You might imagine that San Francisco’s most-complained-about bar is a raucous venue with club nights that thunder past 2 a.m.
But the reality couldn’t be further from the truth at Biergarten, where the party stops at 9 p.m. and bands rarely play.
Still, the outdoor Hayes Valley bar has garnered 45 noise complaints so far this year: That’s the same number of 311 calls generated by DJs Fred Again and Skrillex when they exploded into the Civic Center in front of 25,000 ravers.
Biergarten may not have thumping subwoofers or lasers visible from space — but it does have one very cranky neighbor.
Between January and the end of August, just one person levied 38 of the 45 noise complaints against the outdoor beer hall, according to the San Francisco Entertainment Commission. That’s roughly 1.2 furious entries per week on the 311 app.
“Please remind those German drunks that they do NOT own the neighborhood,” one complaint lodged against Biergarten reads.
“Even with earplugs I can hear that pounding pounding pounding,” reads another.
“This is CRIMINAL!!!!! DO SOMETHING for GOd SAKE!!!!!!!!”
“German,” “drunk,” and “constant” are some of the most-used words in complaints filed about the bar.
Yet inspectors have never found Biergarten out of compliance and have in fact “deprioritized” the bar — meaning they won’t visit again unless complaints persist for another six months — according to the Entertainment Commission.
‘You live in a city’
“I get it,” said Sven Wiederholt, Biergarten’s manager. “I understand that somebody’s being annoyed and their life is being fucked with. But there are other people living here. You live in a city.”
“My view is, if you move to Hayes Valley, you should be prepared for the noise,” said Lawrence Remstedt, a Biergarten regular. “I don’t think there are enough outdoor venues like this in San Francisco.”
Ace Elliot, a nearby resident, said she was baffled by the complaints, “especially because I’m no stranger to 311s.”
“Sure, I can hear their music sometimes on a Saturday at 2 p.m.,” she said. “But it’s like a distant noise.”
No other resident The Standard spoke to had any complaints about Biergarten, and the Entertainment Commission declined to share the identity of the mystery crusader.
Wiederholt doesn’t know who the complainer is and said he’s only ever had one in-person gripe, from a neighbor who raised their concerns politely.
Fabrizio Wiest, the beer hall’s thick-accented German owner, said he modeled Biergarten after similar establishments in Munich.
The open-air setting and long tables encourage impromptu socializing, he said. Kids can play in the nearby park. Dogs are welcome, too, and customers are free to bring their own food.
“Sometimes it might be too loud,” he said. “But I don’t want to bother anybody. I want to bring life to Hayes Valley.”
The beer garden, Wiest said, is a “place where people can come together in harmony.” Indeed, regulars were quick to gush about the bar’s offerings: $7 pretzels, $12 bratwurst, and $11 half liters of Hofbräu Original.
“I love Biergarten so much — it’s an easy spot,” said Isabela Banson, who recently hosted a birthday party there. “The beer’s good, the wine’s good, and everybody’s nice.”
The Infatuation once named Biergarten one of the city’s best day drinking spots, and declared that yes, the lines are long, “but suck it up and wait it out.” At opening time on a recent Tuesday, a few dozen customers promptly arrived in spite of the chilly weather.
“It’s the kind of stuff you fantasize about in cities,” Wiederholt said. “But of course people complain. Maybe they should move to the Sunset.”