I haven't really been around campus since I graduated several years ago, so pardon the ignorance.. But I'm pleasantly surprised that this location, which formerly housed a number of failed business including the 2-star-rated (by me) Pepe's pizza, is now occupied by this cool bar/hangout spot. I wish this was here when I was in undergrad! I have to caveat this by saying I came during Christmastime, so campus and South Side were really quiet. So I'm not sure if my experience is the standard one, but in my solitary experience here, the bar was pretty empty, a few groups of people were hanging around some of the games, and a few tables were occupied by groups of young people. From what I recall, there are a number of pool tables (maybe 6?), two giant Connect4 games, an oversized shuffleboard table, and two (or more?) TVs. There were also a number of long wooden bar tables and plenty of barstools to use. Seems like a fun place to come hang out for some drinks and some bar games! They also had some food on the menu but we didn't get anything, so no comment on that. read more

Tap Haus - Christmas decorations (Dec 2015) - Pool Halls Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Always a good time here. I have made Tap Haus my go to spot for after work drinks, dates, and visitor drinks. 1. They have a good selection of German and Non-German Beers. You can get a pint of a 20oz? Something bigger than a pint. Not to mention if you want the infamous boot, they got it. If you came here and did not get a boot, you really didn't come here. 2. They have a bunch of games you could play. Pool that you pay for at the bar, two giant connect 4's and a giant jenga. This place is pretty big but they just opened an upstairs section. It has a different vibe up there and is really nice! 3. It is literally in the most prime location. It is right off of Telegraph on Dwight, around a lot of other bars and the Asian Ghetto. *As a heads up, 10 buck minimum to use cards, so keep that in mind. Don't have cash? Just open a tab, cause who is going to stop at only 1 beer. So glad that I have this place as my spot. The bartenders are really cool and everyone I have brought here has really enjoyed it. read more

This will be my new spot for pool and drinks with company. They also have jumbo size Jenga and connect 4. The price for pool is very reasonably and their drink selection is not bad at all. I've been here on numerous occasions and always have had a fun time. I believe it's cheaper for pool before 8pm. read more

Great experience great staff it'd been a few years since my last time in Berkeley but Andre the bartender ... amazing service thanks my man will stop by again read more

this place would have gotten at least 4 stars from me but as verified by several negative reviews specifically about hostile treatment from some of their staff members, while some staff are consistently friendly and responsive, other staff members at this venue are petty, EXTREMELY toxic, and aggressive. In particular there is a tall black bartender (flat cap wearing, lazy-eyed/bug-eyed, approximately 6'6" with intense H.N.I.C. energy) who boasts being a military man but who clearly struggles with some major patterns of toxic masculinity and perhaps ptsd. Staff here consistently produce traumatic experiences for their clientele over trivial issues that are simple and easy to manage amicably. from the moment we walked in we were treated with such hostility from the previously mentioned bartender who takes it upon himself to play bouncer and harass customers about their ID (my friend and I are both 35yo men). according to other staff including the actual bouncer it's absolutely not his job and he's apparently been pretty abusive to other staff members historically. We sensed his aggression immediately and responded with warm and gregarious energy to set a healthier frame of interaction and initially it seemed to work in disarming him slightly. We moved on, had a great interaction with the bartender named Natalie, ordered, made a couple new friends at the bar and shot pool for a couple hours. It was super fun and we made fast friends with the couple playing next to us. Then my friend needed to use the bathroom. We saw a sign that said it was downstairs so my friend went downstairs and was treated terribly by the same toxic bartender downstairs for merely sitting down on the chair outside the bathroom to send a text message. The whole bottom floor appears to be a duplicate of 1st floor: bar, pool tables, other games, so even though that's where the bathrooms are, the amenities (bar, games) are closed down. When my friend went downstairs he saw a young black woman shooting pool by herself and the aggressive bartender from before. The bartender and the other woman who, unbeknownst to my friend was also on staff, but they use the space as their private hangout spot and feel entitled to be incredibly hostile in their attempts to regain their privacy by aggressively rushing people out of the space after they use the bathroom. my friend came upstairs distraught about the way he had just been treated after merely sitting down on a chair to send a quick text. This continued hostility crossed the line for me and I went downstairs to address the issue directly. As I began, I stammered slightly trying to approach the conversation compassionately, but in short order was directed to "just spit it out" and that he's a military man so to just be straight with him. I responded by saying " i'm actually trying to be nice here and don't need you to coach me on how to communicate with you. But fair enough. I'll give it to you straight. despite the fact that we've been very friendly, you've been pretty hostile toward my friend in me and it's really not OK." At this point he completely lost his composure with me, he immediately escalated the situation and the aggression and hostility ballooned as both he and the other woman downstairs not only began yelling at me, but threatening and verbally abusing me. They tried to shame me for sticking up for my friend on some toxic masculinity vibe -- this "military man" insinuated that because I was sticking up for my friend that my friend must be a coward. I responded by sharing that I didn't agree with that logic and that as he was voicing that to me, he was himself simultaneously allowing a fellow female staff member to come to his rescue in a pretty non-threatening situation but the irony seemed to escape him. I invited them to both examine the intensity of their emotional response and negative energy over something so small and then I walked back upstairs as the woman stood at the bottom of the stairs shouting "BYE!! BYE!! BYE!! BYE!!" There was nobody at the venue present to manage this inappropriate behavior, but I was able to speak with a couple other staff members and plan to continue to do my part in seeing to it that this issue is addressed. Completely absurd. blown away that whoever owns this business allows their staff to routinely undermine the entire core and purpose of the enterprise. Unless there is appropriate re-dress, we are damn sure never coming back to this location and will be very vocal about telling all of our people to avoid it at all costs! SOO many reviews of people leaving with traumatic experiences. Do not risk it. There's nothing this place offers you can't access nearby. The billiards spot beside BlInd Tiger in Oakland for example and many others. DO NOT RISK IT!!! STAY AWAY!!!!! read more

