This has been my neighborhood bar for over 15 years. I have known 5 prior owners, however I do not know the newest owner.
I watched football there yesterday, so I was there for about 3 hours. My friend's Sierra tasted like dish soap, so she brought it back (full.) The owner gave her the 3rd degree about it, asking her questions like, "Maybe the other bars you go to have bad Sierra and you are comparing it to ours? Maybe their lines are bad and you are used to bad beer?" He finally agreed to give her a new one, but with this last protest, "I will do it just this once." Oh, THANKS! Nice customer service, guy.
When I signed out, I did not include my tip on the card because I wanted to give the tip to the only guy that helped me: The Bearded Bartender who couldn't have been nicer. The owner and another bartender (his cousin?) were having words about me when they noticed I didn't leave a tip. I waited for the Bearded One to come back from his break and handed him his tip in cash.
This morning, my statement shows that the Blackthorn charged me a tip anyway! I had to call my bank and fill out a claim to get it removed. I did try calling the bar first, but I decided I really didn't want to deal with the owner.
I will be sticking to the Fireside from now on.
Tons of TV's, best place to watch any baseball/football games with the boys. Fully stocked bar, bar seats and a few booths. Â Make sure to go early and grab a good seat. Â Was here the other day to watch a football game, arrived 1 hour before the game and was lucky to snag the last booth. Love how they allow take out food. I can enjoy eating TO GO from all the good restaurants near by, while the boys watch the game. Drinks aren't overly expensive and they have $3 beer specials!!
Review Source:Fun bar with a good atmosphere! Came here to watch UFC with some friends a few weeks ago and was impressed. The cover charge was about $5 less than at Silver-Cloud on fight nights, which translates to more money for drinks! Lots of viewing screens and bartenders who were quick to jump on the switch from the network broadcast of Spiderman to the main fight card once it started. Also, they've got a menu of local eateries up at the bar that you can peruse through to order in, which was pretty convenient. A bartender even lassoed us up when our food arrived so we could lay claim to it. I've had stronger drinks elsewhere, but after throwing down an extra couple bucks the next two rounds were pretty stiff. I hear they've got karaoke here some nights, too, gonna have to make it back here to check that out!
Review Source:Since Yancy's has been our group's go-to spot, Blackthorn is uncharted territory and we've never ventured here until recently although we must have walked past by countless times. Â I felt a bit guilty as if I was cheating on Yancy's the very day, May 3rd 2013, but I have to say it was quite an pleasant surprise that I've stumbled upon to this gem.
5/3/13 First encounter - came to Blackthorn unexpectedly on a Friday night while the Giants were playing and they had a promotion with Blue Moon in which every glass you buy, you get a Giants/Blue Moon Tumbler! Â how cool is that?! As a Giants fan, any free Giants gear is a win since they can be quite expensive! Since we popped in on the way home to say hi to a friend, I made a mental note to come back next time. Â
5/7/13 Second encounter - The following Tuesday, my bf and I had dinner around the area so we decided to drop in and catch the rest of the Giants game before we head home. Â I purposely ordered a Blue Moon thinking that I would get a free tumbler. Â I was quite disappointed when the waitress informed us that it's only a promotion they run on Fridays..however the promotion on Tuesdays when the Giants are playing is the raffle of 2 tickets to an upcoming home game. Â WHAT?! Did it just get better?! Â You get a 1 ticket into the raffle with every drink you buy so drink up! Â I'm pretty bad luck when it comes to raffles (I don't think i've ever won anything) so I told myself it's probably gonna be bad seats anyway. Â After the game had ended, they started the draw and announced that the tickets were BOX seats! Â SHUT UP! Â It did just get better!
This is a great neighborhood bar. They have pool tables and I've heard that they have bar trivia at times during the week. They have a better than average whiskey selection, though there is some work needed in that area. The staff I met are all really helpful. This is a much better than average bar in the city.
Review Source:Screw this place. Â They've now decided that they will discriminate against big dogs even if they're well-behaved (and I've brought my dog in here a number of times before with no incident - suddenly, she's no longer welcome). Â In my experience small dogs are just as likely to misbehave.
