Acme Bar & Company

Berkeley, United States

4.2

Closed now

27 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 510-644-2226
Address:
2115 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA, 94702
b/t Addison St & Cowper St
West Berkeley
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
590 ftUniversity Av & San Pablo Av
910 ftUniversity Av & Curtis St
920 ftUniversity Av & 9th
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
No
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Music
DJ, Juke Box
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Has TV
Yes
Dogs Allowed
Yes
Has Pool Table
No
Bike Parking
Yes
Outdoor Seating
No

Today

Today 3:00 pm – 2:00 am
Closed now
Local time (Berkeley) 10:22 Friday, 13 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 3:00 pm – 2:00 am
Tuesday 3:00 pm – 2:00 am
Wednesday 3:00 pm – 2:00 am
Thursday 3:00 pm – 2:00 am
Friday 3:00 pm – 2:00 am
Saturday 12:00 pm – 2:00 am
Sunday 12:00 pm – 2:00 am

Description

Specialties

Acme Bar carries a vast selection of liquors. 200+ whiskeys, 25+ gins, 30+ vodkas, 30+ tequilas. A warm, comfortable environment and a great, friendly staff are always ready to make customers a special cocktail or share their vast liquor knowledge.

2013 and 2014 Voted by The Bourbon Review as one of the Top 55 Bourbon Bars in the Country!

Happy Hour Mon — Fri 4pm — 7pm. Sat 12pm — 6pm!

$ 4 Racer 5 and Trumer Pilsner. $ 5 well drinks, $ 3 off house cocktails!

History

Established in 2002.

Established and opened in 2002. A local, neighborhood spot Acme caters to our neighbors, friends and travelers alike.

Meet the Business Owner

Jennifer S.

Business Owner

Jennifer has 20 years experience in the bar/​restaurant industry. She worked in San Francisco until 2002 when she opened Acme Bar. Her previous places of work include Savoy Tivoli, Absinthe Brasserie and Bar, The Buccaneer, Royale, Grant & Green, Sodini’s, Pier 23, Coup Club, Crowbar amongst others. She has extensive liquor and wine knowledge, recently completing her first level Sommelier. Her focus is to create a warm, friendly environment, with a heavy emphasizing on customer service and great liquors for customers to choose from and enjoy.

Acme Bar & Company also recommends

Handlebar

94

reviews

Bars

,

American (New)

Jennifer S. says,

«Great food right around the corner! Awesome dinner and brunch menu. Loevly wines and cocktails.»

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27 reviews of Acme Bar & Company

