Maze Cafe

Maze café has terrible customer service. They refused to serve me and a group of friends, even though the bar had only eight people in it. I had heard it was a fun place, but upon arriving it had only yakuza-​ish individuals at the bar, which only added to its seediness. This is a bad spot to spend your money for two reasons. First is its terrible customer service and second is its overall dangerous atmosphere.

With enough alcohol maybe I’ll have the X-​Factor! Can we say DELUSIONAL?
I use to live around the block from Maze and always thought it was an empty space because I’ve never seen people enter or leave the premises until this past Saturday. Originally my friends and I reserved a room at Voiz Karaōke; however, they gave our room away since we were late. Maze seemed to be our only other option since it was Saturday night and most rooms would be booked at other popular karaōke places in SF.
Maze is an HK bar that’s super divey. It was my first time coming to an HK bar and it seems people come here to drink, karaōke, and play Chinese drinking games (dice game). Smoking allowed inside.
P R O S
*$ 180 minimum for karaōke rooms (4 rooms) with no time-​limit. Whether you order alcohol or not, you will be charged a minimum of $ 180 so order up.
*Attentive staff; our waitress made sure the double shots of goose kept coming out. BOTTOMS UP B*TCHES!
C O N S
*Very dirty and grungy
*Difficult parking
*Confusing karaōke system with a remote in Chinese. FML.
*Horrible, limited, and old English music selection. The newest song releases were Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi and Neyo’s Miss Independent.
*No ventilation and smoggy
5 double shots of Goose later and I still sounded like William Hung’s better half. Yup, I’m delusional.

Hrmm… I’m not too sure how I feel about Maze Café since it’s my first time there.
The place is dirty as hell with this cigarette haze floating above the tables which vaguely reminds me of the LA skyline. However, the female bartender and on-​duty manager was very hospitable to my group of friends (we are all American born Chinese).
We bought a tiny bottle of Grey Goose from them which is no more than $ 30 at Safeway but was charged $ 220 instead… can you say ripoff? Yet, we had a great time since it was my cousin’s 21^st b-​day.
So I guess it wasn’t THAT bad since we were already a little buzzed. Perhaps I will come back again sober with a different group to see if that changes my perspective.
==========
–2 Stars for grunginess and ridiculous 600%+ mark-​up
*3 Stars out of 5*

I’ve been coming here for many years. I didn’t really use to like it before but I’ve learned to like this place now that I’ve been to a fair amount of bars and lounges. For some reason, my friends and I almost always end up here. Their song selection is pretty decent and their snacks are not bad. I think the reason why I prefer this place over the other bars and lounges in SF is because this place is almost like home to me because I know most of the people that come here so I have a fun time here most of the time. I love their rooms but I hate being downstairs. I know the décor of this bar is not that nice but it’s something about the atmosphere that I like.

I love this bar. This is totally your legit Hong Kong bar. You get to smoke cigarettes inside, there are 2 TVs where you can pick your (70s — 90s) canto-​pop to sing karaōke to. There are also cups and dices where you get to play all the traditional drinking games with your friends.
I’m from Hong Kong. This was like bringing me way back to 7^th grade in 852 again.
Dig it!

I remember coming here a few years ago. This place was packed on Friday and Saturday evenings. Packed with Asian people drinking, smoking, playing dice and singing karaōke.
Some of the people here were minors, I don’t mean 18+. The amount of smoke from all the people were so bad, one cannot see the back wall. The place just discriminates against none Asian people. Walked in here once with a couple of none Asians and they ignored them when they simply tried to order a beer.

This is the most ghetto-​est bar I have been tooo,. well I have been in worse,. but this is def your TYPICAL ASIAN type bar,. where you can smoke inside and play chinese drinking games. So if you are looking for a nice lounge to hang out,. this joint is not for you.
When you walk in, they have a main room,. like a OPEN karaōke bar,. you can select songs and sing at your table, a good OLDIE selections of chinese and english songs. A few booths wrapped around the wall and a waitress who comes around and takes your alcohol/​food order.
They also serve GOOD bar food, fish ball, french fries, chicken wings, you name it,.
Alcohol prices are absurd,. expensive beers and expensive shots,. but usually my friends and I party in the karaōke room,. a $ 200 minimum to get a room?! so we just POP BOTTLES ALL NIGHT,.
I know I will be back,. because Maze BAR is actually a place I am use to partying in,.pounds shots, chug beer, play chinese drinking games, sing karaōke and smoke cigz at the same time,.
«Meh. I’ve experienced better, but its A-​OK».

