The Starry Plough

This is THE hang. Great atmosphere, wide selection of music. Staff is kind, welcoming and friendly. The manager especially is really a great guy. If you’re in Berkeley, this is THE place to be.
On great music nights, place can be packed and rocking and you’ll meet all kinds of great people. Great food too, and the beer and wine is priced fairly.
Can’t say enough good things about The Starry Plough. It’s a Berkeley institution, and absolutely deservedly so.

The Starry Plough seems like it has been around since as far back as I can remember. It took me leaving the Bay Area to finally come and try it though.
After spending a great weekend with my best friend we ended the trip with a beer at the Starry Plough. The beer selection here was really solid. Not the best I’ve come across, but a solid B at least. There is enough of a variety to please everyone.
The food was where they started to loose me. I ordered a nice salad, and it was meh. I know salads aren’t generally seen as very sexy or fun, but we are in CA which is known for produce. The salad was also supposed to be seasonal, so I had high hopes for some fresh flavors. Everything just felt sort of flat and drab. Again, I know it is a salad and a poor choice to make, but it just did not live up to the potential I saw on the menu.
The service was friendly enough and the atmosphere was very kid friendly. There were kids running around and dancing on the stage. Not super relaxing for the adults, but great for them.
Overall it was an ok stop.
⁴²⁄₁₀₀

The Tuesday Open Mic is great – great collection of talent from the community, friendly crowds, good food, good sound guy. All good!

Ego ruins a fun night. A friend and I went here recently for an Irish dance event that they hold on Mondays. We hadn’t been in something like 8 years. Apparently the guy that organizes the event (John) didn’t like how we were dancing or something and had us kicked out. Apparently, if you’re not part of the in crowd, you’re not welcome. Don’t bother unless you already know people or want to be told exactly what to do.
Beer selection was all right, food was ok, but the organizer ruined our night. What a jerk.

Yo,
The Starry Plough is the best bar near ashby Bart!
The people are kind. The people are welcoming. It’s a Irish bar that welcomes every race that you may be. Give it a chance and you won’t be disappointed. There’s great food and good beer and wine at fair prices. They have the most important sport’s games on so don’t worry about that. Enjoy yo self and relax.
Bless !!
James Pow

The food looks really good, but only one star because the kitchen closes three hours before the establishment does. Too bad…

This was our first time and absolutely not our last the burgers were incredibly fresh, flavorful, completely delicious! Perfect portion sizes and the beer selection on tap was the perfect addition to our meal, service was great very personable although we came in too soon to enjoy the live music we definitely enjoyed the atmosphere and good vibes, cant wait to come back we will definitely be recommending this to our friends.

I’ll start off by saying the bartender was kind and they do have a great selection of beers. However the food service was not so nice. It took an offensive amount of time and they were rude to us for asking any questions including for ketchup :\
My recommendation is if you’re going for beer and/​or show go for it and have fun. Don’t go there expecting a nice meal.

I would not have loved beer if it weren’t for this pub. Through music, dance, and a warm pub atmosphere here in early 2016, I would not have thought I could enjoy beer so much. I mainly go for the stouts but for some reason when one of my friends shared with me the pale ale here, it felt… Good. A word I usually don’t associate with beer because my Chinese palate has averted my taste for a long time until this pub made me truly taste happiness.
I rate this pub 5 for the social warmth and the fondness of tasting beer here.
The food is okay… Sometimes it gets flat and there’s too much of it, so I would t come here just for the eats.

All you would expect from a pub. Good pub food and nice selection of beer. The entrance feels a little tight, but it opens up as you enter.

The food was good, people friendly — did not go for the music. But having gone in when they opened at 2pm, we only ordered a couple of sandwiches and they took over 30 minutes. Either put up a sign that the kitchen isn’t ready until 2:30 or be ready when you open the place. Then the band began to tune up at 3pm and the squeaking/​volume testing was really hurtful on the ears. Liked the food but there’s a lot of good competition out there.

The burger was good, not great. For $ 11, the jerk burger came with cole slaw that was alright, and a fresh-​grilled thick patty. They were good quality ingredients, but they kind of fell apart as I ate them (the burger in particular). The fries were a little over-​seasoned, but special bar-​style. The pizza had good dough and was pretty tasty as well.
Overall, this meal was what I expected from Starry Plough. Good prices, pretty tasty, but nothing to write home about. This is a good neighborhood spot that I’ve come to for their talent show or whatever you call that. Open Mic. That’s what it’s called. I wouldn’t exactly recommend it, but I’d definitely come back and it’s a great institution to have in the area.

