Checked out the Rite Spot to catch some live music on a Friday night, and had a wonderful time. Though it was moreseo due to the band playing this past weekend, The Cottontails, a talented group of musicians that play regularly here. They brought lots of energy to the place and wowed the crowd with their 20's/30's jazz and swing music. Their listed performance time was 8:00-10:30pm, but more accurately, they performed from 8:45-10:45pm (with a break in the middle) this past Friday. I was loving the incredible sounds of the bass, drums, piano, and saxophone, along with the remarkable vocals of Karina Denike throughout the entire night, a cool date night experience. The venue itself is not in the most inviting area (though at least street parking was easy to find), without much signage out front, so it doesn't look like much from the outside. Inside, it's dim and definitely divey, with a few bar seats, and tables wherever space allows, but it feels pretty crowded because it's a fairly small space, with an even smaller area for the "stage". But it seems to be a cool neighborhood bar, with interesting artwork on the walls, and decent service from bartenders and waitstaff who were attentive to our needs and requests, they served us some tasty drinks (Fizzy Rose, and Naked & Famous). And they have a food menu as well, looks like mainly burgers and itialian dishes. I'd return if there's a good band to see at the Rite Spot. read more

See all

First time here at this low key dive bar! From the outside looks abandoned and closed when I arrived at 5pm. I hear there was a pop up with Southernish food. I love Southern food and wanted to try some grub in daylight before it got dark. It was a nice sunny Sunday day on 8/22/2021. Pop ups can be a hit or miss. I went to another similar pop up when a bar partners with and 2nd party may it be a food truck or another independent cook or previous restaurant owner trying to survive during this COVID-19 time which seems like a good partnership where both sides win! The Rite Spot Pink Lemonade regular drink was very tasty and good flavor! It's winner non alcoholic drink! The Food you can tell is made with tender loving care! This is not the Kraft Mac and cheese we grew up eating on a shoe string budget in high school and college! Each bite, you can taste the unique spices and flavors. Also the main course the sandwich was very tender and no tough pieces. Phaedra, one of the chef came out and I asked what makes it tastes so good with both dishes and she said Butter makes everything tastes good! Wow, I am going to gain easy 5 pounds after this meal!! The peace clobber are the end ended up being a pudding said Phaedra. A good cook can save a dessert and transform it to something else. Anything with but on Carmel sauce tastes good! And don't forget the butter! Lol Outdoor seating was nicely spaced out. Never felt crowded since we were there at 5pm when it first opened. At first we thought this place was abandoned from outside because it looks run down and no lights on on the marquee sign. Everything was quiet and faded looking. The block is very peaceful, not many foot traffic, but I am sure later after 7pm must get busy and night life comes out. This was a fun pop up and hope it returns! Who knows what new cuisine Phaedra and Warden will come up with! Yummy in my tummy for sure! I am looking forward for next pop up! read more

See all

This was my go-to spot in the late 1980's. I have a lot of great, late-night memories with friends over beer and amazing conversation. Back then it had very much a Barfly, gritty, divy atmosphere to it, and judging by the look of things (shown in the photos), not much has changed. Back then I don't think they had a kitchen or served food, but I could be wrong. What I liked about it then is that it was never over-crowded, with wall-to-wall people, it only had a jukebox, and you did not have to shout to be heard, as you might at a place like the Albion just down the street. The Albion is long gone, but the Rite Spot lives on! Next time I am in the City I will definitely stop by. Hopefully there will be a crowd. read more

This place is a gem. Always have great service and food at the Rite Spot. We met our friend who had moved away. They requested that we meet at the Rite Spot for old times sake. read more

I sincerely LOVE this bar and the people who run it. I just wish their food was better. My question: Why is the pasta always served cold. Had it twice recently. Is this a choice? Do they put it to one side and let it 'rest' before serving? I mean I'm not expecting it to be fancy - just hot. read more