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Brentwood, CA
Acme is a very fun dive bar. The bartenders are great and very social with everyone and there is a sense of community here and they are very inviting to new comers. There is also a juke box that can play anything you want. Very fun! Sunday’s they do bloody Mary’s and usually slow cook steak for them and I believe they have steak sandwiches too on Sunday’s. That may be an occasional thing. Give it a try!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Had a fantastic experience here. Felt like finding a hidden whiskey gem. Sam was crazy knowledgable and fun to chat with. Will be back for sure.
Place rating: 5
Petaluma, CA
The real deal: friendly, knowledgable bar tender, low key crowd, great music. This was a perfect place to actually dig into some excellent liquor and spend time where you can actually hear your friends. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is ready to move beyond well drinks and bottled beer. It may be a little on the trendy/​hipster end of the spectrum but it’s not at all intimidating or exclusive feeling.
Place rating: 3
Berkeley, CA
Acme has dropped the steak from their meat shakes and replaced it with sausage! We come all the way cross town for these and especially with our vegetarian friends whose meat we get it was a nice little meal. Their bloody mix is still great but dropping the steak, not so hot. I’ll still come here for drinks when I’m on this side of town but def will not make the drive for a steak less bloody.
Place rating: 5
Newport Beach, CA
Love this bar. A local hideout with an excellent bartender. It is as homey as home gets
Do not tell anyone please
Place rating: 5
Walnut Creek, CA
Great bar !! Bartender Sam is the greatest. Knows his whiskey. Go for a good time and great service. Would highly recommend!
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I recently moved out of the Bay Area after spending 5 years there, and I can easily say that Acme is my favorite bar in the Bay. I will miss it dearly. It’s dive-​y in the best way, but still nice enough to go to after a nice meal with a date. The juke box works, the DJs are good, and the liquor selection is out of this world. You know how hard it is to find a neighborhood bar where you feel good going to in your fancy frock and heels after the symphony, or in your jeans, cat sweatshirt, and chucks? It’s hard!
Place rating: 4
Novato, CA
Stopped in for a flight of whiskey tasting. Couldn’t have been better.
Great service, great whiskey, reasonable prices.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
I love whiskey and I love great service. This place was amazing. James, our mixologist/​bartender/​drink chef was absolutely amazing. He made our night by educating us on all of the variations of whiskey and provided us with fantastic drinks. We will definitely be back. This place is great for whiskey, I could have drank the whiskey straight on the rocks had I not been in the mood for mixed drinks, it was that good! We will definitely be back for the exceptional customer service though, James made our evening full of smiles and the whiskey/​bourbon/​cognac lessons were eye opening!
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
How does a review go from one to five? When a house responds to a shitty situation and tries make you feel welcome again.
From the owner to the bartenders who were there when I went back, I feel that I can come back to my neighborhood bar and enjoy some good drinks again. I’m all about transforming negative experiences into something positive. I hope the bartender learned something that night about how to not let her own emotions effect her work ethic. Service is indeed an art that should be respected. And drinking at your local bar should be somethings g enjoyable. I’m enjoying. Thank you Sam and Bob for getting my buzz on correct. And thank you Stephanie for offering me a round on the house. It got me back to enjoy this little hole in the wall full of nectars.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
I went in around the holidays, and it was dark except for the twinkling lights and it was magical. Their Old Fashioned’s are delicious, and I was incredibly impressed by their whiskey selection. I’d love to come back here on a weekend for one of these Bloody Mary’s that everyone is hyping for sure.
Place rating: 4
Oakland, CA
I like having a drink here. The dark warm colors make this a good place to relax. There’s a TV and always a few good beers on tap. My favorite part is the ability to order a flight of scotch or bourbon from their extensive selection so you can check out a few and before sinking $ 14 into a whiskey you aren’t nuts about. I guess I could talk to someone if I wanted since the customers seem pretty cool, but by the end of the day I’m talked out and happy to just keep my mouth shut and enjoy a good bourbon.
There seems to be alot of turnover for the bartenders but usually they are very knowledgeable and friendly. Tuesday a woman bartending didn’t seem very knowledgeable or interested in finding a scotch for me, but was interested in doing a shot with a customer and making me worry that she accidentally gave my credit card to someone else. It was just one bad experience in 50 visits, though.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
How would I summarize Acme Bar? A slightly divey bar that is catered towards hipsters, in essence.
We dropped by after hearing very positive things about their Bloody Mary Sundays (although we didn’t quite find out what their Meat-​shake Sundays were). On a Sunday afternoon, it was mostly empty, except for many plaid-​bound college students waxing poetic about the wonders of mezcal rather loudly, possibly attempting to impress fellow barmates (and from the looks of it, failing).
Overall, there’s a solid range of drinks available, and the bar seems to be home to some die-​hard regular. The drinks are very, very stiff, as well. Just a bit too hipster/​divey for me, though.
Place rating: 1
Berkeley, CA
The wannabe Girl With The Dragon Tattoo girl with the buzz cut who looks like she wants to slay her customers, really ruins the Christmas spirit with her terrible attitude that matches her horrible drink making skills. She should be fired. Every other bartender I have met has been really friendly. I am born and raised in Berkeley and am not used to this kind of crappy service.
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
I like Acme. I especially like Acme now that they’ve put up some holiday decorations! With all the ornaments hanging from the ceiling, and the stockings on the walls, it makes the space even cozier and homier. The bartenders are always really nice, mixed drinks are about $ 6 and their fancier cocktails around $ 8. They have a big list of scotch flights that I never noticed before, including one Japanese one for $ 20 (the Japanese version at Longbranch is $ 30, for comparison). They have two TVs hanging in the back which are visible from the bar, but the sound isn’t up so they aren’t disruptive if you want to just ignore them. Great spot to duck in for a quick drink.
Place rating: 4
West Oakland, Oakland, CA
Good vibe, Sam is a great bartender, great location. The only thing that could make it better is a pool table in the back!
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
so much fun! Signs that make you laugh, beer and whiskey! A night out with the girls… great place. An old school neighborhood bar… in Berkeley. This hipster hippie felt right at home.
No food though… so grab a bite before imbibing!
Place rating: 4
Hayward, CA
