The Cigar Bar & Grill

Great spot to enjoy a cigar. They have a nice outdoor courtyard with a small fountain and radiant heaters for cooler days.
Very nice selection of single malt scotches and other liqours.
They have a very nice, friendly, helpful staff.

I’m not sure what to rate this place. Maybe more like a 2.5 — 3 stars. We go downstairs which gets us inside. I don’t think it was the front, so we walk around and found the bar. Couldn’t quite determine who was an employee or the customer so we waited a bit hoping to be greeted by someone. Nothing. I think we asked if we just sat ourselves. We roam around once again, found an unoccupied table & sat down. Minutes pass. Even more minutes pass. Finally was able to hunt someone down to see if we maybe somehow someway we needed to talk to someone about ordering. The answer was stay seated & someone will be right with us. Phew. Ok. After a few more minutes someone finally took our order. By the way they were not packed at all. No apologies, the server was nice enough. But fine. We order flat bread and some drinks. Good lord, we really didn’t even think it was ever coming, it took so long. Well, luckily the flat bread was amazing. Of course you guessed it, the bill also took lord knows how long. We were still hungry but decided there was no way in hell we were going to place another order and wait an eternity.
So I guess the 2.5 stars is perfect. Service needs a lot of work. It helps that no one was rude. But for me, I don’t think I’ll be back unless I’m the only or maybe 2^nd customer upon arrival… and only for the flatbread.

Love the music, location, ambiance, crowd except that the last time I was there I came home with a *hoarse throat, unable to talk or breath well from all the cigar smoke that gets into dance floor from smokers’ patio. It used to be my favorite place… not anymore since then.

Love this place with all my heart. Love the ambiance and great service. This place reminds me of hometown in Ecuador, Great Salsa music, Great girls, Awesome drinks and cigars.

Ok drinks… food is below average, nice patio n space.

Ambiance: Came on a weeknight and it was pretty busy, but there were no lines and we were seated promptly. It’s REALLY loud in here with the music and conversations though and was difficult to even hear the person next to you. So, not ideal for large groups unless you were coming to listen the live music or dance (which obviously is the point here; we just didn’t know). The live music was a nice addition to the evening and we enjoyed ourselves very much. We sat inside and didn’t feel too overcome by the tobacco smoke from outside.
Service: This was the only area in which I feel they were lacking. At first, our waiter was attentive but then eventually… he just disappeared. I ended up having to ask a totally different person for another round of drinks and food.
Food: I can’t comment on the drinks here because I didn’t have any, but I didn’t hear any complaints from my group. As for the food, it was so yum!
–Chips and Salsa and Guac: The salsa and guac were fresh. Could have used some more seasoning. The chips are thin and crispy and have some seasoning on them.
–Chicken «nuggets»: These were amazing. Crispy pieces of actual breast meat and full of flavor. Came with some BBQ sauce and cilantro ranch.
–Fries: thin and crispy. We loved these.
–Fried shishito peppers: Some were hot and others weren’t, but overall these were a hit with the group. Crispy and different! These are not breaded.

Came here on a Wednesday night. Pretty busy for happy hour, and died down towards 10pm. Live music, outside terrace was cool. Humidor with cigar selections was ok. Bartender helped find something for me.

I went for salsa; can’t comment on the food — but I’ll touch on the venue, drinks, service and salsa:
Salsa: Note that what’s taught in the intro lesson and nearly exclusively what’s danced is Cuban salsa — not mambo/​New York or West Coast/​LA style. Was about 60% beginners /​those whom couldn’t dance; about 10% good dancers and a mix of the rest. I was there from just after the dance lesson until midnight and often dance club crowds change depending on the time of the evening, so the mix may be different later. The dance floor was small and the crowd made it tight. A mix of predominately 20 and 30-​somethings and… a collection of 50 and 60 year old, older Latino men. Air conditioning was left off — don’t know if that was intentional or by accident — so it became HOT fast.
Music: Band that night was excellent. A mix of salsa — both Cuban and traditional, bachata, chacha; even some Mexican folk music.
Service: many of the Unilocal reviews mention poor bar service. I see why. While I didn’t have much trouble getting served (as some report), the service did come with an attitude. Unsure if these bar tenders make much $ off of tips, but… if not, I can see why.
The Venue: love it. A wonderful space for a restaurant, outdoor cigar bar and salsa club. The dance floor was small; but the layout of the cigar area and restaurant lent to an interesting mixed use.
For me it would be a «No» about going back EXCEPT for the music. The salsa wasn’t good enough; too many non-​dancers tromping around in the way on the floor; WAY too hot; and mediocre bar service = nah. Not worth it. But for the right band, good friends and a great cigar, I’d tolerate it.

