Harlan Records — Restaurant in San Francisco

Lovely little hole-in-the-wall bar tucked in a back alleyway in Chinatown! It can be a smidge hard to find the main entrance to this spot in the back alleys, but it's 100% worth the treasure hunt. The space is super cozy and intimate, with phenomenal music (especially if you manage to catch them on a night with live music). It can get pretty crowded, but they also have a wonderful outdoor space outfitted with a cute wooden awning, plenty of tables and chairs, and a cute string light set-up. The outdoor space is a perfect extension of the indoor vibes, but definitely a little bit quieter if you prefer a calmer atmosphere that's easier for chatting.

The bartenders are all super friendly; they helped us select our drinks and loaned us a phone charger (saving us from potential disaster). They, unfortunately, slightly over-pivoted on my request to make a sweeter cocktail and recommended The Green Room; it was tasty but definitely too sweet for me. The vibes were phenomenal and the other cocktails looked lovely, though, so I'm sure I'll be back to try out some of their...

Harlan records was the Goldilocks of bars for me this past Saturday. Stopped by a couple on my list that were either too pretentious or waaaaay too physically and auditorily crowded, with an unfortunately not my age demographic crowd.

Harlan, tucked just a little bit away, was a great respite. Definitely busy, though comfortably so, and with a pretty diverse crowd. Beautiful place. Mid-century modern basement bar goals vibe. A short but creative drinks list (which I hear is getting a revamp shortly). And of course good music because how good they not given the name and theme. Bonus points if you are a vintage audio equipment nerd.

Probably a great stop before or after dinner in Chinatown, and close to a lot of downtown hotels if you're looking for a way better last stop than...

Harlan is more of a bar than a vinyl listening bar. While they certainly spin vinyl and they have a decent turntable + Macintosh amplified set of speakers, the overall environment for listening to vinyl is noisy and not what I would consider a Hi-Fi listening experience. The two drinks we had were good alcohol-free versions and a little sweet, but overall the bartender did a great job. I would like to come back and experience Harlan with the main system and a more planned program of music. Overall, the space with the cement floors and large number of people will always make it a challenge to truly enjoy the Hi-Fi aspect of vinyl, but worth checking out if you're...