Harper & Rye

Fabulous Gin and thyme highball and amazing mezcal/carrot/lime&citrus chile powder cocktail!

Fun bar to hangout with a small group of friends if you are planning to bar hop around Polk Street. The drinks were on the weaker side and slightly watered down, but this was the last bar we came to so we didn’t mind too much. The drinks are also really affordable and top out at around 10 $. The ambiance and crowd definitely skews and appeals to the younger yuppie tech crowd in SF which differs from the divey feel that the rest of the polk street bars embody. They play exclusively EDM music but its a soft enough where you can still hear your friends over all the conversations around you. There’s also a fun pool table if you want to get competitive with your friends! There’s only one though, and the wait is pretty long so get there early if you want a shot to show off your skills.

Ohhhh. .Harper and Rye… I love your space, I love your drinks, but when I step through the doors, I feel as if I have entered a college frat-​house of hipsters. I’m too old for this place.
4.5 stars for the drinks…
Minus 1.5 stars for the crowd

Yes it’s impossibly packed at night with a douche factor way off the charts… but if you just happen to pass by right when they open on a weekday, it might be worth the pop in.
They make alright cocktails plus they have Mannys on tap. I’ve only had Mannys when I’ve been in Seattle so it was a nice surprise to taste it again in the city. Service, despite it being almost empty when they just opened, was nonchalant but got the job done. Didn’t matter since we left before it got unbearable with the crowds where bartender attitude would not fly.
Not enough charm to warrant the long lines and being squashed in like sardines in a can but consider Harper & Rye for a first drink.

This place kinda epitomizes what is happening to Polk street. Where Polk street used to be the go to choice for dive bars, cheap drinks and sf zaniness, it slowly started to become what felt like a spill over of the Marina crowd. Sure the bars were still divey, but the crowd started to get more Bro-​ey, but at least we still had the bars. Slowly, these bars are starting to go away. What used to be one hell of a dive in Red Devil Lounge is now a spacious, modern upstart bar that now is starting to resemble to the new POLK.
I actually do like the venue itself, but yeah, don’t expect too much of the Onesie parties to be rolling through.
Drinks were okay. Standard, non-​standard experimental cocktails and classics.

Lively urban bar with a young weekend crowd.
Harper & Rye doesn’t offer food at all, so my expectations for drinks are naturally a bit higher. The venue features a decent rotation of draught beers and an upbeat vibe — Think college bar with an upscale twist. The mixed drinks are decent as well, but can be hit-​or-​miss when the place gets busy.
Three stars for the drinks, four for the vibe. I’ll come back to try their punch jars!

Really diverse, friendly crowd. Scored free shots upon entry. It does have a pool table despite me accidentally answering no.

Rule #4: A place is it’s vibe.
The vibe here is hot… not cool hot, like Acapulco in the winter hot. Drinks leave much to be desired and the patrons are rejects from the Marina.
… Because people like lists.
1) Space gets congested and hot.
2) Takes forever to order a drink and when they come they taste underwhelming.
3) The crowd is full of yupsters and thirsty dudes.
4) lack of parking nearby
5) I think the waitress kept all of my change.

After dinner, my girlfriends and I wanted another drink. Harper & Rye was close by, so we stopped by for one round. It was Thursday, October 15^th a little after 8:30pm.
My gfs stuck with wine since that’s what we had during dinner. I was in the mood for a cocktail, so I got the Rye & Apple: rye, sidral mundet apple & old fashioned bitters ($ 10). I wouldn’t get that next time as it was sweet and really weak. I was hoping it would be a little stiffer.
The vibe here is definitely not my type of bar. I prefer lax bars and this one was packed with a younger crowd. Being in my mid 30s, I felt too old for this place. But we didn’t have a problem grabbing a table. They have these long 6 tops along the wall and we shared it with a couple before they left.
I guess Harper & Rye might have been fun in my twenties, but in my thirties, I’d prefer a chiller bar. And with stiffer drinks!

The décor is pretty cool, but the mixed drinks weren’t the best. Had a variety of people comment that their margaritas were poor. No sure what happened as I assume they come from a mix! They had a few interesting beers, the nut ale was pretty good so maybe stick to beer. Also, head to the back for a pool table. If you can snag it, that would be a good time here.