Came on a Friday, which was salsa night.
Pros
Spacious seating with a beautiful outdoor seating area
Nice selection of drinks
Cons
Small dance floor, easily crowded
My friend complained about leering men lol seemed like a bunch of ‘those’ haha

My husband and I went there on a date night and had a really good time. The bartender was very attentive and knowledgeable about the drinks. The extra plus was the live salsa music! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who loves a chill atmosphere with good music. We will be back!

My buddies brought me here as part of my bachelor party, and we had a great time! We arrived just at opening, so we had the place mostly to ourselves, but there was lots of space, both inside and the outdoor smoking courtyard. They have a fairly well-​stocked humidor of cigars and the bartender seemed to be knowledgeable about both the liquors and cigars. When we ordered food (quesadilla, papas bravas, and shishito peppers), it all came out quickly and was very good. I was disappointed we had to move on before taking advantage of the pool table, but I hope to come back even when we aren’t smoking.

Probably the only place left in San Francisco where you can smoke a cigar with an appropriate libation. Walk down the stairs into a nicely old fashioned bar area and out you go into a patio with heat lamps and plenty of seating to indulge in your carving for a stogie and wee dram after a heavy meal.
Cigars are not horribly marked up and service is slow to start but attentive once you finally get your drinks. Have not tried the food, but the bartenders pull of standard cocktails reasonably well, but they are not the quality of better places in town that specialize in those, so stick to the basics and you will have a decent time.

This place is amazing. The bartender Travis really knows his stuff. The outdoor area is awesome. The food. only had small bites but all excellent and the girl that worked at the bar after Travis’ shift ended. the most accommodating and friendly bartender I’ve had in months. Whether you’re coming from FiDi or coming for a great ambiance to smoke a cigar this is definitely the place to be. A+

Came here tonight to listen to the band. This place needs to light up the stairs. While I was walking down their stairs to go down to the outdoor patio, I fell and hit my knee so hard. No one from the bar came to ask if I was ok and check on me. Careful when you take the stairs. They need to put lights as it is dark and I couldn’t see. The drinks are ok. They are more on the weak side, but you expect that from these type of establishments. The place inside is pretty big. They have a separate room for their salsa night. Also tried to order food, but was told the kitchen was closed.

My visit was a bit rocky. I was at the bar trying to order a few drinks and the bar tender lady with curly black hair ignored us for 20 minutes! She made eye contact and I even said what I was ordering twice but maybe since I wasn’t a guy she wasn’t interested In serving me because I kept getting ignored everytime a male came up. Its a bit bizzare that a bar tender who was off his shift had to get her attention and order my drinks since she wants helping. That was helpful since she didn’t care to do her job.
After that episode the night turned up better since the music was fantastic and of course the bar tender by the dance floor were attentive. Never the less I had a blast after my drink and will surely come back but possibly order my drinks from the other bar.

Love this place! Step downstairs into Cuba! Its super cozy cave like, extensive wine and spirit menu. Open patio for cigar smoking, nice dance floor. Check in on Sat. At 7:30 for $ 15 and get Salsa lessons! Live band Saturday’s…

Trekking out to the city from the East Bay on a Saturday night isn’t always the easiest thing, especially if you have kids, but my wife told me to go out with the boys and since we’re too old to do the club scene, we wanted to do something that’s more age appropriate.
Lets go drink WHISKEY and smoke CIGARS!
We get here around 10pm, and there’s a line out the door. An older couple are practicing their awesome dance moves while we wait, but the line moved fairly fast. Pay a $ 10 cover and BAM, the place was flooded with people waiting at the bar, standing outside smoking cigars, people looking like us trying to figure out how this place works, and sounds of salsa music playing in the other room/​dance floor. Bathrooms were fairly small considering how packed this place was, but its not a problem for us guys. The bar was packed, and the bartenders were scrambling from taking and processing orders to helping people get cigars out of their humidor. That whole process led to a lot of confusion, but eventually figured it out. Great selections of scotch, whiskeys, and tequilas… didn’t pay attention to anything else.
We found a small area to post against and get our grown man on, and continually dodging and moving to let people walk past. I probably had about 4 people rub against my lit cigar so I’m sorry if I left a burn mark or ash all over your clothes or jacket. Definitely a good older crowd, with cougars hitting on all the foreigners that were there.
I would actually love to come back here with my wife and find a table, order some food, drinks and bring my own cigars from home to smoke.

The bar and food are cool.
The bill had an extra fries we were not served.
The waiter did not want to remove at first, but finally did it after our insistence.
The waiter hand wrote 20% tip before giving the bill to us.
We crossed it out and wrote 10% tip (legally tips are optional).
Still the Cigar Bar and Grill managed to charge 20% on our credit card.
I feel ripped off.
I am not ever going back.

