The Battery

«The Battery Club, The Battery Club.» Yeah… Not impressed. From the 20-​something hipsters that literally filled the place, to the less than helpful to downright rude bar tenders who couldn’t be bothered. What a disappointment. There is nothing exclusive about this place.

Wonderful place for happy hour, dinner or late night drinks. Programming is fantastic… Interesting talks on diverse topics. Love running into friends and meeting new people here. Definitely a go-​to establishment in the city.

I went here for the LTR conference and was immediately mesmerized by the architecture of the place. The layout gave this mysterious but social hub feeling, and there was a good balance of work space, and group hang out space. The servers also seemed to be a little dismissive if they assumed you were there just as a guest. I’m sure if I was a regular at the battery I would have more input, because I did start to get this air of «elitism» while there even for a short while.

A friend took me here for lunch today. Totally enjoyed the ambience, food, and everything about it. I would definitely recommend but this is a members only club. Have no idea what it takes to become a member.

San Francisco nightlife generally doesn’t compare to Miami but this venue has a more high end vibe and sleek design to put you more in an entertainment state of mind. Did the upstairs club. Small space and no one dancing to the dj. Bar was well stocked and diverse. There’s also a side room to sit and talk. Was crowded but also it is superbowl.

Nice swanky private club. It has a decent gym and hot tub. Servers are nice and lots of different activities. I have not officially joined but a friend brought me in. Nice venue.

This place was pretentious and kind of lame.

Funny reviews. Everyone thinks this is so exclusive and swanky for rich, bourgeois people. My friend uses UpAllNight and got into this event and had some +1’s. It felt like any nightclub in SF… like Ruby Skye or Temple. Nightclubs in SF usually attract somewhat attractive people who have to dress somewhat nice. The DJ wasn’t anything special at all. In fact, it’s not really my type of music to dance to. I like the nice crowd. It felt like a high school dance or a wedding. Coat check is complimentary and there’s free drinking water. yeah yeah whatever. we didn’t check out other floors or rooms. There’s an outdoor patio. I didn’t get a drink. I would love to come back, but it wasn’t as amazing as I had hoped. Needs more perks. I’d rather hang out at a tech event.

Bullshit place that requires a nomination to even be on the list… Completely ridiculous. It’s another pretentious club that hopefully disappears soon.

It’s quite the venue and concept. Driving by on the usually busy Battery St, one would barely realize (besides the valet parking late at night) that there lie a country club esque, members only club on the fringes of the Financial District.
That being said, I can only rate this as a guest of an esteemed member and having only come for dinner, drinks, drinks, and more exclusive rooms and drinks upstairs.
A class institution that serves exactly the purpose that it’s meant for. If you can afford the membership then you will be amongst the elite here and mingle accordingly. Or just find wealthier individuals here with attractive and possibly just as wealthy partners.
Get it? Yeah, this place is fancy. Want to be fancy and be amongst the bougie, fancy? Well this serves that purpose amazingly. Check it out.

Some external observers want to view The Battery as some bastion for the wealthy. Yes, they need to have some sort of model to keep the club profitable yet ‘wealth’ doesn’t brand the club like it might a country club.
Rather, they seem to accept prospective members based on their contribution to society; the fee structure of membership is not necessarily a financial barrier to participation. This is a refreshing approach.
No, it’s not for everyone. But nothing is in life. What it is is a wonderful place to go share with friends in the cultural revolution, from talks with Glen Close to musical sets with the Kronos Quartet.
Wonderful.

It’s one of the best places in the city if you want to have a great dinner/​coffee conversation and run into interesting folks. I try to host many if not most of my dinners here. I also use the space as an occasional office.
You’ll read a lot of reviews complaining about it pretentious. I was worried about that too, but found it wasn’t the case when I actually joined. I think the admissions criteria to the club is just someone who wants to do interesting things and/​or leave a positive impact on the world. So, the dues aren’t actually that expensive. I mean, it is a private club; so, if you don’t like private clubs it doesn’t make sense to leave a review.
If you’re interested in joining (or hosting an event), it is a nice spot. They serve samovar tea, so I know I can always get something great to sip on. The menu changes constantly, so there’s not much use in leaving a review of the food. Though, I’ve generally enjoyed my meals here.
Recommended.

