Kingfish Pub & Cafe

I’ve been here a few times now and have liked it every time. They have a good selection of drinks, have inside and outside seating the outside has its own bar and TV’s which I love. Usually you have to compromise on the amenities if you want to be outside. I was here to watch the Warriors game and it was so packed you could barely walk through. But we found a spot outside where I could see a couple different TVs and when I went to get a round of drinks I was greet surprisingly fast (within 3min) even though there was literally no open space at the bar. It was also awesome that for big events like that the owner of Kaspers comes in and makes fresh hot dogs. Overall a win!

Totally loved this place. Just divey enough for me to feel comfortable, while still offering a great variety of drinks (including one of my favorites, a paloma that was both fantastic AND affordable), free popcorn, and a combo of indoor/​outdoor space. All of these factors combined made this a great bar stop while visiting friends in Oakland, and will definitely be on my list of places to revisit when we find ourselves back in the area.

I like a good paloma, a good patio that plays prog rock and free bar munchies (popcorn!). We’re talking bonus points if there’s Omission beers for your celiac friends — which there is here.
Kingfish is the f*cking best. I f*cking love Oakland.
That’s it.

I wondered around the east bay for a long while looking for a bar that I could call home… I’ve found it. This place was perfect at its old location but it’s new back patio makes it even better. The fact that they picked up the building and moved the entire thing makes it even better.

The owners here have done the community a service by keeping this local institution open, and in the process of moving it around the corner to Telegraph they have upped their game by expanding the back into a patio and second bar. It now has about twice the crowd capacity as it did before. I’ve been here a few times, not enough to call myself a regular, but generally the crowd is mixed and pretty friendly. The popcorn and shuffleboard are free, drinks strong, and service snappy.
Put it on your list.

My favorite bar in the Temescal area. Period. Yeah, it’s a dive, but in it’s new location + the expansion, you get the best of both worlds with a more contemporary/​modernized back area complete with another bar, hipster string lighting, and of course another shuffle board. It’s almost like two bars in one. Dive in the front. Cool and clean hipster in the back.
The character in this shack is what draws people in. There’s a Cal Basketball hardwood floor, free and fresh popcorn, very reasonably priced drinks, business cards/​sports memorabilia stapled to the walls. Don’t expect anything too crafty from the beer selection. And don’t expect a large and expansive restroom (in fact, it’s tiny… you will probably witness other peoples’ body parts). Again, it’s still a dive at heart.
I love this place. Which reminds me: I haven’t been here for awhile. I should visit this establishment really soon.

My friends and I were passing by Kingfish Pub in the car (my friend is relatively new to the neighborhood) and we were all like «What’s that place!?» We returned a few hours later for a few rounds of drinks and enjoyed this local, divey spot.
Kingfish is your quintessential dive — sort of dimly lit, a simple beer and drink menu, a friendly neighborhood vibe and oh yes, a popcorn cart which you can help yourself to so you’ll have something to snack on while you drink! My friends and I ordered a few simple things — I had beer and some whiskey, and my friends had some of the simple mixed drinks they list on their menu — effectively lemonade with vodka in it, in one case.
As we sat with our drinks, the place filled up and we enjoyed the scene — there’s also an table hockey setup in the back if you’re into that (though it looked like some serious players were commandeering it for the night). Overall, a great, laid back spot to have a few drinks and unwind!

Kingfish is a weird place because it’s trying to be a sports bar, but the people who go here don’t want it to be a sports bar. The people that go here are inexplicably a bit more hip than the décor would suggest. Don’t order anything fancy, the bartenders don’t know how to make it. Overall a nice bar that’s cheap. I like it.

Cool vibes. Nice mixture of indoor/​outdoor environment. Prime location in Oakland. Cool beachy décor and super friendly and hardworking staff –I think I was asked if I wanted a drink once by each bartender who saw me without a glass in my hand. I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t order drinks but I will definitely be coming back to give it another shot. On the plus they ended up having a TV at the bar out back and we were able to catch the rest of the Warriors game.

Outdoor bar closed and it’s 3pm on a Saturday?

Kingfish is an awesome bar! Great service, great vibe but it is definitely not a café! Come and have a drink or two and enjoy the fun people but don’t come if you want food. Popcorn is good but not a meal!

Favorite bar in Oakland!
It’s changed a lot since the expansion, but it’s still an awesome spot.
Decent beer prices and a decent happy hour (although I think they recently raised the happy hour prices).

This is my new favorite hometown bar by a MILLION. It’s just the best place ever. Beers available by the pitcher. Shuffleboard tables inside and outside (inside is always more crowded, but outside is a bit warped). Lots of outdoor seating and several TVs. All you can eat free delicious popcorn with butter and salt for days. Extensive collection of tunes on the jukebox (which is a bit pricey). The old Cal Berkeley center court is the floor of the bar. The staff and clientele are really friendly. Also, the entire building was apparently picked up and moved from across the street (and an old lady apparently lives in the house behind it now). Anyway, this is my new go-​to, and I love it, and I wish there were more bars like this around.

