John Colins

To be quite honest I can’t really give an in depth review since I have only been here once for an hour on a Thursday. But here it goes…
Ambiance: Pleasant. Not trendy, not dive. Wood, well lit (for a bar), and a good amount of space.
Noise: loud. Expect to carry on a conversation at the same volume you talk to your deaf grandmother at.
Prices: average. It’s SF. Expect to pay $ 10 for a cocktail.
Selection: good. The drink menu goes for solid classics, Moscow mule, dark and stormy, gin and tonic, some select scotch.
Most importantly…
Bathrooms: clean. Two unisex, very clean. A+.
Overall, worth a visit. Somehow managed to be crowded on a Thursday (why???).

I always go here because one of my best friends always insists that we always start our nights here. And I don’t mean any offense when i say this, the crowd is usually no younger than 25 and on average people in their 30s and some of the songs are for a more older generation – also depends on the night and it’s still good music!!! I usually love coming here as they have affordable drinks and I love the chill and mature crowd! No one too crazy trying to get turnt and there are private bathrooms to yack in if people do get turnt.
Tucked in an alleyway, John Collins is a perfect weekend night out with friends and id highly suggest getting their signature John Collins or Moscow mule (cute mason jar cups)! Those will definitely live up to the turn up!!!

Mediocre bar always crowded with a ton of dudes. Typical SF Tech scene, but it’s ok. Never have had a good time there.

Pretty good bar in SoMa area. The vibe here is really laid back and chill.
The layout is of the long type with a dance floor /​dj area at the front, bar area in the middle and a few tables and couches at the back. There’s also a small upstairs area to eat. The bathroom is in the middle with the bar and there’s 3 individual bathrooms that you lock when you go in. Interesting because the walls of the bathroom are chalkboards and there’s chalk so you can write on the walls while you’re in there.
The drinks are about average as of any bar in SoMa and they do have a decent amount of beer. There’s happy hour here too but I’m never here early enough to check it out.
Sometime at night, I think 10pm, the front area turns into the dance floor with the dj. Before 10, there’s just tables there for people to eat and drink. Great because there’s no cover.
Overall, great bar with a good vibe to go after work with friends.
Pros:
–great vibe here
–individual bathrooms
–average prices for drinks
Cons:
–can get pretty packed when there’s a lot of people since this venue isn’t that big

Not sure if the street parking around the area was impacted by whatever was going on at the W that night, but I was still able to find some relatively easy-​to-​get-​in spots, perfect for my mad non-​existent driving skillz. Even after midnight cover («for girls»…does that mean its more for guys?) was $ 5 on a Sat night. Crowd from what I could tell seemed fairly mixed and by that time of the night people were camped out at one of three places: the loungey chairs, the bar, or the dance floor.
Albeit small, there were plenty of pockets of space to get in and work it to some of the best hiphop/​actually dance-​able music I’ve heard a dj play at a club in a while. If I wasn’t so full from dinner, I totally would have been shaking it as well with the rest of the crowd.
Another huge wave of people came in closer to 1 which was when it started to get even noisier and crowded so we ended up calling it a night.
Definitely gotta hit this place up again when I’m in a dancing mood.

A rare hiphop joint. Small dance floor, beware ratchetness.

Really pleased we stumbled across this place for happy hour. Drinks are good, bartender service is super friendly, and the sushi is fantastic! Sushi? who knew. And it’s really good. Fish was fresh and better than average… plus they show Warrior games! Perfect combo. I will definitely be back.

Best sushi/​service! I love the sushi here and I would definitely recommend it. The bartenders are really friendly and helpful. In the AM they open up a coffee shop in a bar? I love getting their chocolate croissants and coffee.

Frustrated that I’ve watched the bartenders watering down drinks, adding soda to drinks that don’t call for it. Difficult to order drinks in the first place and by time you manage to get one, it’s a pricey water.

Love John Colins. Lets face it, good drinks? Check. Cool venue/​location? Check. Hip-​hop? CHECK CHECK CHECK. Honestly, why do I feel like hip-​hop at a nice venue is so rare in the city these days? Many places are usually advertised as hiphop/​top40/​edm, but c’mon now, we all know that actually means 50 edm songs that everyone else knows (but me) and 2 hip hop songs in which include «Back that a$$ up» & the occasional «thissss is how we do it…» Each time I’ve been here, I really have no complaints since I leave happy, but I have noticed that the transitions for the DJ’s usually consist of silence. Eh, not a good thing. I wish I remembered the girl DJ that was there a couple weekends ago. I liked her. The dance floor can get pretty packed since its quite small, but if you have your dancing shoes on, it shouldn’t stop you.
1 star off because we all hate that darn bathroom line as I can see other Unilocalers have talked about. It always long & in such an awkward spot too. Meh.

