Blakes On Telegraph

I can only speak for my one and only experience at Blake’s On Telegraph. Saw RX Bandits play a 21 and over show (extremely rare for them) back in November of 2002 down in the basement.
The show was fucking amazing. No stage… just the band standing on a small platform mere feet away from me. I literally had to dodge Chris’s trombone slide.
Really wish I had the chance to come out and check out more shows at this venue. But due to its nostalgic value, this place marks pretty high for me.

i will miss blakes on telegraph.
i was hopeful when they redid the place. it looked so much better than it did before. i know many people don’t like partying at the basement but c’mon now– if there are no parties up at frat row and nobody is throwing a kick back at their house, this was the place to go.
yes it was dark, it was sweaty, and it was crowded… but the music was good and it was always there when you needed a place to party. good ol reliable blakes… or at least it use to be.
until next time
cheers!

Food here was never that great. Burgers are dry, not flavorful, and their «damn good sauce»… is only ketchup. What gives? The fries that they serve are a bit on the dry side so you’ll definitely need to use a lot of ketchup to make them edible. Not too surprised they closed…
The «dance floor» downstairs is the nasties. The air is bad, the floor is dirty, the music is meh, and the place is just overcrowded in general. The place is also so dimly lit there’s a lot of shady stuff that goes on here. Drink prices are pretty standard. I suppose this is the closest «club» that under-​21 Berkeley students can go into, but I would avoid going even if you’re curious. Not worth the time. Also, I guess not possible any more since the place is closed.

A five star salute for the 70 plus years Larry Blake’s was an icon of Berkeley. The Rath was legendary with so many famous bands gigging there over the years. While the service and food faltered over time, it is sad to see it gone. Darn it.

And my review to follow Toni’s.
My last visit to the Rathskeller was probably forty plus years ago. At the time, the Piccolo had become the Mediterraneum. La FIesta was *the only* Mexican food joint on the Avenue and Robbie’s Café was where you could get a pitcher of beer without showing an ID.
Larry Blake’s was where you went when your parents needed to be shown around the campus. (And had agreed to pay the bill.)
So, I am not surprised that Larry Blake’s has closed. I certainly have not spent much time on the Avenue during the past half century. Too grotty, too dangerous, too well… boring.
I am sorry to see yet another Berkeley institution bite the dust, though. I’m hoping that someone, somewhere made a last UTube tribute to the place before it closed. HIstory, you know. Like so much of Telegraph Avenue.

Can’t help but say that I for one will NOT miss this place. IT was a haven for trouble and compared to all the other pubs nearby, there was always trouble here. To me it was all entertaining, but i can see why this place shut for good.
That being said, Berkeley– UC Campus, has a shortage of places to dance, and venues for small band concerts. That is where I will miss this place, but not enough to want it back.
The same week that this place closed there was this girl fight outside, and i saw the bartender jump into it like superman and he got his head hit a few times with a cell phone. I remember thinking that the guy was always kind of a jerk.
Goodbye to Blakes, but honestly. GOOD RIDDANCE

While goin’ the road to sweet Cal-​y, hurroo, hurroo
A stick in me hand and a drop in me eye
A doleful damsel I heard cry,
Larry I hardly knew ye…
After 71 years of serving the Blue and Gold (including me), Blake’s on Telegraph has closed. I enjoyed the music, thought the food was OK, and am sad that this Cal tradition has bitten the dust.

Inspired by Eric B’s review, here’s mine. When I started at UC in 1962 Larry Blake’s was the place to go. When I moved into the dorm the second semester and for the following two semesters it was where I ate my Sunday dinner, since the dining hall didn’t serve dinner Sunday nights. My dinner invariably was a large plate of the signature salad, a generous portion for $ 1. I liked it when it had been sitting in the dressing for a while and was a little soggy w/​it. Not gourmet but what I loved. It remained one of my favorite salads and Alan and I introduced Tam to it when she was little. As for the rest of the food, I remember it as being pretty good, but in those days there was plenty of good food around campus. Kip’s Hamburgers made excellent, rare burgers. I was astonished at how bad they were when I tried them 25 years later.
Downstairs the Rathskeller was a dark and cool place to hang out and listen to music. It was also where the bathrooms were. Like Eric, I’m sad that this iconic place of my youth has gone dark, even though I haven’t been there in years. Telegraph Avenue at night isn’t as safe or comfortable as it was in the early 60s, when I could walk back to my dorm alone in the dark in complete safety.

Heard in the news recently that Blakes had closed permanently, and decided to write a short little blurb on them in memory of college days.
Back in college, Blakes was one of the handful of places my friends would get drinks at. Getting tables usually wasn’t a problem, and the drinks were pretty cheap. For poor college kids, that’s probably the most you could ask for. The crowd was mainly fellow students, and the basement would either feature a live band, or a DJ that would play hip-​hop music. In fact, it was probably one of the few (if not only) places near campus that would actually have an area for people to dance. But then, there was always SF… but I digress.
In the years afterwards, it was pretty apparent they were on the slide. Even towards my last year, there were times where the crowd would get kinda sketchy, and you would wonder where some of these people were coming from. That is, assuming there were even people there. A while back, a couple of buddies and I found ourselves in the neighborhood and decided to drop in to grab a drink or two. In total, there was maybe a half dozen people or so and we were probably the youngest people there. Just to make it worth walking through the door, we grabbed one quick round and left as soon as we had sat down.
In a way, I’m kind of sad to see Blake’s go… but then again, no, I’m not.

