The Academy truly is a social club like no other. It's such a welcoming and inclusive space for San Francisco's LGBTQ+ community and allies, and from the moment you walk in, it feels like home. The staff has been absolutely amazing -- especially the two cofounders, Paul and Nate; manager Alonzo; and the entire front-of-house team, including Sky and Jess, who always make everyone feel cared for and appreciated. Great food from Janet and always a warm welcome from Luis! A special shoutout as well to the wonderful David, who gives me my monthly haircut as part of our membership -- such an incredible perk! My husband and I have been members for a year now, and we highly recommend joining. We've made so many meaningful new friendships and genuinely love all the weekly programs and events they offer. The sense of community here is truly something special. If you're looking for a place where you can connect, belong, and feel supported, Academy Social Club is it. read more

Great ambiance! I really love this private club. There are buttons on the walls of every room. Just press the button and somebody shows up to take your drink order! Very welcoming to me as an older lesbian. I feel like I'm in a movie waiting for the protagonist to show up and tell me that I'll never get away with my evil plan. As it were. Sodas, juices. and simple drinks are included in the membership price. I don't drink and have never felt any pressure to do so. A gem of a place. read more

Went as a non-member to a wine tasting event. The theme was North Italy and the wines really went into the peculiar -- which is what I love about Italian varietals. Wine lead was knowledgable and enthusiastic. I was seated with long term Academy members who were very welcoming and friendly to this newbie. Will definitely return again though still unsure if membership is the right thing for me at this time. read more

It was pretty bad experience, not a good club at all. they were so rude to us and my friends.

A great venue for socializing, or small events. This little gem for the LGBTQ+ community is novel in North America. It's multiple floors and environments create candid conversation with the backdrop of good social connections with top grade elixirs. read more

The Academy - Back patio - Social Clubs Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Really great venue, wonderful staff, have been to a lot of great events here. Particularly like the wine bar on the top floor and the back patio read more

My sister hosted her wedding ceremony and reception at the Academy. It is such a beautiful space. The color schemes, decor, and overall ambiance is just luxurious. We used the outdoor area for the ceremony and the upstairs area for the reception both of which were reasonably priced for what we got! We worked with Nate on the booking process and he was great from start to finish. I originally came in with my partner to take a tour and loved the space so much, I called my sister on FaceTime so she could see it too. After, Nate offered to let my sister and me come to the club for a drink so that she could see the club in person before making the decision to book. She loved it, and from there Nate provided us with an estimate and answered all of the questions we had promptly. Nate also reached out to us the week of the wedding to offer us a chance to see a new space they had just in case it rained, which was very thoughtful. He also let us drop the cake off for storage the day before! On the day of the wedding, everything went smoothly. The staff checked the guests in, and they had a coat check available which was so convenient. We provided our own plates, flatware, and food. I have to give a special shout-out to the bartender, Arthur (the fifth of his name) who was the coolest person ever. A great balance between friendly and professional. Arthur was extremely thoughtful, funny, and just a pleasure to be around. It felt like he could handle any and everything! I'd highly recommend booking The Academy for your special event! read more

Wow. They don't treat guests with much respect felt very cast aside. Can't say I would join. The worker at the front comes across as very entitled and unfriendly. Did I mention I came in as a guest? Spend your money at the Battery people. read more

I'm not a member and I probably should suck it up and join....I am affiliated with the Bay Times so I attend a lot of events at the Academy. The owners are doing a "labor of love" - and while I'm sure the original intent was a private club for gay men, they've been very welcoming to the women's community. It's a lot nicer now that they've expanded into the storefront next door. Once my work situation calms down, I'll probably join for a year and see what it's like as a member. read more

I came here for an exclusive event. The Academy is a members only club that is geared toward gay men. The crowd tends to be 40+. I found the decor to be classic, chic, and manly. During this event they only opened it up to the second floor. The only food we're mixed nuts. And the bar featured beer, wine, and well cocktails served at a bar. Some of the events in the calendar looked fun. But it seems like they should tone down the sophistication to draw in a larger audience. read more

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This place is an SF hidden gem. The decor, ambiance, room layouts are truly spectacular and the photos do not do it justice! No one should hesitate to book this place because there is nowhere else like it in SF. I worked with Nate and his team to organize a private event at the Academy. His team overall were also so pleasant to work with even though we were quite a rowdy group. read more

I have been an Academy member since March 2018 and I'm so proud of their growth and the sense of community that they've built. In a little over 3 years I've seen them: build out a beautiful outdoor garden, remodel the entire building, acquire a liquor license, curate a delicious craft cocktail menu, etc. Despite all this growth they've been able to maintain an amazing community. In 2020 and the first half of 2021, when it was difficult to find a safe space outside of my home, the Academy staff, through rigorous protocols and policies, built a safe space where I could finally socialize outside of my home. I can't thank them enough for that. They club has grown so much in 3 years and I can't wait to see what they'll do next. read more

