You are driving down San Pablo Avenue in Albany, not going anywhere in particular -- San Pablo is the kind of road you take when the freeway feels like too much commitment, four lanes of auto body shops and taquerias and nail salons stretching from Richmond to Oakland, the East Bay's long commercial backbone -- and somewhere around Solano Avenue you see a sign that says Club Mallard. You take your foot off the gas. Club Mallard. You need to know. The interior is dark and warm and full of dead birds. Mounted, taxidermied, presiding over the room with the glassy authority of creatures who didn't expect to end up in a bar in Albany but have made their peace with it. The effect is somewhere between hunting lodge and natural history museum after hours, and it shouldn't work on San Pablo Avenue but it does, completely, the way any sufficiently committed aesthetic decision will eventually override its context. I've been once. Midweek happy hour. This is the most honest way to evaluate a bar -- no weekend crowd to inflate the energy, no event to justify the turnout, just the place and whoever shows up on a Tuesday because they want to be there. The happy hour is good. The bartender was gregarious and present and seemed to actually like the job, which sounds like a low bar until you've spent enough time on the other side of it. The regulars were friendly in the East Bay way, which is to say they talked to us without needing anything from us, offered opinions on what to drink, and went back to their conversations. There's an outdoor space for when you want sky. I've driven past since and seen it packed. I was glad. You root for a place like Club Mallard the way you root for any small enterprise that decided to be something specific in a landscape of sameness, and then just held the line. read more

I've been coming here since about 2019. Not sure how I stumbled upon it, but it was with friends and it's been our go to bar ever since. It also happens to be somewhat of a meeting point when I'm in Oakland and another friend is in Berkeley. When I was in downtown Oakland it was only 14 minutes away. What a time. I like this bar because the drinks are good, it's affordable, all ages come here and the vibe is nice. There is a pool table downstairs and about two or three upstairs along with a mini bar. The fire place is currently keeping the bar cozy downstairs. So, I've liked Cosmopolitans for some time now and Mallard's has a Mandarin Cosmo. It is so good - it reminds me of an Orange Hi-C. read more

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Oh boy! This spot has delicious drinks, a very chill spot for drinks and overall, the music was hitting! read more

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The bar is such a fun place! I didn't know how big it was until I visited here! They have two floors, and outdoor area and plenty of space. During special holidays they do host events. Drinks are very reasonable and shots are also very reasonable and priced too. It's definitely a great time here. They also play plenty of trendy music! Highly recommend! read more

Come see Felix (Monday days, Thursday nights upstairs). Watch bartending as performance art.

My husband and I (gay, same sex couple) were at Club Mallard tonight with another couple, a man and a woman who are close friends of ours. After a few drinks, all four of us ended up in line for the restrooms. The restrooms here are supposedly single-use rooms, but each one has two toilets inside and there is no signage indicating that they are single use. Our friends, the straight couple, went into the first available restroom together. No staff member said anything to them. At the same moment, the second restroom opened up, and my husband and I went to do the exact same thing. An employee was walking out as we approached. He was tall, wearing a beanie, with black facial hair. He stopped us and said loudly, "Oh, hey, wait, you guys can't go in there together. We're not on that shit here." Our friends, a man and a woman, walk into the other restroom together seconds earlier and he said nothing to them. He only stopped us. It happened in front of everyone else waiting in line. After I used the restroom, I went back and asked him what he meant. He backtracked and said he didn't mean anything by it and he said "I knew you were gonna take it that way" and so he said he had already spoken to the manager about the issue. The employee was rude and hostile during the entire interaction. My husband came over and quietly told me to let it go so we could leave. At that point the same employee became dismissive and hostile again and he told my husband not to interrupt. What happened was a clear double standard applied to a same-sex couple in a situation where a straight couple was treated normally seconds earlier. I attempted to call at 11:25 pm today (Friday, May 1st which is the date of the incident) and I asked to speak with a manager about the issue. I was told that a manager wasn't available to speak with me. I let them know it was a serious issue regarding an employee, but they were not concerned. I will be continue to attempt to follow up with management directly as this is unacceptable and a remedy is needed so this doesn't happen to others. Other LGBTQIA+ customers should know this happened so they can decide for themselves whether to spend their money here. I strongly believe this is not a welcoming place for members of the LGBTQIA+ community as long as this is employee is there. I will not be back. This is clearly the type of disparate treatment that California Civil Code Section 51 prohibits. I am disappointed that an establishment in Albany, California in 2026 is still allowed to treat people this way, in what appears to me to be discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender. read more

Great bar with pool tables. The bar tenders are great, especially downstairs. You can bring outside food into the place and find a table. The atmosphere is fun and chill. read more