I’ve been wanting to check this joint out for some time now, and finally was able to do it for my girlfriend’s birthday. It’s close to my work, on San Pablo, which is another plus. There’s a good happy hour deal (M-​F 3−7pm, $ 4 drafts and $ 2 off cocktails). The inside is fairly old-​man like, which is obviously ok to me and a sure sign of a decent establishment. Fruit flies hover around sadly, probably because the door and windows in front are open and the abundance of fruit on the bar. Just get your judo chop game on point and you should be able to fend off most of those nuisances. Now, to the main attraction: the libations. The cartoon character-​influenced titles are clever (get it? Acme? Foghorn Leghorn? I didn’t at first). I actually did go with the FL, and it was pretty action-​packed. Very heavy on the whiskey. Had to pace myself for fear of hitting the floor later. I would definitely be back to try some of the other drinks (there’s so many other Looney Tunes characters out there, begging to be put on the drink menu) and want to make a run at their infamous Bloody Mary, available only on Sundays. Sunday Funday, indeed.
Place rating: 4
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Tonight’s special: Gingerbeardman (spiced rum, ginger beer and lime) $ 7
Came in tonight with hubby to catch up with one of his favorite bro-​friends…
+ Tables and lots of seating available
+ I liked the lighting… It was dim, but not too dark which I appreciated since I was working on writing a speech for a wedding…
+ Tonight’s special was good and inexpensive compared to their other cocktails
+ Music wasn’t so loud… So no problems keeping up with conversations…
+++ I wanted a White Russian, but they didn’t have kahlua… So the bartender came up with a delicious alternative. Wish I knew what was in it exactly… It was yummy.
— Ants on the table. I just happened to notice since I was working on writing a speech…
Overall good experience, and I would come back!
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
Absolutely love Acme Bar. It’s our neighborhood spot, and I feel super lucky to live around the corner.
As much as I would love to attest to the whiskey selection, I am of Russian descent and primarily a vodka drinker. However, even though I don’t drink the stuff, I am constantly amazed at the knowledge that the bartenders have of the whiskeys from top [shelf] to bottom.
In terms of demographics, the crowd is pretty mixed, but as the night gets later, it’s not uncommon to see a lot of intermingling between groups. I’ve definitely made a lot of random friends a few cocktails in, especially while perusing the selection of tunes at the jukebox. There have been so many times that we’ve come in for «a drink» after dinner, but it turns into two or four (not usually more than that because when you hang out long enough, the pours get pretty generous) because we’re having such a good time!
Definitely beware of the fact that Lanesplitter’s is open late and located a few doors down; it’s super easy to stumble out of Acme and end up eating half of a pizza and an order of breadsticks before passing out in your happy stupor… not that this has ever happened to me or anything :-)
Place rating: 4
Hayward, CA
Did not think anything of the name, until I saw the drinks were named after all the Looney Tunes characters! I though that was pretty cool. Place is like a dive bar with lots of old men when I went. But the cocktails are good. The two I tried were the penelope pussycat and speedy gonzalez. I really like the speedy gonzalez. I wanted to try their infamous bloody mary, but the special bloody mary version they serve is only available on the weekends. The service is ok here. There were a lot of fruit flies here though. They really should do something about that, it was kind of annoying how many times I had to swat them away. But would come back again to get more drinks. There is also happy hour here, which is a plus.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
I am a loyal fan of this spot. It’s fairly priced, and the bloody mary is the BEST in the bay area.
Whiskey cocktails are also delicious. Spent an entire afternoon trying all different ones. This is my go-​to when I’m in the area.
Place rating: 5
Lexington, KY
Great.
Friendly service, fair prices, impressive hooch list.
Favorite east bay bar all the way!
Place rating: 4
Washington, DC
Top notch cocktails. Great vibe. I’ll be back.
We ordered featured drinks off the menu. I’m curious if they can do the classics well as well. I wish they had more whisky, but what I saw behind the bar looked good. They had a cocktail with sherry too, but I didn’t see any other bottles. Need to go back and investigate. This place has 5* potential. And I’ll be back to try them out again.
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
I like this bar because it has all the gems of West Berkeley. It’s definitely a different vibe, more blue collar, grad students, and divey – all the ways I’d describe it.
They make awesome drinks & have a crazy large bourbon selection. The meat shake is super popular and I can’t wait to try it. But not today.
Fridays and Saturday nights can be fun & kind of packed. But it’s a decent spot to have a low key drink.
Dogs often frequent this spot, so that can either be annoying or fun.
Place rating: 4
San Leandro, CA
We wandered in here for a second round of drinks after a nice dinner at the Long Branch Saloon. Our friend Paul wanted to do a spontaneous pub crawl since we had not seen each other in awhile. It is dark, comfortable not crowded place and cozy. Just right to sit in back next to the other table with a small group of guys and drink and hang out.
We had no idea what we wanted to drink so we wandered to the counter and took a long look at the extensive three pages of whisky listed and got overwhelmed by the number of choices so we moved on to the Tequila. After more indecision and some friendly and patient guidance from the very knowledgable bartender, we picked a very smooth and smoky Mezcal that I savored slowly –sipping small drafts over our quiet conversation.
My wife was taking a rest from drinking after having two cocktails at the restaurant. I enjoyed the bar. The service was very good and the selection of whisky was extensive. The bartender stated they have about 670 or so odd bottles of spirits at this bar, so lots of options. It was a fun experience so hopefully we remember this place for another time!
Place rating: 4
San Leandro, CA
2nd stop on our night out with our friend Paul! We walked from Longbranch Saloon and parked ourselves here for another drink. Well, the boys had another drink, but I decided to take a break and wait until we get to our third stop. As there were not many people yet at the bar at that time, they took a while talking to the bartender about their extensive whiskey selection. I saw that they were looking at a binder with pages of the bar’s whiskey collection. You can’t tell from looking at the bar, but they have at least 100 different bottles of whiskeys, and over 600 different bottles of spirits. Pretty impressive! The boys ended up getting a glass of mezcal served neat in an old-​fashioned glass.
They came back to the table, and let me taste their mezcal. It has a smoky and very earthy taste, but it was very smooth. It’s not my kind of drink, but the hubby and Paul really enjoyed it. Too bad they don’t serve food here! We would have stayed longer, but we needed more food with our drink. A small plastic stand on the table advertised Handlebar which is their sister restaurant/​bar and just around the corner on University! Problem solved! The boys finished their mezcal and we left for our third stop of the night!
We’ll definitely be back here. It’s really a chill place with very friendly bartenders!