Cafe Du Nord

We attended Eivør's concert on a Friday night, and luckily it wasn't raining; otherwise, we would have been stuck outside in the wet weather. I highly recommend arriving early--thanks to previous reviews, we got there at 6:15 PM for the 8 PM show, and there was already a line. The doors opened promptly at 7 PM.The venue is conveniently located off Market Street, so instead of driving, we opted for a car service. Upon entering, I was surprised to find that there were no seating areas except for the ADA section. I quickly made my way to the left side where we could see the stage, away from the crowd. Our standing area was spacious enough for 4-5 people, which was great since my mom could lean against the railing.As the club filled up, it got quite packed--so much so that someone even fainted! But the performers were incredible. Eivør was absolutely amazing, giving me chills even without her band. I'm glad we got there early since I've never stood for such a long time at a concert before.I noticed some parents brought their kids, who had trouble seeing over the adults. The bathrooms were clean, and the staff were very friendly. Would I come back? Absolutely!

Fun venue in a basement of a building! There is a bar to the right of the stairs down and bathrooms in the back. I'd recommend muni or taking a bus over as parking can be tough in the area and catching a bite before or after a show. Like many have said unless you're tall, it's pretty hard to see past the first few rows so get here early! Overall a great ambiance and we really enjoyed the show we attended here! Looking forward to my next show here.

I've been to a few concerts here and I always love it. Possibly one of my favorite concert venues in SF. I always feel very safe here and it is a very intimate setting. Not a single bad seat in the place. The shows run on time and efficiently. The bar tenders are very nice. The "preferred" viewing is an elevated balcony to the right of the stage, if you show up early/on time you can typically stand front row - but if you prefer to be away from the crowds it is worth it. They have pizza available for purchase as well which makes this venue cooler in my opinion. Overall a great venue for an intimate concert or a budding artist, I'm always excited when an artist I like is in town playing at this venue.

This is one of my favorite music venues in the city! The tickets are always fairly priced, as are the drinks. They serve pizza which is just okay so I say eat before you arrive. The acoustics however are great! Definitely recommend catching a show here if you can.

For many years now, CAFE DU NORD has been one of the coolest spots in San Franciso to catch a live show. Formerly a popular underground rock club (literally underground -- you walk down a flight of stairs to enter) that hosted local punk and indie bands before it shuttered in January, 2014, the music venue has undergone a couple of transitions to cocktail bar & restaurant, then reverting back to a music hall. With the changes, the basement space of the Swedish American Hall has undergone major remodelings, transitioning the subterranean area into a completely different look that appears almost unrecognizable from its earlier days.Wow! DU NORD replaced its old orange & yellow walls and dark wooden crown moldings & trims with rich burgundy tufted leather booth seating, vibrantly red stools, and colorful tiling, creating a swanky lounge aesthetic enhanced by colorful lighting. The new owners have definitely created a more sophisticated live music experience.CAFE DU NORD has also opened its doors to patrons age 6 years old and up to some shows and now offers pizza to order at the bar.The staff is professional and polite in conduct.The best concerts are held at small auditoriums, in my opinion. CAFE DU NORD is one of THE BEST in San Francisco, providing one of the most intimate settings for performances. Tip: Dress lightly - the temperature quickly rises from a hyped crowd.

The staff were all great, my issue is with the layout of the venue. It's very long and narrow, so unless you get there early you're probably not going to be able to see. There are a few seats on the sides but you need to be there early to snag those. The venue is downstairs, so it's in a basement and it gets HOT. Most venues get hot but this was different, there weren't fans or anything. I didn't get anything from the bar, and they have free water which was nice. The bathrooms are gender neutral, there's six bathrooms and a shared sink area in the middle, when I went two were out of order. The sound wasn't great and it was so loud. I had earplugs and it was still super loud in my opinion. I'm glad I went but I'm going to avoid this venue in the future. I also prefer venues that are near a BART station and this one isn't unfortunately. It wasn't a bad venue - it just wasn't for me.

We saw Christopher here this past weekend. A guy from Denmark who's band made it to the US! whoo. Great location. Easy enough to get in. Dress light because it gets HOT. It was crowded but still space in the back if you don't care to squeeze to the front. I'm too old for that now. I thought I was pretty tall but dang these Europeans! They're giants. lol There's seats lining the walls, so if you come early enough, I guess you can snag those.Can't speak on the bar since my friend grabbed the drinks but drinks were stiff. Sound was great. Getting out wasn't too bad also.

Great venue to see bands very intimately in what is the Swedish American hall. Mostly standing room with few booths and one table or so on left hand side. Was a former a Speakeasy. Staff are great. They have like pizza and some other smaller food options. Only drawback is tickets are through everyone's favorite friend : Ticketmaster. So for a small venue and say $25 tickets there's the customary $8-10 surcharge.

Went here for Matt Hansen's concert. Loved the place!! We had a great night. It is a smaller & more intimate venue but I loved that! Great spot close to restaurants nearby.

People are right--it's not the biggest space but it does have personality. We attended a private event there last night and were impressed by how well the space is managed. From the doorperson to the bartenders and waitstaff, everyone was accommodating. For those that are wondering, the single stall unisex bathrooms were clean as a whistle. There were about 80 of us there and it felt manageable. I think anything over 200 people might begin to feel a bit cramped?? They list their maximum capacity at 320 standing but much less for theater or classroom style set-ups.Their tech specs are pretty impressive. The sound was very good and they are capable of showing film. There's also a Green Room and a full kitchen.It's an iconic part of SF history with a cool list of past performers.