Little Hill is what's you get when you cross a dive bar with a community center. People of all…read morestripes gathering for drinks, meeting friends, chatting up someone sitting next to you, people watching, and listening to local musicians or DJs. Bartenders are friendly and drinks are great. The place is plastered with posters of upcoming events. The interior is classic dive bar with red lights, beer signs, circle booths, wooden bar and jukebox. I love being able to slide into a booth and watch everyone else stroll in to the bar. I try to support the occasional pop-up food booth outside to keep them coming back.

Little Hill Lounge, what a gem for our little city of El Cerrito. I love a good neighborhood bar,…read moreand LHL is exactly what you want from a neighborhood spot ~ walking distance, cool peeps, friendly bartenders, great music, stiff drinks, fun foodie pop-ups, and cool events throughout the year. We've celebrated birthdays, holidays, and taken new friends and old here. The perfect meet up, place for one/done or sit and stay a while. Good value, great Little Hill Mai Thai. During the holidays they have one of the best hot buttered rums I've ever had. Most recently, we've enjoyed their live karaoke (you get to perform with a live band) which makes for a pretty epic experience, the addition of local bands performing in the back of the bar, and the pop up Double Barrel BBQ with the amazing Lorenzo cookin' it up (yes to the smash burger, grilled cheese, and chocolate chip dipped cookie). Dimmed lighting, curtained photo booth, booth/bar stool seating..simply the best. Recently popped in and noticed new napkins with their logo and pretty menus with new creative cocktails/fun, localish names. Looking forward to the future of this bar, rock on!

Fabulous neighborhood wine bar! Great food options and they usually feature pop-up restaurants too!…read moreService is friendly and attentive. Ambiance is casual but you can dress up if you want to. They have pinball in the back and I believe they offer trivia night. The wine selections are always fabulous. Come here on a date or with a group! Highly recommend!

Overall 4.5 Food /…read moreWine 5 Service 4 Ambiance 5 I was looking for a cozy wine bar north of Berkeley and Yelp did not disappoint. Banter sits alongside the main road, close to a market and record store. They have a nice selection of natural wines, including some local ones that I wasn't familiar with. Food / Wine: I did a flight ($24 for 3 half-pours). I went with a sparkling rose, a springy white, and finished with a gamay. All were delicious, especially the sparkling rose. I also ordered the anchovy plate. The bread, butter, and pepper spread were great. I imagine their larger charcuterie board would be perfect for a party of 2 or more. Service: There was one person working and four customers at the bar. I was greeted and everything came out quick enough. My only knock is that in a place called Banter you'd think the staff would have a bit of banter, at least an introduction in an effort to create some regulars. Ambiance: This was my favorite part of the experience. There's a nice collection of vinyl along with VHS tapes. The combination of the Psychedelic Furs on vinyl while Mannequin was playing on some very small old TVs was definitely a delightful throwback... and yes, I recognized Andrew McCarthy and named the movie in less than 3-minutes Clean restroom, great actually vintage decor, and a pinball machine that will get some attention from me next time!

I have a personal goal to try all the beer places in the East Bay area. I've been to most of the…read morebreweries in Berkeley (Gilman, Great Notion, Fieldworks, Headlands), some in nearby cities (Match Point, East Brothers, Fraction), and I've been wanting to check out this taproom because of the good reviews online. I don't consider myself a beer connoisseur, but I like trying different beers and ciders so this place was right up my alley. I had a friend visiting Berkeley from out of town so we came here to hang out and catch up. One thing that stood out to me is this place, because it's a taproom and not a brewery, is open later than the other beer places in the East Bay. Many choices of beer and cider on tap. I tried the ginger peppercorn cider and it was very unique, I've never had a cider like this flavor, it's almost like a cross between ginger beer and cider. My friends enjoyed various beers on tap. The place is pretty small but very clean and cute. I like that you can choose from 10 oz or 16 oz pour, so people like me can try more varieties in smaller portion than just drinking one boring thing. I like variety. The all you can eat popcorn was a hit with our little group. The truffle flavor really elevates the popcorn and it goes well with beer! There's so much free parking in this area at night... super convenient... although it scared me for a minute when I couldn't find my car in the very empty street lot, before I realized I was another block farther down. This area of Berkeley feels pretty safe at night even at 11pm. Good place. I would definitely go again!

Came here for a quick little beer and it was exactly what I wanted…read more Walked in around 3:30pm on a Saturday and the place was so quiet - i loved that! It was the perfect spot to sit and think a bit before planning my next move. The bartender was great and friendly! I ended up with a delicious sour beer and sat and chilled. Cute little 20 minutes spent at Hoi Polloi. I'm sure ill be back when needing a little break from life to sip on a yummy sour.

Looking for a super cool bar in the Richmond area? The Factory Bar is full of Richmond pride,…read morelocated off San Pablo Ave. Upon walking in, your greeted by security carding patrons (it's been a while since I've been carded, haha) and you can begin noticing the nodes to Richmond in art, decor, collectibles, and sips. It was a beautiful weekend evening and we sat in a room adjacent to the main bar in super comfy lounge chairs. This room is where karaoke and other events take place. There's great ventilation, and it's just quite honestly a great space to chill with friends, and also observe all the fun Richmond memorabilia. We also sat in the outdoor space, a super nice garden area that is well-kept and a great option to enjoy on these beautiful sunny days. I had a watermelon margarita and it was so fresh & tasty, I thought it was already summer! Friendly staff and environment filled with regulars and newcomers alike. They seem to have food trucks regularly, and we ordered food to-go from the Brazilian truck outside. Deliciously unique! There's also a few spots nearby you can bring food in from (an ice cream/waffle shop next door and Tacos El Tucan too). We took a ride share, but street parking is available. Looking forward to coming on an event night to catch the local vibes.

