Tuesday 29th of December 2009 03:34:07 PM

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Zeitgeist is a difficult review. On one hand, the patio outside is outstanding (and fairly unique to SF) and the place has long been a local spot in the Mission for young working-class people. This is a dive bar that happens to have great beer, it is not a beer bar.

On the other hand, the local charm has long worn off. The trendy and the jet setter now know that this is a hip place to be. It is crowded. The bartenders are openly hostile. I've got thick skin and enjoy a surly bartender, but this place has a bad vibe around the bar due to the feedback loop of pissed off servers and douchebag patrons. Bad, angry service, especially when crowded, which is generally at night and on weekends.

27 taps, I think. About half are California, half away. Some outstanding California beers (Russian River, Lagunitas, Moonlight, etc). Selection runs from PBR to Belgian. Cheap beer, pitchers!

Food is fine. Cheap burgers and such. The burger dude is also hostile. Swears at customers, cooks when he feels like it. I would never order food from someone this angry, I expect him to snap someday go on a poisoning rampage.

Bouncers are hostile, even for bouncers.

Bathroom is small and generally filthy. Portapotties, too. Ew.

Pot smoking section in the garden. For medicinal purposes, ya know?

CASH ONLY

Friday 27th of November 2009 07:48:25 AM

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This place has a nice, hard edge, which I like in a beer bar. When you walk in it has a half-biker, half-hipster feel to it, but it still manages to have a great vibe. The bar tenders are a bit gruff, so either know what you want before talking to them, or ask for a recommendation. According to a few friends who are more local to the city than I am, Zeitgeist is generally packed on Friday and Saturday nights.

The inside is fairly small, with just a couple tables with bar stools, but it has a massive Beer Garden out back lined with tables and benches that could probably accommodate a few hundred people. There's a series of hooks to hang bikes along one side of the fence, and a ton of kegs line a rack off in the corner. There's a BBQ pit as well, which I have yet to try but from what I understand their food is good.

The beer selection is pretty good. I haven't seen all of them yet, but so far they've had just about every standard "good" beer you could expect to find at a beer bar.

So far this is one of my two favorite bars in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Thursday 5th of June 2008 02:02:12 AM

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We were in San francisci for the Sam Adams Long Shot. What an opportunity to crawl the pubs of one of the worlds greatest cities.

Zeitgeust looks like a biker bar from the front. And as you walk in it looks much the same. till you walk through the bar and see the huge shaded patio in back.

There had to be 200 people there enjoying the great beer selection and the sunny day. Very reminiscent to a German beer garden.

Friends had the fresh broiled hamburgers for $5.00. They looked good and were reviewd to be as good as they loooked.

One local told me that if you want to get a feeling of the real spirit of San Francisco, go to Zeitgeist. I can only agree.