Vessel

Vessel Review

Enticing, romantic, and ultrahip in one package, Vessel has a cavalier glamour that embraces you as you descend the staircase into its sleekly designed 5,000-square-foot industrial space made intimate with glowing amber lighting and low-slung benches that line exposed brick walls. New York in attitude and decor, but quintessential San Francisco in its egalitarian mix of casual Gen-Xers, fortysomething professionals, and tourists, Vessel emits a classy, sexy vibe that telegraphs "this is the place to be" without snobbishness. Light food and signature cocktails are served in the lounge weekday evenings 5 to 9. Action picks up after 11 pm, when DJs and live acts take the stage pumping through a multimillion-dollar sound system. You can escape to strategically placed cognac leather love seats or dance on top of the long plank tables spotlighted from below.