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Bear's Lair - 76.7
Beer Bar
2475 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
United States
phone: (510) 843-5247
bearslairpub.com

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Location Attributes:
public transportation available
proper glassware used
outdoor seating options

Reviewer: Juggernaut
Overall Score: 76.7
Selection: 4.0 | Service: 3.0 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Food: N/A
Date: Tue, Dec 1st 2009

Located on the UC Berkeley campus, I have to say I'm jealous that my college didn't have anything like this place. The people are friendly, and from what I hear there's a ton of "pre-gaming" for friday and saturday night parties that goes on at this place by college students, so you can expect to see it fairly busy during the late afternoon and early evening hours.

The beer selection was decent, and the pitchers were priced nicely (they seemed to be a bit cheaper than other bars in the area). There's a fairly spacious interior with sports playing on multiple big-screens, and a large patio area with seating that would accommodate up to about 80-100 people if I had to guess.

Don't expect to get a clean table, though. They don't appear to have bar backs or busers, about an hour into the evening a bar tender came around and cleared off the 30+ glasses and 6 pitchers that were left by the sorority that was at the table before us, and they didn't bother cleaning up the ketchup writing or beer spills they left all over the table (which turned out amusing when my friend kept forgetting to keep his elbows off the table).

Reviewer: BahHumBrew
Overall Score: 80.0
Selection: 4.0 | Service: 3.8 | Atmosphere: 4.3 | Food: 4.0
Date: Wed, Apr 22nd 2009

If you want that back on campus feel, this is it; located right next to the Student Union. It’s popular with students, staff, alumni and even visiting rivals. Falling into the latter category, we didn’t venture into the depths of the lair so other reviewers will have to provide those details. There is a nice outside patio on the street and a central oval bar inside surrounded by tall and normal table seating with lots of TVs. They boast 40 taps and it appeared that about 20-25 different brews were available when we visited. In addition to a few house special (contract) brews, there is usually a good selection from Jupiter and many other local breweries. I enjoyed a Jupiter Stout to celebrate our victory. The menu is pretty typical pub grub; including pizza, panini or regular sandwiches and several burgers (plus White Castle). Parking is always an issue so either walk up the street from BART or plan on paying.

Reviewer: Herd
Overall Score: 73.3
Selection: 4.0 | Service: 4.0 | Atmosphere: 3.0 | Food: 4.0
Date: Sun, Jul 8th 2007

Located on the UC Berkeley campus, there are always students inside the Bear's Lair watching various sporting events. Due to this, the atmosphere is usually pretty fun. They have a good selection of house brews and local microbrews as well as typical big brewery beers. I usually get a pint of Jupiter's Amber Ale which runs $3.25, fairly inexpensive in my opinion. They serve tasty pizza and sandwiches as well for a moderate price. Servers are young and generally friendly. The outdoor dog-friendly patio is a great bonus. All in all, the Lair is a fun college sports bar with good beer and food at a decent price. If youre in the immediate area its a good place to stop, but there are better places to get a pint just half a mile west on Shattuck.