Travel+ Leisure thinks so...

http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/america-s-best-college-bars-000439681.html

America's Best College Bars

The Albatross, UC Berkeley, Calif.

Berkeley's oldest pub sees a lot of the youngest legal drinkersalong with grad students, faculty, and local book clubs and sports teams. Once called "a community center that happens to sell alcohol," this is one bar where you can walk in with a stack of pizza boxes and plop down in a booth like it's your living room. There are even classic games like Scrabble, Taboo, and Trivial Pursuit. While popcorn is the only food sold, the bottled beer list is 60 labels long, and the 14-handle draft lineup has a sweet spot for Belgians.

I guess I never really thought of the Albatross as a college bar....mainly because it isn't that close to campus. Does that mean any bar in Berkeley is considered a college bar?

for sure it's a college bar. As long as students (undergrad and grad) frequent the bar, it counts. A lot of my friends back in the day would like to go to the Albatross just for the games and popcorn to go along with the drinks

I don't know many undergrads who go there, but I do know lots of grad and professional students who hang out there.

I had totally forgot about that place. Brings back some good memories. Definitely college friendly, but not so close to campus that it felt like Kipps or some other near campus joint.

hanky1;842111878 said:

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I don't know many undergrads who go there, but I do know lots of grad and professional students who hang out there.

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Does it still have darts and shuffleboard?

forget the Albatross, for true Cal folks it's the Fish (or for the uninitiated, the Kingfish) - the other joints are for the dilettantes, groupies, hangers-on and assorted wanna-bes

UCBerkGrad;842111834 said:

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Travel+ Leisure thinks so...

http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/america-s-best-college-bars-000439681.html

America's Best College Bars

The Albatross, UC Berkeley, Calif.

Berkeley’s oldest pub sees a lot of the youngest legal drinkers—along with grad students, faculty, and local book clubs and sports teams. Once called “a community center that happens to sell alcohol,” this is one bar where you can walk in with a stack of pizza boxes and plop down in a booth like it’s your living room. There are even classic games like Scrabble, Taboo, and Trivial Pursuit. While popcorn is the only food sold, the bottled beer list is 60 labels long, and the 14-handle draft lineup has a sweet spot for Belgians.

I guess I never really thought of the Albatross as a college bar....mainly because it isn't that close to campus. Does that mean any bar in Berkeley is considered a college bar?

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It's too far from campus to be considered a college bar in my book as well. But still an awesome berkeley bar :-)

Scooterville Gau;842111932 said:

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forget the Albatross, for true Cal folks it's the Fish (or for the uninitiated, the Kingfish) - the other joints are for the dilettantes, groupies, hangers-on and assorted wanna-bes

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lame observation

Yep, more of a graduate student bar given the plethora of board games. Most undergrads aren't even of legal drinking age. Most of their drinking happens at frat or house parties.

UCBerkGrad;842111834 said:

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Travel+ Leisure thinks so...

http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/america-s-best-college-bars-000439681.html

America's Best College Bars

The Albatross, UC Berkeley, Calif.

Berkeley's oldest pub sees a lot of the youngest legal drinkersalong with grad students, faculty, and local book clubs and sports teams. Once called "a community center that happens to sell alcohol," this is one bar where you can walk in with a stack of pizza boxes and plop down in a booth like it's your living room. There are even classic games like Scrabble, Taboo, and Trivial Pursuit. While popcorn is the only food sold, the bottled beer list is 60 labels long, and the 14-handle draft lineup has a sweet spot for Belgians.

I guess I never really thought of the Albatross as a college bar....mainly because it isn't that close to campus. Does that mean any bar in Berkeley is considered a college bar?

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If the Albatross is a college bar, then so it Brennan's. I think both are discovered late by most students due to their locations, but I logged as many good memories in those two spots as most any of the campus bars in my total time in Berkeley, although I'll admit most of my time in these were late or after having graduated.

And yes, Kingfish is a great stop, but hardly the only one.

Kingfish, Albatross, Hotsy Totsy, Bill McNally's all were on the circuit. Also, the famous piano bar on Grand Avenue...forget the name, but that was a blast.

The Albatross was okay, how can you dislike free popcorn and games? Also use to go to Brennan's and Bertola's. All were once in a while deals.

The new Brennan's is a good place to catch a Cal game now. The hof brau isn't anything special but it's solid and reasonable in price. Lots of TVs.

p.s. There use to be a place way up San Pablo called "The Office".

beelzebear;842112032 said:

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The Albatross was okay, how can you dislike free popcorn and games? Also use to go to Brennan's and Bertola's. All were once in a while deals.

The new Brennan's is a good place to catch a Cal game now. The hof brau isn't anything special but it's solid and reasonable in price. Lots of TVs.

p.s. There use to be a place way up San Pablo called "The Office".

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I did a couple-year stint on the top of the hill in Albany and so got to know some of the San Pablo bars, including The Office. It seemed to be one of about 3 or 4 that except for the name on the door could have been fully interchanged. Make no mistake, professional drinkers were the norm.

Brennan's was ideal following a late afternoon of windsurfing or sailing. The summer fog would howl in and leave you simultaneously exhausted and frozen. The hot coffee drinks were numerous, stiff, and cheap perfect off the water.

