It’s a Date helps you navigate your love life in the Bay through thoughtfully planned and curated itineraries, field tested by our staff. Next up, challenge your plus-one to a playful round of pingpong at Spin lounge in San Francisco.
What is it about pingpong? Once associated with frat house basements and cheap beer, the game has inspired a cult following in circles from Hollywood to Silicon Valley. Elite athletes reportedly play as part of their training regimen. A few years back, the Wall Street Journal zeroed in on pingpong table sales as a key indicator of the tech economy.
What better way to appreciate what all the fuss is about than to pay a visit to Spin, the worldwide chain of pingpong-focused social clubs co-founded by actress Susan Sarandon?
Cost: $9 and up
Great for: Third dates or mixing it up midweek with your SO
Vibe: Playful, cool
Time: 1-2 hours
Take a Spin
Jimmy Fallon once played Prince at the flagship club in New York’s Flatiron District. But even if you’re not a celebrity, you can afford to take a date to the Spin on Folsom Street, where after 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, you can play for the special rate of just $9 per hour. (The regular rate is $49 per hour Mondays through Thursdays and $59 per hour Fridays and Saturdays.) Through Labor Day, hourly pingpong table rentals are half-price on Mondays. You can book on Spin’s website ahead of time.
After checking in, you’ll be led to your table and equipped with paddles. And unlike playing in your next-door neighbor’s rec room, you don’t have to go running after balls every few seconds. Baskets filled with pingpong balls tableside ensure continuous play, and you’ll get a 10-minute warning before your time is up.
Some say dating is a game, but here’s one instance where it may pay off to be purposefully playful or a bit competitive. Volleying balls back and forth offers the opportunity to pretend like you’re Forrest Gump crushing it on the table tennis court or live out your Break Point-inspired fantasies of sporty stardom. Show off your athletic prowess or indulge in a little smack talk if flirting is more your game.
Or you could choose to get in the zone and save the chit-chat for a drink or meal afterward. Spin’s lounge has a full-service bar and a cafe that slings up intriguing fusion items like birria bao buns ($15) and bahn mi short rib sliders ($15) as well as classic burgers, chicken sandwiches and po'boys.
The price is also right on Tuesdays: Snacks like fries with peppercorn ketchup or sweet potato chips with pepper aioli are $9, and wine and cocktails are under $10. Last call for food orders is 10:30 p.m.
Tiki cocktails headline Spin’s tropically themed summer menu, which includes rum-based staples like mai tais and jungle birds, as well as playfully titled spirit-free mocktails, including the molasses-spiced “Toucan Do It!” ($11) and the “Ibuprofanity” ($11), an alcohol-free answer to the menu’s rum and Campari-based Painkiller, which is made with zero-proof rum, pineapple, coconut and orange.
A Hawaiian dog with pineapple relish, crispy shallots and cilantro avocado crema served with fries stays on budget at $10. The winner could treat the loser to a $12 pineapple upside-down cake topped with coconut gelato to sweeten the sting of defeat.
Menu items can be ordered courtside or from a nearby table or lounge area with couches. The expansive 12,000-square-foot facility, decorated with murals by celebrity artists such as Shepard Fairey, boasts 18 Stiga pingpong tables, two full bars, a private VIP lounge and patio area, with stadium-style seating surrounding some of the pingpong tables.
On a random Tuesday, you won’t likely have to fight for a table, and without the usual buzz of a busy bar, you may actually be able to find your future (table tennis) partner.
Closing time is 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
SPIN
690 Folsom St., SF
wearespin.com