My favorite watering hole! Love the bar and the staff. They are heavily Richmond centric with lots…read moreof photos and memorabilia adorning the walls and ceiling. The outdoor patio is wonderful with heaters scattered around the tables and chairs. They usually have a food truck for you to order from but I just walk over to El Tucan for som nachos! There ate a variety of featured cocktails, seasonally inspired. You'll need to show ID regardless of how "seasoned" you look. The staff are friendly and know their cocktails. I suggest you drop in and try one of their featured cocktails or a local beer.

Always a great time at Armistice Brewing Company. New brews almost every week! Also enjoy their…read moresmoothie beers, this week they had the Blackberry/blueberry coulis, must try! Butter's burgers is also on-site with some great burgers and fries to go with the drinks.

Had a comfortable stay meanwhile Sienna was there but as soon as another host took over named Joyce…read morethe whole mood changed. She was rude and saying the kids weren't allowed at the bar area when the place clearly says kid friendly. We felt uncomfortable and decided to close tab, and she continued to show aggression and make sure we knew she was the manager and was nothing we can do about it. Been to many breweries and this is the worst so far just due the management. Update on my review.... I just got kicked out and I'm sure it was due to the review. The manager herself asked us to leave right after the review. When we asked why all she could say was because my kids were running around having fun with no warning whatsoever that they were being disruptive, how coincidental.

Great place to come eat a bite, drink a bear, and sing a karaoke song!…read more I came here with some friends on a week night. It was pretty empty and had two nice pool tables. There's a food guy in the back that serves Japanese food (pretty good!). The karaoke sound system is pretty janky but functional and the DJ is very nice.

Boy, this place takes me back. Way back. Way, way, way back. When I was a puppyish sophomore still…read moretrying to figure out my major, I remember coming here with my similarly awkward dorm mates for what would be the beginning of a lifetime of cocktail debauchery. I remember when it had a tiki vibe, and we shared a ridiculously potent concoction called the Borneo Fogcutter. I don't remember much after I passed out. Good times. Now it's a hundred years later, and it was my first time back. Seriously. I probably thought how could they could top the Borneo Fogcutter? They don't try. The tiki decor has clearly been long gone, and it's just a standard brick-laden bar with a more East Coast vibe and extra space for tables, banquettes, and a pool table. None of the extra space was being used when Jamie W and I paid a visit, though the bar itself was fairly packed. The bartender was friendly and made a solid $11 Rum Punch since we were in the mood for something tropical given my checkered past here (Photo 5). On a subsequent visit, we took advantage of Happy Hour and went with the $6 Tequila Sunrises which had a surprising kick (Photo 8). DRINKS - 4 stars...no Borneo Fogcutters but their drinks have punch AMBIANCE - 3 stars...showing its age SERVICE - 3.5 stars...bartenders are different each visit TOTAL - 4 stars...Spats has matured and so have I (hypothetically) RELATED - Exploring Berkeley? Here's my collection of places I've tried and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2CbVh8u

What a great relaxed venue for music and food. It's like a block party. The casual relaxing…read moreatmosphere is perfect for winding down after a long work week

Food was just okay. I think the burgers could be a little more substantial for the price. Menu…read moredoesn't really show the items that well because it is AI slop. Line was super long and they got one person taking orders when we went. They have no beer on tap and it is all in cans. Lack of much shade was killer on a hot sunny day. This is a good place for groups and seems like a nice communal spot at least. Lots of people seem to show up and have fun playing various games.

Tried the Wild Thing cocktail. Tastes just like an Al pastor taco in the best way possible. HIGHLY…read morerecommend for mezcal lovers. Also, great vibe and great service. Full bar!!!

I have a fairly large at home bar with plenty of ingredients, so it gets harder to find a place…read morethat serves craft cocktails that I couldn't make myself. Tupper and Reed still stands tall above everyone else. I stopped in on a Saturday evening, feeling pretty mellow. After I arrived, a band started up that reminded me of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. You can't beat the ambiance, since this was an old music store, and the please is littered with antique record players and instruments. There are some negative reviews here about rude, more accurately, unresponsive bartenders, and I don't think they get what this place is all about. If you want a chatty, friendly bartender, go to an Irish pub. This place is all about creating unique concoctions in volume. Having said that, I'll tell you a story. In March 2019, I was with a chatty bartender here, since it was a quiet night. I was looking at the vast array of bottles, and noticed something that said "Buffalo Trace" but looked different from their usual bottle. I asked her what it was, and she didn't know. It had about three fingers left at the bottom, so she looked at me mischievously and said, "wanna finish it with me?" So we did. Turns out, that 375 ml bottle was worth about $300. It was one of their experimental batches, made with oats in 2002. I found a bottle online in England and got it shipped here. Best whiskey I've ever had.