Heading to San Francisco for a few days. Are there any good pool halls there? Any place open 24 hours?
Where to play in San Francisco?
- Thread starter nsainfreek
- Start date
Family Billiards is pretty popular, regular pool hall feel. There is a Billiard Palacade or something in the Mission which is in a more shady area. Haven't played there, but it has three cushion if that's your thing.
Julians near the Mosconi center is ok, they have a lot of food and drink options but it might be more expensive and definitely isn't a players room. More of a sports bar and restaurant than pool hall.
I don't know of any 24hr places.
If you end up going up to Sonoma wine country, you can stop in at Buffalo Billiards in Petaluma. I'll buy you a beer if I somehow know you're there.
Good luck.
Julians near the Mosconi center is ok, they have a lot of food and drink options but it might be more expensive and definitely isn't a players room. More of a sports bar and restaurant than pool hall.
I don't know of any 24hr places.
If you end up going up to Sonoma wine country, you can stop in at Buffalo Billiards in Petaluma. I'll buy you a beer if I somehow know you're there.
Good luck.
That would be Jillians and Moscone but I agree with the low rating. It has the advantage of being close to conferences downtown if that's why someone is there and they don't have a car.
I have been there once, it is a good choice. They have handicapped tournaments, some very tight tables, well maintained gold crowns.
Have fun trying to gamble there. My house is open 24 hours. Free table time and cold beer.
Family Billiards: If you have to stay within SF it's the place to go. Don't leave valuables in your car, there have been a rash of break-in's due to people leaving their valuables in plain sight. Jillian's is nice, but if I recall does not have 9-ft tables.
The Broken Rack: It's across the Bay Bridge from SF. A nice place, and popular. They have good tables, but they are not commercial tables in case that bothers you (i.e.: not Gold Crowns, Diamonds).
Edgie's Billiards: A little bit of a drive down south to Milpitas, but a good place and safe. It's open til 4am on the weekends. Limited food options, but if you want something other than their food there are plenty of food choices near by.
Great Entertainer: It's not too far from SF in San Mateo. It has a good number of tables. I haven't been there in a few years now, but back when I did go there, their tables were in need of maintenance and there were a lot of young people which wasn't my scene. Again, it's been a few years now so maybe it's different these days.
Enjoy.
The Broken Rack: It's across the Bay Bridge from SF. A nice place, and popular. They have good tables, but they are not commercial tables in case that bothers you (i.e.: not Gold Crowns, Diamonds).
Edgie's Billiards: A little bit of a drive down south to Milpitas, but a good place and safe. It's open til 4am on the weekends. Limited food options, but if you want something other than their food there are plenty of food choices near by.
Great Entertainer: It's not too far from SF in San Mateo. It has a good number of tables. I haven't been there in a few years now, but back when I did go there, their tables were in need of maintenance and there were a lot of young people which wasn't my scene. Again, it's been a few years now so maybe it's different these days.
Enjoy.
Someone mentioned Edgies in Milpitas and Santa Clara Billiards in of all places, Santa Clara. Which one is better/nicer?
Depends on what you like...
Edgie's is probably a better place for hardcore players. Brightly lit. All 9-ft GC3's. A row of like 6 tight-pocket tables, good for 1-pocket. Plenty of rail birds hanging around, probably not too difficult to get some light action as a visiting player (if that's what you're looking for). I'm not a gambler, so I don't know about a bigger game. This is where the players in the South Bay go.
For Santa Clara, it's a decent place. It's really dark in there. 9-ft Gandy tables, one tight pocket table. No real action going on, mostly a friends and dates place to play.
I just should add that neither of these places are "slick" as pool halls.
Edgie's is a large open room in a commercial lot designed for office leasing. Has brighter fluorescent lighting so you can see the balls well, and see everybody in the pool hall no matter where you are standing. They have like 20-something GC's, a handful of 3C tables, and one snooker table.
Santa Clara is a bit nicer décor wise, but has less sitting room, and is dark as a cave. 20 something Gandy pool tables, and that's about it.
I prefer Egies, as most do. My bias aside, as I do play out of there, I think most of the hardcore players would agree that Edgie's is the choice between the two.
Last edited:
Ah man! That was one of the Most Beautiful Rooms in the U.S. according to Billiards Digest years ago. Sad to hear it closed.
Well, I made it to Edgie's Billiards in Milpitas today. I was there from around 1pm to 5pm. Good place and it had quite a few players for mid-day. I started chatting with one of the locals and we played for a few hours.
They have around 20 gold crown pool tables, six heated billiard tables, and a snooker table. The equipment looked to be in great shape. The balls were polished and looked near new. About half the tables appear to have tournament blue Simonis and the other half green felt (I assume Simonis but did not get close enough). The two tables I played on had very good condition cloth. They have swatches of extra cloth on top of the lights, to use when breaking, so that seems to help keep the cloth in good shape along the head string. There were stools and tables next to the pool tables, which was also a plus, and there was plenty of room around the tables. I had to use a house cue. They were ok but not great. Old cues but the tips were round, so it was fine.
Overall a cool place.
They have around 20 gold crown pool tables, six heated billiard tables, and a snooker table. The equipment looked to be in great shape. The balls were polished and looked near new. About half the tables appear to have tournament blue Simonis and the other half green felt (I assume Simonis but did not get close enough). The two tables I played on had very good condition cloth. They have swatches of extra cloth on top of the lights, to use when breaking, so that seems to help keep the cloth in good shape along the head string. There were stools and tables next to the pool tables, which was also a plus, and there was plenty of room around the tables. I had to use a house cue. They were ok but not great. Old cues but the tips were round, so it was fine.
Overall a cool place.
Yes, all the 3 cushion tables were full. After I played pool, I decided to try 3 cushion for the first time ever (most pool halls in Texas do not have billiard tables). I batted the balls around for 30 minutes and making some points, but I was a new born babe. There were some old guys practicing and some Mexican guys playing. All seemed to know what they were doing, so if I had time I imagine I could have gotten some beginner tips.
3 cushion players are good to watch. Since they use a lot of running English, you'll see a different stroke and some spin on the ball never used in pocket billiards.
Try table 21....... Has the tightest shimmed pockets in the place, but a very frustrating playing table.
Edgies has a nice range of playing tables. It's good to play on a wide range of equipment. You learn to read tables and pockets. You'll understand if you play on 21.
Try table 21....... Has the tightest shimmed pockets in the place, but a very frustrating playing table.
Edgies has a nice range of playing tables. It's good to play on a wide range of equipment. You learn to read tables and pockets. You'll understand if you play on 21.