San Francisco - Alison Bing [151]
PARADISE LOUNGE
Map
415-252-5018; www.paradisesf.com; 1501 Folsom St; admission $5-25; 9pm-4am Fri & Sat, to 2am Sun; 19, 27
The stalwart Paradise is good on Fridays and Saturdays when you’re wandering around 11th St undecided about where to go, but a recent remodel rendered it like a soap-opera set-designer’s vision of what a club should be – by the time you arrive, we hope it’s beat up. Sound is good on both dance floors, and the upstairs-downstairs layout is fun for running around. Verify Sunday opening times online.
QOÖL
Map
415-974-1719; www.qoolsf.com; 111 Minna St; admission $5; 5-10pm Wed; 10, 14; & Montgomery St
SF’s coolest weekly dance party is a Wednesday-evening techno happy hour, with a progressive theme, inside a huge window-lined art gallery. It’s been going strong for over a decade, and never fails to attract the cool cats. Afterwards, follow the crowd to Satellite, at Anu, for more techno-dance till 2am.
RUBY SKYE
Map
415-693-0777; www.rubyskye.com; 420 Mason St; admission $10-25; 9pm-late Fri & Sat, sometimes Thu & Sun; 2, 3, 4, 38; & Powell St
The city’s premier-name nightclub occupies a vintage theater reminiscent of classic NY clubs, with reserveable balcony boxes above the floor. The who’s-who of the world’s DJs play here – think Danny Tenaglia, Dimitri from Paris, Christopher Lawrence and Paul Van Dyk. The very-mainstream crowd sometimes gets messy (hence the gruff security), but when your fave DJ’s playing, who cares? The Funktion-One sound system is state-of-the-art. Ruby Skye is sometimes open Thursday and Sunday (check the website).
SUPPERCLUB
Map
415-348-0900; www.supperclub.com; 657 Harrison St; admission $15; 10pm-2am Tue-Sat; 10, 12, 30, 45
Supperclub titilates with the promise of ooh-la-la exotic – beds line the all-white dance floor – but whether it delivers depends on that night’s crowd of snappily dressed, straight 20-to-40-somethings, who arrive after 10pm when the restaurant becomes a club. Best nights are the quarterly Suppervision, a pan-sexual bash when the beds actually get good use.
TEMPLE
Map
415-978-8853; www.templesf.com; 540 Howard St; admission $20; 10pm-3am Fri & Sat, sometimes weeknights; 10, 14; & Montgomery St
The city’s greenest club is a restaurant before 10pm, when it turns into a nightclub, serving drinks in biodegradable cups. The sleek-looking, all-white upstairs room has huge Thai statuary and slick stone floors; downstairs are two smaller rooms with midsized dance floors that get packed. Occasional big-name DJs spin the gamut from house to trance to techno; Fridays are consistently good for house. It’s $5 before 11pm if you’re on the guestlist. Check the website for weeknight openings. Dress hot.
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NO PARKING OFF THE DANCE FLOOR
A new law passed in 2009 disallows loitering outside SF nightclubs between 9pm and 3am to cut back on violence, particularly South of Market and along the Broadway strip in North Beach. Our guess is that the cops will mostly be hanging around the usual problem spots: 1015 Folsom (opposite), the 11th St strip between Folsom and Harrison Sts, Broadway around Columbus Ave, and City Nights (which we chose not to review because of, uh…a loitering problem). So where are you supposed to smoke? Find the smokers’ patio, but if there isn’t one, wander up the block if you see an unmarked black Ford Crown Victoria parked outside, especially if you’re lighting up anything other than tobacco.
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VESSEL
Map
415-433-8585; www.vesselsf.com; 85 Campton Pl; admission free-$20; 9pm-2am Wed-Sat; 2, 3, 4, 30, 38, 45; & Powell St
The crowd looks sharp at Vessel, a midsized subterranean club-lounge with kick-ass sound and mesmerizing lighting, which, because of its affiliation with Cielo in NYC,