Press Clips

InStyle Magazine (September 2001)
An unexpectedly hip retreat in Noe Valley,
a neighborhood best known for its babystrollers
and SUV's. Look for an attentive cocktail staff
and multi-culti crowd. Order Cosmos with infused
vodkas (flavors change nightly). Watch the
rotating DJ, who spins in the front window.



CitySearch (January 2001)
Bliss Bar is already a big hit with the "Let's get
dressed up real fancy and go to a bar" type.
The crowd is what you would expect--the same
people found at Sno-Drift or Fuse, but more
relaxed, as this is their home turf here in the
Valley. There's only one bar in the whole space
but the cocktail wait staff bring drinks right to
you, so you can avoid the against-the-bar crunch.




SF Bay Guardian (Best of the Bay 2004)
Best Night of Debauched Loving in Noe Valley
Choked with strollers, schoolmarms, and SUVs, Noe Valley
has evolved into the spawn-centric neighbor of the sexed-up
Castro and Mission hoods. Yet when Bliss Bar took over the
space adjacent to Elisa's Health and Beauty Spa, a whole
world of sensual possibilities opened on upper 24th Street.
Best known for its open-air hot tubs, Elisa's offers the
chance for lovers to soak under the stars in a private room
accommodating up to four guests. Après soak, wind your way
next door to Bliss Bar, where a fireplace, plush couches,
and luscious mango martinis await.




7X7 San Francisco Mag (October 2004)
For those fed up with long bar lines, this Noe Valley establishment
establishment equates true bliss. Let the attentive pulchritudinous
waitstaff tend to the drinks, freeing you up to converse.




Guardian (Dec. 08 - Dec. 14 2004• Vol. 39, No. 10)
Rainy-day bars Where to hibernate over a stiff drink.
By Dave Kim
Bliss Bar, a swanky, Manhattan-meets-Noe Valley lounge with
lots of seating and a pueblo-style fireplace. On weekends Bliss
turns into a meat market for the Seven jeans-wearing crowd,
who come for the stylish digs, lush martinis, and hip-hop DJs.
On a frigid Monday evening, when that crowd was perhaps still
finishing up in the Financial District, a local knitting club
called Chicks with Sticks occupied the concealed back room.
Bartender Deb poured me a mango martini to temper my masculinity,
and I chilled out, devouring rice cracker snacks by the handful.
The moody lighting made banter without romance difficult – plus,
I'm a phenomenal conversationalist – but Tim didn't look any prettier
after a stiff cocktail.

Click here to see updated 2005 article.
from Guardian SF's Feast.




WORLDSBESTBARS.COM
Happening and, yes, blissful spot in the hitherto social desert
of Noe Valley. Regulars are an ultra-stylish mix of locals and
interlopers, yet surprisingly unpretentious, perhaps because the
attentive waitstaff insist on bringing their cocktails to the
tables rather than make them stand in the crush at the bar. And
what fine cocktails! Cosmopolitans are a hit, usually infused
with flavoured vodkas, although you might want to look out for
their Cucumber Martini made with Gin, a whisper of dry vermouth,
and served chilled with a cucumber garnish. Out of this world!
Quirk-wise you will like the DJ who literally spins in the front window.




Drinks by the fire By Karen Solomon
So hip it nearly hurts, the Bliss Bar might be more at home
South of Market, but instead it's moved into the prime real estate
of Noe Valley. Plush booths and crushed velvet accents dominate
the room. Red walls, stylish stools, amazing hanging lamps, and
a private room behind a cage all add to the ultramodern, upscale
appeal.... The fireplace extends the motif a little further. Occupying
an entire corner, marked by faux-metal styling and clean lines, and
powered by candles, it's less for warmth than for show. Still,
there's something incredibly intoxicating about the way the flames
lick and fan in chaotic rhythms. Or maybe that's just the cocktails
talking: house specials such as the mango, cucumber, or coconut martinis
and the 24th Street cosmo will knock you for a loop. Sheer bliss.