Cafe Van Kleef

I love how the place is so artsy and so beautifully eccentric. You have to try their greyhound which has real freshly-​squeezed grapefruit juice! In fact, I am going there tomorrow! LOL! Can’t wait to have that refreshing signature drink of theirs!

This spot is an Oakland institution. Sadly, the longtime owner just passed. It reminded me of the tragic day back in Jersey City when the owner of The Keyhole (Rolon’s Bar) moved on. RIP to you both and thanks for contributing to the legacy of these 2 great cities. The scene at CVK is super eclectic. There is an outside area in the front where you can chain butts while you sip your drinks (I would’ve been all over that back in my Newport days). They’re known for their greyhounds. I tend to despise vodka, and all drinks containing vodka, but alas, these are BOMB. They literally have hundreds of fresh grapefruits on the bar. The bartenders are just squeezing fresh grapefruit juice into vodka non-​stop, and it is delicious. Go get a greyhound!

I came here with my girlfriend. I went inside. As I walked in, I noticed my girlfriend wasn’t behind me. I walked back and she said she couldn’t go in so we left.
She told me that the guy asked for her ID. She showed it to him. He then said «Bag». She asked, «Bag?». He then demanded in a slow, loud, patronizing tone, «Open. Your. Bag!»
He then checked it and said, «You have to leave your bag here. I know your money is in there but the bag can’t go in»… …
The only things in the bag were a scarf and wallet. Which apparently are highly dangerous to have in a bar in downtown Oakland. And when I walked in I DEF saw people with bags.
Generally when you want to make money at a business you do two things; treat the customer with respect and let them bring in their means of payment. I don’t understand why any bar establishment wouldn’t wanna make money.
I was excited to try this place, my friends talked highly of it. But the guy at the door made my girlfriend feel like a criminal and her feelings were quite hurt, which doesn’t fly with me. I don’t quite get why the guy was so rude.
Her ID is from Mexico and she felt she was being criminalized.
Oh well, I ended up going to another bar down the street; Wood.

Great bar to relax and chit chat. It reminds me of something you’d find in SF’s mission, little small and a little tight but if you score one of the tables in the back you’re set.
Not suggested for large groups but if you’re the type to sometimes run out of things to say like on a date, it’s a good place since you can always talk about the random oddities line the wall.
They play alternative rock, I didn’t recognize any of the songs so only stayed long enough to have a few beers (ok tap) and try their signature greyhound. Vodka and freshly squeezed grapefruit. There’s some pulp to it and it’s probably the best greyhound I’ve had. Worthy stop for a pub crawl to try their greyhound.

Greyhounds aren’t my favorite drink, but I love the way this place makes them. Very fresh.
Only thing I didn’t care for was how they stuffed such a small space with tacky decorations. Sometimes less is more.
Not a big deal, just something that stuck out to me.

As everyone is sure to mention, the greyounds here will blow your brains! Café Van Kleef is known for them for a reason, what with their freshly squeezed, pulpy-​sweet grapefruit juice and generous helping of vodka. (If you want a salted rim, ask for a Salty Dog!) These things are dangerous and got me tipsy much quicker than I would’ve thought. Be warned or indulge in the fact if you’re taking a walk on the wild side for the night.
What I wasn’t expecting was how eclectic this deceivingly dingy looking dive bar would be, with their skeletons dressed as mariachi, samurai helmets, mirrors reflecting a reclining Jesus statue from the front, and Haunted Mansion-​esque collection of chandeliers. It truly is a one of a kind venue. However, the place is kind of narrow and small, especially for the amount of people it serves at a time.
Service at the bar was iffy as it was busy and the lack of eye contact from bartenders made getting their attention a pain. But once the greyhound was in my hand it was all smooth sailing.
SOME MISC TIPS:
1) They have live music on a small stage at the back
2) Only one unisex bathroom = massive lines for those breaking the seal, but props for it being well maintained
3) Probably come here for the beginning of your night for a slow build up to getting sloshed as it’s not well built for mingling/​dance with little available seating
4) Really cool crowd of people, free of pretentious snobbery when you accidentally nudge them in that narrow bar space
5) Tons of bars in this area to continue the party to if you’re so inclined!