I HEART Blake’s!
Can anything beat their drink specials on Wednesday nights? Is there anything cooler than techno lights? I love my Cob Salad, my beer selection, and the cheap drinks downstairs when the party starts. I’ll never be too old for Blake’s! I may get be too old for the fun downstairs, but Blake’s will always be my go to place.
PS– snobby kids you are in the wrong zip code my friends. SF is further West!

Oh, Blakes. It’s a Berkeley establishment but it’s really not that great. I’ve been here a couple of times and it’s usually against my will.
ATMOSPHERE
It’s such a grungy bar, but it’s definitely cleaner than Kips and a lot less creepy. I usually sit at the high tables and get a few drinks with my girl friends (but only during happy hour). The service is whatever and you have to wait a long time at the bar.
The basement is gross and the floors are sticky. I don’t know how people dance in there without getting dirty. The only bright side is that it’s pretty spacious and my friend DJs on Tuesdays and/​or Thursdays.
The upstairs dance floor is tiny… I don’t even know why it’s called a dance floor because it’s awkwardly shaped and there’s not much room to dance.
NOTE: If you don’t like dealing with punk/​emo/​annoying teenagers from the local high schools, then make sure you figure out which days are for the 18+ crowd.
FOOD
I’ve ordered their CAJUN FRIES, which are good. They come with a side of ranch and ketchup.
My friend always gets their CHEESE QUESADILLA and NACHOS, but stay away from the salsa; she said it’s really gross.
Their DRINKS are a hit or miss. Sometimes they’re too strong but sometimes all you can taste is juice. They’re really only worth it for happy hour ($ 3).
Overall, a grungy college bar swarming with gross locals. I personally don’t like Blakes, but at least they’re nice about event planning (it’s free to reserve the space as long as your guests buy roughly $ 200 worth of drinks/​food).

We just stopped in for drinks on a Friday night. Being from out of town, it wasn’t obvious there were two entrances — one for the show, one for the restaurant/​bar. If you’re just having drinks/​food — make sure you go into the right entrance ;-)
I have to say, I didn’t love it — though the waitstaff was friendly, and efficient (even though they once brought me vodka/​soda, instead of vodka/​tonic — but who complains about that really?).
I recommend sitting in the back if you’d like to hear the show, but don’t want to pay the cover. You’ll hear the music, and still be able to get a little food.
Bathrooms are downstairs (where the show is), which I thought a bit weird since they want a cover for the show. Then I realized there’s a bathroom-​bouncer that won’t let you do anything but hit the can and walk back upstairs.
Overall, not bad — I’m sure the music scene/​nightclub is probably fun though — it was packed.

Closest dancing club around Berkeley campus and I suppose it can be convenient when you are lazy to make the trip into SF. However, I swear you get the most rando people there – you got your high schoolers, homeless people, Cal students, Oakland residents…
The bouncers are nice! worked with them a couple of times for a fundraising event there, and they are super chill and funny.
The bar is pretty empty, but the bartenders are friendly. Really quick with drinks and if you order a jäger-​bomb, they will give you a lot of Red Bull. And, lots of Red Bull is always good in my book.
The dancer floor downstairs is dark, lots of pipes on the ceiling, awkward side room, ill-​placed techni-​colored light ball that blinds your eyes if you are standing at the wrong place, convenient bar and bathroom, okay music (can sometime disappoint though).

