Rock Bar — Restaurant in San Francisco

I used to come to Rock Bar all the time before the shutdowns and it was my favorite bar. I really like the lighting, drinks, music, photo booth, and that I could get food at the front porch before hand. I went in last night, my third time post lockdowns and reopening and it has gone downhill a lot, mostly in regards to service. I was excited to be able to come back to this bar that I loved that took a while to open back up and was happy it survived the long closures. My boyfriend and I ordered a drink with a gentleman and didn't have much problem. We went to the photo booth and came back to the shorter female bartender, I think her name is Jess, and were completely ignored. I looked her direction and gave her a smile so she would know we were looking for a second drink, and she yelled, "IDs and Vaccination cards" from across the bar and never came over to check them and ignored us for another 5-10 minutes, just moving cups around and doing dishes, refusing to look at us. We had IDs and Vaccination cards ready to be looked at, which she never actually came to see. No one had checked them that night since we had come in. For whatever reason she decided she didn't want to serve us. I don't ever come to a bar with a bad attitude or looking for trouble. I was nice to all staff and patrons, actually had very minimal interaction with anyone at this point besides my boyfriend who had just gotten there with me. It really sucks to go to a place you love and have the people who work there treat you terribly for no reason at all. We weren't drunk. This was our second drink of the night. We weren't rowdy and didn't even speak to anyone to cause any problems that would have warranted this treatment. It's honestly very disappointing. I come with a good attitude and just want to enjoy my night and have it ruined by someone who decided they didn't want us to for reasons that are beyond me. I drive across town to come to this bar because I like it there, but I don't think I...

I really wanted to like this place because it’s so close to my apartment.

First visit, it was a Saturday night and the boyfriend and I were sat at the bar and it took 10 minutes to get an order in while the bartender was chatting with someone the whole time. The place wasn’t that busy and it was easy to find a seat. Excusable, but not the best experience.

Second visit, it was a weekday around 6pm. I wanted to try the place again with some coworkers because of the drink special advertised on their website. There were at least two staff members and only four customers inside. We weren’t allowed in until we showed proof of vaccination. Great, we pulled up our QR codes and had our IDs in hand and had to wait outside for 5 minutes until someone could verify. It was awkward having to constantly tap your phone screen because it kept dimming due to inactivity. Another 5 minutes of waiting before we could order. We told the bartender “so we hear you have some discounted old fashioneds for happy hour” and she confirmed and made the 3 cocktails. The total came out to $40. Is she just making numbers up? Is there a menu that says they’re normally priced $13.33? I kindly let her know that the price listed on their website is $6 Monday through Friday 4-7pm. She had no interest in checking the website and ran across the street to get more info. When the bartender came back, she said those were precovid prices and they couldn’t afford that now. Ok, fair enough, a lot of businesses have been struggling. She then offered to bring the price down to $12 a drink and said “that’s a good deal, right?”. So I guess they were making their prices up. Overall, both experiences were just really strange and I have no interest in going back.

TL;DR Be prepared to wait a long time while bartenders are chatting and for the bar to not honor their advertised price. There are so many better bars in the area, this one is not worth your...

Powerful, tasty cocktails. Having tried most all of their menu, their most artfully crafted cocktail is the blood and sand which I would return for in a heartbeat. The others were not made to the caliber I am used to at Bourbon and Branch, my gold standard for cocktail making. I love the vibe, ample seating, and friendly bartenders. I heard you can order bites, and they will deliver from Front Porch across the street.

A few of the drinks I tried...

*Gold Digger ($11) - 3.5 STARS: London Gin, Pear Liqueur, Champagne, ginger, peach. Reminds me of a Mike's Hard Lemonade. Very tasty, a bit sweet. Refreshing.

Real Thunderberg ($9) - 1 STAR: Four Roses, Bunderberg Ginger, Underberg. Tastes like medicine.

Rhuby Mule ($10?) - 3 STARS: Vodka, Cherry Heering, ginger ale, rhubarb bitters. Love moscow mules but this cherry version was way too sweet for me.

Soft Rock ($10?) - 3.5 STARS: Lillet Blanc, soda, lemon, cucmber. Refreshing and tasty.

ICHI Rock ($10) - 3.5 STARS: London Gin, St. Germain, Yuzu, grapefruit bitters. This was another one that reminded me of Mike's Hard Lemonade. Super refreshing and tasty but not the type of cocktail I gravitate towards. Too frou frou for me.

They also have a decent list of special cocktails listed on their board, which includes my favorite - Blood and...