Food review only since we're all under quarantine and I haven't been to Rite Spot before... I've always liked the neon sign for Rite Spot and during quarantine I saw they were open for takeout for food, drinks and cocktails and I had a burger craving so I decided to try out theirs. I got a straight up cheeseburger which was big and tasty and got tater tots as my side. Was perfect for my dinner after a long bike ride and I am excited to try other things from Rite Spot while we're on lockdown. They are super friendly and it's easy and safe to pickup there so definitely another local business we should all be supporting during these crazy times! Looking forward to trying a pizza of the day soon. Right now their hours are Tues-Sat 5-8:30pm and they are pretty good at updating the menus on their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ritespot/posts/?ref=page_internal read more

See all

Best dive bar in SF. Great bartenders and servers (Jessica Michelle Christina Katy Deborah Alicia), great cook (Jorge) whose been there 20 years, great food, specials, well priced drinks, and fun live music every night they're open (Tue-Sat). It's off the beaten track, and a jewel of the city. read more

See all

Great music and atmosphere. The food is priced fairly and pretty good, and served until 10 or 11 Eclectic crowd, that gets along. read more

The best! My favorite! Like Cheers, the bar where some people know my name! Affordable Italian food, bands every night, no cover, some really good bands too! Best service, friendliest staff, Debra and Christina and Jessica and Alicia and Sadie are the best! Debra's Sushi is affordable and the best I have ever had! !!!!! read more

This place is so strange but I love it so much. Always quite a mixed crowd. Good bar food, good price. Iconic!

Live music (!) in an old fashioned and cozy pub bar restaurant with wooden furniture and white table cloths. Good selection of comfort food, good deals, reasonably priced. Street parking in an artsy district. read more

See all

Always a great vibe! Live music, attentive staff, and an over all great SF dive bar. Cauliflower wings rock! Inside dining is very dimly litted so be ready for a lounge like feel. read more

Came here on a Saturday night around 6:15 pm with a couple of friends and it was pretty empty. I didn't have the best first impression because when we walked in the server just stared at us and we didn't know if it was self seating of if we needed to wait to be seated. Additionally, I felt like it was stuffy because there was no windows. We ordered our appetizers, meal, and drinks at once and it took a long time to finish our meal. Fried Calamari: 5/5 Probably one of the best out of everything we ordered. It was crispy and the calamari wasn't over cooked. Bread w/ Burrata & Olives: 1/5 Bread was tough and the overall plate was plain. Not my cup of tea. Seafood Linguine: 5/5 Highly recommend this dish because it was the better items out of everything we ordered. The seafood came out perfectly cooked and the shrimp was a little sweet. It was a tad too much butter, but hey what pasta isn't? Linguine & Meatballs: 2/5 Very very plain pasta. They barely gave any red sauce which made the dish dry. The sauce lacked so much flavor, but at least the meatball was good. It's the only reason I am giving it a 2 star. This was my husband's dish and he barely ate half of it. Overall, my experience here was a little below average. The atmosphere wasn't really inviting and felt really closed. I appreciate the live music being played, but I had to shout to have conversations with my friends. The worst part is that our food took forever to come out even though there wasn't any tables waiting for food. We stayed for 2 hours just to eat. Unfortunately, I would not come back again. read more

When you wander amongst the mission district you will stumble upon the glory of the Rite Spot and if you are one of The Lord's favored children your bartender will be Debra and she is the official Mayor of San Francisco. She gave us samples of Fernett's (sp?) which is the nectar of SF and once you get past the mouthwash taste it's lovely. Rite Spot is great and Debra made it a lovely experience for a tourists' wednesday night out xoxoxoo we love you Debra read more

While visiting SF over NYE we came here for a drink and to see a friend perform her comedy routine at their open mic night. I understand that getting heckled by the crowd is something you have to learn to live with as a performer. HOWEVER when a member of the crowd actually comes up on "stage", approaches the performer making her feel threatened to the point that she stops her set and holds up the mic stand to put some distance between herself and the unruly audience member it's time for someone at the venue to get involved. I was stunned that neither the MC nor anyone on staff did anything to intervene. Thankfully no one was hurt but my advice to this place is to hire a bouncer when you have live shows. It's a lot cheaper than the potential lawsuit and business closure that could result if, god forbid, a situation escalates. One additional star for the bartender who made me a great Negroni. read more

