The Olde Depot

Tragic that this place closed. It was most likely overshadowed by the popular Beer Revolution next door. It didn’t help that these two places were stark contrasts to each other. This place had an easy-​going, relaxing vibe. A little less loud compared to Beer Revolution.

My boyfriend and I used to love coming here when it was all vegan food. It was actually one of my favorite vegan restaurants in the area and I really wish I could give it 5 stars.
They used to have great food, even my non-​vegan friends thought so. Now, they have a new menu and they serve meat. Our favorite items are gone, the prices are higher and now people have to order food at the kitchen, pay there, then order and pay for beer at bar. Huh? Super inefficient. WTF?
I feel so sad the old place is gone. We won’t be coming back there anymore. The food is too pricey, the process is too complicated, and — in my opinion — the owner is out of their mind for making this business decision.

They Might as well Changed the name of this place to something else.
As a patroon of establishment you expect some consistency but with olde depot it has become a revolving door of disappointment.
They nixed the whole vegetarian menu all together and put in a Mexican taco stand type food in its place. They also cut down the number of beer taps they have.
I honestly loved this place but now it’s just awful.
There is no reason for me to ever come back here again and it’s really saddens me.

I have had the food before they nixed the vegan only menu. They’re right next door to Beer Revolution, and as I understand it, they are partner stores. If you want to try some stuff without being overwhelmed, this is the place to go to, or you know, if you’re hungry. The fries, always good, but there’s no way to really mess that up. They used to have different hot sauces, but something happened to that selection and I didn’t see it on my last trip there. The only thing that makes me take a star away from this place is the inconsistency of the food. Don’t get me wrong, the food tastes good, it’s a bit pricey, but if you have ordered food here before and expect to get the same thing the next time, it may not taste how you remembered.
Would come back for the beer and atmosphere, you’ll have a good time if you bring friends.

GET THE CHICKEN TACOs
Yeah for the tacos being $ 8 for two it’s actually pretty worth it. It’s packed and the chicken is cooked very well with nice flavor. Squeeze a little lime and dig in. Nice selection of beer too.

This place use to serve ONLY vegan food, but I’m guessing a lot of people complained and they decided to serve every type of food. I’m not a hater and I’m fine if you want to serve other types of food, but don’t short change me.
I tried my first deep fried vegan chocolate cake here. It was crazzzzzy good! To see so many other options of vegan food made me a happy girl. I was excited to come back and try the rest of the menu.
When we came back, I was left with total disappointment. I was already confused with the seating and ordering arrangement. If you plan on ordering food, you have to go to the kitchen counter and order it from the server and find your seat. If you are ordering beer than you have to go to the bar. You can’t order beer at the kitchen… what idiot thought of that bright idea.
The bartender told us the bar is separate from the food area. I was like… SERIOUSLY! I pushed it out of my mind and I went ahead and ordered our meal as my honey went and got his beer.
While waiting for our meal, I noticed several people, leaving their unfinished food. I thought that wasn’t a good sign. Now it all makes sense to me… In what planet is soggy fries acceptable for consumption?! It was not only soggy but cold. I quickly complained to the server and they brought me another basket of fries, way after our sliders were already eaten. Was the second round of fries good? That would be a HELL NO! Soggy but atleast it was hot… How is that possible?
As for the sliders, we ordered the Herbed Chik’N…the only thing that comes to mind when I eat this slider is «where’s the Chik’N?» For $ 10 all you get is shards of Chik’N. As for the BBQ «Beef-​non» Sliders atleast you can see the «beef». It was good but not worth $ 11, I rather go to the store and get a 4 pack of Gardein Chick-​Non and «Beef» sliders for $ 4.99 and it taste better than this.
I think the food is a total EPIC fail. They either, A. need to find a new cook, B. Have the cook go to Cooking Class 101 or C. just stop serving food.
As for the beer, I’m sure it is good, but why go here if Beer Revolution is right next door and service is way better. Unless your reason is to bring your animal or kids with you and have them watch you get wasted on beer while you let them eat the horrible food. Wow! Such great parenting skillz!
My suggestion, if they don’t improve on the food and the seating/​ordering confusion, this place should just close down since it’s part of beer revolution, and if you’re hungry go to Souley Vegan right around the corner they serve beer too at least there you get your monies worth.

