It’s a well known fact that I’m a fan of the nightlife scene and frequent some of the local hot spots. This weekend I got to go to some of my favorites, and saw the good, bad, and ugly. Here’s a quick review of one of the places I visited this weekend:
Positives: This has got to be one of the sleekest, sexiest designed venues in San Francisco. World renown designer Kinney Chan did an exceptional job. The venue totally feels like something out of Vegas, and by the size of the lines it has that Vegas feel. My first impression however was negative, about two months ago I began seeing ads for Infusion on Muni buses all over the city and thought to myself - “any lounge advertising on a city bus must be aiming pretty low…one side an ad for the local fast food joint, on the other infusion’s - advertising for the latest greatest ultra chic high end lounge”…the math just didn’t add up to me and I felt reserved when I went in for the first time. Those thoughts immediately went out the window when I stepped in the club. I like the two room layout. Yeah the first room can get a bit crowded, and there’s tons of VIP table service space, but I don’t feel like its all that bad. The Unisex bathrooms with Dyson Airblades are definitely a plus, and its always nice to have a separate vip room that can be sectioned off. Music varies as there usually are different promoters/events on different nights, but they usually play something that’s popular with a certain segment. Crowd: This was a positive as the diversity of patrons was pretty good and everyone was grown and sexy.
Negatives: The security detail can be a bit brutish, I like how they are all required to wear red ties to accentuate the theme of the venue, but the way they treat some patrons is a little rough. I’ll cover the rest in individual rankings. I’m also not a fan of the dress code, fellas - trying to get in with trendy sport shoes (vans, nikes ed hardy, etc) is a no no. However, graphic tees seemed all the rage when I was there. Most other high end clubs in SF allow both.
- Location/Transportation: Located nearby Union Square so there’s lots of pay lots near by, but public street parking may be hard to come by if you show up after peak time. For us city dwellers this is an ideal location for going out as there are always tons of cabs around, also several bus lines nearby. Grade: 3.5/5
- Line: The lines can be pretty ridiculous (stretching from Ellis around the corner up to O’farrell), so I heavily encourage arriving early, or just avoiding peak nights all together. They also BS the line, i.e., move a foot every 20 minutes…to the point you ask yourself why you’re even trying to get into this place? Grade: 2/5
- Interior: I spoke about this in more detail above, it’s stunning, arguably one of the best designed lounges in SF, definitely worth the hefty price tage. Grade 4.5/5
- Exterior: Pretty much borders on the Tenderloin, so be careful where you park, as you could be on a dodgy block. There’s nothing to special about the exterior, but that’s somewhat common with a lot of clubs in SF. It is nice to know that they will roll out the tents when in rains however. Grade 3/5
- Drinks: I felt that the drinks were about average $7-8 for a mixed drink, $4-5 for a beer. Grade: 3/5
- Services: The security team was overly aggressive and underly helpful in terms of providing information. Coat check was a bit pricey as $3 bucks and an additional $2 bucks for side item (umbrella or hat - so it’s best to try and hide those in a pocket). Grade 3/5
- Sound system: Two DJ booths, but only 1 dj is needed per time. I felt that the music was loud but not too loud to hold a conversation. It’s one of my favorite parts of the venue. Grade 4/5
- Overall: A great venue, it’s too early to say but its becoming one of my favorite spots in SF - 20/35 (hey I’m a tough grader :)
In case you want to read more about Infusion Lounge, here’s what yelpers had to say about it.
