Broken Berkeley social scene

I haven’t had a drink in a bar for four months now, so I’m trying to remember where are all the places I used to go… All these great places that I miss dearly (if you’re looking for things to do in the meantime, check out you hikes in the East Bay and the Bay Area.)

Berkeley Art Museum / Pacific Film Archive during the Covid-19 pandemic

Theatres

Best places to watch a movie:

Restaurants and Bars

  • Jupiter (Shattuck) – beloved Berkeley bar, with good pizza
  • Comal (Shattuck) – upscale Mexican
  • Cheeseboard Pizza (Gourmet Ghetto)
  • Cafe Panisse (Gourmet Ghetto) – Beloved pizza place
  • Kiraku (Telegraph) – my favorite Japanese restaurant, very busy
  • Imm (University) – very good and cheap thai restaurant
  • Millenium (Rockridge) – upscale vegan restaurant; unique, worth a try!

Music

  • The Backroom (1984 Bonita), a very nice, intimate place with a lot of jazz and blues. You sit in couches and can bring your own wine. Very cheap (<$20)
  • Freight and Salvage (2020 Addison), the place for country, blues and word music in Berkeley
  • California Jazz Conservatory (2040 Addison, where the music school is; often concerts
  • Ashkenaz (1317 San Pablo), a legendary venue for world music. Check out their weekly cover of the Grateful Dead, quite an experience usually on Wednesday. Lots of reggae.
  • The Soundroom (2147 Broadway, Oakland) a non-profit that brings a lot of great jazz players in the Bay Area. highly recommended
  • Yoshi’s (510 Embarcadero West, Oakland) another legendary Jazz venue in Oakland. A bit more upscale, but very nice still.
  • In San Francisco, there’s SF Jazz, Slim’s and Club Deluxe that I like very much

Outside Jazz, here are a few places to check out