The Royale

It was a ghost town when we arrived a little before 7 p.m. on a Friday night.
I ordered the special written on the board: Strawberry & Pear Mojito. Not a whole lot of alcohol in that huge, tall glass, but it was still yummilicious, especially with the crushed real strawberry and pear. None of that flavored syrup stuff!

I LIKE this place. It’s across the street from the Mojito Bar in North Beach … and you would think the Mojito Bar would have better mojitos (judging by the name) … but the mojitos here are FANTASTIC!!! They use fresh fruit, and always have 3 – 4 different flavors available … strawberry, watermelon, peach, etc. The DJ is good … and they occasionally have live music as well. The funky blue light adds to the ambience and the odd fish tank that you can’t help but stare at. It’s a place we like to hit up often … no lines, no cover, laid back, good drinks, good music — what more do u want?

This place still is fun. My friends knew no matter what bar we hit up on a random monday their wouldn’t be big crowds or loud music in any bar but that just means quicker and stronger drinks for us.
The random hip hop and or reggae beats put us in a chill/​cozy state of mind and just talking about football with the bartender and having a couple of strong cocktails is all we needed. We will be back soon on a thursday for «open-​mic» night.

I’ve had enough of the fake glitz and cheesy glamor that pretentious socialites believe every night-​life scene aspires to be. This place is what San Francisco is all about… Real people. Friendly staff. Eclectic music. Cozy setting. Amazing atmosphere. Wonderful drinks. Great prices. Tasteful décor. Different events. Centralized location. And, of course, good times.

Great spot on a Wednesday night for open mic! The Park lays it down. plus the emcees are all ill! I’ve been coming back just because it’s different each night. you really never know who would be performing.
Strongly suggest coming here on a Wednesday!

Hole #3 in my friend’s bar crawl.
We were supposed to hit up Church Key, but it was too crowded and the bouncer wouldn’t let us in. We walked a little further and stumbled upon this bar. The people inside were really cool, the bartender even made some special cocktail for the birthday girl, said it was one of his «experimental» concoctions. It was damn good. I’ve found a new bar to come back to next time!

This spot is kinda interesting. The name suggests a higher-​end lounge, but upon entering you’ll notice that the place has more of a ghetto feel than an upscale feel. Granted, most places in North Beach aren’t what I would call upscale (unless you consider cheesy Italian places that wish they were in Italy to be high end), but this spot definitely feels out of place.
On Saturday they had a great band playing latin-​infused reggae, but the crowd was pretty B&T. Most people there seemed to be hip-​hop types so the music seemed very out of place. The people are friendly at Royale, but the place doesn’t really fit in with the neighborhood. Perhaps a Mission scene would make it more of a success.
If you’re looking for something royal, don’t come here.

Meghan P is right, the strawberry mojitos are great, but its down hill from there. Other than that, it’s just a bridge and tunnel bar with a kind of strange crowd. The DJ spins all the regular bar music. It could be worse, but it could definitely be better.
Also, one of the filthiest women’s rooms I have ever seen!

OPEN MIC at Royale, this is what it’s known for, at least in the neighborhood… this is where we go. 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday’s with Johnny Vennetti and all your local SF finest freestyle MC’s. Johnny on the turn tables, scratching, over a live drummer, horns, and two mics going around with anyone stepping up to the mic and free-​styling. Unparalleled to anything that you get to experience in SF. Refreshing.
You never know who will be there and what people will be throwing down, but truly something creative to be a part of. Look out for MC Mars, Gideon… and the rest of the crew.
Leave your ego and attitude at the door and come in with an open mind. Enjoy the music and take the stick out of your *ss.
I can’t vouch for any of the other nights, but this one is worth coming out for. Great night for underground Hip Hop Junkies.

The music is ok and the crowd is meh. I wish more folks would show up to this joint. I like it better than Mojito — just cuz it’s better dance music — stuff I know.
If you want a good stiff drink to get you going — you might want to stop by this place. That’s 1 extra star — for the strong drinks!

The vibe at The Royale is kind of weird. A couple of friends and I were bar hopping a little while ago and were intrigued by the interior neon blue lights. We stopped in for a quick drink and to check out the crowd. Our drinks came out quickly and we sat around watching DJ iTunes do his thing. There were plenty of plushy seats and sticky tables. Drinks were a tad bit more expensive than Grant & Green.
Other than our group, there were probably six other people, including the two bartenders. I’m sure this place usually is pretty happening. Maybe we just came on the wrong night?