My review of the old Kingfish would have been 5 stars and would have included legitimate threats towards those that gave anything less. I was there on one of the last nights before they moved. After they moved and before they re-​opened, I went to the new location several times to see the progress, like a total stalker.
And now they’re open at the new location. I have mixed feelings. I loved this place when it was a shit show with popcorn (and whatever) all over the ground. As my best friend Amy S. would say, «Kingfish — smells like a litter box and I love it.» Those smells have faded away.
Which leads me to the «two bark rule.» I brought my super well behaved, 10 pound Chihuahua to Kingfish one Saturday afternoon. There were tons of dogs on the patio and everyone was having a great time. Suddenly, one of the bartenders (maybe a bar back?) came to my table and said «we have a two bark rule and since your dog has barked once already, if he does it again, we’ll have to ask him to leave.»
First of all, I’m an adult. You can say that if he barks again, we’ll ask YOU to leave. He didn’t come here independently. Second of all, my ex-​boyfriend used to get rude-​wasted at the old Kingfish and no one ever kicked him out. Where was the two bark rule then? I would have abided by that when my ex was eating strangers’ food and insulting other randoms.
My dog barked because he was excited to see the other dogs on the patio. Why is that a problem? Noise control? Yet I didn’t even hear it because the patio was so noisy.
I suggest everyone calms down. Focus on the PEOPLE that are «barking.» And don’t alienate those that love you.

Free popcorn. Indoor and outdoor bars. Indoor and outdoor shuffleboard!
If I were a local… I’d be Kingfish. This bar has seen some things and I can only imagine the stories it would tell if walls could talk. Currently located across the street from where it originally stood, you will immediately feel at ease and at home in this neighborhood pub.
As I mentioned they serve up free popcorn with their suds. Their suds range from your typical draft choices to 24oz cans of Tecate… whaaaaat? When our friends said we had time to stop in for one beer… I of course went for the 24oz.
The indoor bar does feature TVs and there was a soccer match on when we were there. This is not a sports bar though. The outdoor area in the back offers a long bar, that also have TVs. There is a good amount of sunny table seating there as well. And of course, the outdoor shuffle board table. The one inside is definitely the better playing surface, but nice to have the outdoor option.

Kingfish Pub & Café is an time capsule that hasn’t been buried. patrons liquored to ’60’s faves: pabst, bud, popcorn. bottled red tripe, sierra nevada, lagunista ipa,
drink: estrella speical: tequilla shot and 24 oz tecate. (7)
on draught:
–large patio area, few modern drafts, decades old faves
–friendly bartender, indifferent «olde boys network»
–bar transported whole to new location intact. fab for oldtimers, huh? to newcomers.
–pricey unknown. no HH posted, just specials.

Dive bar, how I love thee. Let me count the ways that I do:
1) They picked up the bar and placed it across the street in tact. This legendary bar is still legendary.
2) Free delicious and fresh popcorn.
3) The Cal Berkeley basketball court floor.
4) 2 free shuffleboard tables. One inside and one outside. Lines are long, but it’s shuffleboard.
5) Ample outdoor seating with an outdoor bar. This closes a bit earlier than the bar itself.
6) Free popcorn.
7) Really friendly patrons and staff. I made friends, y’all. We hugged it out.
8) Free popcorn.
Kingfish is a score. It’s history, it’s legendary dive status, it’s memories, it’s popcorn and now me, as a lifetime fan. Your jukebox is too expensive and your beer list is definitely not of a craft varietal (i.e. consists of budlight, guinness, pbr and lagunitas) but it’s ok, no one’s perfect.
Come here to satisfy your dive bar needs; leave your high end cocktail dreams at another spot.

They lifted it off its foundation and moved it across the street. That is damn cool.
LOVE that the floor is the old Cal basketball court! Funky bar and a kick ass back patio area.
Just go. You’ll like it. Promise.
Minus one star for a very limited bourbon selection in a bourbon crazy town.

Great atmosphere… Lots of character and history! Location is great! Fun times!

VERY COOL (AND HISTORIC) BAR THAT WAS LIFTED BODILY FROM ITS OLD PERCH ON CLAREMONT AVENUE AND MOVED TO TELEGRAPH AVENUE. The interior and exterior of the building have been preserved almost completely intact, and the pub remains colorful and charming. (In fact, it is now immediately adjacent to the Temescal Branch of the Oakland Public Library, which means that most of its patrons are now much closer to books than they ever were before.) KIDDING!!!
PROS: OK selection of wine and beer, and a full bar. Great outdoor patio with its own bar. Staff is very attentive and friendly, and dogs are permitted. A mellow, friendly vibe prevails throughout the entire place.
CONS: Wine & beer choices pretty limited, no food except chips & popcorn, & no free WiFi. (I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING: WHAT A WHINY LITTLE PUSSY. WELL, I’M ACTUALLY NOT THAT LITTLE.!). And yes, it is about time you learned that we old white people are known to throw loud shitfits when there is no free Wi-​Fi.
OK, I can survive without food and free Wi-​Fi, but I would love to see five or 10 more taps with great quality craft brews. Hopefully, that lies in the future. For now, Kingfish is a cool, funky, mellow place to relax & drink.