So we're walking by and decided to pop our heads in to check it out. We had no idea this place was this cool! The decor is so fun and warm and comforting. The outdoor patio is fantastic! Plus there is an upstairs great for private parties. They have nice pool tables too. The drink menu was fun and they have a great selection of liquors and beer. We ended up staying for a drink. We loved meeting the bartender, Andre if I remember correctly. He greeted every person that came through the door. He told us all about booking private events, rates for playing pool, specials they have during the week. He made us really good drinks. He is just so friendly. The other customers were all nice too. Love this bar. Will be back. Wish I lived closer. read more

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Hi, I usually don't do this, but I like your bar and after last night, I think a manager needs to hear about our experience. My partner and I arrived around 8:30 last night to meet up with a group of friends for a birthday. We had just finished dinner and were looking forward to our first drink of the night. We arrived and our friend was at the bar. She said, "good luck getting a drink- the bartender is so high." We sat and waited for someone to take our order for about 15 minutes while the bartender scrambled to make drinks and yelled behind the bar, throwing a fit, repeating to all the customers "why did you all have to come at the same time, you are stressing me out!" She approaches us and says, you guys are next. Literally 30 seconds later she comes up to the guy next to us and asks him what he wants. The other customer points at us and says they were here first and have been waiting a long time. She looks at the customer and says No, I'm taking your order. My partner politely said, "you just told us we were next", and the other customer agreed. Your bartender looks at us with the most drunk/ drugged face I've ever seen at 8:30PM and says "you can go ahead and FUCK off!" SHOCKED, we stood up, said hi and bye to our friends and left. We hadn't had anything to drink yet, so I guarantee this is an accurate reflection of our experience. I hope your bartender gets the help she desperately needs and I hope you handle this with the attention it deserves. Thank you read more

Love coming here during the Halloween season to see all of their halloween decorations. They have games you can play like a HUGE connect 4 setup. They like to create their own seasonal cocktails which are quite tasty! Club Mallard is not a club, but more a fun bar with plenty of seating and pool tables! They have the Death and Taxes beer on tap, which is awesome along with rotating options from local breweries like Fieldworks! read more

Club Mallard - Lounges Near Me - Albany, California

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I don't usually write negative reviews, but this experience was disappointing, especially since this was my first time at this bar. I ordered a simple tequila sour with house tequila for $12 and left a $2 tip, which is completely reasonable. My two friends also ordered drinks (tequila sour and a vodka cran) and one of my friends left an open tab. After ordering, the bartender repeatedly ignored us, serving multiple customers who arrived after us. When she finished serving others, she stepped away to use the restroom and never came back to help us. To be clear, using the restroom isn't the issue, the issue was the ongoing pattern of being ignored both before and after. I mentioned the situation to another staff member (not a bartender), who said he would let her know. Unfortunately, nothing changed. She continued serving other customers while still ignoring us, including my friend who was trying to close her tab since we clearly weren't going to get anymore drinks. We finally decided to interrupt her while she was speaking with customers who had arrived after us, and she responded, "I can't f*ing hear," and then continued to ignore us again. The bar had a decent amount of people in it but not overwhelmed, and none of our requests were complicated. Being treated this way felt rude, unprofessional, and unwelcoming. I won't be returning, and I hope management takes this seriously so other customers don't continue to have the same experience. read more

I've recently been back to club mallard and it was a very good experience. I was informed that the bad bartender left awhile ago. A lot of people complained about her I was told. The drinks are really good and the staff was really nice.I'll definitely be back soon. read more

Bobby is the dopest, Love the vibe of the two bars and separate music. All the staff are very friendly and welcoming!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Club Mallard - Lounges Near Me - Albany, California

Me and my friends love this place, nice location, huge place and space to sit down, great prices very affordable, nice and friendly staff. Is perfect for a friend's gathering. read more

This is based on my experiences from years ago, so they get the benefit of the doubt. I have a lot of fond memories -- good times & good drinks. Mallard gave me my first & best experience with a certain signature drink. My memory fails me on the name at this moment, but it was a two-tone pint -- Guinness over pear cider. Yum! read more

Always enjoy coming here. So many areas of the bar to hang out in, the front neat entrance, outside, up by the pool tables, etc. Two bar areas with friendly people and heated toilets. lol. No food just snacks. read more

