Haight Ashbury Beat

April 2006, Vol. 3, No. 2

By Adam Brody

If the spindly metal TV-headed figure that guards the entrance to Noc Noc in Lower Haight ever decided to go inside the bar to gulp down one of the 18 beers on tap, the creature would not look at all out of place in the psychedelic interior.

Zebra-stripes and tribal markings cover the cave-like burgundy colored walls, disappearing beneath an aircraft aluminum ceiling. Patrons sit in nooks of various heights ranging from floor-level cushions to tall wooden bar stools with high Gothic backs held together by Frankenstein bolts. A bomb wearing a gas mask hangs overhead while the controls from a B–52 bomber are mounted against the back wall.

From a bizarre alcove equipped only with eye-slits, nightly DJs spin an eclectic mix of house, hip-hop, drum ’n bass and rock ’n roll; sometimes blending the genres into a truly pioneering aural journey.

Stop by any night from 5pm to 7pm for a $3.00 draught pint, and then stick around until 2am sampling the fine selection of bottled beer, wine or hot sake. That’s right sake. (Hard-alcoholers and mix-drinkers beware, you are out of luck at Noc Noc, but why not treat yourself to a Chimay?)

Owner Rahmat Shirakhon doesn’t consider himself a beer connoisseur, but he does have an appreciation for good beer.

“When I first bought this place there were five beers on tap, now there’s 18,” he says. “We have a saying: no Bud, no Coors, no Miller.”

Nestled at 557 Haight St. between Fillmore and Steiner, Noc Noc is the self-proclaimed most unusual bar in the Lower Haight. However, people from all around the world seem to back that claim.

Shirakhon says that on weekdays the bar attracts mostly locals, although holidays bring a much wider audience.

“We get all kinds of people,” Shirakhon says. “During summer and spring break we get people from all over the nation and the world. We’ve been listed in French, German and Swiss guides.”

A U.K. based Internet holiday guide recommends Noc Noc as “a surreal and exotic bar” where “people-watching is the best entertainment.”

The mix of people may be as diverse as the music and beer, with hipsters and club kids mingling with the more casual Lower Haighters.

“One thing that Noc Noc is known for is eclectic music,” Shirakhon says. “Tuesdays is more hip hop. Fridays is more drum ’n bass… Come here on a Friday night, it’s amazing.”

It all started when a man named Ernest Takai created Noc Noc in 1986 with only half the current space, Shirakhon says. Ernest designed the décor, which is what first attracted him to buy the place a few years after its opening. “When I saw it I said, ‘Wow, I want this place.”

Noc Noc's interior is known to make folks feel like they're in the Flintstones on acid.

Noc Noc has the prestige of being the first bar in the neighborhood, he says.

Tarot readings—usually offered Mondays from 7pm to 9pm—are on temporary hiatus, although readings by appointment are still available.

Visa and MasterCard are accepted with a $10 minimum purchase, and patrons are welcomed to bring in outside food from the many surrounding eateries.

Currently Noc Noc has a MySpace account with 179 friends including: beer, stereo and Alberto Gonzalez. “Be careful or you may just walk past me and that makes me sad,” the profile says.

Crowds can range from small to large depending on the night and time. Come early to grab a prime spot in the corner or play chess with Shirakhon on a slow night as he plans the bar’s upcoming anniversary celebration. “We are going to have a twentieth anniversary sometime soon,” he says smiling. “Right now I’m designing the T–shirt. We are going to have an event that will last a whole month.”