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Favorite East Bay Bars

By Don't Tell Mom•7 Places

Little Hill Lounge

Bar • (510) 529-4310 • WEBSITE
10753 San Pablo Ave

Great vibes, perfect warm lighting, booths and a circular bar. Excellent and prolific live music series plus DJs, Freakyoke, and The Bingo Ate My Baby. Plus photo booth, drinks for all budget types and plenty of N/A options. Dog friendly, a mix of locals, hip kids, and everything in between. Love this spot.

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Cafe Van Kleef

Bar • $ • (510) 763-7711 • WEBSITE
1621 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94612, USA

Old school dive bar known for making insane greyhounds with fresh grapefruit. You get a quarter of the fruit as a garnish on top of your drink. Dim lighting in the best way, eclectic decor, occasional live music. It's a locals joint but the Fox Theatre crowd piles in before and after a show. Great spot.

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Drexl

Cocktail Bar • (510) 858-5398 • WEBSITE
382 19th St

Another vibey spot with great lighting/decor and solid drinks. Seasonal changing cocktail menu is always interesting. Upstairs pinball machine, djs on the weekend and close to Fox Theatre.

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Mad Oak Bar

Bar • (510) 924-2047 • WEBSITE
135 12th St

Mainly for you beer drinkers and sportos, this spot has one of the best outdoor patios, in fact two of them, one upstairs. They project all the games on a giant outdoor wall, it's an awesome place to watch Bay Area centric teams. Tons of taps and the cocktails aren't bad either. Good bites in the front also.

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The Double Standard

Cocktail Bar • (510) 879-7601 • WEBSITE
2424 Telegraph Ave

I like this spot early in the day on a weekend, the back patio has redwood trees and is gorgeous. Gets packed later in the eves, has good drinks and lots of space. But the trees, that's the thing.

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The Factory Bar

Bar • (510) 778-1079 • WEBSITE
12517 San Pablo Ave

Another INSANELY gorgeous patio, filled with native blooming plants and thoughtful built in seating. Dog friendly outside, food trucks out front and a great taco spot on the corner you can bring over. Cool space, decent drinks and kitchy decor. The patio is truly one of the nicest spots to hang with a cocktail and your buds.

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Wolfhound Bar

Bar • (510) 338-3023 • WEBSITE
5516 San Pablo Ave

Cool decor, usually chill but the East Bay Rats hang out there too and can be kind of ratty. Very hip in a John Waters kind of way, good lighting, decent drinks tho I go for a cider and a shot here.

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