Started by two college friends who met in a brewing science class at (where else?) UC Davis, 21st Amendment Brewery has expanded from its original San Francisco location across the Bay Bridge. Hurrah! Just east of Oakland, the fun San Leandro brewery has a warehouse tasting room set up with communal wooden tables near the tall silver brewing vats. The...
We’re working hard to get you a new review soon. Thanks for being patient! In the meantime, feel free to share your experiences here by leaving a hint or tip below. Directions: It’s a four-block walk northwest of Oakland’s 12th St./City Center BART station.
Tell people you’re going to East Oakland for taco trucks and churros, and they’ll understand. Say you’re going to drink craft beer, and they might doubt that you’re telling the truth. But newcomer Alehouse Industries aims to change that. Nicknamed the Jingletown Jazz Room, the warehouse tap room — stocked with board games, a dart board, bench tables, and sofas — could not...
Originally, the Art Murmur happened simultaneously with Oakland’s ginormous First Fridays street festival. Now, Art Murmur takes place every Saturday afternoon, too, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.. It’s a much more chill experience on Saturdays, when you’ll spend less time fighting the crowds and more time inside the art galleries, which are mostly located in Uptown and Downtown. Come to chat with...
Conveniently near the ferry landing at Jack London Square, Bay Area Bikes rents hybrid cruiser bikes for pedaling around town, as well as performance road bikes, mountain bikes and tandem bicycles. Every rental includes a lock, a helmet, and a bike map for exploring. You could start with a cruise down the waterfront in Oakland, or head inland to make a loop...
Beer geeks, bike messengers, renegade artists, and punk rockers all unite in their support of this craft beer bar near Jack London Square. The selection of brews is staggering, or at least you may be staggering once you’ve downed a few pints. Their 50 draft beer taps change so often – sometimes by the day, or even the hour – that...
How long has divey Cafe van Kleef been issuing its siren call? Longer than Uptown’s hipsters have been crowding the bar, that’s for sure. A couple of things you should know: first, the cocktail of record here is the Greyhound, mixed with fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. Second, it’s the perfect bar to bring someone who isn’t a conversationalist to, since the...
If you’ve been walking around Jack London Square while staring out at the bay and wishing you could get out on the water, these folks can help. They’ll outfit you with a kayak or stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) set, rented by the hour or the day. While the views from the Oakland estuary aren’t always the most scenic, it’s still a...
Got a kid who is obsessed with becoming a colonist on Mars or living on the International Space Station? Or one who is fascinated by extreme weather and wants to fight climate change? Bring ’em to this hilltop museum, which is stuffed full of interactive exhibits, cool space memorabilia, and science-themed art. Don’t miss Bill Nye’s Climate Lab and the NASA...
Opened in 1950 on the shores of Lake Merritt, this tiny amusement park for tots was one of Walt Disney’s sources of inspiration when he was dreaming up Disneyland. The storybook theme park is like a children’s book come to life, complete with tame mechanical rides, fuzzy farm animals to pet, a puppet theater, blooming gardens, and fantasy play sets...
Not everyone will believe you when you say you’ve been to Oakland’s Chinatown. They’ll think that you meant Chinatown in San Francisco. Yet Oakland has its own pan-Asian neighborhood next to downtown. Look for the bilingual street signs stretching east of Broadway toward Madison St., and south of 12th St. toward the I-880 Freeway. Chinese immigrants first arrived in Oakland during California’s...
Secreted away among the industrial warehouses around Oakland’s airport, Cleophus Quealy is a small brewery with big heart. For beer geeks, it’s totally worth going out of your way to taste whatever eight or so Belgian-inspired beers are on tap today in the brewery’s tasting room, where kids and dogs are both very welcome. Each batch gets its own number, and...
On an unlikely looking corner in KONO, the Koreatown Northgate district just north of trendy Uptown, CommonWealth looks like an ordinary boxy pub that might find anywhere in England. Inside, it’s more like an airy coffeehouse, with a hipster-leaning vibe. They’ve got bottled ales and ciders imported from across the pond, a menu that includes Scotch eggs and shepherd’s pie, and weekly quiz nights....
It may be hard to believe nowadays, but this beach was the most popular waterfront amusement park in the San Francisco Bay Area from Victorian times up until WWII. Nicknamed the ‘Coney Island of the West,’ here ferries would drop off boatloads of day visitors who came seeking relief from the heat and their workaday lives. Though the crowds have...
For pre-dinner drinks or a nightcap after catching a live show at the Fox Theater, Dogwood is the cocktail bar of choice in Oakland’s Uptown. The neon signage outside has lettering that looks like it’s from the Jazz Age, and it’s as dark as a speakeasy inside. The cocktail list runs the gamut from classic whiskey sours and Brooklyns to new takes on...
Inside a salvaged Dodge car dealership, this 350-seat brewpub is Uptown’s laid-back social hub. Come on a foggy night and warm yourself by the fire pits while you sip one of this San Leandro beer maker’s tried-and-true brews, going strong since 1989. You’ll figure out your own favorite soon enough, but I always ask for a Black Robusto porter or a hoppy West...
On the first Friday evening of every month, from around 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., Telegraph Avenue from Uptown to the KONO (Koreatown Northgate) district turns into a huge street festival of food, arts and crafts, live music, and performance. Funk brass bands, acrobats, spoken-word poets, and political activists all reach out to the crowds, who come here to eat...
We’ve been to a lot of tiki bars. Trust us. Hawaii? Check. SoCal? Check. Florida? Check. Las Vegas? Check. Even Portland, Oregon? Check. But nothing compares with this side-street dive in the middle of Alameda, an island just across the water from Oakland. With a flower in her hair and always dressed in a flowing muumuu, the proprietor delivers flaming bowls...
With its gorgeous vintage neon sign, the Fox casts a spell on Uptown Oakland, especially on rainy nights. Originally opened as a 1920s movie palace, complete with a Wurlitzer organ, the theater is an Art Deco vision of an Indian palace with terra-cotta tiles and golden statues. These days, it’s one of the coolest concert venues in the Bay Area. The line-up...
In Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood, this craft beer shop and bar may not look like anything fancy, but it exerts a gravitational pull on beer aficionados. Step inside and walk back to the refrigerated cases chilling a bewildering variety of beer labels from around the Golden State and the USA, along with a hand-picked selection of imports. If you want to stay a...