by camilla B. on I had my wedding here this past month and i would absolutely NOT recommend any bride to have her big day here. here's why: my husband and i chose bimbo's as our wedding venue not only because it's an amazing space, but because we really appreciated the fact that it is a family business and a san francisco legendary venue. we naively expected personal, caring service from its staff. we did not receive this. planning my wedding here was beyond difficult. the number of restrictions are through the roof: no confetti, no rose petals, no candles, no tape on the walls, no tape on the floors, i could go on and on. these guys won't give you a break on anything. considering the amount of money we paid to hold our event here, they wouldn't budge on a thing. in addition to the restrictions, working with Ashli and Steve, their event and production managers was a nightmare. Ashli rarely returned phone calls or emails. when i was able to catch her on the phone, she frequently was unable to answer simple questions because she was on her way to "pick up her kids from school". in general, she is gruff and impolite. when i call someone, i like them to ask "how are you?" before they launch into a series of rapid-fire questions. but that's just me. now, on to steve. ah, delightful steve. this guy needs some major help in people skills. almost every single vendor we hired for our event had a negative experience with steve. he yelled at our photographers and was rude to our coordinators. he was a pain to work with throughout the planning process, complaining and moaning constantly. we came in the day before to have a rehearsal and he was completely unprepared with any of the items i specifically requested be available. instead, he ran around like a chicken with his head cut off saying things like, "this isn't my responsibility" and "I don't know where anything is". wonderful things to hear the day before your wedding. long story short (too late, i know), we ended up having the wedding of our dreams despite the difficulties we had with bimbo's staff. (i won't even get started on the final bill and how they milked us for every penny in the shadiest way possible.) if you are someone who appreciates personal service and care, i would not recommend you hold your wedding or any other event here. if you do, make sure to do your research, ask a million questions, and be prepared for bottom barrel customer service. these guys know they have an amazing space and have decided to do the least amount of work possible, because they know they can bank on the space itself being cool. we had such amazing vendors in all other areas of our wedding, it was really sad that bimbo's became such a disappointment to us. you want to look back on your wedding with only the fondest of memories and the venue is a huge part of those memories. if you're thinking of having your wedding here, i would strongly urge you to look elsewhere. find a place with staff that care about you as a couple and genuinely are interested in you having the best experience possible. you're not going to find that at bimbo's.
by Jerrod Schmits on This place was a surprise, surprise and surprise. First of all we had no idea about this place so there was no expectations. Saturday night at 10:30PM, we didn't even know where the door was.. how silly since the door is so La Grande as the starbucks paper cup but all wooden. Guarded by M.I.B. ish built but nice bouncer. We asked him, "Is this the Goldbar?". 'Yes...' There was no line but he said private party inside until 11:30PM so come back then. ok.... After a drink at Angel's share, we came back around 1 ish and the rope opened no problemo and we walked right in. It was dark but wowza it was packed and wowza again, the decor~~ so golden but I loved the chandeliers the most. It shined like milky moon shine upon ices and shimmering sequin mermaid dress of a glamorous red carpet night. The thousand golden skulls on the wall, gold chain curtains and the dutch style portraits series on the wall looking right at you. I love love it all. The crowds were the most obnoxiously HAPPY but unpretentious people I've ever seen in my life. The attractiveness level was average and guys were quite aggressive but, no cat-fighting girls. Witnessed some happily drunken falls without injuring anyone. LOL The music was also very good for dancing. Not house but more chart topping and you know them. But most of all, GoldBar gave me a major crush swoon factor on ------ Drinks. I am talking about cocktails. Don't drink your regulars.. order cocktails from the menu ($15). Most delicious, well made and shockingly pleasing. The best cocktails I've had so far in NYC - sorry Pegu, though I still love you. Bartender Remy and Tim designed the cocktail menus. Remy is one cool guy with a great humor - do not use sign language with him - he will give you some lessons how it should be done at the bar. The execution at the bar is really well managed - not rushed keeping everyone attended and happy. We had Lavender kiss Paradiso Gold rush Kaffir skye R.P.G and I forgot......what do you expect after all these drinks? All were amazing as we told Remy that and they were flattered and gave us a free cocktail round. Gosh.... My favorite was Kaffir Skye which had the kaffir leaves infused in and the chilly kick was quite a knock out for me. Remy's recommendation was Paradiso which was literally the Paradiso. We are coming back.... b/c it is too much fun to miss out.
by Frederic Stufflebean on Pretty cool place, bars and lounge area have a good crowd- rooms are small but chic. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.