Divey, old school joint with really good food! Solid variety of vegetarian options, and some actual vegetables on the menu instead of just deep fried things. All fresh and kind of like what I want bar food to be (but usually is not). I've enjoyed the burrata/olives and kale/brussel sprouts, fried brussel sprouts, buffalo cauliflower appetizer, and Greek salad. Wide variety of pastas and sandwiches are also available, menu has an Italian-American theme. Kind service, food comes out quick, and you can't beat their happy hour. read more

We didn't want our Sunday night to end. On a comedy website, a comedy show was listed for tonight at the Rite Spot. Sure, why not. Parking was super easy, but all street parking. From the outside, appearances look dull. A dive bar, if I say. Casual attire, no need for the fancy suits and dresses. The inside looks a lot better than the outside. Especially their bathrooms. Yes, BATHROOMS. CLEAN ones. :) Show starts at 8. We come 30 minutes early. We'll just find a table and drink our way through. The place is fairly small, a good classroom size that fits 40 people. On Sundays, no food. Drinks was your standard beer, wine and cocktails. The price was a little higher than I expected. I assume they had to spike up the prices for accommodating the Comedy shows. Let the show begin! Place was 75% full. The MC introduces each comedian, with 5 total. It was a bit dry in the beginning and it started to pick up. It was really funny and going uphill until it hit a stalemate. The jokes began to be redundant. Thankfully the last two people brought me back to life again. No cover. What more could you ask for some jokes and dranks? Sunday was a special night. Otherwise, a weekly show every Monday night. read more

Rite Spot Cafe - Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Some people think that rude bartenders are a cornerstone of an authentic dive bar experience. Earth to the woman behind the counter and/or owner--They AREN'T. I would have normally loved a place like this, but the rude (and slow) bartender brings the place down. Granted, she working alone. But why is that my fault? (Hey owners: invest in a bar back). I stood at the bar waiting for a turn to get a drink. I didn't say a word, or raise my hand. But she shot me an angry look and snapped "I'LL BE THERE IN A MINUTE!" Did tipping improve her mood? Nope. I come from a family of restaurant workers, and this was the first time I ever felt bad for leaving a tip. Maybe it was me? No--my friends all received the same treatment. Their jazz band i saw last Saturday was outstanding and well worth the visit, and the crowd was appreciative. The waitress looked overworked (also working alone), and so she joined in the surliness, angry that people were in her way (the room was full, but it was not packed) . Now, after writing this, I need a stiff drink. Where to go...Where to go... read more

DIVE on in to this dirrrrrrrrrty, smelly, dive bar. This is not my kind of place, as in, I don't like being surrounded by homeless-esque people...but, my co-worker was playing a gig, so I had to go out and support the team. The redeeming factor: PIE NIGHT. The pumpkin pie with ginger snap crust was: off.the.hook. I had 2 pieces. The service is...barely there. One woman working the whole bar, when the place is packed? It doesn't work. Bottom line: everything just felt sorta...DIRTY. My friend and I left to go home and take showers. read more

See all

WORST BARTENDER EVER (maybe racist? she needs to find another profession either way) I always thought the worst bartender ever would be a creep or a guy that kept asking "do you need anything?" or somebody that completely forgets my order. Nope. Was a rude, passive aggressive (typical SF) annoying lady. I came in to meet some friends. One guy. Two girls. We were all there having wine and enjoying ourselves. She let us know she runs some woman's magazine for some reason. O-KAAAAAY. Here's a gold star and a cookie. Leave us alone now. Our guy friend arrives, he gets a drink and we're chilling. She keeps interrupting. Weird to annoying. The night goes on. Two of my friends eventually leave and it's just me and my guy friend. I go to the bathroom and for some reason she tells him we left and closes his tab when it was 11:45 PM. I found this out when I came back from the bathroom. She goes on this annoying feminist rant about how I need better friends. The worst part is she didn't even have the stones to kick him out. I hope she see's this: NEWSFLASH: people joke and have a good time. This is not your little feminist, fragile magazine where you can edit people. We are customers paying money. You might here things you don't like. Maybe you should just run that very lucrative magazine that has such a huge audience. If it were not for you I'd give this place 4 stars. I also can't help but feel there was some racial bias because my friend is the sweetest guy ever. This is a great place if you wanna drink and not talk. read more