Oski87;842112027 said:

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Kingfish, Albatross, Hotsy Totsy, Bill McNally's all were on the circuit. Also, the famous piano bar on Grand Avenue...forget the name, but that was a blast.

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That would be The Alley, still going strong:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-alley-oakland

Spent more than a few hours there in my twenties (and even a few in my teens), since that was my old neighborhood growing up, even before heading a few miles away to Cal.

drizzlybears brother;842112080 said:

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I did a couple-year stint on the top of the hill in Albany and so got to know some of the San Pablo bars, including The Office. It seemed to be one of about 3 or 4 that except for the name on the door could have been fully interchanged. Make no mistake, professional drinkers were the norm.

Brennan’s was ideal following a late afternoon of windsurfing or sailing. The summer fog would howl in and leave you simultaneously exhausted and frozen. The hot coffee drinks were numerous, stiff, and cheap – perfect off the water.

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A bunch of those old professional drinking establishments have gone hipster recently which makes sense. If they weren't taken over, they'd just die. It was funny visiting those places in the 80s. The old guys would look at youngsters with suspicion. Didn't go that often...it was still cheaper to go to JayVee and go home.

I do wish I made it to The Office, just so I could say, when asked, that I was, at "The Office". I assumed that why it had that name. Loses some cache with mobile phones and fast communications.

Never thought about Brennan's in the afternoon but that makes sense.

Scooterville Gau;842111932 said:

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forget the Albatross, for true Cal folks it's the Fish (or for the uninitiated, the Kingfish) - the other joints are for the dilettantes, groupies, hangers-on and assorted wanna-bes

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And the fish is for stone cold alcoholics.:beer:

Club Mallard?

Berkeleyside: Drinking around Berkeley: A Nosh guide (interactive map)

UCBerkGrad;842111834 said:

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I guess I never really thought of the Albatross as a college bar....mainly because it isn't that close to campus. Does that mean any bar in Berkeley is considered a college bar?

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Albatross is a good bar, but I wouldn't really consider it a college bar.... college bars are where a ton of kids go who basically still have their drinking training wheels still on and order swill that is dirt cheap. I mean in college, I remember pounding plastic bottle liquor of low quality with some nasty mixers on two for tuesdays at henrys and pickin up some $6 pitchers where ever they had 'em. Paying $4 - $5 a pint for some dignified beer and bar experience a couple of miles from campus wasn't on the game plan most of the time.

I did see someone mention the hotsy totsy - does everyone know it's gone full upscale craft cocktail bar these days? Complete remodel, and I ordered a gin and tonic there not not so long ago and they upsold me to some homemade tonic. I figured why the F not? Next round, ordered some random craft drinks that literally too 5 minutes to make and they even lit one on fire. Definitely not the bar it used to be....

These days, I'd take the albatross over kips, provided it's not a gameday thing.

And when paging through the other bars in the list - lots of ivy league and dignified bars on there - perhaps the Albatross is a fine representative for Cal and the COB.

for you oldsters: Vernetti's Townhouse in Emeryville.

Bearacious;842112164 said:

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for you oldsters: Vernetti's Townhouse in Emeryville.

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Didn't they have triple bourbon Tuesdays for a buck?

Boot;842112198 said:

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Didn't they have triple bourbon Tuesdays for a buck?

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A great steak!
For older bars; Palm Gardens on Solano, Berkeley Square on Uni, and the Old Spengers ( "Smith for Two in the Teak, Brown for four in the Brig").
In the fifties and sixties' Spengers was the number one bar in drink volume in the US.

Scooterville Gau;842111932 said:

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forget the Albatross, for true Cal folks it's the Fish (or for the uninitiated, the Kingfish) - the other joints are for the dilettantes, groupies, hangers-on and assorted wanna-bes

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I miss The Steppenwolf. Last time I was there Mario Savio was tending bar.

bluehenbear;842112146 said:

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Club Mallard?

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This.... and the Ivy Room and Quick's Little Alaska...I used to drink with Harvey Salem's dad there...

bluehenbear;842112146 said:

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Club Mallard?

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Yes, Club Mallard.

Best Grad student bar, The Triple Rock. Berkeley's first BrewPub whose graduates have gone on to create other great brew pubs.

Ahhhhh, the social history of Berkeley's bars. In the first half of the 60's, you frequented the Fern if you were a frat/jock, or a future member of Skull and Keys. The Kingfish was an everyman's drunk. The Steppenwolf was a bohemian's drunk. Larry Blake's Rathskeller was the only location for your twenty first birthday, regardless of other social identifications. The Fireside was where you went in your senior year when you were going to get all serious about something and actually wanted conversation.

SchadenBear;842112346 said:

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Yes, Club Mallard.

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Love that place.

FCBear;842112342 said:

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This.... and the Ivy Room and Quick's Little Alaska...I used to drink with Harvey Salem's dad there...

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The funniest thing about the little Alaska was that it was right across the street from the albany police station with the blood alcohol level per person registering 4.0.

Boot;842112418 said:

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The funniest thing about the little Alaska was that it was right across the street from the albany police station with the blood alcohol level per person registering 4.0.

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I think that's a fact.

So anyone take their date to Spats?