Beware if you have an out-of-state ID. I was an OOS student with an unexpired non California driver's license showing I was 21. There's someone to check ID's at the door, and while the first couple times I went to Tap Haus, I didn't have any issues, one time I went with a group of friends and my ID was confiscated at the door. The checker took one look at my ID and said "yeah. No." He tucked it into his pocket and refused to let me have my ID back, stating, "it's a fake. You don't need it back." This was my driver's license. It took 20 minutes of back and forth to get it back, with him the entire time insisting that it was a fake so I didn't need it back. Incredibly stressful. read more

The bouncer/security guard rejected my REAL ID - my legitimate unexpired driver's license showing I'm 21 - while being incredibly rude and unnecessarily sassy about it. When we asked to speak to a manager (hoping a manager might have some sense and recognize it was not a fake ID) the bouncer rudely informed us that he was the manager, then told us to go to Cornerstone or another bar, which my friends and I did. At that point we had no desire to give this place any business. How are you the manager of a bar and you can't identify a legitimate ID?? It felt like he had a problem with something else about me, the way he was so incredibly rude and condescending. An incredibly appalling experience; my friends and I will make sure all of our contacts in the East Bay know to avoid this establishment. read more

Pretty good spot in Berkeley, especially since they've opened their upstairs part late this year! The last time I went here was for a friend's 21st and we had a pretty good time- it was a Monday night so it was basically empty but it was fine. We let the bartender mix us a drink of her choice for my friend's birthday, and it was some vibrant strawberry drink that was definitely on the sweet side but definitely very good. My favorite drink I had there was an orange soju mojito, which had a really good fresh fruit taste but it was also strong. The selection of beers and ciders here is also good. One of the only disappointing things here was the sangria, a tiny glass of it was $7. Also to be fair, I've only been here on weekdays usually to celebrate friends' birthdays, so I have no insight on how this place gets when it's really crowded/busy on weekends or holidays. read more

Not a bad place to shoot pool. Came in on a Sunday at 5:30pm and only the upstairs tables were occupied. Here are a few photos of the downstairs area. Happy to see holiday decor up. :) read more

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Kate is the best bartender she know how to do all the drinks and her customer service is the best thing that both berkeley students and berkeley residents deserve. She is thorough and thoughtful with all customers. She is the bartender in Berkeley. read more

Extremely kind and friendly staff. Andre and Kai were lovely. Definitely would recommend to a friend and will be returning soon. Excellent music selection and holiday decorations. Overall, a splendid experience ! read more

Beer and cider only. A few German food items and soda as well but it seems like most folks go inside for the hourly pool table rentals or proximity to campus. The tables are $6 an hour before 8 and $12 thereafter. If they had hard liquor and/or a heated patio it'd be more alluring, but the fact that playing a quarter table anywhere else is way cheaper anytime of day will probably keep me preferring other spots over this one. Bartender was really nice though and patrons were friendly and respectful. Comfortable seating and good spacing between the pool tables too! read more

