Are there any good places for black people to party in San Francisco? (Oakland: college, gated)

[livefromdc]

I am going to be in San Francisco to visit in a few weeks. I am looking for a nice place to party that has a diverse crowd (I'm black) and is not even a little ghetto. Where do more of the black professional crowds go for happy hours during the week and to party late night on a Friday night?

[UrbanDecay]

Yes, it is called Oakland.

[jade408]

Oakland has the most diverse crowds pretty much everywhere. There are a few places that are overloaded with hipsters, but generally anywhere is pretty diverse.

If you want a slightly older (late 20s, early 30s), crowd with more black people try Air Lounge or Lukas. Otherwise most places in downtown/lake merritt are fairly evenly mixed most nights. Mua is a good choice as well. Really diverse crowd with a few more black people than other spots. Great food and atmosphere too.

Depending on the music, Layover can be a good choice. Skip Geisha and generally Sweets Ballroom.

Skip SF, clubs are really segregated most of the time.


*** Most of the educated/upscale black people are in the bay are in Oakland. You only hear about the hood ones in the media. There are lots and lots of college educated professional people in the center of the city.

[MathieuL]

not in tenderloin

[BayDude]

Another good spot, if you feel like paying brigde fees is Palo Alto. believe it or not, its a pretty diverse and dcent nightlife scene. You'll see plenty of professional, educated blacks folks (mostly nigerian) over there as well, though not as much as Oakland ofcourse.

[UrbanDecay]

How about we don't use race as a determining factor in who you hang out with? Questions like these don't really help with racial equality.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by UrbanDecay

How about we don't use race as a determining factor in who you hang out with? Questions like these don't really help with racial equality.

There is nothing more annoying than going into a segregated bar/club/whatever where everyone seems to stare at you and wonder why you are here. I feel that way at lots and lots of bars in SF (which is not really what I would expect). Crowds aren't very diverse in SF nightlife. Especially dance clubs. Most cities are worse than the Bay in that regard, but SF proper isn't a diversity utopia, it is really easy to go into a club on Indian night, Chinese night, Mexican night..... and not see more than 1-2 token outsiders.

[lmk1707]

Era Art Bar on Grand in Oakland is a pretty diverse & fun lounge/club. The only bummer is they cordon off about half the space for reserved parties that may or may not show.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by lmk1707

Era Art Bar on Grand in Oakland is a pretty diverse & fun lounge/club. The only bummer is they cordon off about half the space for reserved parties that may or may not show.

I like the space, but the drinks weren't that great. They sounded better on paper. I have a 2 drink max, so I like to have a really awesome drink since I am likely to have only one.

[livefromdc]

Thanks for the responses. I was really hoping to be able to party within San Francisco, but, from what everyone has been saying, it looks I will be heading to Oakland for nightlife.