I was so excited when this place open. A German vegan pub? Right on!
But when I went (three times in one month) there was neither German food nor German beer, and the service was lacking.
And now that they’ve started serving meat, I can’t see why I’d go back.

I had to «unlike» The Olde Depot on Facebook because the owner made a hateful comment about «angry vegans» on a thread simply because a bunch of people were bummed that they are no longer an all vegan establishment, amongst other things like deleting comments from users, and blatantly being a hypocrite. I ate here before simply because it WAS an all vegan establishment, drove wayyy out of my way just to go here for the vegan food and yummy beer. The service was sh! t and the food mediocre. Not mediocre because it was vegan food, it was simply not good in general. The Olde Depot should’ve done something like Hella Vegan Eats does at Dear Mom. This place could’ve been AMAZING!
I will never come back here again, not because it’s not 100% vegan anymore, but because I do not want to support what I witnessed on Facebook from the owner. I hear the new non-​vegan food is bland and over priced also, so we shall see how long they stay in business, too bad so sad!

Originally an all-​vegan establishment that received a lot of support from the beginning from the vegan community (as well as those who were excited for a pub that was different and with a social conscience) — but has now turned against its supporters, animals and the planet by serving animal products (even though the owner curiously claims she’s still «100% vegan»).
When I’ve gone, the service and organization were lacking, but I was more than willing to stick by them and drive more business to them, as well as continue to patronize them. If they were struggling, it was because of service, quality and prices — not because the food was vegan — and they could have reached out to their vegan supporters for support and advice, instead of selling out.
There are plenty of successful and ethical vegan restaurants in the Bay Area (including the very popular Souley Vegan right next door). Hopefully, another vegan business will replaces the niche of a vegan bar.

Terrible food. Horrible atmosphere. And unethical owner.
Is there really any reason to go here when Souley Vegan is right next door? This place is not only a dump. The owners have no integrity whatsoever. The only reason to come to this restaurant, frankly, is to protest it.

News flash… they’re no longer a vegan establishment. They sell MEAT. *two thumbs way down* I always came here because you’re one of the few places I could confidently say «I can eat eeevverytang!» Well, not anymore. Good job Old Depot… you’ve given up and shooed away all your devoted customers.
People, take your friends 5 hopscotches next door to Souley Vegan where the food’s amazing and 100% cruelty free. I surely am.

Lots of great beer selections! I’m not even much of a beer drinker, and I found several things that I really enjoyed.
The food is 100% vegan (100%!!!), and I really appreciate that. I went with a whole group of folks (only 2 of us vegan), and so we ordered a little bit of almost everything and were not disappointed. I especially liked the pretzel, and my husband was especially into the onion rings. Surprisingly I was also really into the ham and cheese sliders.
I would definitely go back here. Great service, great selection of food and beer (and cider!). Good prices.

Yummy Mushrooms, Veggie Tacos, And Chips With The Most Delicious Guacamole (That I Stole From My Sweet Friend Lyn’s Plates!) — And For My VEGAN Friends, THIS IS YOUR OAKLAND STOP! ;)
SITREP
This was such an outstanding, fun surprise stop that my law school buddy & fellow Unilocaler Peter C. brought me to after Unilocal’s Sip-​Nic event in Alameda.
I first have to qualify this review by saying that this is the first time I’ve ever done a «companion”-review joining on two establishments. But Beer Revolution and The Olde Depot are inextricably connected by the husband & wife team of REBECCA & FRAGGLE that own and operate Beer Revolution together. Then she owns (separately) and operates The Olde Depot which is right smack next door to Beer Revolution.
This gives the undeniable advantage of throwing events that allow for greater economies of scale by having TWO foundational venues being able to form a larger base of promotion & celebration than just one. For example, the upcoming «Beer Camp» in August 2013 is being jointly promoted by both the teams of Beer Revolution & The Olde Depot.
THE SET-​UP
So where I left off in my review about Beer Revolution (if you had read that one first) is that after couple of brews, my buddy Peter and I were hungry. We were meeting family & friends for food and luckily for us, Peter’s wife & fellow Unilocaler Lyn came out to join us at The Olde Depot. AND she bought us FOOD! (God we love her).
VEGAN
This is an establishment that prides itself on it’s 100% Vegan selection of Foods and Drinks. What we enjoyed included:
* Deep-​fried Mushroom caps with two delectable sauces, one a spicy cream pepper sauce and the other a cool ranch’ish sauce — both dam good.
* Veggie Tacos! YUM.
* An order of chips with a large cup of some of the best dam guacamole that I’ve ever had.
* I also got a pint of the Bundaberg Ginger Beer — such a interesting refreshing treat from the alcohol I’d been consuming all day, both at the Unilocal Sip-​Nic event AND then next door at Beer Revolution!
PATIO!
God I love that these places in Oakland really maximize their patio advantage and have some sizable outdoor hangouts for us to chill. As it was, Peter and Lyn both had lots of friends that were joining us & hanging out — we were playing with a puppy, chatting it up in the sun, having a good time — and then we were joined by their friend who is one of the cooks there. It was a good time.
THE LOWDOWN
A great place for some truly nice chill time, eclectic drink offerings and Vegan food.