Walked in off the street, never having been to this place, and was welcomed like a regular. Great vibe. Too many places behave as if their customers are a nuisance. Not the Tap Haus. A friendly bartender is such a plus. Sampled a few tasty german beers and settled on a dunkelweiss that hit a home run. Food looked good, too, but I was just there for a beer. Nice crowd thee, too. I shall return! read more

Don't be intimidated by the staircase down to get to Tap Haus. The bar is actually quite charming! Bartender is friendly and very optimistic. There's a pac man and pinball machine for those craving a little arcade (Pac Man is 50 cents btw). There are a good amount of pool tables, a large jenga and huge connect fours. Pretty fun place to stop by with friends. I'd come back if I was in the area and my friends wanted to lose in connect four again :) read more

I absolutely fell in love with their wings and garlic fries! This place is under rated everybody should know how amazing their food is!!! Iv became a regular at this point, my favorite bartender is Melissa she makes sure your taken care of, pays attention if you need another drink, super nice and dope! This place is overall bomb af! Not to mention that down stairs they have a bunch of games to play with and pool tables, and the best part is there is no cover charge to come to this awesome bar! read more

This is definitely one of the better places in the area to meet with friends for a fun night out. They have an excellent atmosphere with plenty of pool tables, seating and televisions for all to enjoy. In addition, they also have an oversized game of connect four on tabletop that will surely occupy a lot of your time once you get one of their many beers in your system. They have an awesome beer menu, they stock many traditional German lagers as well as many local favorites from brewers such as Moonlight Brewery. read more

This place is hoping on game days! They basically took over an old Korean karaoke spot from many many years ago, and made it into an awesome bar with pool tables, decent amount of seating, big TV, and oversized jenga. The options of the beer on tap was just ok, but I like the environment a lot. Great for groups to socialize and ok place to watch the game (may be too loud). But, if you want to get a midway stop on the way up to the stadium, this would be a good place to grab a drink. read more

The manager rang the bell, release a huge stream of bubbles into the bar and publicly congratulated my wife and me when we happened in on our wedding night! read more

I was here almost a week ago with some girlfriends. The atmosphere was chill, there was huge connect four games, a huge Jenga and pool tables. They have a beer and wine bar, staff are super friendly. I didn't catch his name but he was a bartender with long hair n facial hair, he was very attentive and very nice. There was also a guy named Kai who attended to us, super nice as well :) parking isn't too bad if you park in the parking garage across the street. I would definitely come back, a new spot for sure! read more

Tap Haus - Had an amazing time with friends...can't you tell! - Pool Halls Near Me - Berkeley, California

Not a bad beer bar, considering that so much of the Berkeley restaurant scene is about selling underwhelming food and alcohol products to underwhelming consumers. The two times I went, both in the afternoons, no food was available - not even pretzels. This seems like a fairly major oversight in a German"ish" bar, but gladly welcomed getting food for other places and bringing in - not the same thing, but an okay alternative. My bartender/server was really nice, and handled the occasional goofy college kid with aplomb. Overall, this was not a bad place to while away a few hours on a Saturday afternoon in Berkeley. read more

I've been loving this place a lot lately. Good selection of some really great beers, and bartenders and staff are awesome with some skills. No hard liquor (yet), but their soju drinks have actually won me over. The kitchen was a great surprise. The food is always on point, and it's not just what you think of as "bar food". There are some really great plates and sandwiches, and their BBQ is next level. Seriously, I've been trying to grab the cook to get him to sell me his BBQ sauce! Also, the sweet potato fries are definitely some of the best I've had and are a huge favorite for me and everyone I've shared them with. Seriously, it's super close to campus, not not expensive at all, and is a great meal. read more

This is a decent spot for drinks if you're near UC Berkeley. The space is really big (two floors with plenty of seating), and they have plenty of pool tables + some other games like giant Jenga. Drinks are pretty cheap here compared to the city. A cranberry vodka or gin and tonic after the football game was $6 and moscow mules + whisky gingers came out to $7. The pours seemed a bit light in my opinion though - one of the bartenders warned me that he poured a strong drink, but it was probably weaker than your typical bar in the city. read more

This place wasn't around when I went to school in Berkeley, but I noticed it last year when visiting. Decided to stop in on my last visit and really liked it! It's obviously a German style bar, with several of the beers on tap being ones you aren't going to find at most bars. I tried a white ale (I forget what it was called) that I really liked and my friend said her cider was good. Didn't try any of the food, but it looks like it's a pretty limited menu. What I really like about this place is the games! There's lots of pool tables (we didn't play so I'm not sure what it costs) as well as a LARGE Jenga and a couple of large connect fours. We played the later for a bit and had a lot fun. There's also a few arcade games. It's pretty much a given with this location, but the bar does seem to attract mainly students. My friend and I had gone to Raleigh's before coming here and the crowd there felt more our speed (older), but as we observed what was going on here we felt very old. read more

Wouldn't recommend coming to Tap Haus. Staff is not super friendly, and the drinks are mediocre.

