Club Review: Trigger

Last Seen: April 30, 2009

Better than: its former incarnations - JET, Detour, and San Francisco's first gay bar, Missouri Mule. We've come a long way, baby. 

Opening its doors to only friends, family, and press last Thursday, Trigger allowed special guests to preview the new multi-level club that is unlike anything the Castro has seen so far. 

Greg Bronstein (owner) and co. are calling the venue "industrial-glam" which translates into Victorian-inspired furniture coupled with exposed cement walls, chandeliers, and a glass-rimmed second level. The new bar, taking on the shape of a square, consumes most of the venue's lower floor but also enables more patrons to be served at once. Of particular interest however, is the cage located on top of the bar where go-go dancers parade around the stripper pole inside or the dancers located on all four corners of the bar. Worry not, there are plenty of things for your wandering eyes to feast on.

Upstairs, seating is generally reserved for anyone with deep enough pockets to request bottle service -- which ranges from $150 for a bottle of Vodka to $275 for some Dom Perignon. The second floor is rather cramped, but the view down below of everyone is rather nice. If you really fall in love with this bar, Trigger is also offering a Black Card Membership which entitles you to a private entrance, bottle service, and a $200 gift card for the club (kinda like store credit). 

Two words: unisex bathrooms. If you are scared of the opposite gender, this bathroom will not cater to your privacy needs. Even though a small sign indicating which side is for which gender hangs on the stalls, I'm predicting a free thrall once people are sufficiently wasted. The bathrooms also showcase some state of the art hand dryers that might be difficult to comprehend when inebriated (they're that new).

On the upside, Trigger's smoking patio is something to boast about. Kind of like the former Bar On Castro's smoking patio but bigger with better ventilation. The patio looks out onto Market Street and provides serious amounts of seating, eliminating claustrophobia. 

I regretfully inform you that the dance floor, if that's what it's considered, is too small. A hula-hooping extraordinaire managed to hit a few bystanders in the face. The structure and layout of the venue is more conducive to boozing and schmoozing rather than dancing. The invite-only night may or may not be representative of what crowd will dominate the venue, but Thursday night indicated an older gay crowd.

Last but not least, Trigger's happy hour also offers food: dips, skewers of sorts, nachos, and spring rolls are among the list. Happy hour begins at 4p.m. and ends at 10 p.m.

Personal Bias: An elegant night of free food and drinks. Bronstein and his team know how to host an evening. 

Random Detail: This place is handicap-accessible with an elevator that can transport you between the first and second floors.

By the Way: The only weekly club night so far is Gloss Magazine Sundays.