by Kristen C. on Before you go in, know this is the definition of a Hollywood club. That's not always a bad thing, but all things in moderation... My friend's band was playing so my guy friend and I hopped in line Friday at 11pm. Kinda late so we waited a bit. There were random skanks trying to get in (some of them successfully) by cutting in line. But eh, it is what it is. We get to the front of the line and I am grossly underdressed because I wasn't expecting to go. But with gray jeans and a black kinda-nice shirt, I got a wristband and got in free. My poor friend wasn't so lucky. $20 for him. We go up to the 3rd floor where the band is and the decor is sick. It's pretty amazing. There are a lot of good looking people there and also a lot of really not-so-cute people. There's two bars and some couches to hang out on. It was a really good time, actually--but the prices and clientele were definitely the worst. In my small club experience, I'd say Opera is better than Kress. Best part-- I asked for bottom-shelf whiskey and got Jack Daniels. I'm from Michigan and let's be honest-- Jack is top shelf there... oh well, you live you learn! Hollywood, you are fucking crazy. And I continue to dig it.
by Jim Z. on I went to Rouge on New Year's Eve a few years back. I was accompanied by a very tanned blonde and her younger, more attractive sister. Like seemingly everyone else in SF on NYE, we were stuck in limousine traffic jam hell for most of the night. Admittedly, the night's memories have been heavily editted by alcohol (RedRum, cheap limo champagne). It was fire code violation crowded and the Top 40 Hits were deafening. My platonic (?!?) friend Christina fell on her ass twice. Ispent the bulk of the night in the limo chugging bubbly and trying to makeout with the younger sister. Unfortunately, I fell into the friend zone and listened to how much she hated her older sister until early morning. My night ended with me relieving myself into an empty champagne bottle and cursing the new year. I spent all of 15 minutes in Rouge. So, yeah...
by Giovanna Eckardt on We arrived early, and it was not yet crowded. Already, the staff's running around cleaning like mad anytime anything spills. We thought it amusing at first, but later realized how necessary it was to keep the place as clean as possible. As the night wore on and the more crowded it got, the stickier the floor got. Ick. Place got packed. Three or four birthday parties in one place. If you're looking to get some physical abuse, then you're set. You'll get elbowed, butted, pushed around, squished, AND punched. You might need to make special requests on WHERE you want to get abused, but I'm sure the crowd will work with ya. And I wonder about all this talk about this place being sophisticated... If sophisticated is having a corner dedicated to dry humping and other things, then yes - classy. Any redeeming qualities? While the drinks were not strong, the bartenders didn't have you waiting long. Liked the decor, the lights... And enjoyed dancing to mash-ups.
