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The Alley $$
- 3325 Grand Ave., Oakland (map)
- 510-444-8505
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Rod Dibble plays piano nightly at this Lake Merritt bar, often with vocal accompaniment from local amateur cabaret crooners. Designed like an old saloon with relatively private diner-style booths (where you can order a burger, steak, or fries to go with your drinks), the Alley is characterized by its vintage clotheslines, pink and baby-blue restroom stalls (much cleaner than your average East Bay haunt), and the thousands of marquees and business cards stapled to its walls. In contrast to the swankier Kingman’s Lucky Lounge across the street, the Alley stays true to its namesake, and the cluttered decor makes it seem homey.
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The Baltic $$$
- 135 Park Pl., Richmond (map)
- 510-237-1000
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(based on 1 user review)
You can dance, drink, and most definitely eat at this German-American restaurant and tavern, where the Wiener Schnitzel comes veggie-optional and live music fills the room every weekend. If the weather's nice, sit out on the cedar patio and sip on Belgium ale and other tasty beer offerings in bottle or on tap.
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Beta Lounge $$
- 2129 Durant Ave., Berkeley (map)
- 510-845-3200
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This sleek, loungey little wine/sake bar boasts an interesting menu of nigori cocktails, a dozen or so largely satisfying noshes, and an ambient conviviality that belies its proto-IKEA design scheme.
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Bing Crosby's $$$$
- 1342 Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek (map)
- 925-939-2464
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Crosby's country-club cuisine is better than it needs to be, with some dishes grand enough to stand up to the monumentally nostalgic surroundings. The bar is a roiling meat market for the over-forty and the overly tanned, but it's worth wading in for the excellent martinis.
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CommonWealth Cafe and Pub $
- 2882 Telegraph Ave., Oakland (map)
- 510-663-3001
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Ahna Adair co-owns the CommonWealth with her brother Pete Jeffryes and her husband Ross Adair, a Scot who learned to appreciate traditional cooking in his grandmother's kitchen. He prepares it here in the form of English-style breakfasts and pub grub with a California twist: Steel-cut oats, beans and toast, egg-and-chutney sandwiches, and the like augment an impressive selection of beers from the UK, the East Bay, and even a few locales in between.
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Disco Volante $$
- 347 14th St., Oakland (map)
- 510-663-0271
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(based on 4 user reviews)
The latest addition to Oakland's blossoming nightlife scene has set up shop in a turquoise-tiled Art Deco building at 14th and Webster streets. Disco Volante, set to open in late October, is a bar, music venue, and restaurant run by a trio of Oakland arts and entertainment vets, with chef Douglas Bernstein of Bacar, Eccolo, and Farallon fame serving up local and seasonal California cuisine. Musical offerings will range from bluegrass to Afrobeat, with shows at least three nights a week.
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District $$-$$$
- 827 Washington St., Oakland (map)
- 510-272-9110
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This sleek Old Oakland wine-and-whiskey bar boasts gorgeous design, a mind-bogglingly huge menu, and some of the best bar food around.
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Elevation 66 Brewing Company $$-$$$
- 10082 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito (map)
- 510-848-9176
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A nine-table, twelve-tap family-friendly brewpub offering updated takes on American standards, as well as a full slate of beers, both brewed in-house and elsewhere.
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FIVE $$$$
- 2086 Allston Way, Berkeley (map)
- 510-225-6055
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Turns out, the Hotel at Shattuck Plaza has not only a rock-solid restaurant, but a bang-up — if slightly mannered — bar space as well. Drinks are well-made and undeniably thought-out — you'll be hard-pressed to find a cocktail here with fewer than five ingredients — but it's a pleasant place for an after-work or post-theater cocktail.
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Forbidden Island $$
- 1304 Lincoln Ave., Alameda (map)
- 510-749-0332
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Forbidden Island is a tiki bar at its best, offering everything it takes to capture that elusive blend of island kitsch, pure spectacle, and festive mood: a nautical wood interior, gaudy cocktails, a jukebox crammed with vintage Martin Denny and Frankie Laine tunes, and a tropical lanai for outdoor guzzling. It’s the only tiki bar in America that makes fresh fruit juice in-house every day, and there are appetizers of the deep-fried variety. Entertainment includes live surf-rock bands and dance parties with DJs.
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Henry's $$
- 2600 Durant Ave., Berkeley (map)
- 510-809-4132
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(based on 2 user reviews)
Henry's is an old-school hotel bar that's been newly remodeled and reinvented. While you can still sit at the bar and enjoy a reasonably stiff drink, you might be better off sitting down for a full meal, as Henry's now offers a full size and well-executed take on classic pub fare.
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Jupiter $$
- 2181 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley (map)
- 510-843-8277
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(based on 2 user reviews)
Enjoy tasty Mediterranean-style pizzas and a wide variety of house brews on tap in this Berkeley outpost’s beer garden, where live bands perform on a brick patio throughout the week. For no cover charge you get atmosphere -- heat lamps, foliage, lanterns, a huge brick fire pit -- and entertainment ranging from experimental laptop music to bluegrass and Americana. Inside, the restaurant is two stories, and there are tables large enough to accommodate groups.
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Kensington Circus Pub $$
- 389 Colusa Ave., Kensington (map)
- 510-524-8814
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Mum and da drink and play darts while the bairns mess about with toys provided by the management — just as they do at pubs in England. The owners are British and so is most of the menu, for better or worse, with faithful renderings of shepherd's pie, sausage dishes, and fish ’n chips; patrons whose Anglophilia ends at the placemat make merry with burgers, pastas, and salads. The staff's willingness to prepare child-size portions has given this place a reputation as the Chuck E. Cheese of the bar world. Ten taps spout American microbrews and English favorites.
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Liege $$$
- 481 9th St., Oakland (map)
- 510-835-4343
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(based on 1 user review)
This cocktail lounge/hipster hangout/sports bar serves a menu of ambitious global cuisine that changes countries every eight weeks. The cocktails are complex and carefully crafted; the setting is an attractive mix of brick, dark wood, objets d'art, and firelight; and the Old Oakland setting can't be beat.
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Lot 68 Lounge $
- 2230 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley (map)
- 510-644-2992
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Perhaps most notable for the fact that it's located inside the Shattuck Cinemas movie theater, this bar/restaurant offers a full bar, a comfortable atmosphere, and surprisingly delicious food.