I was only in the Starry Plough for a short time but it was kind of an odd place! A couple friends and I stopped in on a Saturday afternoon to kill some time before meeting up with some other friends. We grabbed beers at the bar and sat at a table in the dining room. They have a decent craft beer list and prices were reasonable. The décor was reminiscent of a dive Irish bar. There were only a few other patrons in the bar at the time, one being a family with a few children, eating lunch. Shortly after we sat down, an old Irish band started playing on the small, awkward stage in the front of the room. The children got up and danced and ran around the roof. I didn’t know any of the songs but the scene was pretty entertaining to watch.

I have lived next door to this charming bar and restaurant for the last 5 months. There is always packed with people and the place has a nice atmosphere. Every night there is some kind of event whether it is stand up comedy, Irish folk dance or Thursday funk nights. I have most frequently been there on Thursdays where there is an excellent live band and a good crowd. Come on Thursdays if you like to dance. The beer selection is also good and prices are low. Haven’t had the food but it looks deliciously greasy :)

I’d heard about this place for years. It has a long history. It sounds like it used to be an interesting place. Unfortunately, I can’t say much good about it now.

Incredible food. Excellent service. Great music. Drinks. What more could you want from a bar? Great place to eat, drink, and be merry.
Had the mushroom Swiss burger and Bacon cheddar burger. If you are a burger fan you must check this place out! Also — great fries and dessert (brownie). The rotating tap always keeps things different and interesting!

Went here for a show and decided to get dinner here as well. The gentleman who took our order was extremely sweaty, kinda twitchy, and kept scratching his butt. We kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn’t preparing our food. Turns out he was and we didn’t see him wash his hands… ever. He cooked our pizza and then cut it into tiny quadrilaterals and triangles. Eating this pizza was one of the most awkward dining experiences I’ve ever had. To make matters worse, the pizza wasn’t even good. The dough was undercooked and tasted like it was from a can.
Prior to getting our food, we had to go to the bar to order drinks because drinks can’t be ordered with food. We also had to wash the plates which were provided because they were dirty. The bands did an excessively long sound check 2 hours prior to the show — like they each played a few songs in their entirety. It was super loud and we were not able to talk during dinner.

Fun little place to get beer and great pizza. They also have big salads that are good. I enjoyed watching people Irish dance.

*Bad management, bad system for the open mic, unaware of their own actions, uncaring and unapologetic.*
After emailing the manager, I see why my evening was such a bust: he did not know what was going on or care. (Good) He bothered to reply, however, (BAD) he did not apologize or make any attempt at reconciliation. His «advice» was to try what we already had done, which he would have known had he read the complaint. He was unaware of the MC’s methods even though they were described for him. (See previous review).
Asking him to take another look at the original complaint he was more than a little rude in his second reply. No apology, no «I’ll look into that»; only swearing and «advice» that was not applicable.
Also, after talking with the other two in my group, their food was bad unlike mine, so that’s a gamble too.

Good old fashioned pub food choices like corn beef and cabbage and new «pub» food choices. Good wings, fish and chips and burgers, pasta and much more.
Live music with ever changing groups. Nice people and a happy clientele. Enjoyed everything we ate and drank. I’d improve the buffalo wings and tartar sauce. A bit yucky.

I had a benefit show at this venue with three separate acts a bit stressful. The staff at The Starry Plough were so helpful and nice, they made sure everything went so smoothly. And it was very much a success. Also the whole vibe at this venue just makes you want to come back. I also had a chance to have some food, it was very good. I would definitely recommend going. Good music, good food, good vibes, nice people.

Seeing that The Starry Plough is rated well in Berkeley, I expected more. I should probably go back when they are having an Irish Music Night. My three roommates came out with me and I got excited because they have many of my favorite beers there, but the service was poor. I’d go back but I wouldn’t drive far to do so.

Sunday night Irish music is the best!
The bar also has good food and draught beer

Food is good, live music nice, the cooker is really handsome… Anyway…
But one thing is way wrong that I don’t even thought if I could recommend this place… Breath Feeding in a public open restaurant pub!!! WOW!!! Shouldn’t be allowed. It’s ok is a natural thing but at least don’t bring your infants to this place find a nanny or someone who’s can take care of.
Hope next time I don’t get to find a daycare where they serve alcohol and see mothers breath feeding their kids while they are also drinking and listening live music.