Luckily Fireside still allows well-behaved dogs. Â It's a better bar anyway.
If you want to play pool, go here. They have two pool tables and on weekdays you can usually win the table for a group. The ambiance is more modern than other bars around the area and they have an awesome outdoor patio with seating and stand-up heaters. A great place for large groups. I recently went with a larger group and the bar happened to be giving out free shots, so that was pretty awesome. Definitely a regular spot for me.
Review Source:Came on a Friday night to try a new place out. The bar had loud techno music playing . Bartender saw me and a friend sit at the bar and then instantly asked us what we wanted to drink. They promptly served us our drink and then followed up with us if we wanted another when we were nearing the bottom of our cups. Everyone at the bar seemed to be having a great time. I'd definitely come back again.
Review Source:I'm waiting for the chance to come here and experience it in all it's glory. As in, I'm waiting to come here where they is a game on TV and watch it with a nice cool beer.
Blackthorn is nice with its leather couches, multiple tables, huge television screens, and more. Additionally, they have a good variety of beers on tap and the prices are pretty good. Not to mention, a pinball machine in the corner, pool tables, and an outside patio. Definitely a place worth visiting.
(Holy crap, I just read what I wrote and sounded like a complete advertisement)
Every time I come here, I forget you can bring your dog..... So...every time I see a dog in here, I'm like WTF a dog in a bar, that is so Awesome.
A great selection of brews on tap, I've been on the IPA hype lately, Lagunitas never lets me down.
They have two pool tables.
Comfy booths for all your booze chuggin friends and a nice outdoor patio.
I used to come here much more frequently when I lived a block away, but its still fun to go back! The staff is super awesome. Joe is great. He even gave me some coconut water with my bloody mary when I was really hungover.
Drinks are fairly cheap, and you can order/bring in food from any of the fantastic restaurants nearby. They even have menus in the bar so that you can call in an order without having to leave. They show all the UFC fights, and it gets super crowded, so get there early. It's great for sporting events too.
Greatest neighborhood bar in my opinion.
Great neighborhood bar that caters to the locals in particular. I love watching Giants and 49ers games here as it is one of the few places in San Francisco where the rule 'locals only' applies. I also love the fact that since they don't have a kitchen, they let you bring in outside food and don't make a stink about it like most places with a similar set-up that I have been to in the past. They have a good amount of beers on tap, make their drinks pretty strong and it's a great place to hang out without having to go outside of my hood.
Review Source:Read my tip!
I walked in here after class, looking for a cold beer.
They have a fully stocked bar, and a bunch of great beers on tap. They have tons of TVs to watch any (US-mainstream) sports. I didn't see any cricket, and it's not soccer season I think, not sure they air tennis here. I don't really follow sports, but there was college basketball, NBA, UFC, and a bunch more.
The bartender Susie? was super attentive, but a bit busy running things on her own. The bathroom is kept clean. There is a billiards table in the back, and a pinball machine. Seating is plentiful, so it's good for groups!
I was drinking a pitcher of boont amber ale on my own (which set me back 17 dollars), and I got hungry. They have small backs of chips, but that's about it. I was advised to bring in my own food from the neighboring restaurants!
I saw a review about bringing dogs in, and here's some clarification when I asked about it:
Handheld dogs are allowed, but much preferred during the day. They prefer dogs be kept at home at night. What happened was, they used to allow dogs, until somebody complained, and so they had to change the rules. So while dogs are technically allowed, they have to be small, and you have to be able to carry it.
Definitely awesome vibes here. I'm sure I'll be back sooner than later! Maybe i'll come back for Monday night trivia, which is free.
FAVORITE place in the city! Â Why??? Read on...
a) DOG FRIENDLY. Â Do you know how nice it feels to be able to bring my little toy poodle, who is more well behaved then most men in this town, into a bar and have her feel welcomed and loved? Â THANK YOU!
b) You can bring whatever food you like into this place. Â Just clean up after yourselves your a-holes! Â Don't leave your pizza boxes and napkins all over the place. Â Respect.
c) Great bartenders. Â Not in your face, but attentive. Â I believe her name is Allison...she made me the best bloody mary I've ever had! Â The girl has a passion, let her show you! Â I just hope you like 'em hot and spicy!
d) Clean bathrooms...a MUST.
e) TONS of TVs. Â Great for Giants, 49ers, and other Bay Area sports, but also great for Saturday college football. Â One Saturday, I wanted to watch 3 or 4 different games, all teams from the East Coast. Â And can you believe...they put alllllll of them on for me, on separate TVs next to each other. Â Fantastic! Â I felt like I was back home, watching all my favorite college teams. Â It was great!
