Compact Disco

Honestly, Compact Disco’s cover charge is a perfect example of what’s wrong with some club scenes today. House and disco were built on the idea of accessibility—bringing people together to vibe out, celebrate, and create a community, especially for marginalized groups. Slapping a steep cover on that? It feels like a slap in the face to the culture. The music at Compact Disco is mid at best, and meanwhile, venues with legit house and disco credibility don't charge covers at all. Why? Because they care about the community and the music, not squeezing every dollar out of people. House music has always been about pushing back against commercialization, and here you are, making it feel like just another cash grab. Offering a “local discount” doesn’t fix this—it’s just another cheap marketing gimmick. It divides the community even more and makes the cover charge feel like an arbitrary way to squeeze tourists. It only reinforces the sense that this is more about profit than the music or the vibe. You feel this way in every interaction at Compact Disco: you are a dollar sign. If you’re charging $20 for entry, you're not building a scene—you’re building a barrier. Prioritize the music, the people, and the experience, or you’ll keep losing business of nearby folks such as myself that would come in all the time. Drop the cover charge and stop pretending that discounts for locals make up for the fact that you’re exploiting the very culture you claim to celebrate.

Come here if you want to get robbed. Unprofessional and cant handle customers. Had to dispute a double charge with my bank because of their policy. They purposely ask for your card and leave an open tab and force you to pay cash at the door. Make up your mind. Get a receipt for your transactions. The bar staff does not have a way to determine who has paid their tab. Poor management/ customer service. I made attempts to contact staff to allow them to fix their mistake and got the runaround. Only a manager can give you a refund. Conveniently the manager is never around. Bad that they ask you to pay in cash at the entrance. Why force the credit card holding in the back when they forget who has paid. May as well be an all cash business to avoid issues like these. Read other one star reviews. They speak truth.

Good vibes but a $20 cover charge per person when my friend was celebrating her birthday was incredible for Monterey. I have not paid this much in SF to get into a much larger establishment. For less than average house music. If the bouncer can’t provide a concrete description as to why a $20 cover charge is reasonable, a place like this is not respectable.

Not much of a disco if the dance floor is 25 sq ft; lots of room to improve. Hopefully the cover charges go towards renovations ! It could use some BIG CHANGES!

Randomly wandered in on a Wednesday and absolutely loved this place. Cocktails were spot on, music was delightful, and the staff was super welcoming so much so we changed plans to stay longer. Wish we were here for the Friday/Saturday DJ nights

Great house music and dancing. Small space overall. Unfortunately you need cash which a lot of people don’t carry anymore, it was $10 cover. Still would give 5 stars for music and atmosphere which were on point.

Overall the atmosphere is pretty good, it was my 2nd time there but won't be going back. I paid with $100 but they were too busy to take it so I went to a table near the dance floor to finish my drink and dance some. Before we left, I went to go and get my change and the bartender refused to give me my change. I believe they were taking advantage of the sitation and stole my money. Ontop of that, after a certain time they force gratuity. I worked in the service industry and tip well but I don't think the owner should suppliment forced gratuity instead of paying better wages.

Don't leave town without stopping by this unique venue! It's the first time I'd been out dancing since covid & I had a fantastic time. The owner, as well as all members of staff, were kind, attentive, made me feel very safe, & the music was incredible! What was surprising, is that all of the patrons were also very kind, friendly, & polite. Shout out to DJ - our fabulous well spoken bartender, & Mah & Jay - the nicest bouncers I have ever encountered. Thank you!