Bars & Pubs for Parties
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Bar that will let you reserve a space for party?
April 2012
Can anybody recommend a bar in Berkeley or Oakland that will let you reserve a large table or a section of the bar for a birthday party? It'll be for about 20 adults. Thanks! Anon
Pizza Rustica on College Avenue let's people rent out the upstairs of their place for parties. great food and drinks and fun atmosphere. anon
Good Oaktown restaurants bars for 40 somethings?
Sept 2010
I have several friends coming to visit in a few weeks. We are all women in our early 40s and I'd like to take them out a couple of nights to some of Oakland's newer nightspots. I'm thinking a combination of dinner and then on to a bar for drinks. I'd like some place with the Oaktown vibe but where you can have a conversation of sorts. I've been to Lukas Taproom and Flora but otherwise am pretty much a newbie. Your recommendations are greatly appreciated! Looking for some nightlife
There are loads of new places in Oakland to try! Sidebar, near the lake, Camino on Grand Ave, Mua (clubby vibe), Chop Bar. Drinks and apps at Adesso on Piedmont. Boot and Shoe Service...Oakland is happening these days. Have a great time with your friends! www.leaveittodee.com
Try Levende East next to Ratto's in Old Oakland. I had drinks there with colleagues and it was really nice. For dinner, Le Cheval is always reliable - very good Vietnamese/California fusion. Also by Old Oakland. Rachel
I really like Tamarindo - Mexican tapas for foodies in a really pretty, upscale setting with an Oakland vibe and delicious food. It's lively but not as noisy as Luca's. Right next door to Tamarindo is The Trappist, which specializes in Belgium beers on tap - very cute place with a Euro feel. Yoshi's is pretty fun if you want to do dinner and a show. Haven't been to Mua or Nex yet, but heard they are fun and Soizic (same owners) was always really good. There are lots of other places! Check Yelp and also this long-standing website has reliable reviews for Berk/Oakland restaurants: http://www-rnc.lbl.gov/Restaurants/
Check out Mimosa or Somar. Also Yelp is a great resource! Angela
We always have fun at the bar at Mezze on Lakeshore. The bartender, Terry, on Thursday and Friday evenings is especially fun and makes great drinks (likes to make them up on the fly as well). Tip him well!! You can also order from the full menu while sitting at the bar. Lakeshore local
Ghost Town or Degrees Plato in the Laurel would work. Plenty of outdoor space at both.
Try fieldwork or temescal brewing. Lots of breweries in the area and a few of them have decent outdoor space. Might be hard with the way certain places are handling covid but worth a shot.
Drake's Dealership on Broadway near 24th in Oakland is open air. Not necessarily outdoor, but there's no roof.
Ocean View Brew Works on San Pablo Ave near Portland Rd in Albany has an outdoor space I think you can reserve, but no food; you'd have to bring that in yourself.
Faction Brewing in Alameda on the Base is all outdoor and has regular food trucks, but I think they don't want large groups gathering. You'd have to ask them specifics.
Headlands Brewing opened a taproom in Lafayette, I think it's a lot of outdoor space, but I don't know food options; haven't been there.
I hope this helps!
30-40 people on a Saturday night is a lot at most places without some kind of formal agreement.
But, that being said, I’d maybe try somewhere out on the Western-most side of Alameda, just because that’s one of the rare East Bay locations where there is a lot of space to be had. Faction Brewery, Dashe Cellars, Rock Wall Winery…I haven’t been to any of these since pre-COVID so obviously call first to get the deets, including if kids are allowed in the current environment (since they can’t be vaxxed, which may or may not matter to the venue). Good luck!
Hi,
For my husband's 45th birthday, we went to Almanac Beer Company in Alameda and it was really fun. I don't recall if we reserved tables or not (this was also pre-pandemic), but they have a large outdoor area with a food and beer truck. There is also a place next door to get wine, I think, in case not everyone likes beer. There are a few lawn games as well to keep the kids entertained. My husband did the brewery tour with a friend to make it a little more special.
The other place in that area is Faction -- it has amazing views of the bay and SF. But, the last few times we went there were issues with ordering food and a wait to get in. Definitely call them about reservations because that would be the way to go with a group of that size.
In Oakland, you could check out Novel Brewing Company -- they have tables in the lot next door, but it's not that big an area. Also try Temescal Brewing -- they have a fair number of outside tables.
Good luck finding a place. The two in Alameda are much bigger, so you will probably have better luck. Check about COVID restrictions, though. Have fun!
I recently looked into Drake's Dealership in Oakland for a group booking of 20.
For their outdoor tables, they told me they could do a group booking for 18 people max, they have an outdoor section with bleachers / picnic table which is usually given to large groups. You wanna book a couple of weeks out. Kids and dogs are OK. They have nibbles, pizza, burgers, salad and some vegan food options. Drinks wise it's primarily beer / wine / cider. Your group is a lot bigger, so I'm not sure if they would let you make two outdoor bookings for the same day, or encourage you to grab a group booking for 18 plus show up and try to grab surrounding tables for the rest of your party.
I believe they only charge for group bookings if you rent their indoor private event space.
I didn't end up booking with them so I can't tell you how it went, but I have been there before and enjoyed their outdoor patio.
Here are some ideas: Plank, Lake Chalet, Temescal Brewing, Nido, Drake’s Dealership.