North Beach Parking Garage

I honestly feel really ridiculous writing a review for a parking garage but if it weren’t for the lovely people of Unilocal,I wouldn’t have known where to park when I went to Club Fugazi to watch Beach Blanket Babylon.
There’s not too much to say that hasn’t already been said. $ 3/​hr is practically a steal in SF, let alone in North Beach where there is hardly any parking, unless you count street parking… which is still a hassle over there anyway. Cheap, well lit, accessible, and across from a police station make this parking lot an ideal spot to leave your car anytime you’re craving a North Beach adventure (SO glad I know where to park now when I want Golden Boy Pizza, hehe). Thought the little sayings lining each parking spot was an awesome touch as well, hopefully I’ll get to read them all the next time I’m back!

Street parking in North Beach can be a bear so I decided to go the garage route. Unilocal steered me to North Beach Garage and it turned out to be a great decision. Five hours in North Beach having dinner, seeing a show and strolling around and the tab was 15 bucks. Best money you can spend.
North Beach Garage is directly across from a police station with numerous police and cars around the area. The garage itself is clean, very well lit and as mentioned before, well priced. If you have no experience parking in a public garage the ramps and spaces can seem a bit narrow but go slow and you won’t have any problem.
Oh, the Chinese proverb said I was a nice person… thank you though my wife didn’t fully agree :)

To say that this is the best parking garage in NB, which I do say, is really not saying very much when you think about it, all things considered.
Which begs the question…
What do I want from my parking garage?
Cleanliness. It’s still next to Godliness, & if given the choice, I prefer not to have the stench of urine escort me to & from my car. This garage is very clean.
Safety. Given the fact that this garage is directly across the street from Central Police Station, the safety factor is strong. As a rule & a woman, I don’t believe you should ever let your guard down completely, but between the attendant on the main floor & the boys in blue constantly present, they’ve got you covered.
Light. This is a part of safety. Dark garage? No Bueno. This garage is really well lit.
Affordability. I know that life is life, & it’s customary for a garage in a heavily trafficked area to gauge you like there’s no tomorrow, but enough already. The all day rate here is 26 bucks or so. This was for around 9 hours. Maybe not the cheapest, but for all the above reasons, it’s worth it.
Of course, you gotta love a garage that has a fortune for every space. Something to muse over & make you smile before you step out into the rat race? Very nice.
The spaces are on the small side. If you drive a beast of a vehicle, it could be a challenging endeavor.
The best parking garage in North Beach.
4 stars.

Great price and felt safe. Great location for Little Italy/​Chinatown/​Beach Blanket Babylon whatever! :)

I wish I can give half-​star review. I drive my car and entered at around 9:15pm and exit at around 10:20. And the cashier handhelds 2 tickets. When he asked me 12 dollars for parking I felt aware, I remember the rate on board at entry 1 – 2 hours $ 3.00. And I asked him for my ticket and it shown I made an entry at 6:43 pm.
And I argued with him, and asked him:“did you just come in work and other black guy just left in past 1 hour?” And he said:“yes. I have him a lunch (or dinner I can’t understand his strong African tongue) break.” And I yell this is fuckin bullshit if I came in at 6:43pm how can I know you just come in to work from 9:15 — 10:20 time? And he said:“this is the computer shows the rate of charge I can’t make any change. «Then I paid for this bullshit charge. Which mean I paid for 4 times of my actual parking time rate. I decided I will go to small claim court for get my extra paid ($ 9.00) back.

In and out no problemO! The staff is very friendly and you are right next to Da Kine Hawaii Dive Bar!

Been parking at this spot for ages. It’s right across the street from the police station and is the perfect place if you want to explore around Chinatown or North Beach.
Costs $ 3 an hour; not sure of deals, since the longest we usually stay is several hours.
Rarely get any parking except for the top level, which isn’t covered. Have seen random tourists taking photos from the top. I partake in other activities up there with the free air, but have seen somebody in an uniform quietly sitting in his vehicle in the farthest corner spot on the highest level before, so keep your eyes open.
They have little fortune teller cookie sayings in each spot. I rarely read them. The times I have, I forget what it says by the time I hop on the elevator. Waste of time, but I guess some people find it charming.
Pay the cashier when you return and they give you a little bit of time to exit the lot. Lots of foot traffic in the area in front of the entrance and exit area, so sometimes it can get annoying. Be patient and don’t run over the pedestrians. You won’t get away with it. Cops everywhere.

Who knew that it existed… worth it and inexpensive.

I can fit six cars in my driveway and I hate paying for parking. One time in SF I saw a movie matinée but paid $ 27 to park.
We were taking a cooking class at cookhouse and got lucky on a free spot, when the chef needed pine nuts I was off to the safeway as the local spots had closed.
On the way back no spots were to be found so we gave north beach garage a try, the spots had tight spaces and the there were many turns, but once it was the deal of the neighborhood. If you gotta park in North Beach, give this a try.