The drinks were reasonably priced, good bar service, friendly bartender and doorman, and the DJ was great! Kinda small dance floor, but its kind of a small place.
BUT — I left my credit card there, and when I tried to call the next day, the phone number listed on their website (
) is apparently the owner’s cell phone? When I told him about the credit card, he said F – k You and hung up, and hung up on me again when I called back. I ended up having to cancel the credit card.
So if you are a person prone to leaving credit cards behind at a bar — this is not the place for you!

The Good:
*Funny Cover Band… in a good way
*Location
*No cover
The Bad:
*Funny Cover Band. in a bad way
*Very slow Bartender
*Not-​so-​great drinks (so I hear from my friends… my beer was just fine)
*The crowd
Barely got in the place, got a drink, finished ½ the drink– and we were out the door. Maybe I need to come on a different night.

NEAR BROADWAY BARS SECRET TREASURE!
I never had thought to travel up Sacramento to see if there were any good bars a couple of friends have introduced me to the spot. I had a good time everytime we came here to hang out on the weekends. Good vibe, just enough room for the smaller crowd, dance floor with good mix of music, good people, service, and goodtimes.
But my question is… what is that game people are playing? Our table was next to a table that was playing tha boardgame? what is it? and how to do you play it?

The Royale has become my second home. Josh and Randy are the BEST. If you’re looking for a place to chill out, grab a couple of drinks, and enjoy yourself with other good people, regardless of the day, come to Royale. (I’m there at least 4 x week) Make sure you give Big G (the doorman) a big hug.
The music is great here. You either get great throw backs on the ones & twos or they have an awesome live band set up that night. Royale is hops in North Beach, if you like hip hop and reggae.
I really like the fact that you can bring food to the establishment without any hassle. Seriously, Royale is good stuff!!!

Ordered a strawberry mojito with fresh strawberries ground up – was way too sour. had to ask the bartender to put in more sugar syrup. After that it was good but the fresh fruit mojitos at Lion’s Den are still way better.
Good mix of hip hop and reggae — some of the reggae brought me back to spring break in Jamaica. Only problem is the small dance floor is right next to the bathrooms and someone dropped a bomb in (I’m assuming) the men’s room and it cleared out the dance floor! So disgusting! Come on people — be considerate when you’re trashed!
We left shortly after that…

I go for their strawberry mojitos! In my opinion, these strawberry mojitos are WAY better than any of the mojitos at Mojito across the street. I go into Royale with my fingers crossed that they’ll have fresh strawberries (and sometimes leave the bar when they don’t) because this bar would not be the same without the mojitos.
I also love their fish tank & that it’s a great bar to rent out for a party & that you can feel like you own the bar until about 9:30 when it all of a sudden fills up fast. You can have a relaxed, quiet drink and then the party will come to you!

It’s a great bar — really like the space and I want to love it, but I just can’t find good reasons to and maybe that’s because it was empty with an okay crowd, drinks were mediocre and I just expected it to be a very cool bar AND I was left disappointed.
Took my younger cousin here last night to show her «the way,» a.k.a. how to drink, drink, drink and I think I was pretty successful. We had their specialty strawberry mojitos and it was… YUCK, the alcohol overpowered the fresh fruit and lime. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I can make better fresh fruit mojitos at home.
Gotta give it up to HUGO, the bartender, though. He was hilarious and he deserves the three stars for this review. There HUGO :-)!
«So, you’re specialty tonight is the strawberry mojito?» — Celeste
«Yeah, until you walked in.» — Hugo
Don’t think I’ll come back unless there’s a really cool band playing.

Met up with peeps here for drinks. Damn… the bartenders were fun and quick to serve!
Best of all though… HOOKS UNDER THE BAR!!!
Second best of all… diverse crowd!!!
Seriously…a diverse crowd is hard as hell to find these days in bars in SF.
Cheers to you Royale… I will go back.

Stumbled upon some really good freestyle rap combined with the Jazz Mafia trio at Royale on a Wednesday night. I highly recommend checking this out next next time ⁷⁄₁₉:
Wednesday Night Sessions: Hip-​Hop Jam Session hosted by Dublin and Jazz Mafia Trio @ Royale in North Beach — San Francisco, CA 10:00PM til Close $ 5