Cozy classic bar
great burgers
great music
you haven’t been to berkeley till you go to the starry plough

Sunday and Saturday nights here is amazing, live Irish music and dance, lots of warm people and one of the best burgers you can taste, juicy and delicious with that roasted onions and black pepper. .uuuh
Shawn is awesome, he’s a great chef and a sweet guy, gives you one of the best burgers in the world.
Everybody here is doing their best to bring a smile on your face :)
have fun and enjoy lol

Way to go, Starry Plough, you completely ruined my evening.
I tried to call in an order for pickup and got hung up on. A woman answered, it was really loud, she said, «Hello?» a few times, then *click.* After that, no calls would go through to the restaurant. Umm???
Since I live in the neighborhood, I thought I’d just walk over to place my order. After paying and standing by the kitchen for AN HOUR, I decided to check on my food.
«I’ve been looking for you! We’ll have to make another shepherd’s pie.»
Must not have been looking for me very hard, since I was RIGHT NEXT to the register, lookin real hungry the whole time. I guess she forgot to give me a number and then just… didn’t bother to ask whose food it was? Did she just think I’d forget I paid for food and go away? Did my original shepherd’s pie get thrown away? WTF.
It ended up taking TWO HOURS to get our food, at which point I was so hungry I wolfed it down on the spot.
I was SUPPOSED to pick up some delicious shepherd’s pie to eat in the comfort of my own home, where I have a sofa and Netflix and a cuddly boyfriend. Instead, I stood there for two hours listening to live music that was decent but WAY TOO EFFING LOUD, Mr. Sound Guy, all the while slowly starving.
By the time I got home, there was no time to do anything but go to sleep, as we both had work in the morning. SUPER DISAPPOINTING.
BTW this happened over 6 months ago and I’m STILL MAD.
Haven’t been back.

I drove past this corner irish pub as I was slipping my way out of Berkeley after enjoying a wonderful weekend packed full of things that CAL has to offer. Remembering how ppl often ask how I find such cool places, I must be honest and say that often times it is the energy that will pull you in. I visited on a Monday aka Dead-​day (in the night life industry). Surprised to see a full house at 8pm. They were hosting Irish dancing lessons– How clever!- and fun.
I enjoyed their Rotating Taps which included a number of local brews. (+4pts). They also have the standard Irish-​bar beers on taps for those whom have married their brands.
In efforts to see if this place was legit I ordered the «Shepherd’s Pie.» The place operates an «open-​kitchen operation,» which allows patrons to see the chef prepare, and cook the meals (+2 pts)
«Samoe» was my bartender and I felt she was informative and provided others at the bar with quick and friendly service. (+2pts) Off back home to OC. Till next time Bay Area.
Go Golden State Warriors!

Fish & Chips battered in Anchor Steam beer, Swine Burgers dripping in Pork goodness and the Quinoa Black Bean burger is off the chain!!!
Come for the beer, slam poetry, folk dancing and friends. Stay for the radical commitment to leftist ways of life!!!

Pretty unique Berkeley experience. We went in on Poetry night and had a really good time. You really feel part of the community here which is pretty damn great for a pub. There was a cover about $ 8 – 10 on poetry night.
Oh and the food was solid for pub food!

I love how lively this place is.
I recently went on a Wednesday for the Berkeley Slam Finals and had a great time laughing with everyone. I just loved the chill laid-​back feel of the place. It was really interactive and the MC was hilarious.
I was also hungry though so I ordered the Jalapeño stuffed bleu cheese burger. OMG it was SO juicy and SO delicious. It was definitely messy trying to eat it with my hands but OH SO GOOD. The fries were a bit salty but they were still really tasty. All the food that I saw around me looked really yummy too.
This really is a great place to hang out. They have two dart boards, a HUGE collection of board games, and a stage for live music/​poetry. What more could you ask for?
I definitely want to come back on a Tuesday for the open mic though!

Awesome place to enjoy a night of slam poetry!
I’ve been here on several occasions for their Wednesday night poetry slams, needless to say this is the place to be for such gathering. The performers are all regular peeps who come to share their voices/​words with others. It’s great, I love it. There are sometimes live bands/​djs too. Pretty great place to enjoy live entertainment.
Not to mention the food here is pretty darn good. Everything is prepared fresh daily, or from what I observed they seem to be. The fries were cut on the spot. You know this isn’t your typical kind of bar food cause they actually take time preparing the food. The burgers here are fat and filling. I was very pleased. Their cheesy pulled pork fries were pretty tasty too! Oh, and the bar is pretty awesome too. The beers are about $ 5 a pop. Pretty decently priced for a bar.
If you’re ever in this area, and love poetry etc etc check Starry Plough out!