Edited: just noticed what another review pointed out. They charge a surcharge for credit cards. Kind of slimy. Previous review: The food was good. The service was good. I'm not sure why there's so many bad reviews. I was just there to watch a World Cup game. It was packed. There were plenty of bartenders and plenty of bus people. They could've had more waiters, but our waiter was really nice. We had two orders of the brussels sprouts. I had the burger and we also had some sweet potato fries, bloody Mary's, a couple of beers. it was a great crowd. Bathrooms were clean. I have no complaints. I would recommend a reservation if it's a big sports event. read more

Timeout Tavern - Surcharge for credit cards - Sports Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

I really wanted to give this place a chance before writing a review, but after today's 4th visit I have to accept that the issues are not growing pains and this is what it is now. Food is legitimately bad and if you are running a sports bar having decent food is pretty fundamental. Seats are rickety with torn seats and there is an overall feeling of SHRUG with everything there. They just bought SF Athletic but did nothing to modernize and somehow actually made it worst. The neighborhood desperately needs a good sports bar, but this is not it and I won't be going back. read more

We REALLY miss the San Francisco Athletic Club! The "new" food menu at Timeout is limited and of poor value. Food tastes OK,, just never a wow. Cocktail offerings are also below average, and it's strange that they offer one Pinot Noir for their red options. (This is California!) And there is one bartender/manager who isn't familiar with many standard cocktails... So you have to work around these limitations...at a large bar. Evidence of this two-star review is the low turnout of customers on even a weekend night. Just 2-3 people in this large space. Playoff game nights are better, but hardly the standing room only situation we saw at the old SFAC. It's a pity because they would have tons of business given the lack of big sports bars in this part of town. We don't know how they keep the lights on now. I hope they improve their game -- because they need a serious timeout. (In comparison, check out The Fishbowl up the street...they are packed every Friday, big game or not. Small but mighty. And they often have just the one very capable bartender doing all of the work, and keeping regulars and other guests happy!) read more

Returned for World Cup QuarterFinal England vs Norway, space was packed shoulder to shoulder, vibe was great. Staff was working hard, large crowd so service was slower than in past visits, understandable. Food is taking a back seat to the bar, went from good to just ok (Buffalo Chicken Salad, Tavern Burger with fries, Chicken tenders with fries) but that wouldn't stop me from returning again. Still finding street parking fairly easy, restrooms clean and space a fun place to watch sports. Food - 3 stars, Service 3.5 stars, Ambiance - 4 stars read more

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Nice bartender, they din't have AMI music there. I wasted 5 credits. Patrons are not the vibe, they're all dressed in flannels and flat brimmed hats read more

Get to Timeout Tavern and an employee asks us if we have reservations and we answer no. The employee then says, "OK, you can still come in." We walk in and see an empty table top and sit down. After 15-20 minutes we approach the bar to get a menu since the waitress seems to be too busy to tend to us. 5-10 minutes go by and then another employee looks at us like we're not supposed to be sitting where we are. Now, there's no reserve sign on the table like there was on the table next to us. The same employee who let us in comes to our table and tells us the table we are at is reserved. I explained that there wasn't a sign so we sat. He then says that all the tables are reserved. I remind him that he let us in and DID NOT mention this. We proceeded to go back and forth about this and told him that he should've communicated that the tables were reserved. He continues to try to make us feel like we did something wrong and never apologizes, telling us "we'll see if you can still sit there" and walks away. They've already found another table for the party that supposedly the table was reserved for but they're not sure we can still sit at the table. TLDR; this was poor communication from the employee (manager or owner) and made us feel VERY unwelcome. If you see this place packed, don't bother going in. read more

Since becoming the "Timeout Tavern" (dumb name!), there is less staff, the food is worse, the AI generated menu is tacky, everything is more expensive, and the vibe is putrid. The neighborhood sorely misses the SF Athletic Club! read more

!!Make sure they close out your tab in front of you!!! I live around the corner and placed an order Thursday for 2 chicken sandwiches. I picked up my order paid and thought I was being nice leaving a quick $2.30 tip but when I got home I had two charges from Timeout Tavern. One for the 2 sandwiches ($42.70) and one for $23 because the manager Julio had moved my decimal and disregarded the $45 total. I am now heading back to timeout tavern because not only did he not resolve the $23 dollar charge, he added another $42.70 and closed out. The original LEGITIMATE tab still pending. I will be filing a formal police report if all tabs aren't resolved today. read more

Walked in around 5:30 after a doctor appointment before heading back to Sonoma County. Place was clean with a nice bar vibe. There was no one behind the bar and no staff were seen. A man who spoke limited English that we thought was a busboy placed a menu on the high top table we were sitting at. I asked him if the Henhouse they had on tap was Stoked, as I recognized the handle. He replied that he didn't know what kind of beer it was. I figured that when the bartender finally surfaced, they could help me. But "the busboy" was the bartender. Easy to see why a bar in a densely populated area was less than 5% occupied from 5:30-6:30pm when they should be busy. read more

Went to watch the NBA finals. Showed up an hour early to get a seat and was told no one is allowed in the bar without a reservation. Cant even sit at the bar!!! This is supposed to be a local sports bar but I can't even come to watch a game when showing up an hour early? I love SF and it's been my home for 20+ yrs but this place represents everything that's wrong with the city. I'm a massive NBA fan and I'm the guy who would come here (previous ownership) on a Tuesday night to watch the Warriors games. But this place just told me I'm not welcomed. I've lived in this neighborhood for 15 yrs and will never go there again. read more