I love the vibe here. It’s always pretty packed but friendly people, great cocktails and a nice selection of wine.
There’s a mixture of couches, high top tables, seats by the bar or smaller table areas up on the balcony.
Hipster is the right word for this place. It is great to come here before or after dinner at Co Nam (next door) :)

I don’t get the negative reviews. Some serious haters on this site. Forget them. Why do we love this bar?
Fresh squeezed grapefruit, class act bartenders that treat all of my friends with kindness and respect. They LOVE dogs and go out of their way to make sure we are always taken care of. Jake and Robin really made our labor day bash pretty memorable. Thank you — what fun!

This place gets packed — why? Because it’s fun! They make a great old fashioned drink also — one of my favorite spots to hang on the weekend. The pool table in the back is also super fun for $ 1. It gets a bit packed, so make sure to head over before 11PM.
Great chill date spot or if you want to just kick it back with friends.

The ambiance and full room of dashingly good looking people will draw you in. The bar was very crowded but had a modern and upscale feel to it that you normally won’t find in many nearby bars.
Despite the crowds, we had no problem grabbing the attention of a bartender. After asking for two of the strongest shots he had, we were instant friends with him. Hint: even though you beg and plead, the bartenders won’t take full shots with you because they’re so friendly and get so many offers to– they might get *drunk* on the job. Rough life.
There’s a great energy in this bar and the alcohol selection is unlike any other. Highly suggest going here.

The bar looks amazing but one of the bartender’s attitude was awful!
Yesterday I went with my friends to the bar and ordered a drink. The bartender ask me, apparently, if I want to leave the tab open or not, I couldn’t hear him because it was too loud. So he just turn his back to me, angry, gave me the bill, and kinda pushed the drink on the table, throwing napkins on the floor next to me. No smile, just an angry looking face.
I don’t understand where did this attitude come from. It was not busy there.
If you have a shitty day– don’t show it to the costumers, or don’t go to work!

Really nice place to meet friends or colleagues after work. The atmosphere is really relaxed and the crowd is most mid-​to-​late 20’s. It also gets really busy on the weekends… so get ready to mingle.
This venue used to once ago be a grungy club/​concert venue. But they’ve closed down and this rebuild of a café is far better and inviting.

Had a great time at Harper & Rye this past weekend, and it was a bit unexpected from the usual Polk experience that we all say we hate but keep coming back to.
Incredibly crowded with a line outside 20 deep after 11pm. The drinks were well-​made though, and a step above the typical non crafty bar cocktail. I especially enjoyed my drink off the hooker. Or I especially enjoyed my drink, Off the Hooker. Commas matter.

Been to this place twice now and had good experiences both times. Went there last night (Tuesday night) since I had two friends in town who had never been to SF and wanted to show them a good time. This place was BUMPIN around 11 when we went.
I got the gin and thyme specialty drink, which was okay but honestly nothing special. I was expecting a bit more flavor. The vibe was great though and the bartenders were super nice so can’t complain too much.
I’ll definitely be back again.

Love this Polk St bar. Every time I walk around this area I find a new spot and Harper & Rye is a gem. The interior décor is about what you’d expect from a hip SF bar and there’s also a pretty awesome upstairs area to hang out. The bar liquor selection is not bad. You don’t see some of the better known bottles on the shelf like Maker’s Mark or Bulleit and I definitely feel if they were going for a higher-​end feel maybe they should have had at least the Maker’s 46 and the Bulleit 10, but I also do like to see a bar pushing Buffalo Trace as it seems that’s how you move up in the world of whiskey bars.
Service on a Saturday afternoon was pretty good (they make a fairly tasty Sazerac). A lot of friendly patrons around as well so that’s definitely a plus.
I would definitely come back here and you should too!

For a Thursday night, this was an excellent post dinner drink spot.
Mind you– I didn’t have to work the next day but this spot was really cool.
I’m engaged– but if you’re a single girl this place had A LOT of guys milling about– the ratio was probably 75% dudes 25% ladies.
The décor is rustic and kind of hipster but I don’t think it’s reaching too hard on Polk St, It seemed like a genuine place that prided itself in making good drinks.
I wouldn’t want to go there on the weekends, as I am sure it is a MUCH different scene.
They have cool seating upstairs over looking the bar area which is really nice and private so you could have a nice little conversation.
This may be a perfect first date –post dinner spot to wind down the night.
Drink prices were pretty on par for the area, and the bartenders were really great and made me a delicious Paloma.