DaDa Bar and Art Gallery in SOMA

13Feb09

Dada

Dada is a small bar that pulls double duty as an art gallery on the border of the FiDi and SOMA, on 2nd Street between Market and Mission. It’s very inconspicuous from the street, but inside is a hidden gem amongst all the yuppie hotspots in the area. I stumbled in here one day after work to catch a few drinks with some friends, and since then I have been frequenting this place on a regular basis.

What made me keep coming back to this place was their Happy Hour, which ran from 5:00-9:00pm! They had a rotating schedule of $3 beers on tap, $5 house wines, and an assortment of $5 martinis. I’m using the past tense because (fast forward through the global economic crisis and current recession) they have cut their Happy Hour to 7:00pm and nixed the $3 beers. They at least still serve you endless popcorn to go with your drinks! If they lost the popcorn, they would have lost this regular patron. Gotta have the popcorn.

But to be fair, the martinis are good and don’t come in tiny glasses like some places. The Happy Hour wines are meh, but everything else is as it should be. It’s a bar, and a good one at that. The bartenders are attentive and friendly, and the patrons are a nice mix of people from FiDi professionals to artsy SOMA folk.

The interior is a bit dark, with a different artist’s work being featured every few weeks. I haven’t quite nailed down the timing of the displays, and I keep forgetting to ask. So each time you come here, it could look totally different from the last.There’s lounge seating at the front and rear, and the wall is lined with a high bench, tables, and stools. It’s set up for good conversation but the place can get crowded after work sometimes.

Inside Dada on a busy evening

When I come here, it’s usually to catch the Happy Hour deals before hopping off to another place to continue the night. They do have DJ’s some days spinning everything from Top 40 to house to hip hop, though the space isn’t set up for gettin’ down. But that didn’t stop me and my friends from getting hammered and acting like it was a club. At 6:00pm. On a Tuesday.

I can’t write about DaDa without talking about the bathroom. There’s two unisex bathrooms but my favorite one is the one on the left, simply because of this hijacked sign: