ZAGAT PUBLISHES FIRST SAN FRANCISCO NIGHTLIFE SURVEY SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 15, 2002) – For those who agree with Mr. Saroyan – as well as those who like to know the best places for nightowling – Zagat has just the thing: its first Survey of San Francisco Nightlife. For over a decade, Zagat has set the standard for assessing San Francisco’s restaurants via its diner-based Surveys. Now Zagat has surveyed the city’s high-spirited after-hours scene covering 635 bars, clubs and lounges. The guide is based on ratings and reviews from over 1,200 night owls who spent roughly 133,000 evenings out making the scene over the past year. Using Zagat’s signature 30-point scale, surveyors rated each entry on Overall Appeal, Decor and Service, with estimates for the cost of one drink. The Survey also includes locations and phone numbers, as well as 69 indexes covering the likes of biker bars, bowling alleys, cross-dressing, cyber scenes, meet markets, wine bars and many more. Following its best selling NYC and LA Nightlife Surveys, Zagat has turned its sights on San Francisco’s vibrant after-hours scene. "San Francisco is well-known for its ability to reinvent itself, so despite recent blows to its economy, we know people will want to rediscover the pleasures of an evening out in one of most beautiful cities in the world," said Zagat CEO Tim Zagat. "It is in that spirit that we launch our first San Francisco Nightlife Survey." KEY SURVEY RESULTS: 20 Most Popular Spots: 1. Bix 11. Boom Boom Room 2. Boulevard 12. Grand Café 3. Bimbo’s 365 Club 13. Backflip 4. Café du Nord 14. bacar 5. Betelnut Pejiu Wu 15. Bottom of the Hill 6. The Fillmore 16. El Rio 7. Bubble Lounge 17. Yoshi’s 8. Great American Music Hall 18. Tosca Cafe 9. Farallon 19. Bruno’s 10.AsiaSF 20. Aqua Ten Most Appealing Spots: 1. Parkway Speakeasy                                      6. Ondine 2. Paramount Theater                                        7. Fifth Floor 3. Ritz-Carlton Bar                                            8. Boulevard 4. Lark Creek Inn                                              9. The Fillmore 5. Jardinière                                                       10.Ana Mandara Top Decor:                                                      Top Service: 1. Paramount Theater                                       1. Fifth Floor 2. Ana Mandara                                               2. Ritz-Carlton Bar 3. Fifth Floor                                                    3. Campton Place Best Newcomers: Rated: Unrated bacar Beckett’s Lord of Balls Hemlock Tavern Bas Lush Lounge Bar None Phoenix 2202 Oxygen Bar Pound-SF Top Spots by Category and Special Features: Type Bar-Zam Zam Jazz Club-Yoshi’s Blues Club-Sweetwater Live Music Club –Paramount Theater Dance Club-El Rio Lounge-Ana Mandara Special Appeal: After Work- Pied Piper Bar Latin-La Peña Beautiful People-Jardinière Lesbian-Cafe Flore Coffeehouses-Caffe Proust Meet Markets- Steps of Rome Dives-Club Mallard Mixed Drinks/Cocktails-Fifth Floor Fine Food Too-Ritz-Carlton Bar Quiet Conversation-Ritz-Carlton Bar Frat House-Jupiter Roadhouse- Sweetwater Gay-Cafe Flore Sports Bars- Zeke’s Sports Bar Good Beer Selection- Albatross Pub Theme Bars- Keur Baobab Grown-ups- Ritz-Carlton Bar Wine Bars-bacar Hotel Bars – Ritz-Carlton Bar Wine by the Glass- Lark Creek Inn Irish-Johnny Foley’s Best Bangs for the Buck- The guide serves up 40 places where the combo of high ratings and low average costs encourage lingering (see page 16). Topping the Biggest Bangs for the Buck List is Parkway Speakeasy, followed by Cafe International and Specs. LATEST TRENDS: The elusive "vibe" tied with entertainment/dancing as the most important factor in choosing a place. The favorite drink in SF is wine followed by beer, vodka drinks, martinis and cosmopolitans. Best night of the week to go out in San Francisco is Thursday; in LA it’s Saturday. The worst night out is Monday, no matter which coast you party on. The best hangover cure in SF, LA or NYC, is simply sleep, with water and abstention as bland runners-up. 1.Average Nights Out Per Week - Participants averaged 2.1 evenings out per week and 3 drinks per night out. Only New Yorkers go out more often (2.3.), while in LA and New Orleans night owls spend 2.0 and 1.9 evenings out, respectively. 2.Costs – The average cost of a drink in San Francisco was $5.88 vs. $6.70 in Los Angeles; New York City represents the high-end at $6.92 while revelers in New Orleans pay just $4.99 per drink. 3.What’s Reasonable? – SF, LA & NYC – Asked what SF respondents felt was a "reasonable amount to pay" for a variety of drinks, here’s how SF stacks up: Beer: SF $3.66, LA $3.72, NYC $ $4.54;Glass of wine: SF $5.59, LA $5.57, NYC $6.29; Mixed drink: SF $5.36, LA $5.74, NYC $6.61. 4.Biggest Irritant –In SF, 28% of surveyors cite crowds as the most irritating aspect of being in a bar, followed by noise (23%), service (17%) and smoke (16%). 5.Hottest Nightlife Neighborhood - SoMa, followed by Mission and North Beach as runners-up. About the Survey: Number of Places Surveyed: 635 Gender: Number of Surveyors: 1,214 Male: 47% Total Nights Out per Year: 133,000 Female: 53% Avg. # Nights Out per Week per Surveyor: 2.1 Age: Avg. # Visits per Place per Year: 10.4 20s: 37% Avg. # Surveyors per Place: 81 30s: 35% Avg. # Drinks per Surveyor per Night Out: 3.0 40+: 28% Est. # of Visits per Place: 840 Locally, the Survey was edited by Kurt Wolff, an author and journalist who writes about music, travel and beer. Note: The 2002 Zagat San Francisco Nightlife Survey sells for $11.95 and is available at area bookstores, at www.zagat.com, or from Zagat Survey, 4 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10019 (1-888-371-5440). About Zagat Survey Zagat Survey is the world’s leading provider of consumer survey-based dining, lodging and leisure information. Over 200,000 voters currently participate in Zagat Surveys. Zagat offers content in book form, on the Internet at www.zagat.com, on Palm Pilot OS, on mobile phones and on TV/radio. In addition to restaurant guides available in 70 major markets, Zagat offers surveys covering hotels, resorts, spas, nightclubs, and a host of other entertainment and shopping resources. Zagat Survey is a privately held corporation founded by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979. For more information, visit www.zagat.com. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.