Thank you Blackthorn for being awesome!
Located in the Inner Sunset District in S.F I ended up here on Friday night with my good friend Lily that I've been dying to spend some time with. I always enjoy great company with a friend that loves sports and can down them beers too!!! Â We both had some Boddingtons and if you haven't tasted them then you should. When we arrived there was only a few peeps there but dude, it started to pop pretty darn fast and the atmosphere is laid back and I love being the only Mexicanese there. I don't hate but love to blend in anywhere. I love that they have lots of big flat screens all over along with pool tables as well. Soon after the baseball game they blasted music and the place was packed and popping !!!!!!!!!!
I found my new hang out in the city and Yes I WILL BE BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PROS:
- Monday night trivia. Fun but my very AZN friends and I decided the questions were geared towards white people. Especially the music rounds.
- BYO food
- Tried a really good cider.. should really find out what my friends ordered..
CONS:
- Must get there early on Trivia night! The earliest in our group arrived at 8:45pm for 9pm Trivia and we got stuck at the lone table at the very end of the bar past the pool tables. We had to deal with a) not enough chairs for everyone and b) pool players constantly jabbing their sticks into our faces (though they were polite about it).
Monday night trivia nights are the best! They run a really fun trivia program Monday nights, the host is hilarious and the winner gets bragging rights and a prize. They do standard question rounds, music, pictures, etc.
My favorite thing about this bar is that they are open in the middle of the day. One day my friends and I just wanted to drink at 1pm after lunch and between Mucky Duck and Yancy's they were the only one open during the middle of the day!
They have pool tables in the back and a few booths that can hold large groups. If you ever get hungry, you can duck out and get some shengkee or some pizza.
Karaoke night was HILARIOUS. There were very few good singers... but after a few drinks, it's a party.
There are two pool tables at Blackthorn... which also includes the cult of hardcore regulars that bring their own sticks. Can be a pain trying to get a table.
There's also an outdoor room where folks can smoke and whatnot.
Plenty of tvs. Pretty good spot to watch a baseball or basketball game.
Generally a young crowd. Not my type of bar, but I'll check it out if friends wanna go out to 9th & Irving.
Disclosure: I don't drink. Never have. But I love this bar.
If you are a soccer/football fan like me, you have very few choices in this country (although it is getting better).
Most times you end up in some sports bar where all of the TVs are playing some useless sport (baseball, for example) and the world's greatest sport--the real football, the beautiful game--is relegated to a TV that looks like the size of those TVs on JetBlue.
Not at Blackthorn. I came to watch Bayern Munich lose to, well, Bayern Munich in the Champions league and the game was on every TV. Nice and big, in HD. Droga's face in 60 inches of HD glory. As it should be.
They don't serve food here. Another reason to love the place. You can bring outside food and order a soda. Or a beer. Or whatever your poison is. And in this great state of California, if you order a regular Coke, no weirdo governor like Bloomberg will try to tax you.
I will be back at this place next weekend and every weekend after to watch Spain win the Euros again.
Blackthorn is my favorite bar in the city. It's just so comfortable, I felt at home right away.
They have big tables for groups, it's never tooo crowded (if it's not a game night), and Monday trivia and Tuesday karaoke are great.
Protip: Paxti's pizza next door will deliver to the bar :)
I'd like to give Blackthorn 2.5 stars- if only it were possible.
My boyfriend persuaded me into spending a night out with him and his buddies. They're a great gang and I had a wonderful time.
At some point in the night it was suggested we venture up to Blackthorn. As I'd never been before, I was absolutely game for a new experience.
