Golden Bear

RE-​OPENED!
Ok, so I hadn’t been to the Golden Bear in YEARS but I went tonight for a quick drink as I was curious about the new outlay/​renovation.
Although they’re still working on decorating the place, there are plenty of impressive flat screen TVs for all the sports enthusiasts… but…regardless of how cool the place is going to look, they really need to fix the air of arrogance that was there tonight. mainly perpetrated by who seemed to be the owner.
PLEASE dude, listen to me: for a ‘new’ bar in oakland that is trying to attract the air lounge/​levende east crowd (as it appears you are) — be welcoming to the patrons because there are plenty of other spots where I’d rather spend $ 8 on a friggin’ drink.

I was really hoping that it was closed for the summer so that it could replace the ghetto CRT tvs. =(
Is it just me, or does «dapper» in the name of a sports bar in Oakland sound kinda weird? I mean, that sounds so… Walnut Creek…

It was love at first sight, but now it’s gone.
I’ll never forget how it’s curvaceous TV screens felt on my squinty eyes. How the screaming and cursing fans made my jaws hurt from laughter. How the bleachers made my back ache for a massage that I had no hope of receiving.
Yes, the Golden Bear is gone, and the Dapper Sports Lounge is trying to take its place. I’m going to try to make it work. But no matter where this relationship goes, I’ll never forget Golden Bear — my first true love.

the golden bear is no more…
new ownership messed a good thing up. like jesse L. said, this was one of the best places in the bay to watch a game, especially a warriors or raiders game. but now… it’s just weak!
they tried real hard to make this a nice loungy sports bar… but they just turned it into so super cheesy spot. if you’re going to spend the money to make a place nice do it right! Don’t just add hardwood to just part of the bar and leave the entire front corner the same ol skool white!
but the real deal breaker is the absence of the bleachers. i had to pour out some liquor this evening during the raiders game for the bleachers. they will be greatly missed. the bleachers were the Bears signature thing! that’s why i went there, to sit in the bleachers, drink a pitcher, and feel like i was in the game. but no more. and no more pool table.
some people will like the new place, it is a bit cleaner… but not me. oakland is constantly changing. i hope a new place comes along to fill the void that was left when the Bear closed it doors and transformed into this wannabe lounge.

I went by this place and it looked closed. either for renovations or something more permanent. The windows were covered and it looked like it had not been open in a while. Anyone know the story?

This is the spot but now that its closed I wish you the best in finding a place that can compare. Its the end of a great thing for those who loved the Bear.

Came on a Tuesday around 8PM and it was CLOSED.

This is probably the best place to watch a Warriors game on TV. The atmosphere is explosive, even when there’s only a handful of regulars in the bar. There are bleacher seats set up along the wall, just in case it gets crowded.
My favorite thing about the place, however, is the trophy sitting prominently atop one of the tv sets that reads «City of Berkeley, Adult Flag Football — 4^th Place». My second favorite thing is the sign on the back of the front door that reads «No BYOB allowed».
HA!

Dude I love this place. How can you NOT love a bar that has bleachers in it facing the bar so you can watch the games? That’s bad ass and you know it. Also, you can order food from the shady chinese place next door and bring it in. AND, I learned to play Bones from the guys that are there all the time in the late afternoon playing. Bad ASS!

Okay — Theresa, the bartender, makes the best bloody mary’s in town, there are 13 tv’s to catch all your games, the crowd rules, all huddled together in their matching jerseys, while others saunter over to give high fives (or to rightfully talk shit), but the best thing of all… THEY HAVE BLEACHERS!!! They allow you to bring in food (good thing — Ahn’s Burgers is a block away, and what’s better at half time than a beer and burger?), and the street parking isn’t too bad. If you’re lucky, they’ll have guest caterers come in — one time fried fish (yum), another, jambalaya.

I love this place. I used to live close by, and I would visit for a lot of basketball games. The bleacher seating is hard to beat — when it is NBA time, this place is packed and you really are sitting three rows back. I agree, the TVs could use an upgrade, and the beer list isn’t the best, but that’s not why you’re here. You’re here to talk to knowledgable fans, soul food [when they have it] and soak up a lot of Oakland character. Great place.