Would give it no stars if I could!! As a first time customer I had no idea that this private party I went to was under strict no drinking law after 1. The "owner" comes up to me without any warning and straight up snatches a full drink out my hand at 1 saying they have to close with an incredibly pompous and most importantly RUDE attitude!!! Wow he could have said ANYTHING to me prior and I would have followed suit. I was there for 4 hours, tip the bartender after every drink no problems. Even the bartender was surprised by his actions. What makes me most upset is he decided to single out the ONLY BLACK person in the establishment, using his position to belittle me. He must have known I wouldn't respond well to such a audacious act but he did it anyways. I told him after he removed my drink I wanted to help my friends clean up and he told me "No I want you to leave right now!" Then proceed to usher me out while everyone else cleaned. I did nothing but have a drink in my hand...like I get it...you're ready to leave but there's NO REASON to treat a customer so uncivil! Whew chile the privilege!!! read more

The Academy feels like home! I recently became a member and I'm already partaking in their weekly events, inviting guests to join me regularly, and making new friends each time I visit. This truly is a queer space offering a community-focused social environment as an alternative to traditional nightlife. There's a speakeasy, large outdoor patio, wine bar, and new event space addition. Overall, it's a beautiful place, filled with beautiful humans! I can also attest, the Academy is *not* a space centering around just queer men. I have yet to be the only woman in the space at any given time, and female membership and engagement in the space in general is continually rising. read more

Really well-done and cozy event space and social club. Attended a "Spooky Speakeasy" here for Halloween and it was the perfect environment - dark, a bit mysterious, antiquated-in-all-the-right-ways, and great service staff. There's an upstairs with a couple different open spaces and smaller downstairs den [that included a DJ on this particular night]. The food and drinks were also well-presented and tasty. Can't speak to the value of the club membership, but I'd definitely recommend hosting or attending an event here! read more

Love the Academy! The owners Paul and Nate are so welcoming and nice. Always a great atmosphere to either wind down the day over a glass of wine, or to have some cocktails to warm up for a night out. Also, lots of community activism and hosts speakers and education events to uplift and enlighten the Community. And a beautiful place with large back patio! read more

Several months have passed since this incident, yet I still lose sleep over what happened. As my friend has already reviewed her side of the story previously, I regret not speaking up sooner and the event still haunts me. It's time to finally speak out about the blatant racism that occurred + bait and switch tactics. I paid thousands of dollars to host my birthday party here. The owner, Nate, was responsive and courteous in the beginning. However, up until payment was received and 2 days before the party is when things went downhill. He gave me the same quote for the alcohol add-on 3 separate times, but in the end, I was charged more than what I was quoted. He framed it so that it seemed like he was working with me when in reality, he was completely disregarding the initial quotes in the first place. He gave me another quote he claimed was all-inclusive for additional rental time, but I didn't find out until after the invoice that he added on a bunch of additional fees and expenses. Even though he removed some of the additional fees (again, with the attitude that he was doing me a favor), I was still paying more for what I was quoted yet again when it was not what I agreed to. When I first toured the space to decide if I wanted to rent it, Nate mentioned that I could use the storage room for coats and things. Throughout the night, my guests told me how rude the staff was, scolding them to get out of the storage room when they were leaving their coats in the storage room or when they were lost upstairs. There was a theme of people saying how snooty and uppity everyone was to them. We are understanding people about not being allowed in certain areas, but it is rude to yell at my guests that they can't be here or there, instead of politely informing people about the imaginary red tape they can't cross. I should also call out that my entire party (except 1 person), was made up of POCs. Then at the end of the night, Nate forcefully grabbed a drink from my best friend's hand, went up to her face (his chest puffed and inches away from her), and repeatedly kept telling her to leave when she was trying to help me carry things out. 5 of us along with the other staff witnessed how rude Nate was. I honestly couldn't believe it. He messaged me the next day justifying his actions, saying it was for legal reasons that nobody could have alcohol after 1am. The one black woman in the room was targeted with bullying tactics to leave for legal reasons. This is indicative of someone who is racist at their core. Anyone in their right mind would not treat someone they respected with this kind of attitude, tone, and aggression. When there is a group of people trying to pack up and leave together, it doesn't look great when you are kicking out the one black woman. I was enraged by this. One of the staff members came out to briefly apologize, as it was evident that what happened was not right, but that didn't remedy the situation by far. Nate was not great about hiding his bad attitude throughout the night and had the audacity to tell us he didn't have to defend his actions. I cried twice that night--he single-handedly ruined my birthday party. I was so flustered at the end of the night by Nate's actions, I rushed out without my birthday gift bag. When I went back to retrieve it, the gift inside the bag was STOLEN. When I asked Nate about this, the first thing he responded with was "Are you accusing me of stealing?" instead of offering to help. Nate's defensive and accusatory actions coupled with a blatant disrespect for POCs needs to be called out for what it is: racism. It is ironic because this place is supposed to bring the community together in the Castro, but the reality is, it brings together entitled older white men and singles everyone else out. read more

I had my wedding cocktail party here. The staff was excellent, and everyone loved the venue. We received various compliments. I would highly recommend The Academy for your next event! read more