Blackthorn isn't anything special. It's a bar. It serves drinks. It's got some seating. I was surprised that we could snag a table for 5 at 11:30 p.m. at night with no problem. This shouldn't happen on a Friday night (but I'm certainly not complaining.)
The crowd was quite diverse- which isn't a negative or a positive. I was happy to get out of my Marina comfort zone. That being said, it didn't lend itself to conversing with others- and most groups kept to themselves. (Which, again, isn't a negative or a positive.)
The bartender did lose my friend's debit card when he opened a tab. For a place that wasn't extremely busy- this seemed a little inexcusable. She did end up finding it. Later, the credit card machine wasn't working, and my friend waited FOR-EV-ER to pay his tab. I mean really? Get your sh*t together!
If you check-in at Yelp you get $3 off a pitcher of beer of your choice. This made the men quite happy!
Major Plus of Blackthorn: They've got quite a great mix of music. Where else can you find Bruno Mars, U2, Everclear, and Weezer all in the same place?
I've also been told the pool tables are kinda cool in the back- but we didn't venture too far beyond the front door.
I dont know who Nicole is, and I dont really care.
While Outer Sunset is still WAY cooler than innner sunset, I thought this bar was badass. The bartender was laid back, and made my girl and I some very tasty drinks. The borderline hipster interior was really nice. And you know I love me some billiards. I will be comeing back, and the steaks better be as good as everyone says they are.
And for the record: totally not a dive bar.
Great dive bar.
Went for a quick drink with the roomies, and didn't realize they had awesome karaoke Tuesday nights. Â Started with some 90s favorites, and then soon "I Can Show You the World" was being belted out by a drunk couple.
Date night, girls night, quick drink before you move on....works for everything.
Oh and there's a nice outdoor patio with heat lamps in the back!
The Blackthorn represents the ideal of the best bar ever.
How do I know this?
Because I've been going to the Blackthorn in one form or another for ten years. My original reason? They were the only bar in the 'hood that took credit cards.
But then my appreciation expanded. First, because the folks running the place had true Irish music. Then, under a new owner they cleared out the violent drunks and they had the best trivia, which the N Judah Chronilces kicked ass at.
But now, the bar is even better.More seating. A better barbecue on Mondays before trivia (done honestly btw) and best of all, the bar continues a world class improvement that doesn't make it a "yuppie bar" but makes it a bar EVERYONE loves.
Now, I write the N Judah Chronicles, and  I do not dispense praise for laughs. This bar is well worth the trip to the Inner Funset and more importantly, worth ignoring troll comments about management.
To review:
Steak Night FTW
Trivia Night FTW
Karaoke FTW
and
the Blackthorn FTW
and
Anonymous Trolls can SUCK IT!
Blackthorn is one of only two (Hooters is the other) places to watch UFC. It's a good location for watching UFC, but gets crowded early.
I arrived at 7:45 to watch UFC 126. There were several places to sit, but all seats were taken - standing-room only. They had a pretty good beer selection, and the crowd wasn't the usual TapOut-wearing douches. Standing the entire time was rough. If you're coming here to watch the fights, arrive before 7 p.m.
This is a cool venue to watch the fights, but, again, arrive early.
I'm not really sure when Joe started grilling steaks on monday nights, but bless the man.
My buddy and i just found out this week, and this is pretty much our monday nights from here on out. $10 gets you a hefty cut of steak, potatoes, and some salad, plus a drink ticket (beer for $1? Hell Yes). To recap (1pm-7pm):
happy hour
free pool
free wifi
steaks start around 5
Then trivia starts at 9. Rad.
With the warmer weather making lovely appearances on the regular now, Blackthorn is a wonderful low-key spot to kick back and relax - in the Inner Sunset hood.
Blackthorn is never crowded, it always seem to have good music moving throughout the place, and the people who come here - just seem to be mellow and drama free. Also their photobooth at the back of the space - is clutch.
My favorite aspect of this place - is the outdoor covered patio. A great resource, which even has heaters  - for colder nights.
If you're looking for a new spot to catch up with someone - try Blackthorn. Grab a drink or a big cold glass of water - and let the night-time air lull you into the evening.
Trust.
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