The Golden bear would be such a great place. They have bleacher style seating for game days, 2 pool tables, 3 out of the 4 bartenders are really sweet, they make great drinks, they always order pay per view fights, they have a good jukebox, they have a smoking patio where you can take your drinks and have a smoke, it’s in my hood, and the crowd is usually a good group of people who mostly know each other but are welcoming even if they don’t. Now this is where I get to the big «BUT» that is preventing me from giving the Golden Bear 5 stars. The Golden Bear would be such a great place BUT… they have old small televisions. They do have a lot of TV’s but in this case quantity is not as important as quality. They have 27 or 32 inch non HD
televisions above the bar and the distance makes them appear smaller than they really are. This is not conducive to watching most sporting events and last time I checked this was a sports bar. If only they had a couple HD flat screens, or even just one. Thats all I’m asking for.
I’ll even chip in.

I started going to Golden Bear two years ago for NBA games. I always have a great time here — it feels like a big party — and I can’t say that for many sports bars in the Bay Area. I can imagine this place being so much better, though.
For example, I went to watch game 5 in the Warriors-​Mavericks series last Tuesday and the good beers were sold out — Fat Tire and Sierra. Budweiser was plentiful, though. No thanks. I ended up drinking a Tumer Pils, and can’t complain too much, given that I paid just $ 3.75 for a draft beer.
I went back for game 6 on Thursday and the Fat Tire was still out, but Sierra was now available. How difficult is it to keep beers available on tap?
There is no food at Golden Bear, but a waiter from the Chinese restaurant next door sometimes brings in stuff for sale.
There must be 13 TVs in the place, but no big plasmas. It would be nice if you could hear the games.
The stadium seating is brilliant — great way to meet people and feel like you’re at a game.
The bar staff are friendly and efficient. Those girls bust their humps most nights, as far as I’ve seen. Contrast that to some of the places in the City where the staff can’t be bothered to move quickly.
I give it 5 stars for atmosphere, 3 stars for selection, 4 stars for service.

I actually haven’t been inside this place.
That said, it was New Years Day and my buddy and I wanted to watch the Rose Bowl. She being a huge Michigan fan and me being a huge USC fan, we wanted to see the game in a sports bar within stumbling distance of my apartment. We called the place up about an hour before the game and there was a message that said «Welcome to Golden Bear, blah blah blah WE SHOW ALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES.»
We were convinced. After all, isn’t the Rose Bowl the grandaddy of them all? Didn’t we want to see if Michigan deserved to be in the national championship? (Yes, I was ecstatic with how the second half of the game played out.) So we wandered over to the bar, taking about 15 minutes to do so. When we got there, horror of all horrors, THE PLACE WAS CLOSED.
I know it’s a national holiday and most people are busy nursing a hangover (we certainly were), but is it so hard to find a sports bar in the Lake Merritt area where we can watch a good Michigan pummeling? So disappointed. Luckily nothing happened the first half and missing the first 10 minutes because we were walking home didn’t ruin it.

I have only stepped foot into this establishment once although I have walked by it hundreds of times on my way to 19^th St. BART or home from BART. The clientele spills out onto the sidewalk and even if you are just walking by, you get the feeling you have visited, even for a moment. This one time, there was this interaction between a regular and the security guard on the sidewalk. The regular had a plastic cup filled with liquid she had extracted from her trunk. The security guard questioned her about the nature of the liquid. She swore it was just water and not vodka like he claimed. To «prove» it was not, she poured a splash out onto the sidewalk and exclaimed, «Now would I do that if this was vodka?»
That is just a slice of life at the Golden Bear. Enter if you dare…

Huh huh huh. Golden Bear has a hot dog cart in the summer complete with little yellow and red umbrella that they serve from on their sidewalk/​patio. If you have a motorcycle, you’ll probably want to cruise by in first with the radio up. And pay in cash because they’re notorious for losing cards. Just expect a little neighborhood sports bar and don’t move anywhere close by unless you want to have a 2 AM wake-​up call by catfighting drunk ladies.

While most bars in Oakland are «updating» their décor and beverages (especially the prices), this place stays true to the past. Loud and friendly customers, cheap drinks and pleasant service. More diverse than some of the nearby upscale haunts. The juke box is eclectic and loud.