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Persona

Persona

Name: Persona
Address: 685 Sutter St, SF, CA, US
Telephone: (415) 400-4598

685 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Persona is a downstairs cocktail bar in Lower Nob Hill, a short walk from Union Square and the Tenderloin edges. Entry is through a street-level doorway and down a fairly steep staircase into a low, windowless room with neon accents, mirrors and mostly dark finishes. The space is larger than it looks from outside, with a long bar, clusters of booths, couches and a few more open areas that can handle bigger groups.

Lighting is dim, sound leans loud when music is going, and cell service can be spotty because it is below ground. The crowd tends to skew 20s and 30s, and it is a 21+ venue. Expect cocktail bar pricing and hours that run late, typically until around 2 am.

Drinks are fairly elaborate, with a lot of attention on presentation and flavored infusions rather than simple well pours. There is regular programming built around music. Weeknights include things like the Dirty Works Jazz Jam, a Monday night session led by bassist Kyle Finley that turns the room into a working jam rather than background lounge music, and Magic School Busk on Wednesdays at 8 pm, which runs through live funk, soul, Latin, Afro and related grooves for a few hours. Weekends and some weeknights often lean on DJs playing similar styles, along with house, throwbacks and other danceable sets.

Persona operates in the space that used to be the Cellar and reopened in 2021 after a full redesign. The current version sticks to a moody, theatrical look, with metallic details and neon touches that reference the old erotic cinemas that once lined this part of Sutter Street. For anyone headed to a specific event, it functions as a dark, enclosed basement room with plenty of seating and a built in sound system, more a nightlife spot than a sit down restaurant.