Don’t let the name «Café» fool you. This is no ordinary café that serves coffee and pastries but it serves alcohol instead. I was there for the past weekend for my good friend’s farewell.
Interior wise:
Looking around at the main sitting area, there were four three-​cart seats, a bar area, and many tables lined up like an elementary school cafeteria. Given that it it is a bar, the ambient lightning was pretty dark, hence you won’t know who touched you or something along the line like that. I am impressed that they still have a whole bunch of super huge CRT TVs in there, thought they’d be obsoleted by now. The even more amazing part was they have nine of them 13″ ones lined up like a rubix cube. If you are in desperate need of some FOB style bar-​fixings, this is the place to go.
Ambient wise:
Besides our massive group, I only saw three other tables of customers. The first table were all semi-​old folks in their 40s. The next group where some women in their 30s and the last group was obviously a group of FOBs probably who were not even 20 yet. They have a huge sign that says present your ID, but that was not enforced.
Drink wise:
The selections were pitiful. It was either Heineken (no objections to that, since it’s my favourite drink of all times), Miller Lite, Corona and some house-​wines that cost probably $ 3 a bottle at Wal-​Mart. Of course, and the usual markup of 400% per bottle. It’s still a fair price to be honest.
Policy wise:
SMOKE away! They even provide the ashtray for your convenience.
Service wise:
The waitress there, Evelyn, was OK helpful at times. Being the largest group there, they often forgot to clean up the empty bottles and or mess on the floor. Though they did provided salty-​snacks for the drunk folks or soon-​to-​be-​drunk folks. Also, they add in the 15% tip to the bill for you already, so make sure you don’t double-​tip them unless you think you are getting exceptional service.
PRO-​TIP:
They have two of those «all you can drink, all you can eat» karaōke room for $ 200… pretty cool if you have enough people to do that.

I love their karaōke rooms. Large selection of songs, and the fact you can sing, drink, playing drinking games all at the same time. Good chicken wings and fishballs. The only drawbacks are the drinks are a little pricey and people smoking indoor.

This place is dark, not your fancy type of bar. Its grundgy HK style bar. Karaōke monitors and booths available. Service is good, keep pouring.

RIP-​OFF! MESSY! DIRTY! UGLY! YOU NAME IT!
I just wouldn’t go there again after they overcharged my friend by $ 5 on his credit card. I know $ 5 is nothing, but who wants to do business with someone who is not honest.
This place is a mess that you will get all kind of cancers not only liver, but your lung due to second hand smoke. You will be deaf by the time you leave. Restroom is extremely dirty and slippery when it gets busy. Maybe guys suck at aiming when they are drunk. So don’t bother to use the urinal, just pee on the floor.
Drinks are extremely overpriced and they don’t even have beers on tap. Sometimes they don’t honor their deals which is clearly written on the black board.
If you want to get cancer or meet some bad friends, this is the place you should go.

STINKS! please do not bring your jacket in there unless you dont mind smelling like nothing but cig after you leave. practically everybody in there smoke. i like their collection of songs, but i would not go there unless i am reaaally bored and have to. i dont want to die of lung cancer due to 2^nd hand smoke.

This place is pretty messy but people go back often because they don’t check ID. Not really a place to be in if you don’t like noise, since the first floor gets pretty noisy sometimes. As for the second floor, it’s where the rooms are located at. To me, it’s not very sound proof and the mics are cheap. But overall it’s a nice place to go to if you’re just plain bored and want to have some fun with some friends that are under aged. Oh, even if you don’t drink or smoke; once you get out of that place after staying in there for a while your clothes would stink of alcohol and cigarettes. Oh there are often fights there too, I really don’t get how police don’t raid the place when theres a police station like a block away?

This is not the cleanest or the nicest bar you will find… Not a place to bring your date if you are trying to impress him/​her. The bar is really filthy and usually fill with smoke. Do not wear nice clothes unless you like to wear smoke as your cologne.
The only thing I ever drink there is beer. I do not trust their bartender. The drinks never come out right. Its good for large groups and guys who don’t mind getting a bit dirty. Careful what u step on because u might be surprised by what you find on the floor.
The place is always loud and populated with mostly Asians. The drinks are over priced. But the food is pretty good. However, It would probably taste better if it didn’t smell like cigarettes.
But the bottom line is… there are some nice eye candies there…

Everytime I come here, I feel like I have to burn my clothes when I get home… the cigarette haze is real bad
They NEVER make the mix drinks right, so I end up drinking 4 bottles of Smirnoff Ice…

–one of the biggest Asian Karaōke/​bars
–4 VIP rooms upstairs and a second bathroom there
–good selections of songs
–good selections of wine/​liquor (even serve Smirnoff)
–delicious fried chicken wings and fish balls serviced during drinking and singing

Asian bar period. Well, it’s not only for Asians, but you’ll only find Asians in here. At least that’s what I’ve witnessed the 577 566 times I’ve been there. It’s definitely not fancy or the cleanest bar you’ve ever been to (neither is the bathroom). But I do like the fact that they have karaōke, food and a decent amount of variety in their drinks. They also have a couple of VIP rooms upstairs (a lot cleaner), but I prefer downstairs because its more lively. But also because the tables in the VIP rooms are so low that you have to bend down from the booths to do anything. Service ain’t bad.

Be forewarn, this place is very Asian, not all people will appreciate it. The downstairs area was noisy and there was a cigarette haze. However, their private K-​room was nice and the service was good. I have only been in the private K-​room and never been in the downstairs area, so my review is only based on the private room.

I felt like I was in Hong Kong… underground in a basement. (even though I was on street level). It’s too smokey, dim and loud inside. I wouldn’t come back.

This is a typical chinese karaōke/​bar in the Richmond. Very smoky, very loud, if you want to sing, this is not the place to go. Basically this is just a place for the 21– 25 age group to hang out and get drunk on the weekends. Nothing special…