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Loved This Place -- Until We Caught Them Refilling Liquor Bottles Club Mallard used to be one of our go-to bars. Great vibe, solid space, good memories. But that changed after a really unsettling experience. I ordered a vodka diet -- nothing complicated -- but what I got had a strange, artificial flavor. It kept happening, so I finally asked to see the bottle. The bartender showed me a regular Ketel One bottle, but what was being poured was clearly flavored vodka -- not what I ordered, and definitely not what they claimed to be serving. This raised a huge red flag. It gave the strong impression that they're refilling premium liquor bottles with something cheaper or mislabeled, and once you see that, it's hard to trust anything else being poured behind that bar. Sadly, my friends and I stopped going after that. It's a real shame -- we genuinely liked this place -- but if you can't trust the drinks, nothing else matters. read more

Cari is an amazing bartender. She has the patience of a Saint. I love this place. She is holding this amazing place down. Best Bar in the Bay Area. ITM! read more

Great local bar! I love the fire in the winter and there's two pool tables upstairs. Vibe is very cozy and cabin-like with an outdoor patio that has heaters for colder nights. Drinks are pretty good considering and prices are fair! Serves are very kind and there's plenty of space to sit and kick back with friends. read more

This place is cool! Good staff too. I hope they don't burn down their plants with the tiki torches in the back but really loved the vibe otherwise! Learned it was related to Kona club in piedmont. Another good spot! read more

Lots of fun with festive lights and always great music. Great bartenders and reasonable prices. 3 different spaces: Downstairs with the main bar, a pool table, and lounge seating. An outside tiki bar. And a second floor with 3 pool tables, lounge area, and a second bar. LOVE THIS PLACE! read more

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Good music, good drinks, decently priced, great atmosphere! Really enjoyed the fire pits and pool tables!

Ignored by the bartender for 15 minutes, despite a fellow bar patron trying to get the (not busy) bartender's attention. So I went somewhere else. (3/1/25 around 7pm) read more

Great vibe tiki outdoor lounge and log cabin interior . Very nice a step up from any other local bars

I used to like coming here, but I probably won't return after the poor service I received on my last visit. I sat at the bar on a weekend. There were two bartenders, one a surly looking guy and a very young and attractive female. After sitting there for over 15 minutes, neither approached me to take my order. I thought maybe they were just busy, but then a couple of young ladies walked in, sat next to me and were served immediately. Although I am considerably more senior than most people in the bar including the bartenders, I've never been ignored for so long. I definitely felt unwelcome there. I wasn't at all drunk and neither did I say anything to them that would explain their unprofessional behavior. read more

Great little joint to hang out, listen to some easy songs and chat near the fire. I'm NOT a bar person but this place is awesome. They even comped my Diet Soda after we bought a few regular drinks. Very cool of them. read more

Always a fun time here. Comfortable, homey setting, brilliant bartenders, and a gaggle of interesting characters to observe-- one of our favorite places to stop by after a long week. Upon entry, feels as though you've entered a mountain cabin hideaway-- taxidermy trophies, fireplace, actual logs built into the wall?? The exterior makes it look like a random dive bar. The bartenders can make anything. Anything! They rotate their menus with home-brewed creations-- definitely worth trying out as they come and go. We fell in love with a variety of spirits here that we've since purchased for experimenting in our home bar (strawberry gin FTW). Haven't come ANYWHERE near the expert mixology they have going on here, but their drinks are fun to explore and take inspiration from :-) read more

Stopped in to have a drink and watch the last half of the Warrior game. Service was very quick. I got a Devils margarita which was the special. It wasn't terrible but I wouldn't order it again. Sat outside on the patio and watched the game with the fire pit to keep us warm. I will be back. Nice vibe and friendly people. read more

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Move over, Mel-O-Dee. I think Jamie W. and I found our favorite watering hole on the starboard side of the bay. We would've never guessed it would be cozy on the inside from the outside which to me, looked like a 1960's-era tavern because I could imagine Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick staggering out as unaware drunkards in "The Days of Wine and Roses". Oh wait, I just checked the movie's entry in IMDB, and they list Albany as a filming location. Could it be this place? The mind reels... Once inside, you can tell it's the type of casual hangout that attracts regulars devotedly. It has a hunting lodge vibe down to the taxidermic animal heads on the smooth Lincoln log cabin walls (photo: http://bit.ly/2tTzzFk). There's a stone fireplace and matching wainscoting complemented by the pastoral mural populated by deer and you guessed it, mallard ducks. There are a couple of pool tables because well, just because a place like this demands them. Elvis is on the wall but no other black velvet paintings (photo: http://bit.ly/39wltZp). Outside is a fire pit with a perpetual flame surrounded by more of a tiki vibe - so you can walk from the Yukon to Tahiti in about five seconds. There are different bartenders on Saturday and Sunday, and both are really friendly, especially as Jamie and I turn into Norm and Cliff. We order our favorite libation, Maker's Mark and ginger, for $8 each (photo: http://bit.ly/2HdmZUk), and both make them pretty potent. Either that or we've become lightweights after a couple of rounds. But you'll be happy to know that's our limit as we prefer not kissing pavement afterward COCKTAILS - 4.5 stars...no art fo them but they're suitably strong AMBIANCE - 5 stars...NORM! SERVICE - 5 stars...friendly though it may be the liquor talking to us TOTAL - 5 stars...the days of wine and roses and you...Mancini magic! RELATED - Tippling much? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2YJ1IbU read more