There is a reason they are known for greyhounds. I debated getting something else second, but that seemed like sacrilege. The good news is they lived up to the hype! We came on first Friday, so it was pretty busy; I’ll have to check it out again on an average night. Everyone here (staff and crowd) was really nice, we ended up sharing a table with a couple other people who were there. :)

This is a mandatory stop on any night out on Telegraph. Unless you don’t like grapefruit. And who doesn’t like fresh squeeze grapefruit based drinks?
It’s loud so if the bartender looks your way, just lift up the number of fingers correlating with the number you want (AND can carry through the crowded gauntlet that is the narrow passage to the back) without dropping the slice of grapefruit balanced on top.
Good luck.
It’s worth it.
We usually get two or three minimum before moving on our two before a show at the Fox Theater.

Cluttered yes, weird things to look at yes (I am not talking about the people), drinks hell yes
They have several options to tickle your fancy, sampled a cold brew on tap, a greyhound and some sort of lemon shot. There was no cover, place was crowded both at the bar and in the back, looking around it is allot to take in, there is a rabbit with horns, look for it before you get inebriated, again allot to take in wise for things to see at this bar, when bar crawling be sure to hit up this bar and check out the wall of alcohol mixed with oddities nailed or propped up on the walls
drinks ****
price no cover on thursday nite
service ****
ambiance **** odd design but makes you keep flipping your head to take it all in

For Greyhounds, this is THE PLACE TO BE! Fresh grapefruit in every greyhound– they even have juicers lining the bar. They top off the greyhound with a nice big juicy slice of grapefruit.
I brought my friends here and they LOVED it. The place is chill, laid-​back, good music and vibes, with lots of seating. The walls are decked out and covered up in loads of literal random crap that makes it soo much more interesting, giving it it’s own uniqueness. It’s always packed every time I come, with the dog dragging in the most diverse crowds of people. The bar is usually covered in patrons all getting their slice of the grapefruit.
The only thing that egged me was the fact that there was only ONE restroom in the whole place– to be shared by men and women. All those greyhounds gotta go somewhere!
Overall, this is a MUST if you’re in Uptown Oakland.

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m sorry all other bars, Café Van Kleef has the best greyhounds of all time!
There’s a reason my friends call this place «that bar with the greyhounds». Once you try one of these cocktails with freshly-​squeezed grapefruit juice you’ll forget there’s anything else on the menu. For those of you not in the know a greyhound is basically just grapefruit juice and vodka, But Café Van Kleef takes this a step further and uses only fresh squeezed grapefruit (with the pulp!!) that elevates this simple cocktail. The pulp makes a huge difference because it helps mask the vodka (which they are superrrr generous with). The bartender warned us that these creep up on you, and two glasses later he was not wrong!
The bar itself is pretty indescribable, but I’m gonna go ahead and try to paint a mental picture. It’s basically packed floor to ceiling with the weirdest things: my favorites were a samurai helmet and a bust covered in lipstick marks. The bar is narrow and at the end is a small stage that features live music. We were lucky enough to go a night that was packed with 90’s r&b, there’s no better background music for drinks in Oakland than Bobby Brown.
My only complaint is that it was super packed. To be fair it was a Friday night, but there was not much room and certainly no room to sit. All that being said the service was super quick and friendly and the random people we bumped into were always nice, so there was only good vibes all around!
So, if you’re in Oakland and you need some tasty drinks and good music for a fun night, Café Van Kleef is a good start. The best thing is it’s smack dab in a hub of bars so it makes a great addition to a night of bar hopping. And if you ever see me I’ll take a greyhound as thanks for the suggestion!
(4.5÷5)

My favorite bar in Oakland, so far. I’ll count it down:
10. A hop, skip and a hiccup away from BART. Since parking is unbearable in the downtown streets of the O, this is kind of a big deal.
9. The age of the crowd is pleasantly varied. 21 – 25? Yep. 35 – 40? Yep. 45 – 50. Yep.
8. The crowd is NICE. From the folks tending bar down to the folks in the bathroom line, there’s no nastiness.
7. No annoying tech sector.
6. No one from
.
5. Plenty of places to sit– all night. No «Reserved» signs on any tables.
4. The dee-​jays mostly play that New Jack Swing y’all want to hear.
3. The bathroom is shared by both sexes, but clean and the line moves fast.
2. You don’t have to yell to have a conversation with the person sitting next to you.
1. Best greyhound in the bay, hands down! Believe the hype. This is a drink you need to have!

Awesome drinks but not a very well constructed space for many people. Granted it is one of the signature Oakland bars with good drinks and service is nice. Music is awesome when they have it. Love the décor. Wish they could keep up with their bathrooms as the night gets goes on though.