If you're a dirty tiki boy... You gotta check out this classic place
Light P.
A classic Tiki Bar in San Francisco. It's a must for the experience. A local dive as well.
Paul Jakubowski
The Jersey Shore barmaid with the incandescent opal blue eyes is the best, and the regulars around the circular bar made a this stranger feel welcome. And the jukebox is superb. And the drinks are strong and cheap. This place is a gem.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Julia Buschmann
Bouncer was extremely unfriendly and rude. I used to love this place so this is really a shame.
Harrison P.
Just left without being served or acknowledged for 35 minutes... sitting at the bar with two friends. New decor is sterile and the magic of the place is gone. Go literally anywhere else for a tiki drink
Raphael Frankfurter
New bouncer is extremely obnoxious
Grace H.
I loved the vintage decor and ambiance. I didn't catch the bartender's name, but he was really kind and recommended us some of their famous "bowls". They're really strong, but if you share the. With a few friends, memories will be made for sure!
Vikram Haer
I loved this place; bouncer decided to power trip and wouldn’t let us in because he didn’t understand how international IDs worked. We’ve been here so many times and could not get in because he felt the need to be extremely rude. We showed him the law that said it’s at the bars discretion and he said it’s because we wanted to stand there and argue with him. This is truly disappointing and feels discriminatory.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Club M.
Been through here over the past 30 years. The remodel is a brighter cafeteria. The bar service was garbage. We watched the bar tenders go past "our guy" 3x and they weren't even making drinks. When he asked they said, "chill out". After decades of great memories this version is crap. As a guy, it was a sausage fest, and can't speak to the drinks cause we couldn't but one with these knuckleheads were barely working. They could have never handled the crowd during It's heyday... this place was sick, and now ijust lower your expectations! It's crap...
avi a.
Despite other reviews, I had a great time interacting with the bartender. I met a local who will be moving out of San Francisco and we had a nice chat. I know all this sounds good but my biggest problem was with the drinks. They are nicely priced but didn't taste good at all. For my first drink, I asked what they recommended and they said it was a banana based drink... Wasn't good. I then decided to choose my next drink and didn't like it at all. Since it was on my bucket list, still glad I made it
A spiritual experience. A right of passage. A gauntlet. All apt descriptions of one of SF's most beloved watering holes. Recent renovation/refresh looks good. Don't overthink your drink order.
Dylan Ronan
Pretty sure they don't have good, but that isn't important here. The service was great, staff was friendly, and the prices are reasonable. I didn't get to try one of the bowls, but they sound great and look forward to going back and trying one. Bring cash.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Alexander Deppe
Bouncer sucks
Paolo B.
After a brief stint of being closed, Trad'r Sam has reopened with a remodel and refresh, and probably some of the most affordable drinks the city has to offer. They're famous for their scorpion bowl and other booze filled bowls that are all around $20. For $20, after drinking one of these, hopefully shared with someone, will do the trick. They are all blended to order, and come with long straws to sip out of. We got the tidal wave, and it lived up to its name. Other spots I've gotten bowls at in the city charge $45-65 and sometimes even more, and none of them compare to the flavor of Trad'r Sam. So for a third of the price, it's really hard to beat. Most beers and shots were under $10. Most of their cocktails are around that price as well, so value here is real good. There's plenty of TVs and self seating so good for small to medium sized groups. It is cash-only, so make sure to hit the ATM beforehand or use the one they have there.
Brooks Ward
Sometimes it's great and sometimes it's terrible. Waited an hour for 2 mai tais at 4pm on Sunday.1 bartender for a busy tiki bar is sadistic.
If you're a dirty tiki boy... You gotta check out this classic place
A classic Tiki Bar in San Francisco. It's a must for the experience. A local dive as well.
The Jersey Shore barmaid with the incandescent opal blue eyes is the best, and the regulars around the circular bar made a this stranger feel welcome. And the jukebox is superb. And the drinks are strong and cheap. This place is a gem.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Bouncer was extremely unfriendly and rude. I used to love this place so this is really a shame.
Just left without being served or acknowledged for 35 minutes... sitting at the bar with two friends. New decor is sterile and the magic of the place is gone. Go literally anywhere else for a tiki drink
New bouncer is extremely obnoxious
I loved the vintage decor and ambiance. I didn't catch the bartender's name, but he was really kind and recommended us some of their famous "bowls". They're really strong, but if you share the. With a few friends, memories will be made for sure!
I loved this place; bouncer decided to power trip and wouldn’t let us in because he didn’t understand how international IDs worked. We’ve been here so many times and could not get in because he felt the need to be extremely rude. We showed him the law that said it’s at the bars discretion and he said it’s because we wanted to stand there and argue with him. This is truly disappointing and feels discriminatory.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Been through here over the past 30 years. The remodel is a brighter cafeteria. The bar service was garbage. We watched the bar tenders go past "our guy" 3x and they weren't even making drinks. When he asked they said, "chill out". After decades of great memories this version is crap. As a guy, it was a sausage fest, and can't speak to the drinks cause we couldn't but one with these knuckleheads were barely working. They could have never handled the crowd during It's heyday... this place was sick, and now ijust lower your expectations! It's crap...
Despite other reviews, I had a great time interacting with the bartender. I met a local who will be moving out of San Francisco and we had a nice chat. I know all this sounds good but my biggest problem was with the drinks. They are nicely priced but didn't taste good at all. For my first drink, I asked what they recommended and they said it was a banana based drink... Wasn't good. I then decided to choose my next drink and didn't like it at all. Since it was on my bucket list, still glad I made it
Restaurantji Recommends
A spiritual experience. A right of passage. A gauntlet. All apt descriptions of one of SF's most beloved watering holes. Recent renovation/refresh looks good. Don't overthink your drink order.
Pretty sure they don't have good, but that isn't important here. The service was great, staff was friendly, and the prices are reasonable. I didn't get to try one of the bowls, but they sound great and look forward to going back and trying one. Bring cash.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Bouncer sucks
After a brief stint of being closed, Trad'r Sam has reopened with a remodel and refresh, and probably some of the most affordable drinks the city has to offer. They're famous for their scorpion bowl and other booze filled bowls that are all around $20. For $20, after drinking one of these, hopefully shared with someone, will do the trick. They are all blended to order, and come with long straws to sip out of. We got the tidal wave, and it lived up to its name. Other spots I've gotten bowls at in the city charge $45-65 and sometimes even more, and none of them compare to the flavor of Trad'r Sam. So for a third of the price, it's really hard to beat. Most beers and shots were under $10. Most of their cocktails are around that price as well, so value here is real good. There's plenty of TVs and self seating so good for small to medium sized groups. It is cash-only, so make sure to hit the ATM beforehand or use the one they have there.
Sometimes it's great and sometimes it's terrible. Waited an hour for 2 mai tais at 4pm on Sunday.1 bartender for a busy tiki bar is sadistic.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1