Karaoke in this City
Do you love karaoke? Well, I love to karaoke (I’m half Korean so it’s kind of in my blood) and I was asked by some friends over the weekend, where are some great places to sing?
Here is my list of places to go for karaoke. So now, grab so friends and sing your heart out!
YamaSho
The scoop: Open til 2:00 a.m., YamaSho is the best place in town for karaoke in private rooms. It’s a little pricey but well worth it. Great song selections and of course, they’ve got tambourines! They also have great happy hour specials.
How it works: Make reservations for your private karaoke room in advance.
Alcohol/Food: You can call from your karaoke room to order food (Japanese) and drinks and have it delivered to you.
Location: 1161 Post St (between Van Ness and Polk), San Francisco, CA 94109
Contact: (415) 346-2222
Pandora
The scoop: Pandora has both a live karaoke stage and themed private rooms. They feature SuperMaster, the newest state of the art touch screen karaoke system with over 100,000 songs that include the newest hits in the music world. Their selection includes songs in English, Cantonese-Chinese, Mandarin-Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Thai, and more.
How it works: Karaoke in themed private rooms, including SF Giants and Hello Kitty-themed rooms. Make reservations in advance for private rooms. There is also a main stage in the lounge area for karaoke as well.
Alcohol/Food: Drinks can be ordered and delivered to your private room. Food available to order from Ahn Sushi & Soju (the restaurant above Pandora).
Location: 177 Eddy St (between Mason and Taylor), San Francisco, CA 94102
Contact: (415) 359-1888
Playground
The scoop: Located in Japantown, this place is your one-stop shop for drinks, food and karaoke. It has a full bar and restaurant downstairs serving up great Korean food and a handful of small private karaoke rooms upstairs with full food and drink service.
How it works: Call ahead to book your karaoke room since they only have about five or six small rooms. It’s a little pricey as there is a per hour fee for the room and a food and beverage minimum per person as well.
Alcohol/Food: Full menu of Korean food (try the chicken wings) and drinks (go for the soju) that you can order from your karaoke room and have delivered.
Location: 1705 Buchanan St., (between Post and Sutter), San Francisco, CA 94115
Contact: (415) 929-1471
Encore
The scoop: Dive bar with a lively, mixed crowd at this live stage only karaoke bar. There’s plenty of space to dance along to your favorite karaoke songs too.
How it works: Song list binders are scattered throughout the place. Fill out a song request form and submit it to the DJs behind the stage (Tipping helps!). Then wait for your song to start and then get your butt up on stage!
Alcohol/Food: No food served. Full cash-only bar.
Location: 1550 California St (@Polk), San Francisco, CA 94109
Contact: (415) 775-0442
The Mint
The scoop: Fun karaoke bar on Market St. There are camera’s that capture all the karaoke performances and streams them at the sushi bar next door. They also have great happy hour deals
How it works: Live karaoke on stage. Fill out your song request (song list binders are on the tables) and submit your request to the DJ. Beware, the DJs at the Mint can be divas.
Alcohol/Food: Full cash-only bar and no food. Drinks are cheap. You can grab a bite either before or after singing at the sushi bar next door.
Location: 1942 Market St. (between Laguna St & Guerrero St) , San Francisco, CA 94102
Contact: (415) 626-4726
Silver Clouds
The scoop: Located in the Marina, Silver Clouds has a live stage for karaoke and a recently renovated outdoor patio. Also a popular place to watch football and they serve brunch too.
How it works: Same as the other live stage karaoke bars. Song selection is not the most current but you’ll be sure to find your classic karaoke favorites. Crowd can be a little hit or miss sometimes too.
Alcohol/Food: Beware of the weak drinks. They do have food though.
Location: 1994 Lombard St. (@Buchanan), San Francisco, CA 94123
Contact: (415) 922-1977