I've travelled all over and have never experience this. My cousin and I (two light brown Asian guys) wanted to have a beer after the game. Freehouse and Henry's was crowded so we tried this place. We've been to Berlin. We like beer. Place was empty and relatively quiet. It's 4:30 pm. We could have a conversation. We sat at the bar. Waited. Waited. Crickets. And waited. Two bartenders working. One hapa dude that looked like he's 12. Seemed pretty high on himself. Other dude looked like a confederate soldier. Mustached. Dirty. Face was red. Drunk looking. We waited patiently. Figured they would come over since they were standing around. We waited. Other guys showed up standing next to us and was served immediately. Other brown guys showed up and they were served immediately. Cousin and I looked at each and scrunched our faces in confusion. Maybe we're invisible. Can't be because the hapa kid asked what I wanted before ignoring us over and over again. We were not gonna get served. Passive aggressive. Fucked up. This shit happening in Berkeley. In 2018. Really disturbing and disappointing. We got up and left without a fuss. Obviously this bothers me. A lot. Because being denied a beer is just plain wrong. Oh there's also the possibility of being discriminated again. === Just read a few other reviews of people sitting at the empty bar getting ignored. Would have avoided this place if I had known. Terrible, terrible bartenders. Very bad. Will never ever spend my money here. Will tell everyone of our experience as well. read more

I really enjoy going to this bar in Berkeley. Parking is a little bit of a pain in the behind but isn't parking everywhere in Berkeley that way? My favorite thing to eat there are the nachos and the mango habanero sausage. The bartender is absolutely wonderful and super sweet. My only real whole back is I wish they had other things besides just beer but the same time, it is Beer house.The atmosphere is pretty relaxed, and not tons of college traffic, feels more of an adult place. read more

Just found this gem. Me and my friends were looking for a place to go in Berkeley and we're so glad we found Taphaus. Delicious drinks, great ambience, this place has it all. The bartenders treated us well, recommended us the best drinks. Will be go back as soon as we can! read more

As a non-college student, trekking to Durant feels a little odd as I feel like I have been transported to many years ago. I found Tap Haus to be pretty fun on a Friday night (well, "night" being 7:00 PM) where there was ample seating and pool tables, giant connect four, shuffle board, and life size Jenga, well, maybe medium sized Jenga. BEER: Your standard fare of California standards like Racer 5, but there are some German imports available. You can get a boot of beer, so there's always that. Overall, a decent variety that can appeal to any taste. SERVICE: The whole evening, there were 2-3 bartenders that were pretty attentive. Reasonably priced to appeal to the college crowd and is a large enough bar that is able to accommodate people instead of those tiny places in San Francisco. If you get here early enough, then you can grab a game to play with friends. I'm a fan of Tap Haus and is a welcome addition to Durant for those days you think you can relive your college days. read more

Crowded fratty vibe on fridays and saturdays, but chill during the week. Games are fun, and the beer options are decent, but no hard alcohol or mixed drinks, unlike Pappys and Kips. The bouncer is a pretty mediocre human being. He rudely took my ID calling it fake (it wasn't). It was a hassle; I argued with this condescending man for some time until I had to threaten to call the cops to get it back. He's the reason I won't be coming back and he's obviously very strict so stay away if you are using a questionable ID. Its a shame because I had come here several times before and during the week it really is a decent alternative to the other Berkeley bars. read more

Good pool, good eats, (surprisingly really good Cesar salad and seasoned fries), cheap too! Only serves wine and beer though. Kind of wish they had a bit more options as far as alcohol. read more

Came here on a Tuesday night with my roommate for his 21st birthday. The outside is sketchy and a little more difficult to find than usual because it's downstairs. It was under construction throughout my sophomore year (Fall 2015 -- Spring 2016), so I never thought I would actually step foot inside. The inside is hella dope. It open into a large room with tables on the left, bar on the right. The two bartenders were pretty neutral towards us (probably because my roommate was getting up there in number of drinks) and so we didn't exactly have a great experience with them. I'm sure they're great people though. There is giant Jenga, two giant Connect 4 games (free), and six pool tables in the back (paid), all of which are hella fun. My roommate got two beer boots for his bday celebration (one was paid, the other on the house), both of which he shared with us. I enjoyed the beer -- it was more light and refreshing than what I expected (I just wish I could remember what it was). It's not very busy on a Tuesday night, but we still had to wait a bit to get a pool table. Overall I'm down to come back, but I do want to explore Berkeley's (and SF's) bar scene a lot more before I decide whether or not to become a regular here. read more

Good deal on 20oz beers. Interesting interior vibe w/ tons of pool tables. Wasnt able to try their food but will go back

I love this place always a welcoming environment. Located next to the campus very accessible and safe .