Went here for a college football watch party. Starting with the good: the space itself is great for watching games - plenty of TVs to view no matter where you are sitting, good sound, and even some "bleachers" which can come in handy for large groups. The staff were also friendly, and since we got more people than expected, the owner even came in to help. Now the not-so-good. They had a surcharge for credit cards. I can understand this for a dive bar, but it seems like a full-service sports bar like this shouldn't have a credit card surcharge in 2025. The bigger issue was that the credit card surcharge was not disclosed either on the menu nor on the receipt. I actually had to ask the bartender about this; the subtotal and tax did not add up to the total, and the bartender explained that the missing amount was the credit card surcharge. This should be listed out to make it clear as well as disclosed in advance, as I might have opted to pay with cash. I ordered a chicken Caesar wrap with sweet potato fries (included in the price). Unfortunately, the fries were not hot when I received them, which is definitely a miss when it comes to fries. The wrap itself was just ok - I feel like it could have used more dressing. Some other people at our watch party had to wait an hour for their food, though I will cut them some slack since the watch party brought more people than expected and they were short-staffed. They also gave some free food to people that had to wait a long time, which was nice. Overall, a good spot to watch a game, but not a fan of the hidden credit card surcharge and the food has potential but has room for improvement. read more

Great atmosphere, but must be short staffed because my glass has been empty for 20 minutes and no one asked or is around to order from. Unfortunately poor service. read more

Unfortunately, this spot has went way downhill since it was the Athletic Club. Food is significantly worse and they even got rid of the proper Guinness glassware (minor, but important to some of us). To top things off, the "Timeout Tavern" would rather blast Coachella EDM slop than play the audio from an active Warriors game. Is this a sports bar or a rave venue? Either way, the place is empty, and it's easy to see why. Sad to see the Athletic Club go - the "Timeout Tavern" needs a timeout. Avoid! read more

My favorite neighborhood sports bar. Great staff and great regulars. Highly recommended!

I wasn't even aware SF Athletic Club had changed owners and their name when I walked in the other day. They have kept the interior the exact same and I love that. The appeal of this bar is that it's a large space where you can watch the game on one of their gazillion TV's and eat some food. If you don't care about the game you can sit in the back, there really is a LOT of space. The waitstaff was very attentive last time I was there. The Mac and cheese is great and reasonably priced. Solid bar food. I'm glad bars like this still exist in SF, hope they stick around for a long time. read more

On Friday, February 27 I walked in to this establishment to place a lunch order. I was on the phone. 10 seconds later a group of 3 walked in and the person behind the bar, who was in his phone when I walked in, IMMEDIATELY, tended to the other patrons. I did an about face and walked out without saying a word but decided to come express my disgust with this behavior. I asked for the manager and was told "he" was the manager. I did not believe him. I let him know that his behavior was disrespectful and disgusting. I will not EVER patronize an establishment that doesn't see me and I will be letting everyone I know in the neighborhood to do the same. Customer service is what makes or BREAKS a business. DO BETTER!!!!! read more

For the US World Cup game a few weeks ago, I booked a table for 8 on OpenTable. However I needed to add 2 more seats. I called the restaurant and said that I'd booked online and if I could expand my reservation. The guy on the phone asked me when I made my reservation and I said that morning. He then told me that they couldn't honor any of the OpenTable reservations for the past 48 hours or so because they weren't accurate to what was actually available at the restaurant. I asked if I could book a table through him and he told me they were completely full. I then asked if they would have let me know that the reservation I had made online was no longer valid, he said no. So I wouldn't have known that my reservation was not real. Had I not called, my 9 friends and I would've shown up to the restaurant for the World Cup game and not had a spot to sit despite the fact that I made a reservation online. It was just lucky that I called. Ended up at a bar in North Beach that was better all around. Terrible customer service! read more

I really enjoyed this bar. The ambiance is fantastic and service is wonderful, especially, Julio. He does a fantastic job! Food isn't bad either! read more

Just not even close to what SFAC (one of my favorite sports bars in SF) used to be. Showed up for the first round of March Madness and the place didn't open till 11am - huge loss of customers there as the games started at 9. When I got back later with my group, most of the TVs were off and we were the only people there. No beer on tap as the kegs were not scheduled to arrive until the afternoon. Food was overpriced and flavorless Sysco slop. A sports bar unprepared for March Madness basketball is a place I won't return to. read more

Visited town to see if my favorite bar was open - friendly staff, good beers. So many TVs! I will be watching major sports here if I'm ever back in SF read more

We were on SF for our daughters Dr Appt.... We just walked by and decided to grab lunch! Was greeted immediately... service was wonderful and the food was YUMMY!!! Pizza was one of the best I've had and my daughter said their Mac n cheese was the best!!! Atmosphere was great and warming! read more

It was the first time going since they changed to the Timeout Tavern and I'm sad to say I was very disappointed. It wasn't very busy and the service was bad. We saw our waitress take a shot behind the bar and then brought us the wrong food at first. The bartender was really nice and he ended up bringing our food out and helped with the other tables. Then when we got our food, it was all cold. Used to really love this place, but now probably won't go back. read more