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Fun place, great location, excellent fresh lime margaritas. Indoor/outdoor options are great and service has always been good. read more

Excellent bar!!! Awesome bartenders, wonderful atmosphere and lots of locals They let u bring your dog in as well!! read more

Interesting hunting lodge ambiance. Buffalo Gil watches over the bar. Great cocktails. read more

Club Mallard - Lounges Near Me - Albany, California

We, three Asian females went to this bar tonight for a casual girls' night out, other people lining in front of us so we waited patiently, 20 minutes later, we were pretty much sure that everyone was served and the bartender had no intention to check on us, plus my friend started to feel this is weird and suggested to leave, just To confirm that we were actually ignored, I waved at the bartender and said "hey excuse me !" in a way that she could not miss, yet she did. She saw me and turned away. Just utterly speechless. Never thought I would encounter such thing in this area. read more

Such a fun and mellow ambiance. Bartender cari kept the tunes bumpin and was so wonderful-- thanks girl!! Drinks were great.

Very average service and environment, very expensive, very bad and loud music, need to talk very loudly, I will not consume again, because there are more and better options nearby read more

Such and great ambience, margaritas were on point! Friendly staff! Would highly recommend, the best part is it's pet friendly read more

Club Mallard - Margaritas - Lounges Near Me - Albany, California

Spotted this gem late Monday night. The service was outstanding! Mike made our time phenomenal! His personality and witty humor made it an epic Monday night. Come on down if you've looking for an amazing Monday or any other night. Outstanding service! We will be back soon! read more

Club Mallard - Lounges Near Me - Albany, California

Terrible customer service. 2 bartenders ignores basic requests. No smiling, no manners. Will never go back there.

Came here a few weeks ago to celebrate my friend's birthday. This review has everything to do with the nasty workers. As a fellow bartender I took the liberty of ordering all of my friends drinks, who were seated outside. The bartender was busy & took a while but made all of our drinks, and I tipped him 20%+ since I also work in the service industry. One of my friends was DDing for us and was saying how she really wanted something to drink that wasn't alcoholic. I told her CA state law requires bartenders to give any designated drivers free nonalcoholic drinks for the night. She asked for a Coke, and he, in haste, gave her half a bucket glass filled with Coke. She went back later in the night asking for more when he gave her a full, proper pint glass and attempted to charge her. That's when I kindly tried to explain that I give sodas out to those who DD for large groups. That's when he got fussy and tried to tell us that he already gave her a soda and would have to charge her for a second. Unless he was the owner of that establishment, I think that's ridiculous. Not only did he pour her three sips, without ice the first time, but soda costs 15 cents to pour, and he still charged her 5 dollars. She didn't tip, which personally I would have never been upset over considering I tipped him well over 20%. As we walked away from the bar, he YELLED after her, "Thanks for the tip.". Now here is this rude bartender yelling after 4 women, completely disgruntled over a ONE DOLLAR TIP, which he made up for on my bill. Ridiculous. Then while we were leaving, the bouncers sneered at us and said, "Did you tip your bartenders?". Outrageous behavior from any establishment. Our bartender clearly felt so cheated that he felt the need to complain to the whole staff. I will never be coming back; the bartender's name was something weird and unique like Tobias; he looked like a 21st-century version of Shaggy. The black gentleman bartender upstairs was great; he was kind and helpful, but your downstairs staff was trash. I am extremely disappointed by the comment the bouncers made when the bartenders complaints were unwarranted and extremely negative by nature. Again, I am a bartender, and I would never ever ever feel cheaped out if someone didn't tip on a 5-dollar soda. What were you planning to do with that single dollar, buddy? read more

This has got to be the weirdest bar, but in all the right ways. You walk in, and it is winter cabin themed. Animal heads are on the walls, the walls are made of nick wooded halves, there's antlers from the ceilings. You then walk outside, and you're all of a sudden in a tiki lounge, where the outside structure is made of just grass, and there's tiki gas lanterns. Bartenders are fairly quick, and drinks are inexpensive, at 6$ a well. read more