Decent spot to grab a brew and some vegan noms.
Came here to do some much needed patio drinking on a Friday evening. Umm. when did Oakland fill up with dude-​bros? Thought I could come here and be safe, but it was a pink polo shirt popped collar explosion. Moved to the East Bay to get away from the tools, but someone let them in… sigh. Beer revolution next door was also sadly filled with broskis and sorority girls so it was a toss up where would be less painful and decided on the former.
Great rotating selection of beers on tap– I stuck with a pilsner and bf got and IPA, and friends went for cider/​red ale. Seems like there’s a little something for everyone. I sat down next to some olds and we started talking and they had no idea it was vegan– and were very impressed.
Ordered the chick’n & chips with chipotle sauce. While it was great it was a bit heavy and greasy, which maybe I would opt for sliders next time to avoid the post meal regret.
We ordered at the bar and had our food brought to us. They take cards now.

I was here at their full opening. The set up is far better than their neighbor Beer Rev in which they actually serve food. This place actually gives good compliment to Beer Rev as both will provide the needs of «hungry wanna grab food and beer people» of Oakland. Ill surely be back

This place is just what Oakland needed!
Great Vegan Eats, AMAZING BEER, & a very comfy, casual atmosphere!
Definitely compliments Beer Revolution!
It’s a total block of amazing beer!
Two amazing Beer Bars right next door to each other, I’ll never leave the area!

A group of friends and I arrived to Olde Depot around 7pm for dinner. Some of us visit Beer Rev often and so were excited to try Olde Depot. Some friends were new to Oakland and had not heard of either place.
We were surprised to see that the beer bar did not accept cash. The Olde Depot’s ATM machine was out of order. So we went next door to get cash for our beers.
We sat outside and drank our first beers. 3 of us decided we were hungry and wanted to try their sausages and kraut. We were bummed when the waitress told us all they had was Rauch and Apple and Sage. All 3 of us ordered apple/​sage and kraut.
5 or so minutes later our waitress returned and informed us that sadly they were out of that too and only had Rauch, but not to worry, it was «smoked» and «really good». (I suspect the rauch sausage was not actually smoked, rather made with rauchbier, which uses malt that is «smoked» over an open flame)
Our only vegetarian friend was hungry, but ordered nothing, because NOwhere on any menu, sign, verbally from waitress, etc. was it stated that these sausages were vegan and meat free! We had no idea.
My friends had just finished their dry sausage sandwiches, and I had about a 3^rd left, when we decided we were fairly certain they were Tofurkey or something that was NOT meat. When the waitress came out, she informed us that yes Indeed! They were vegan and 100% soy-based…I promptly handed mine over to our hungry vegetarian friend and we all finished our 2^nd round of beer.
I think it’s a problem that the fact they use soy-​based sausage is not written or verbalized anywhere: 1) Some vegetarians may have no idea and go hungry 2) some meat eaters may not enjoy their meal, and be disappointed 3) worst yet… some person with a SOY ALLERGY may need to be rushed to a hospital.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Fast forward about an hour, my friends have walked back home to Jack London, the kitchen of Olde Depot is closed and the place is pretty much empty, and my remaining friends and I head over to Beer Rev, which is now packed with people.
They wait at the front of the bar ordering the beers, I am standing by the door, and notice the woman I saw working at Olde Depot, with the straight cut bangs and black hair (chef?), is walking up and looking very serious/​stressed/​in a hurry. I open the door for her and hold it as she passes. Which she acknowledges and says thank you. She leaves shortly after.
10 minutes or so later the same woman returns from next door and flings the door open, walking right up myself and a few random girls that were still waiting to get up to the front bar. She yells in the general area of me and the girls while making eye contact «hellooo! You know we have beer next door too!». No response, so she yells again «You guys, there is beer next door and we are open.».
The girls look at her but say nothing. The woman from Olde Depot just stands there looking at us, as if waiting for a response. I reluctantly answer back «yeah but, it’s a little bit sleepy over there» (aka it’s dark and dead over there, your atm is broke and you only accept cash). She scrunches her face and steps towards me saying «What?» «What???» So I repeat myself again. She makes a yet more puzzled (and rude) look on her face, she either 1) couldn’t hear/​understand me 2) didn’t understand what I meant by «sleepy» or 3) was waiting for a better response.
So I continued, «…And…we were also there earlier, had dinner and bought a lot of beers… so now we want to ‘try something new’». She took another step told me and aggressively yelled «oh.aaand…YOUR RETARDED!» then turned around and stormed out the door, leaving me to savor an awkward moment with the randoms next to me.
IN SUMMARY:
This was immature, rude, aggressive and uncalled-​for behavior from the staff at Olde Depot, after a failed attempt to lure customers back over to buy more beer, (when it was clearly explained we had already spent plenty of time over there and wanted to move on). Especially thrown at the same customer who was courteous to her just 10 minutes before. Some really child-​like behavior from this woman… Although I understand she doesn’t represent the entire staff.
I can also forgive the other unaware wait staff, the lack of any labeling of vegan or soy products, the unavailability of ¾ of the entrees, broken ATM and cash-​only beers.
But then I remembered they had Shubros on tap… and that… is just unforgivable.
–negative 10 starse Olde Depot–

