Salsa - Bay Area

About

NOTE: This page is a daughter page of: Dance

Covid Warning: Many of these events closed due to covid and never opened again. I'm in the process of updating the list over 2022 but it will take time

This page contains resources I collect on the topic of salsa / Latin dancing the bay area (all around San Francisco bay) - particularly around SF (where I live) and silicon valley (where I work).

Websites

• Salsa by the Bay - appears to be the best resource out there for listing salsa [events] and [venues].

... keep an eye out for: Sabrosa Thursdays.

SF Dance Timetable

Here are some good places to try in SF for each day of the week:

• Mondays: .......... Used to be Neck of the Woods, but I think they stopped Salsa there.
• Tuesday: ........... I don't know anywhere since Bissap Baobab in the city closed... let me know!
• Wednesday: ..... I don't know anywhere since Bissap Baobab in the city closed... let me know!
• Thursday: ........ With bar fluxus closed down... I don't know.
• Friday: .............. Cigar Bar (trendy crowded bar in Financial District, but feels a bit seedy)
• Saturday: .......... The Ramp (afternoon 5-8) ... Cigar Bar (as above but with salsa lesson 8:30pm)
• Sunday: ............ HUE Lounge & Nightclub (hot bachata nights in Financial District, but a smaller room for salsa at the front)

Salsa Venues in the Bay

Name	Location	Evaluation / Times
SAN FRANCISCO My home from 2018-onwards (with a little Hawaii in over the pandamic)
Cigar Bar
Cigar Bar ***--	850 Montgomery St San Francisco, Financial District	Evaluation: Very trendy place, with a bar area one side, then cross a little courtyard (a short crossing but even if you run across your hair will smell like cigar smoke for days FYI) and you'll find a very crowded dance floor. I find it's a bit too crowded honestly, but it's a popular place for people to dance and the music is decent - often with a live band. They also used to have salsa classes every Saturday night beginning at 8:30pm for ~$12 (less if you make a beer purchase). After the pandemic I feel like the energy changed - not quite as fun, fewer good dancers, more questionable guys waiting around the edges for the handful of women there. They also increased the entrance fee to $25, but maybe I'll give it a second chance soon just to help support live music. Open: Friday and Saturdays for salsa
Space 550 or Club Fuego
Space 550 or Club Fuego ****-	550 Barneveld Ave San Francisco (near Bernal Heights)	Evaluation: Massive venue with a huge salsa floor and fairly big bachata area too. Surprisingly crowded for such a large space. Good live latin bands sometimes... who play very long songs. Is $20 if you book on eventbright, and includes a lesson if you arrive early enough (8pm), but the main dance crowd arrives later. Open: Live salsa band every Saturday night, and apparently Friday night too.
The Ramp
The Ramp ***--	855 Terry A Francois Blvd San Francisco, Mission Bay	Evaluation: Fairly chill and crowded restaurant / bar where they have a live band and you can dance beside the water. Some professional dancers might no like the fact the floor is outdoors concrete and sloped in places, but hey - some people will just appreciate the fact it's fun to dance anyplace where you can see the water. The band is pretty good. The venue itself isn't the cheapest, but you pay for a great view. It's $10 after 4pm to get in (and you have to be over 21). Open: Saturdays 5-8
SILICON VALLEY (SAN JOSE, MOUNTAIN VIEW) The only place(s) I like in the San Jose (Also called Man Jose) and Mountain View area
Alberto's (salsa studio & ultra lounge)
Alberto's (salsa studio & ultra lounge) *****	736 W Dana St Mountain View	Evaluation: I have years of amazing memories at this place. Pantea (the instructor) is the bomb! Open: tues & thurs: beginner:7 int:8, social:9:30 ... friday "hot salsa": beg:8, int: 9, social: 10

Favorite Places

Albertos

Alberto's nightclub is my favorite place to Salsa! I've been going for four years now - almost always on Thursdays salsa night - and most of my best friends I met there. It's a really lovely group of people. They have a schedule as follows:

• Mondays: Tango / Salsa on 2 (never been)
• Tuesday: Salsa (less crowded generally)
• Wednesday: Batchata (sexier dance)
• Thursday: Salsa (bit crowded, finally thins out towards midnight, so I stay late!)
• Friday: Salsa (less crowded, but varies)
• Saturday: Espanol rock (very hispanic crowd with more banda dancing)
• Sunday: Tango (too pretentious a dance for me!)

• Cost: $10 most nights I believe (definitely for Thursday)

Since Thursday is the day I know best, I have this advice for new dancers! Show up early to the introduction (7pm), the teacher, Pantea, is a heap of fun and she'll teach the basics. Then it goes into a beginner lesson, then an intermediate lesson where you'll learn a little routine. These are usually really great routines! All these sessions you have the option to "rotate" which I recommend. Basically the girls stand in a big circle, and the guys rotate clockwise every few minutes... this is good practice to help lead or follow with people of different skill, styles and heights!

