Kingfish Pub & Cafe — Restaurant in Oakland

I completely forgot about my visit to this bar, it was completely last minute. I was at a store a few blocks away and one of my brothers was here and wanted me to join him and his friend.

This bar is located in a rather odd, off the beaten path spot and parking is a pain, it's all street parking. Lucky me, found a parking spot directly in front of the bar. I don't frequent bars often, so I wouldn't know what is considered divey. I personally think the bar is kind of cute. I don't know if it's okay to consider a bar cute. But I do.

It's dark inside, there were a couple of tall tables splattered with all kinds of decor anything from Cal Berkeley paraphernalia, fishermen quips / quotes, and stickers and some other sort of stickers. There was also a couple of shorter tables where customers were sitting, the place was packed.

Instead of peanuts/pretzels or assorted nuts for snacking, there is an endless amount of popcorn you scoop from a portable popcorn stand yourself, it's situated in the corner to the right of the entrance when entering.

The area inside is small and tight, not much elbow room. But it's not unbearable. There is one large shuffleboard table inside with a large crowd watching, playing or waiting.

There is an outdoor patio out back, and it's a completely different world. Honestly, it's like "Hipster" land, it was a much younger and quieter crowd. Reminded me of a page out of a Pottery Barn Catalog. The patio had white lights strung across, which made it a bit more festive. There is also a full bar outside.

As far as food is concerned, I was told they don't really serve food, meaning there isn't a kitchen so if you're coming here to eat, it could pose a problem. You can order food, but they don't make it on the premises, instead they get it from another restaurant in the area and bring it back. Ha ha!

I'm glad to have visited this legendary, historical, community rooted bar. It's cute,...

Great location, close to the 1 bus stop and MacArthur Bart Station, just a 20-30 min walk. Great indoor vibe with plenty of alcohol selection and a popcorn machine, arcade hunting game. With covid there's plenty of space out back, outdoor bar, table service as well as bar service and there's above head heaters. There's a juke box that you can access via AMI app where you buy credit to choose from a variety if music genres. There's a guest house where you can host a private gathering. Great, warm staff, they are a treat to talk to. No smoking inside or outside, cigarettes,...

the bouncer was very rude and not understanding of the situation. He left to go smoke at the entrance, leaving us unattended. we were confused so we just walked in. he noticed we were inside and made us go outside. he said that we were disrespectful for going inside and didn’t let us back in. i was very respectful and apologized and he escalated the situation. there were four other people who walked in before us and he did not ask them to leave. it left a very bad impression of the establishment. As people of color, it just felt very invalidating because the other 4...