My biggest complaint about the Olde Depot Public House is that it is cash only and the sausages are all Vegan, though it doesn’t say so anywhere! I just keep thinking about how many (drunk) people must be totally disappointed when they are excited about eating a juicy delicious meat sausage and instead get a mediocre Vegan sausage, which is fine and all, but it’s disappointing when it’s not what you expect. It’s like eating a M&M when you think you’re eating a Skittles or vice versa.
I tried most of the things on the menu because I was hungry. We ended spending quite a bit on food because we just couldn’t get full. I like tofu and eat fake meat on a semi-​regular basis, but I wasn’t terribly impressed by the Vegan sausages. Of the two that I tried, I recommend the currywurst sausage over the rauch sausage because it has more flavor. The fries are decent, but the serving size wasn’t quite as big as I thought they’d be at a pub. The potato salad and pierogis are solid though.
My friends and I went on a Friday night and the place was pretty much empty. Even so, the service was pretty slow and it took us awhile to get beers and food. Plus the waitress, nice as she was, didn’t seem too knowledgeable about the beers on tap. I will stick with Beer Revolution next door even if it is more crowded.

Olde Depot and Beer Revolution is as different as night and day. it’s so bright in Olde Depot one can’t see the listed beers on the wall. it’s so dark in Beer Revolution you can’t see who’s across the room.
Olde Depot has food (on it’s menu). but they were out of potato salad and currywurst.
–Beer Revolution has no food (a draw since both essentially had no food)
Olde Depot has a few communal tables inside
–B.R. has beer kegs with stools
O.D. has microbrews from all over starting at $ 6, many unknown to me
–B.R. has known beers and hard to find beers, minimum $ 5.
etc. etc.
eats: pierogi (4)
–nice crispy crust and potato inside, some kind of jam on top
decent but not a fan of potatos…
on draught:
–would go to B.R. for a specific beer
–would go to O.D. if i was adventurous and hungry.
–good service at both places.
–would go to O.D. if i wanted to sit down…
–they are right next to each other so one could actually go to both of them…(and have a chaser from OPD).

Great space indoors and outdoors — this pub just opened on Saturday! Lots of great beer options but not as expensive as you might think. The food is pretty good– house made pierogis, made fresh — fly out of the kitchen as fast as the gal with cobalt blue hair can roll out the dough and press them out! The pretzels are pretty awesome, as are the frites. They offer a selection of seitan sausages — try the cherry one with the fennel kraut and house made sweet hot mustard.
Excellent service, too! Looking forward to going back — $ 80 for 4 of us, about 8 beers, 2 orders of pierogis and of frites, three or four pretzels and one sausage w kraut… we were all stuffed with potatoey vegan goodness!