DNA Lounge — Restaurant in San Francisco

Wanted to try this place out and go to my first rave-type event so I bought some tickets for me and my friends. Got in the long line for the door ( expected) and was greeted by the yelling of a security guard to back against the wall ect. Once again this was expected but the tone being used was something between an army sergeant and a an annoyed cop. Anyways show my id to a wonderful lady who put a wristband on my hand (supposedly the wrong one which I did not know until later).

Get my tickets and get inside, order a drink. Bartender noticed my wristband on "wrong" wrist but still gives me a drink. Have some time to make my way up to the second floor (Im just exploring as this is my first time here). I am just hanging out with my friends with our drinks and all of a sudden a group of security guards come up around my group acting as if I have done something horribly wrong. They ask for ID and ask me who gave me my wristband. I describe the lady and they say "we don't have anyone like that here". What really got me is that when the man checking my id (the same guy who was barking at us in line earlier) said "That's a good one", immediately incriminating me and assuming it was a fake. I was brought to tears and taken outside (my gracious friends joined me) so that yet another member of staff could check my ID. They were still confused about the woman who originally gave me my wristband. Anyways, they seemed to be offering me another but also said I could not attempt to come back to the club with that ID.

By that time I was already upset with the attitude given to me and I just wanted to leave so we all did and continued our night elsewhere. (Some kind individuals at a bar noticed I was upset and informed me that, as locals, they stay clear of DNA. Go figure.)

I wanted to experience PLUR, but the staff was not embodying it that...

The venue was decent but somewhat small… alright for crowds of 100 or less. Didn’t get to try the pizza but I heard it was good. All of the staff was really nice except for the manager or owner. I was put on the guest list and I have been going to a lot of the shows and working at them with a lot of these guys since about 2006. I was told I could put my backpack in the room the headliners were keeping their stuff as well as hanging out. I was in the process of switching hotels and wound up going to the show last minute after I was told I was confirmed. Went out to get sandwiches for myself and a friend, after I got back I was told the owner started freaking out about a backpack being in a corner when it realistically wasn’t in anybody’s way. It was also sad that someone wound up losing their backpack that night… So I put it next to a garbage can by the merch table since I’ve been to dozens of these shows with these people and I know I can trust them.

Later on in the night the guy who was in charge was just trying to rush everybody out of the door when nobody was even close to being completely packed up. He actually watch the artists out of the venue when we were still out there and was extremely rude. He killed the whole entire vibe and Manny other people would have handled that situation a lot differently… All of us remained polite and in character though.

As a booking agent I would not recommend using this venue as a rental if you could find another spot unless their management improves. Other than that, it was a pretty cool spot… The bartender was cool and so was all of the security. Management… Who was only one guy, was extremely unpleasant to deal with and a complete...

I've been going to DNA Lounge for over 20 years. I've seen the space expand to include two lounge areas upstairs and an adjacent pizza parlor from a window shop to a full scale seated restaurant area.

Security, staff and bartenders are friendly here. Many of the staff as well as crowd have SOMA (South of Market) crossover from the nearby Cat Club due to its musical proclivities towards Industrial, darkwave, classic goth and 1980s. So you may recognize familiar faces and even DJs if you attend the aforementioned.

There is a large elevated stage for performers flanked by two Industrial metal staircases. Upstairs is a rail that allows onlookers to look down on the dancefloor. A really comfy couch, a large bar in additional to the one on floor level and a coat check. There are three spaces upstairs, 2 to my knowledge with small bar service. One space has a few steps to it. The two others have small but efficient dance floors and dedicated DJs.

Seating flanks the main danceloor below and each side has a gendered bathroom. The bathroom is my only gripe since the plumbing has notoriously had corrosion problems despite the nice tiled decor.

Tip: do not exit through the entrance. Exit by the restaurant or be yelled at! It's a common goof here.

DNA is a big operation and has for years had fundraisers to keep open. This is probably due to the size of the space and a staff. However, if you are curious to the SF club scene, this is the historic one you should check out in addition to the Cat Club. Oasis - the drag venue is just a...