We started our night here with a group of around 10. I had tito’s on the rocks while munching on some garlic fries which were DELICIOUS. The fish tacos were also petty bombtastical. I’m not a cigar smoker so I was turned off by the smell but obviously not enough to stop me from my usual 6 o’clock pre-​dinner snacks (I eat around 3 big meals and 3 – 5 snacks throughout the day). I had 2 tacos and some fries– filled me up for a good hour before I got hungry again.
It was very dark where we were seated– the open-​top area near the entrance. The service wasn’t all that great– the waitress didn’t come back (at least to my best knowledge) after we got our food. Thank goodness I was pretty tipsy by the time we got there (we drank at the hotel bar) bc otherwise I’d be whining about losing my mojo chasing down waiters like the true alcoholic I may be.

This experience is based on their Salsa Night on a Saturday night.
Cover is $ 10 after 10pm, free before. We arrived around 9pm because we met up with some other folks having dinner there and as we waited we ordered some stuff off their dessert menu… as in… all of the things off their dessert menu. Their flan was really really rich, very different from the Mexican and Filipino styles I’ve had but was tasty.
The music started pretty much right at 10pm and… wow… the live music was AMAZING. I came with a trio of girls, one being Cuban born and raised in Miami and consequently a die hard Salsa lover and she said this place had to be one of her favorite experiences for Salsa dancing. The gentlemen were quite gentelmen-​like about dancing — except for one crazy drunk salsa man. But he was easy to avoid amongst the many other people to dance with. We also ordered drinks at the bar — very reasonable around $ 7 a drink. If you don’t feel like dancing, there is the freedom to watch from the sides or the back, there are benches that line one wall which is enough because everyone ends up dancing at least once! I brought a friend who had NO prior salsa experience and still had a blast. All in all, I had a fantastic experience and will definitely be returning for the live music.
A perk if you enjoy a cigar or two once in a while, their patio is inviting for that scene and you can avoid it if you’re allergic to tobacco like me!

Yes there’s a cover for the salsa dancing. I’m not sure of this is an every night thing or just saturday nights but i had a blast great music! Definitely a bunch of novice dancers my feet were stepped on any number of times but just keep dancing.
Very cute lounge feel with sprinkles of a club good times. Lost a star for the cover but i like that it looks uppity when salsa isn’t. Lol
Have fun!

Nice quiet spot for friends and drinks. Limited dinner options. They were out of the fish and chips. Above average wine selection. I enjoyed their rose. Nice seating options. As our party grew we moved to a higher table inside and eventually outside to smoke cigars.
Staff was friendly. I had to walk up to the bar to ask for menus and to get their attention to order which was annoying. Once they realized we were a good group who was sticking around, they took car of us. I’ll be back. Great central location for our group of friends.

The only reason I came across this place is that my friend, who is a smoker, wanted to find somewhere where she could sit outside and puff away while we chatted, drank and ate. This was the closest and most interesting option that she found, so we came. The ambiance is quite cool and we sat outside by a lovely fountain, which was great until the crazy SF wind made an uninvited appearance. Everyone around us was smoking, mostly cigars, as the name of the bar anticipated, but I was not bothered at all (I used to be a smoker so I kind of dug the atmosphere).
I had one of their draft beers and that was quite ok. My friends had ordered the cheese plate and also the nacho portion (this last one is sooooo big that the waitress actually told us she has never seen anyone finish it before, which makes me think it’s just plain silly to serve so much food knowing it’s gonna go to waste)! But hey, I guess lots of people dig oversized food portions so I just have to deal with my distaste for it.
I ended up ordering a pasta dish, since there were not that many options. It came with pesto and some peppers, and although it was not bad, it was pretty boring, lacked sauce and was a bit overcooked. Nevertheless, I was happy to eat it. Prices were not too friendly, but that was to be expected. As we left we had quite a fun chat with the guy who works at the door, and he was very nice and helpful. Overall, I’d say this is a good spot if you wanna grab a drink, some snacks and, of course, smoke away. Otherwise, don’t bother.

Nice idea — cigars, drinks, and live salsa. Pretty unique in San Francisco!
While I’m not a smoker, I’m an occasional drinker. I enjoyed my Gin&Tonic there, wondered around the ground floor which includes a humidor, headed over to the large outdoor patio and saw smokers mingling, and finally arrived at the dance floor where an impressive amount of people swung their hips to the tunes of the salsa band.
It wasn’t overly crowded on a Friday night so if you look for a bar with dance floor, this is a good choice.