I read a bunch of reviews about Bar 821 on yelp, and one of the things that i thought was really weird about it was their door policy. they dont let anyone in after 11pm. hmmm, sounds like kind of an interesting gimmick to stop letting people in after a certain point and have a private party inside for the rest of the night. sure, a bit odd, but i thought it could be interesting. we headed down there and showed up at the place at 10:45pm. as we walked through the door, the bartender glanced up and shook his head at us. nope, we wouldnt be getting any drinks tonight.
it turns out that we misunderstood… they dont just stop letting peole in after 11… they shut the bar down. so, it’s only 11pm and we’re outta luck with no other new bars anywhere near by. what kind of bar shuts down at 11?? is it past people’s bedtimes or something? also, it’s lame enough that they close at 11, but why not at least serve drinks right up until closing?? the reason bars usually stop serving early is because they dont want to break the law and have people still drinking at 2am… but if your bar closes at 11pm, there’s no legal reason to have a”last call”. also, they have a rule where they give “locals” preference. what does that really mean? do they check your address on your drivers license and then make non-locals give up their seats?? basically, i think these guys just wanted to have something quirky and interesting about their bar, but instead their rules are just kind of lame.
Bar 821 is at 821 Divisadero St in San Francisco