the security tells me that I must call my friend on her cell phone and have her come out and get me. ITS MY FRIEND BIRTHDAY, MOST LIKELY SHE’S DRUNK AND THE MUSIC IS SO LOUD THAT SHE WON’T HEAR HER PHONE. strike 1.
The owner (i think) goes inside and calls the bottle service waitress and she comes out with my friend. They give us the «ok» and tell us we must go back through security and then give our names again to the unhappy girl at the «cover» table. She looks at our IDs, finds us on the «list for Janel’s birthday» WHY DIDN’T SHE DO THAT THE 1ST TIME? and then stamps us in. strike 2.
Meanwhile, my friend has to stand outside to wait for another two friends to arrive.
WOW ON MY FRIENDS BIRTHDAY, SHE MUST STAND OUTSIDE IN THE COLD AND WAIT FOR HER GUESTS TO ARRIVE. strike 3.
When my boyfriend and I go inside, we ask a security guard «where is the private bottle service rooms?» he has no idea, makes us wait, and then gives us vague directions to head to the back of the club. We are in some small hallway with many options of directions to go and i find the coat check girl and ask her where the room is and she kindly directs me to which hallway we should follow. FINALLY WE’RE AT THE PARTY.
The room was a bit small and the décor looked really cheap. A room of mirrors with hanging light bulbs.
I am glad that my friend and her friends are fun because we had a great time hanging out, dancing and laughing. The music was just OK in the club, but i don’t think i’d ever suggest for anyone to go back there. it was just meh.

I’ve come here on several occasions. New Years and a Drum n Bass night.
New Years was poppin (duh) My girl worked the door and got the hook ups. Open Bar. Great service, good music and a great crowd.
Drum n Bass night was good too. The security seemed to adhere to the heavy Reg DnB crowd. Everyone is licking something, if you know what I mean. Needless to stay, I am an old woman: I tapped out at the ripe hour of 1am. Just couldn’t hang with all that untz untz womp womp womp womp wommmmmaaaammmpp.

Don’t like giving bad reviews, but I have no idea why this place exists. It is really small, smelly, gross, super ghetto, guys are a creepy, drinks are expensive for what you get… I would never come back.
This place reminds me of those 18+ clubs we’d try to go to in San Jose during high school. Guys were definitely all shorter than me. Incredibly creepy. There was a $ 5 cover, but we got in for free. Glad we did not have to pay because it would not have been worth it. The only reason we had gone was because my friend lives less than a block away.
SF has so much more to offer… do not come here…

Awesome little SOMA dancing spot. Music, style, drinks. Crowd was fun, lots of energy. Had a great time, would definitely come again.
Free entry on a Saturday with guestlist.

This place was not for me for the following reasons:
Small club
Expensive drinks ($ 10 a shot)
Strange mix of people
Bad music
There are tons of places to go in the city so go some place else!

I went here last Friday with my friend and her law student friends. We got there a little after 11pm and I got in pretty fast; no line or problems with security (cover was $ 5). The lounge/​club was pretty small with a room for the bar area and some seating against the wall and a second, slightly larger room with a dance floor. (FYI, there is only 1 girls bathroom stall.) Unilocal indicates that there is a coat check but when we asked one of the guys working security, he said it was closed. We were disappointed but he was really nice and said he would put our coats in the coat check room and we would just need to ask someone from the security team at the end of the night to get our coats back. Score!
The drinks are $ 10 a pop… but the Long Island iced tea was pretty strong so I’d say it was worth the money. The bartenders were pretty cool, especially since we were asking for a lot of water refills (gotta stay hydrated when drinking, right?) and they were quite busy.
The crowd was really mixed… between yuppy/​preppy people and the more thuggish/​gangster (for lack of a better adjective) crowd. i was a bit confused about the target demographic. anyway, whoever the DJ was on Friday, he was TERRIBLE. The music was hip hop, but really slow, hard-​to-​dance-​to music… when i go out to dance, give me Top 40 music and i can rock it all night long! but what is up with the slow, dance-​awkward beats? sometimes the music was so bad that the crowd just stopped dancing… at one point the DJ was calling out people for not dancing and i think someone said something back to him and he yelled «well, it’s not like you can dance anyway» (or something along those lines). Really? you’re going to play bad dance music and then insult the club’s guests?
I won’t be going back to this club. I would give 2.5 stars for the strong drinks by the bartenders, but zero stars for the DJ. By my math, it averages to 1 star for the lounge.

Standard club/​lounge with nothing that really stands out.
I once got forcibly freaked by two middle-​aged, larger-​sized women here, so I’ll give 2 stars. One for each woman.