This place is great. It takes away any worry or stress that may come with parking in North Beach & Chinatown. Prices are reasonable and it is centrally located near everywhere you would want to hit on your North Beach & Chinatown excursion.

We came into town for the weekend and picked this garage to keep our car. It was clean, safe, and the rates were very fair. It is located across the street from a police station, which made us feel at ease. Each parking space has a fortune written on it. We have a midsize car, so parking was not a problem for us, but a larger SUV might have trouble.

Complete scam. Beware. They claim they have spots and will get you in.
When you try to leave, they will charge you anyways, even though you were there for a couple minutes. Avoid at all costs. The parking spots are also too small for standard cars, so invariably, you will get hit. When I explained this to the attendant, he was extremely rude. You have been warned.

It’s in a good location with decent pricing. It’s a tight parking lot and typical has a lot of cars parked there though. You get a fortune that’s painted in the parking spot, nice addition for the Chinatown charm.

My go to place to park my ride. One of the more unique points is that this place has «fortunes» or sayings on every parking spot. One of my favorites is «Don’t Oversleep»! Of course you can get one like my boyfriend (who is bald) did, «It is time to try a new haircut»! There are 5 split levels so ample parking most of the time, tho’ it’s a good thing if you have «monthly parking pass» ($ 345/​mo avg) because you then can «come/​go» even if the «FULL» sign is out in front of the garage. It’s also RIGHT ACROSS from the Central Police Station in North Beach (so pretty safe).

Parked in this garage today in my Dodge Ram. It CAN be done! I didn’t think it was that bad – I felt like I had plenty of room as long as I took it slow. I parked on 3A and found a spot that was plenty big, with another big truck like mine parked right to me. I didn’t even have to let my passengers out before we parked — there was plenty of room to open the doors. Some of the other parking places looked smaller, so maybe I got lucky. It was 2 pm on a Wednesday and there were quite a few open spots.
Great price – $ 3 per hour. Very clean. Felt safe. AWESOME place to park for both Chinatown AND North Beach. This will be my go-​to place when I am in the area. Loved the fortunes too!

I call this the Fortune cookie garage. It’s newer than the one across the street by the police station and the rates are set at $ 3/​hr. Yes the turns are a little tight so I probably wouldn’t want to take a big truck or huge SUV in this place but sedans and smaller do fine. I’ve never had a problem turning in the spaces or getting a a space. I’m from the city though so I am used to it I guess. I usually go 1 round to look for parking on the street but this is usually just easier. Most of the garages in Chinatown aren’t overly expensive on the weekends and this spot is the same price everyday. Whether hitting up North Beach or Chinatown this spot is open ²⁴⁄₇ so you don’t have to worry about getting out in time. I love the fortunes on the floor and this place is pretty clean.
This place saves parking search time if you know how to drive in a tight space. Find a nice fortune to take with you the rest of the day or night.

So I won’t pretend to be shocked that a parking garage has a lot of reviews, rather I’ll lament that I didn’t think to read them and hence missed going to the top for the views. The price seems reasonable (based on others in the area) and the little saying on the spots are pretty neat. The fact that it’s near a police station is a perk (assuming it keeps crime down). I’d park here again… ha!

Of course the parking garage has 75 reviews… of course it does. So I will review it some more.
There aren’t many parking garages I would call «memorable» that I have used over the years… but this one is certainly the most memorable. Every space has an interesting quote and I always drive to the top for the views…

I’m normally a street parker.
But since it’s nearly impossible to park on the streets of North Beach, the NBPG is where I usually end up. It may be a bit cramped, but maneuverable… even with a full-​sized truck.
I prefer this garage over others because of its central location (across from police station), an easy payment process, it’s open 24 hours, has great views from the top, and ultimately for the fortunes provided per parking stall.
Other than stating the obvious like «being a great lover,» I’ve been reminded to «share my happiness with others» and that ”a party is going on inside me.“
With fortunes like these, who cares bout parking prices?

Driving in Chinatown is stressful and finding parking before 6pm is even more stressful if you don’t know how long you’ll be staying and how much money you need to put in the meter. I’m glad this parking garage exists. I did the $ 11 early bird parking before 10am. I arrived right before 10am and found a space on the rooftop. The ramp going up is super narrow so it was scary for me and the ramp going down was even scarier. It’s a pretty good price for early bird parking if you want to stay in Chinatown from 10 am to 7 pm.
After 6 pm, meters are free so I wouldn’t recommend this garage after 6. A pro tip I learned if you’re going to dinner in Chinatown is to find a metered spot at around 5:30 and sit in your car until 6. It makes parking a much less stressful experience because after 6, it’s hard to find any parking spots in the area.