Ok - rating this on one 20-minute visit but wanted to rate it because I enjoyed those 20 minutes. Got a text 10 min before I got there that all my co-workers were there having a drink before a work social event across the street. As I was entering the doors, for some reason it gave me the feeling of walking into an old-time speakeasy. I felt like I should knock and give a code word. I liked that. Walked in, moved a table, took it's chair, and went to sit down....right away the lovely employee lady (what's the right term? server? I don't like that term for some reason LOL) was coming over to help get the table all the way out of the way and take my drink order. The biggest downside was they have no stouts on tap. What I don't know is whether they have any stouts bottled, but I did specifically ask about what was tapped. They did have a Porter so I took it and it was good. read more

This is by far my favorite bar in San Francisco. It has great food. I've tried several dishes on the menu and also their specials from the blackboard; never been disappointed. Their bartender Ginger is also sweet and just a pleasure to be around. I generally go there on Monday nights for their stand up comedy which is always f read more

I am definitely a fan of the Rite Spot. Service does take a little bit, but classic dives like the Rite Spot are a dying breed at this point. Not only is there Trivia Night every first Wednesday of the month (and it's fun as hell), but the Rite Spot pours drinks on the cheap. It's dark, dank, and musty, and I like it that way. The walls are adorned with quotes about equality, equity, and empowerment. I love it! Food takes a while to come out, but if you're just hanging out and having a drink for a while, who cares? Will be back for sure. read more

Last week I was going over my bills, and I realized that I taking too many taxis to skip over the area between 8th and 18th. So when I left the Metreon last night, a friend and I decided to make the trek. On the way, we heard the blues music emanating from the Rite Spot and decided to drop by for a beer. Wow, what a great decision. First, the music was absolutely amazing. The people here weren't afraid to mess around with their sounds and it really made the experience feel unique. Don't come here if you are looking for some easy listening music to go with your conversation. You are going to hear different things here and that alone is worth stopping by. On top of that, there are some great prices on beer and drinks. While sitting at the bar, a regular over heard my friend and I talking about trying to find some Bluegrass places in the city, and she spent a good 15 minutes writing down the local acts worth seeing and the places/times they would be playing. Good people, good service, good music. And on a Sunday, can you believe it? read more

Rite Spot Cafe - Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Fire spot! cheap happy hour. Most amazing service and the nicest most beautiful waitress, definitely recommend this little hole in the wall for a good time read more

I have always loved the Rite Spot. It is iconic. You milennials should be reverent to the Rite Spot. It was "hip" long before you invaded San Francisco. Good things: ATMOSPHERE! ORIGINAL ART ON THE WALLS. GREAT BARTENDERS & WAIT STAFF! Not-So-Good things: Uninspired, basically bland food. I have been here numerous times since the 80s. The food is bland but back then we didn't mind it. But now it just seems dated. You guys have always supported young artists--why not find an inspired chef artiste to breathe new life into your menu? read more

This place USED to be one of San Francisco's great dives, but that was a LONG time ago. Food used to be good, too; the burgers are still pretty good, but everything else on the menu is hit-and-miss at best. The staff has a real attitude problem. They do have live local music most nights so I really want to overlook the negatives, but I've been there on more than one occasion where the performer was treated with almost as much disrespect by the staff as by the crowd. Tonight was the final insult: a cockroach landed on my head right after I got through eating. After being a customer for over 20 years, this place is dead to me. read more

Holy shit. What an awful experience. I signed up for yelp only to write this review. I've honestly never been spoken to like I was by the waitress in my entire life. Jesus. Wow. Please please please don't go here. Where else should you go? literally fucking anywhere else. I would rather sit in the street and drink beer from garbage cans than reward these monsters. Frankly, I'd rather stay sober. Ugh. Need I say it? The WRONG spot. BAM! but for real. Waitress lady? Fuck. You. read more