What do you look for in a bar, what makes it a five star experience for you? Is it the décor? is it location? is it whether the bartenders are females in scantily clad clothing and there is go go dancers all over? Yes? Yes? Yes?
Well then, odds are you won’t agree with me, a bar that gets five stars in my book is CHEAP, STRONG ALCOHOL. And Icon failed to disappoint.
Tuesday night at 11p.m.
We get there and immediately find parking right in front of the Venue. The crowd is small yet very vibrant and everyone’s dancing and enjoying themselves in their own zone not there to pass judgement like you feel at so many other clubs. It’s big enough to separate yourself from other cliques. There is modern day (think ikea) red furniture, and low black tables, square and round adjacent to the bar. Where the D. J booth is, lies 4 big black leather couch areas and a giant mirror, up ahead is just one bathroom per sex, meaning one stall, meaning, on a busy night it’s probably a long ass line and wait?
I introduced my bff to the bartender (who was the owner actually) and said «this is my best friend from hs and she’s back from Oregon. I want to get her a chilled shot of patron, salt rim and sprite back please». He laughed and gave us our shots so fast.
Service = fast, very friendly, and reliable.
Not many places get me drunk so quickly, and yes my tolerance may sometimes be significantly lower than others but also, I’m never drunk at other good quality bars because it’s maybe 16 dollars for a watered down drink that has virtually no alcohol. I was dummy wasted at Icon! And I haven’t been that fucked up in a minute. I was throwing up so much in their bathroom, my poor bf had to watch in horror as I stuck my fingers past my oropharynx into my laryngopharynx desperately trying to throw up.
The bartender took mercy on us and gave us complimentary water which we just left out. WE BOTH WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR JUST LEAVING IT, WE WERE SO DRUNK AND COULD BARELY MOVE PLEASE TO FORGIVE PLEASE TO FORGIVE PLEASE TO FORGIVE!

This lounge was a Godsend after leaving some shitty dive bar with a rude bartender and a shortage of ingredients to make popular drinks.
There was plenty of street parking on a Tuesday night and although the crowd was small, everyone was clearly having a good time. They had a dj and the nicest bartenders I have ever met! After some Patron shots I asked for a fruity drink and the bartender Mitch made me a sex on the beach I think it was? He told me he left out the sweet and sour because it irritates your stomach. HOW THOUGHTFUL!!! =D =D =D The drinks were fucking STRONG. He also brought my best friend and I bottles of water as soon as he found out we were thirsty. I FEEL SO BAD FOR LEAVING THEM THERE! I literally exclaimed OMG THE WATERS as we were running back to our car in the freezing cold!
The whole place was decorated in modern luxe furniture and the bathroom was so clean! I didn’t even cringe when I watched my best friend wrap her hands around the toilet. Teehee. plzd0ntkillme. I seriously can’t get over how clean this place was. I loved the tables where you could store your bag under. Everyone knows I can never look after my shit hahahah.
There place is separated into two sections. On the right is the bar with plenty of seating and tables and on the left is the dance floor with mirrored walls and tons of comfy leather sofas. I was so underdressed in the same outfit I had been wearing for three days straight but I still felt welcomed!
Definitely check this place out if you’re ever looking for a good time in the heart of San Francisco

ya we went here for ladies night and it was really ghetto. The website has really nice pics of the place and it looks fancy and they require a dress code so you’d think this place doesn’t suck…
ya, the girls look cheap and the guys continuously cat call you. I definitely felt very high class… needless to say we left.

My relationship with Icon is more like a twisted cycle in which I have a difficulty breaking. Call it the grief cycle if you will, but I never seem to learn my lesson and I keep going back:
1. The bar that my friends and I originally planned to attend was a bust: either the line was too long, the dress code was too strict, or the cover was outrageously priced. Whatever the case is, it’s close to midnight and we want to dance/​drink pronto.
2. Some genius in my group decides that we should just go to Icon since there’s never a line or a cover, atleast that we know of. Since everyone else is too ADD to figure another alternative, we decide to just go with the flow and drive to Icon.
3. We park the car and are excited that we got in pretty quickly and didn’t need to spend a dime.
4. It hits us, there’s a reason why there’s never a line… the venue is wack, the ratio of guys to girls is 10 – 1, and it’s never packed inside.
5. We try to make the best of the situation by drinking a little bit more than expected just so that the place can be bearable. Yes, we are too lazy to drive or walk to another club.
6. I end up cutting off my liquor consumption early so that I can play babysitter and DD, since the DD ends up the sloppiest out of all of us. :/​
7. Despite our attempt to make the best of the situation, after 45 minutes of boredom (even with rounds of drinks and dancing on the empty dance floor) we ALWAYS end up leaving early. On the way back to the car, I always swear never to come back because after going to Icon countless times, I never seem to have fun.
8. …three weeks later, my friends and I park our car outside of Icon and the cycle starts all-​over again.
Why do I do this to myself? I don’t know… but I’ll give it +2 because I came to realize that Icon, it’s not you… it’s me. You just bring out the Debbie Downer in me.