Him: Do you know Paris Baguette? My parents own Paris Baguette. Me: It's a franchise. Which one do your parents own? Him: The one on Shattuck Me: That's great. Does this usually work for you? Him: Blah Blah Blah Blah (I started to tune out at this point). Yup, I got hit on at Tap Haus. Should I be flattered? Was he going to give me all of the desserts I could ever want from Paris Baguette? I wanted to leave at this point. Seriously though - I'm not a huge fan of Tap Haus. The location is convenient for students and the pool tables are more legit than most places. The selection of beer is great but I'm not a beery drinker. There are some wines available but I'd rather go somewhere where I can get myself a Moscow mule. read more

Went here with a couple friends. Even though it was not super busy that night the vibe was still fun and enjoyable! The games there are really fun and the bartenders were all super cool. Plan to go here again soon! read more

I love this bar. It's the best in Berkeley. Charlie, Cam and Kai make it all worth it. Ask for them when you come.

Was looking for a place to watch the Warriors game and learned about this from a friend who says Tap Haus is supposed to be the next best thing since Talassa had closed down. It was pretty empty when we got there but it's to be expected since a lot of the college students were out of town for Thanksgiving. Some of us were starving so we ordered some food to eat. We ordered the Caesar salad, the shoestring fries, and my boyfriend and I shared a brat plate. The Caesar salad was really good. It's not your typical Caesar salad. Yea, it's a creamy sauce but it tastes so much different than the normal Caesar salad. Like a German Caesar sauce. Needless to say, I liked it so much that I ordered two of them. The shoestring fries were really good. They were truffle fries with a garlic aioli sauce. I never was really found of truffle fries just because I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be tasting when it comes to the truffle flavor but these fries were really good. It had a nice garlic truffle taste to it. I couldn't stop eating them, but I was also pretty starving too. I tried the first two brats on the list and they were good. I've never had German brats so it was different taste to American dogs. The vibe was pretty chill. They have a giant connect four display that you can play, as well as, giant jenga pieces that will scare the crap out of you when they fall if you're not paying attention. There's also 6 pool tables and that game where you slide the pucks across a salt table. I don't even know what that game is called. At around 9:30-10pm, the lights dim out and the ID card guy is seated by the door to check your ID. They also play really awesome music. Some old school rap songs, some new, a bunch of in between. It was an all around good time. But don't overdo it on the German beers. They're a creeper, I kid you not. All of my guy friends who drank them had killer hangovers the next day. But then again, they had at least 5-6 cups each. read more

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Super fun bar to go to with friends! I came for a birthday party and we all had a blast. We grabbed a large table by the giant Jenga, which was great to play with friends and strangers alike. The best and worst part is when the Jenga tower comes crashing to the ground! They had other games like giant Connect4, pool and shuffleboard. It's right by Cal so it's full of students. The pool tables were all full by the time we got there. They had a large selection of beers, but don't expect a stellar recommendation from the bar tender. You need to know what you like to order. There was also a white and red wine on tap. Bar food is what it is, bar food (with a German flair). Overall, an awesome place to go with friends! (Especially if you're a sucker for competitive bar games) read more

Loved this joint, had a great time with some friends. Berkeley needed a place like this for sure. Chill spot. Good vibey ambiance. We went there on a Monday night pretty early, 7ish, wasn't very crowded-but it got packed. We played pool, drank beer, and swayed to the music. Also the bartender in was sweet so that's always a plus. read more

Tap Haus - Pool Halls Near Me - Berkeley, California

I came here to meet with some coworkers to play pool. I decided to come first so I could order food. The bartender was super friendly and I was immediately greeted at the bar. I ordered the garlic fries and I have no complaints. My coworkers met up with me a bit later and at this time the hourly rate for pool was about to increase. The bartender told me since I've arrived early he would charge us for the lower rate. On top of that he only charged us for an hour of pool although we played for a little over an hour. The bartender who served me that night is what prompted me to write this positive review. Unfortunately I didn't get his name. The customer service here is great and I highly recommend this place. read more