Around 10pm, free dancing starts. This is intimidating for new people, because all the good dancers suddenly show up, but if you stick around and actually chat to people (it's loud but possible) and are friendly you'll find someone to help teach you. There are almost always more men than women, so for women it's possible to find a few good leads. Most of the guys there are a bit selfish in terms of only wanted to dance with the girls who are most attractive or best at dancing, and will stay with the same girl many songs. I'm not a huge fan of that, I like to dance with everyone, but if you do get *rejected* when asking for a dance don't take it personally - some people really do only want to dance with better dancers so they can get better. Just hunt around for nice people who enjoy teaching... like me ! :)

Maps

A very old map of salsa venues by "salsabythebay.com" (not to scale and outdated - some of these places have closed)

Old Venues (mostly closed)

Name	Location	Evaluation / Times
Bar Fluxus **CLOSED**
Bar Fluxus **CLOSED** ****-	18 Harlan Pl San Francisco, Financial District	Evaluation: Small place with amazing live band on Tuesdays. Open: Every Thursday for "Latin Vibe Tuesday, starts 9pm - $10... but starts empty - the the band starts more like 9:30 and it's crowded by 10. Please check that on their calendar though... pre-pandemic it was Tuesday evenings and sometimes they have special events that replace salsa.
Neck of the Woods **COMEDY ONLY NOW**
Neck of the Woods **COMEDY ONLY NOW** *****	406 Clement St San Francisco, Inner Richmond	Evaluation: Salsa Mondays with great atmosphere, and actually has a little bit of space to dance. Open: Was every Monday for salsa. 7pm-8:30pm - Beginner Lessons, 8:30pm-9:30pm - Intermediate Lessons, 9:30pm-2am - Open Dancing. $20 for Lessons, $10 Afterwards..... I think after the pandemic they just do comedy... no more salsa.
HUE Lounge & Nightclub ** CLOSED OVER PANDEMIC **
HUE Lounge & Nightclub ** CLOSED OVER PANDEMIC ** ***--	447 Broadway San Francisco, Financial District	Evaluation: Fairly large fancy nightclub that gets packed on Sundays, and mostly is a big bachata room at the back. The salsa room is at the front and actually doesn't have that many people - most people go for "bachata". Open: Every Sunday for Hot Batchata Nights, but a small salsa room too. 8:00pm - 2:00am - $10 for social, $20 for lesson & social.
Gordon Biersch **CLOSED**
Gordon Biersch **CLOSED** ****-	33 E San Fernando St San Jose	Evaluation: Lovely little crowd.... during winter they put over a cover, but otherwise it's an outside area. Girls may find it hard to dance on account of its on a brick surface, so you may not want to wear heels. Open: Closed now, but I think it's seasonal, so check the website.
Cheryl Burke Dance / Mountain View **CLOSED**
Cheryl Burke Dance / Mountain View **CLOSED** **---	260 S. California Ave Palo Alto	Evaluation: Is actually not really for Salsa! They mostly do swing, but some night are latin ballroom I believe. Nice venue though - three dance floors, so often different stuff playing each dance floor. Very well lit and really designed for learning. Open: Mon-Thu 11a–10:30p, Fri: 11a–1:30a, Sat: 10:30a–1a, Sun: 3–11p
Roccapulco **CLOSED**
Roccapulco **CLOSED** HEARD BAD THINGS	3140 Mission St San Francisco	Evaluation: Haven't been, but I do know it's a "superclub", so probably gets crowded some nights. Open: unknown
Cafe Cocomos **CLOSED**
Cafe Cocomos **CLOSED** ***--	650 Indiana Street San Francisco	Evaluation: Big venue with small bar and area upstairs to watch. Dance floor at bottom is pretty big and the live bands are pretty darn good too. Covers a little expensive I think ($20) but it's become the main place to go in the city I've heard. Open: Every night... salsa: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.... Monday = tango, Wednesday = bachata.
Avery Lounge **CLOSED**
Avery Lounge **CLOSED** ***--	399 S 1st St San Jose	Evaluation: Not really that much salsa, just a generic dance place, crowded. Was once called Agenda. Open: unknown
Bissap Baobab **CLOSED**
Bissap Baobab **CLOSED** ****-	3372 19th Street San Francisco, Mission District	Evaluation: Was crowded, but lots of fun! Incredible music... went once when it wasn't salsa, but amazing African beats. Open: Every Wednesday for salsa - 10:30pm - 1:45am and only $5. Their calendar is disorganized but it looks like they do Thursdays (most weeks) too. Rumor is it closed mid 2019 because the owner got in trouble. I don't know the details, but it was a sad loss.

Links

For information about Salsa dancing check out my dancing pages:

• AndrewNoske.com - All About Dance - links to several docs I wrote, including:
• Dancing_Tips_For_Beginners.pdf - wrote back during my PhD... be warned, it's LONG!

• Albertos website... official website for Albertos.