Decent place for drinks, but don’t expect much for the dance floor. I only been here a few times, but of those times it got pretty crowded. I used to come here because this is one of the few places that still plays hip hop, but I just came here again recently and it just sucked. I don’t know who the dj was, but he kept changing the music with no transitions whatsoever and only played about 30 seconds or less of each song.
Maybe I’m just getting too old to appreciate these kinds of things, but John Collins is definitely not my go to place to get my groove on.

Drinks were pretty good, bar was clean, and they have ginger beer on the soda gun. And I freakin love ginger beer. My only real complaint is how loud it was. It was difficult to carry a conversation without yelling, and that was before the DJ cranked it up. I prefer quieter bars, but that’s only a matter of opinion.
My Moscow Mule and my Irish Mule were both tasty. There isn’t much to the drinks themselves, but I appreciated that they were made with Tito’s and Jameson.

Came here with some work friends for a quick happy hour and I think this is a perfect spot for that kind of gathering. I liked the ambiance, with lots of people standing up and chatting away, and the fact you can open a tab (or at least our group seemed to be allowed to do so). I did not, however, like my Cosmopolitan, which was probably one of the worst I have had (and I have had way too many for this lifetime) so I would say skip that one!
The next drink, however, was pretty good but I am very sad to inform I cannot remember its name — but I do know it was named after an Asian country/​region. It was very fruity and well-​executed, so I guess going with the house’s cocktails is a better choice than just picking a classic. Prices seemed on the high end for me, but it appears that’s just the San Francisco standard for cocktail bars.
Overall, a good choice for a casual but stylish post-​work drink.

My friends and I arrived around 11pm on a saturday. There weren’t many people but at least there was plenty of room to dance. The dj was playing hip hop which is always a good sign. We started dancing and around 1230 the club started filling up. I had fun but my only complaint centers around the transitions between songs… they were awful. My friends agreed and a quick glance confirmed that the general public did as well. Nothing makes the dance flow more stale than a good beat suddenly thrown a bad beat for 8 seconds too long. The turbulent transitions ruined my flow once about every two minutes or so and I dislike when a dj can’t sense that the crowd is displeased. When people stop dancing and give you a funny look you might want to mix up your style… Other than that, it was free cover, no dress code and space to par-​tay.

I’ve been here twice since my friends wanted to come here… I don’t understand al the high reviews! I mean, it’s got a decent layout, but both times I’ve been here it’s been underwhelming.
There also also only three bathrooms and the line can be pretty long! The line for the bathroom is also in such an awkward area. The drink prices aren’t that bad and there’s a small dance floor — nothing special. I’d prefer to go to another place next time than here…

Second time I’ve been here and really liked it. A little slow on the service. One guy with long curly hair was working really hard and trying to move quickly to serve a many people as he could. Another taller bartender was flirting with a chick on the corner, taking shots, and making everyone wait. Lame.
The place had good music and was a nice little spot to grab drinks and shmooze with people. Easy place to do that. It can get pretty crowded though.
I came here a couple months ago on a Friday night for one of my girl’s Bday celebrations. That time the tables had been over out so there was a nice square shaped dance floor. THAT night was an absolute blast.
They also serve complimentary goldfish and pretzel. That is a real saver for the heavy drinkers!

Good old John Collins. This place is a hot spot for me and my coworkers, and we always find ourselves here on a Friday night after a long day at the office! The Dark and Stormy and Moscow Mule are both delicious, but this place has a $ 15 card minimum. The drinks are pretty strong so if you’re trying to hit that minimum, take it slow!
There’s also a dance floor by the front that usually has long tables and chairs during the week. On the weekends (including Fridays), there is a DJ and people breaking it down (or at least trying)! Bonus: drunk customers will be glad to hear there’s a Chipotle just down the street from this bar.

Great place for drinks. I came here around 3:30 on a Thursday. I was waiting for some friends and decided to get drinks. When I first walked in, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was quiet and a bit dark. But once I walked towards the bar area, it didn’t look that sketchy.
The bartenders were very friendly and attentive. I ordered a Kentucky Mule. The bartender made it perfectly! Luckily, I got here before the crowd. After my friends arrived, we decided to leave because we were trying to catch up and it got a little too loud for us. I would return if I were in the area and maybe not during Happy Hour.

I came here for happy hour ($ 1 off drinks) once with coworkers. Super crowded and super packed, there were literally no seating anywhere. There was only one bartender working, so service gets quite slow sometimes. But the drinks itself are ok, pretty cheap (especially with the $ 1 off during happy hour).
(+) Price: The drinks here are CHEAPP! Especially if you come during happy hour for even cheaper drinks!
(+/​-​) Atmosphere: Ok atmosphere. It can be loud sometimes, but very casual. Great music, but very limited seating.
(+/​-​) Drinks: Drinks themselves are nothing extraordinary, but for the price, it is definitely worth getting them.
(-) Service: Like I said before, it can get super crowded and they only have one bartender working during the time I went. So needless to say, we waited quite a while to get our drinks.

Drinks are good. Bartender are nice and do their jobs well…
Can’t complain. Definitely will come back for some Happy Hour mingle…
Open at 5pm right. Gotcha!