I was invited as a guest by a friend (nobody is perfect). After a surprisingly long wait we get in to a very large and very empty dining space. Despite being the only diners I had to walk around to find the waiter to get him to come over. He had fully dilated pupils and was having a hard time remembering our order. My friend and I took bets as to which drugs he was on. I picked opioids because his movements were overshooting. I won the bet when he later spilt my dinner all over the table.
This place is overtly for the nouveau riche by the nouveau riche. None of them appear to actually like each other. I can’t imagine that it’s a fun place for creatives. I’m happy it exists because I don’t have to go there and it keeps the ‘undesirables’ out of my preferred bars.

This place is awesome. But not for the reasons you think. When I first joined the Battery over a year ago, I have to admit I was skeptical. I worried it might be pretentious or too much of a «scene». I’ve actually found it to be completely the opposite — -its really just a beautiful place to hang out with new and old friends, eat good food and drink good cocktails. Why I go the Battery often:
Reason #1: Seeing Old Friends.
The Battery is an awesome place to run into friends you haven’t seen in a while. Almost every time I’ve been there I’ve run into great friends that I wish I saw more of. They have in turn introduced me to other great people, who have frequently become friends. This is especially true of friends that have gotten married and don’t go out much.
Reason #2: Staff Is Incredibly Friendly and Welcoming.
I’ve lost track of the nice favors/​gestures that people there have done over the last 18+ months for me and other people I know. Storing bags, letting me know about upcoming events, etc.
Reason #3: You Learn a Lot.
I try to make their special educational and non-​profit sessions when I can. During the past year I’ve attended a session by Russell Simmons (one of the first founders I ever read about), a session on Hawaiian surf culture from the 70s and a mixology session or two. I’ve also learned tons from random interesting people I’ve met.
Reason #4: Learning About New Music
I’ve learned lots about new bands and DJs thanks to their special appearances at the Battery. Last night I showed up with a bunch of Scandinavian friends and there was a band called Mountain Heart – a bunch of hipsters playing what I think was bluegrass. Really fun.

This place has it going on! I’ve been to the City Club a lot. This is heads and shoulders above the CC. There are out door places to meet or just look at emails. Bars in nearly every room.
A short but impressive lunch menu. An incredible service. I had the pastrami sandwich which came packed with pastrami. Almost like Katz’ deli in NYC. However, this version was definitely California with avocado and I think a wasabi and mustard spread. Come hungry.
The ambiance is half art gallery and half bar/​restaurant. The owners are trying to manage the diversity of clientele which is refreshing.
I was a guest of a member so no photos.

Skip the food. Instead, stop by Trestle or Bask tapas nearby. Accept that ordering a drink at The Battery bar ~ upstairs or downstairs ~ will take awhile. It’s not unusual for patrons to give up and just drink water, which is self-​serve. Client service is not a strength of this club. The co-​ed bathroom can be dirty. During weeknight events, the bathrooms run out of paper towels and members are left pulling on rolls of toilet paper to dry their hands.

Thanks for hosting the game 4 Warriors v Cavs, great fun, nice hospitality and drinks were great!
2 star stars you ask… I cannot believe how pretentious and douchey the members have become since my last visit. Uniform of $ 500 jeans and a casual blazer, with a pocket full of blow. Good luck with them. Those. That.

I am not a member and was here for an event. Loved the ambience and décor, beautiful spot!
I like the Wingtip just a tad more given that it is more intimate.

A company I work with had an event here last night.
Boy oh boy! — this is one cool space. We had an event room upstairs facing Battery street (but the view was just the trees) the space is modern, well lite, nicely decorated and temperately comfortable.
There was no shortage of passed appetizers or cute waiters to serve these little nuggets of joy, I was particular to the «young Richard Dreyfus guy» but maybe only ’cause he came around with the salami & cheese fritters!
The dinner was good, choice of 2 apps (kale salad and olive oil scallops over lentils) and a choice of ribeye or swordfish belly for entrée. The ribeye was great, but I could have definitely used a steak knife.
The bathrooms are gorgeous, but not so keen on the sharing of the sexes (all private stalls).
I wonder how much it costs to join here, it is a private club and what fun it would be to have a place like that to go whenever you wanted.

Spacious + Immaculate + Eclectic Design
Modern Social Club
Visiting SF came to meet up with a member, had dinner + drinks. Seemed like there was quite a bit going on here with each level.
The food was pretty solid. Drinks were great, nice selection.
The Scene: Hip, Techy
Destination Rating: 8
Date Rating: 6
Hob Nob Potential: 5
Note: Beware Taxidermy everywhere.