This venerable Richmond District establishment - thirty seven years old last October - is showing some wear, but reflects the glory that was 1959. Part faux South Seas, with rattan wallpaper; part faux Far East, with geisha motifs; part U.S. of A. with concrete block walls, "WouldYou Believe?" gives off the cozy dank of a neighborhood bar. The longtime owner decried to us the eventual extinction of bars, citing all the drunk driving hoopla that apparently drives honest alcholics to coffee houses. The closing of the "Red Lion" across the street boosted his business, but the folding of old lesbian standby "Peg's Place" a block away didn't aid "Would you Believe?" by our trained eye. In Woodenheimer's opinion, the best dive bars carry the smell of antiseptic spray used in bowling alley shoes, and WYB did not disappoint.
Entertainment available at WYB includes ESPN on the one TV, a smallish pooltable, argument about how rent control is ruining San Francisco, and passing traffic on busy Geary Boulevard.
Bonus points awarded to anyone who can find the hidden seahorse.
Flynn gives it two jiggers.
Flynn Facts:
Prices: shmancy microbrews = $2.75/bottle
Beers on tap:
Bartender:
Juke Box: Standard CD Box with Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Mickey Gilley, and Annie Lennox
Features: Sexist cartoon coaster napkins, concrete/pebble floor, clock stolen from a 3rd grade classroom, beautiful reflective back bar, sagging plywood ceiling, "colorful" regular clientele (though not as colorful as you might find at Tippy's down the block, so we're told)
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