A ditty to hum as you cruise up to Folsom and 17th: It's Rite Spot It's a TIGHT spoooot It's a night spot It's a hot ssshhooot It's a DIVE BAR! Do the dance! I love this bar. I like the bartender, a lovely lady who talked to me while I drank my drink down. We rocked out to Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' and snickered at the girl in a group of grad students who asked if they had anything smaller than a pint size for beer....does this like a place that serves schooner's, sugar? I don't think so. It's totally dead at happy hour when I usually head there, kinda depressing but if that's what you're looking for this could be your....spot. read more

So rite, it's wrong. This place is a neighborhood dive-slash-restaurant. I suppose I'll have to come back here sometime to be fair, but I was less than impressed the first time. To their credit, we arrived to this EMPTY restaurant in a gigantic group without advanced notice to celebrate a birthday. Perhaps the staff felt overwhelmed. The bartender immediately told us that we would have to leave after the musician came. Excuse me? Don't you want our business on a Saturday night?! All 30 of us finished our drink and left it as empty as it was when we came in. I'm still confused. read more

The Rite spot is Right mess. First; the room is small and rather intimate. A boxier room with booths along the right side and the bar on the left side. There is a tiny stage area towards the back of the room. The room elbows to the left where there is a bench and three or four more tables. I like the room, its comfortable and great for listening to music. Second; The fact that the Rite spot has regular free music, that is truly a great thing. I have seen two GREAT performers here. Now, on to the bad. Hands down I had the WORST cocktail of my life here. The quality of their cocktails is so mind numbingly poor, its enough to make a lush board that wagon and ride it on til sunset. My company I arrived early so that we might partake in the food. I had read the reviews and was expecting only something edible to soak up the libations. Well on this particular Saturday there simply was no food offered. The bar maid simply said " no food tonight". There are many comments on how bad the bar staff is. While I have nothing glowing to say of this maid, I also have nothing really bad to say about her. She was very basic, minimal. There are also many comments on how cheap the drinks are, WRONG! The drinks are of a standard price that for the quality is painfully obscene. When there is a band here you want to see, grab a drink or two nearby, keep a close tab as to when that band goes on, get in, see the band and get the HEll out. read more

The female bartender is shockingly rude. Most establishments that are trying to turn a profit encourage their patrons to ask about the food they offer. But not here. I asked about the homemade pie and the bartender bit my head off. She straight up told me that that she didn't want to talk about it and I had better not ask any her any questions I thought I would love this place. It is right next to my house and they serve cocktails and homemade pie. I just want a drink and I don't want to be abused. read more

I fucking love this place. Can I say fucking on here? Was first brought here by someone I was dating back in the early 90s, and it hasn't changed a bit. The food is completely mediocre, but it gets 5 stars for the atmosphere, the bar, the live music, the easy seating, the relatively easy parking, the cool bartenders/waiters and just general all-around vibe. It's a great place to go on a date, to meet a friend for a drink, or to sit at the bar and drink alone. It takes me back to the pre-boom days - my youth... And I kind of love the fact that I can't even "like" it on Facebook. read more

This bar hit me just perfectly on a night when I wanted to go somewhere a bit "intimate", but not pretentious. I expected to see a plethora of Mission Hipsters here and I was so pleasantly surprised... There was a pretty ecclectic crowd. And the Lee Vilenski trio was outstanding. They got us right away on a cover of Donovan's Summer Surprise. Good good stuff. So the food is what I would expect in a nice bar/supper club in Iowa (my homeland). Pre-packaged ripple oreda fries - cooked perfectly chicken piccata - tasted pretty good, but also a bit slimey fried ravioli - very good, and also cooked perfectly burger - good, very greasy though (I think that was because of the added grilled onions) All in all, a great trip out and I will definitely go there again to drink and have some cocktails. I might pass on the food though. But then again, if I were hungry, I'd probably eat there. read more

I wouldn't even dignify this establishment with a rating, but Yelp made me. My group of colleagues and I were so poorly mistreated it was embarrassing for the rest of the patrons. We were celebrating our colleague's last day of work by having some drinks and food on Friday around the corner from our workplace. What we thought was a dive bar that would of welcomed our business, instead treated us like complete SHIT! I've never felt more insulted and disrespected in my life. I have to give a special shout out to the nasty, grumpy old man who served us our appetizers and drinks. Not only was he foul-mouthed and rude, but proceeded to humiliate a group of 10 women trying to enjoy their Friday evening. I hope the owner recognizes that this individual could single-handedly ruin this establishment with his disgusting attitude. I hope everyone reads this review and chooses not to bring their business to this dump. AMEN read more

Of all the places I've been to only once in my life, this is one of them. And it will stay that way. I was here last night. Some things to consider: - We said we may have as many as 10 people, so they waved us out of a corner booth saying that it needed to be "at most" 10 people to keep the ailse free. We had 7 show up, but the booth they didn't let us use, had not less than 15 people sitting at it (and they weren't blocking the ailse). - The server was irritable, wouldn't take food and drink orders at the same time, got bitter when someone wanted to pay for just the food portion on a seperate check (fries, poppers, onion rings. That's it. Not rocket science), made a rude remark to the bar tender that I could hear when I finally got tired of being waived off for a second round and just got it myself, and added 18% for parties of 5 or more automatically. Oh yeah, now I get why this guy can get away with crappy service. Almost half the place was full of parties of 5 or more. - We just ordered beers and shots, so I can't speak to the quality of the drinks/bar tender. She seemed nice, but she wouldn't get be food. She said she had enough to do and it would make her crazy to do that too. Serioulsy? Do I have to fight everyone to get an order in around here? She saw it was a little annoying so she flagged down the waiter and told him. He made some remark about how he'd told me he'd be right with me. No complaints about the prices. The finger foods were a little "out of the bag" looking. Anyway, we're not going here for our next club meeting. read more

Sometimes the best places are strange little dive bars with amazing music and tough as nails bar tenders. They serve food as well. I have since moved from San Francisco, but every time I return- I go to The Rite Spot. read more

Rite Spot offers a lot in terms of food and entertainment. They have comedy every Monday and plenty of music acts throughout any week. The bartender Ginger is amazing and can you make you any tasty beverage. Their food is good and I especially like their calamari and the tots/burgers. This place makes for a good date night or a chill place to bring friends. Staff is friendly and very attentive. Five stars! read more

It's amazing what NOT drinking too much will do for you. You might just fall in love with an old friend all over again. I remember rolling into the Rite Spot several times years ago when I lived in the neighborhood, often after a night out. I never noticed the white table cloths, the candles on the tables, or that fantastic hospitality afforded by the perky blonde biologist behind the bar or the tall, humorous man running the floor (I imagine they're the owners of this establishment). Nadja and I were getting our "smart" on (glasses and all) at a documentary screening across the street last night (hey, it can't all be shopping and pedicures) at Workspace Limited. After a rough day, I needed a cocktail stat. This was a super comfortable place to hop up to the bar solo and read a book while sipping my vodka soda. At happy hour, they were only $4! After the screening, we decided we liked Rite Spot so much we went back to meet up with people. Drinks were still very reasonably priced, my Rite Spot Veggie Burger (with peppers, onions, cheddar, and a huge heap of fries) was outstanding for a mere $7.45. That may be the best deal in the entire Mission as far as I'm concerned. They make a great old fashioned and the biologist bartender will keep you in stitches. She'll also engage you in intelligent conversation. This is my new old favorite and I highly recommend. read more

This place is pretty okay in terms of entertainment. I saw a rather entertaining Japanese guy who had a thing about singing old country and western songs. However, the menu selections don't really do much to jump off the page. Its so hard to decide because there's nothing that really stands out. Burgers, Portobello mushroom sandwiches, Pasta (with portobellos), its almost as if they get 5 ingredients and toss it all together with various condiments. Fills your stomach, but it probably won't be your favorite place to eat. read more