Brief summary — Bartender could not verify my authentic CA driver’s license for no good reason and proceeded to give me attitude about it. I am 27 years old as of the writing of this review.
Details follow, if anyone cares:
I still get carded from time to time, and I couldn’t care less about it.
A friend (Berkeley resident) and I (transplant from LA) were hanging out in Berkeley, and we randomly stopped by Blakes a few nights ago.
So the bartender, whom I do not know by name, (my best description of her is an approximately 5’4″ asian female) comes over to help us.
I asked about a vodka on the wall I had never seen before, she shows it to me, and I decide to order it (on the rocks, with a slice of lime).
Before serving me, she asks for ID. No problem… I give her my CA driver’s license, which is in pretty good condition. Never had a problem before, never had a problem since.
She starts bending it, twisting it, holding the ID up to the light, poking it, prodding it, grumbling about it… then she starts looking around, possibly for help, but doesn’t find anyone.
So I find this mildly amusing, being 27 years old and being suspected of using a fake ID.
I say «you know… it’s one thing to check my ID, but to not believe that it’s real… is pretty ‘out there’».
She continues the bending and twisting, and utters half a sentence, «hmmm… it doesn’t have the … »
I casually asked if she had a UV light (which obviously would have revealed that it was authentic). No response.
More twisting and grumbling… I’m waiting for her to look at my face and just *realize* that I am well over 21, but she is just too absorbed in her detective work to be bothered to look up.
This must’ve gone on for a good minute and a half. She keeps twisting, bending, and grumbling, and occasionally looking around for help. Still doesn’t find anyone.
Jokingly, I ask if she would like to hear about my PhD that I finished recently.
Without looking at me, she responded: «If I wanted to hear about it, I would’ve asked you.»
Whoooooooaaaaa there… did I say something to offend you? Get over yourself.
I held out my hand, took my ID back, and told her I didn’t feel like drinking anymore, which was true. Walked out of there and never looked back.
I hate to do a one-​star review just because of the behavior of one employee, but when you’re a bartender and you’re working an evening shift, you really represent the face of the entire establishment.
I have no problem that she wanted to verify the authenticity of my ID, in fact, I think the UV light is pretty standard at a lot of bars now and have come to expect it. Just the other day, a place swiped the magnetic strip of my driver’s license to verify it.
There’s really no excuse for your attitude when YOU are the cause of the delay. It’s not my fault if you can’t even identify a real CA driver’s license when you’re working at a CA bar.
Here’s a suggestion for how you can be courteous (or at least, you know, **moderately** civil) to your customers:
«Excuse me for a minute while I check your ID with the manager» might have been an appropriate thing to say. I would not have protested.
I would be happy to return to Blake’s and give a real review, as long as she’s not working there.

I’ve been to Blake’s for different occasions… club event, happy hour/​dinner, and late night drinks. I’d rate it average to below average for all of the above.
One plus for Blake’s is it’s 18+ to get inside during dinner time /​happy hour, so it’s good when you are on the cusp of turning 21. The club events are your basic student-​club events… they are held on the upper floor & there is music playing & whatever. For happy hour/​dinner, the food & drinks are pretty mediocre & not particularly cheap. I drank at the bar one night when Blake’s was the only place open at 1am during finals week… the mixed drinks were really bad & way too strong. I’d just stick to ordering beer. Also, for some reason, I find a lot of homeless people wander in and do weird things like yell or sit at your table… but the staff is nice & helpful (i.e. will escort the homeless person away from your table…)
Overall, I probably wouldn’t go to Blake’s unless someone else really wanted to go. Not horrible, but not good.

2.5−3 stars. This was my first visit in all my years at Berkeley. I didn’t go because NOTHING about Blake’s stands out as welcoming or enticing, not even the 15% for Cal students discount or $ 5 Thursdays in the underground part. However, for an after work happy hour organized by the late Unilocaler John B., I was convinced to go.
Great steals for meals? Maybe. The guys in the group thought so since they ordered multiple happy hour specials. It’s only $ 1 for a chicken taco or tostada, fries, or onion rings. $ 2 for a slider or fish and chips, or mozzerella sticks. I myself tried the fries, slider, and mozzerella sticks. Things I shared with my beau.
Mozzerella sticks: They give you two, which are nicely fried, but unfortunately paired with watered down marinara dip.
Slider: Gross, salty, rubbery. Enough said.
Fries: They give you like 20 or fewer fries. A good deal. Fries are fried in a crumbly batter, giving each fry some rough texture. I liked.
In terms of beer: I disliked the beer…$ 6 pitcher for PBR…$ 8 pitcher for Sierra Nevada. Great deals, but not worth consuming.
+ Their name is misleading since they’re located b/​t Durant/​Channing and Telegraph NOT the street Blake. Tis hilarious.
+ Service was great. They DO check your IDs here.
+ Crowd was diverse and different than Beckett’s and other campus bars.
+ They have 3 screens so you can watch yo’ sports here while getting a nice drink or meal. There were a group of husky men who came the same time as us and got a bunch of pitchers of beer and hamburgers. It was cool.
I’m sure I’ll return for another after work happy hour. It was nice with the company.

So after their remodel, you would think it is beautiful inside, but the seatings in the back are not all that great, downstairs is STILL the same, and the bathrooms are disgusting!
I came here for my friend’s birthday, and the service was decent. We got our food and drinks timely, and other than that, there’s not much to talk about.
If I had different places to pick from, this would probably be on the bottom of my list. However, I heard their happy hours are worthwhile ot attend.

[Bar/​Restaurant review]
I probably hadn’t been to Blake’s in *cough* years; I had fond (but maybe misplaced!) memories of the place being a lil bit more character’d and bric-​a brac… you know, like a *proper* college bar.
We stopped in here for a beer or two to primer ourselves for the afternoon in Berkeley before the India. Arie concert.
The place looks a little more upscale than I recall (or that could have just been the effect of daylight… and sobriety). At the same time, it seems the establishment has lost some of its collegiate charms; most of the walls are devoid of anything eye-​fetching, just plain neutral walls from floor to high ceiling. The bar area looked particularly barren, feeling somewhat like an unfinished redecorating project. Still, for a sidewalk view of Berkeley street-​life and eccentricity, its a prime locale.
The menu has changed a little bit from what I remember, still offering stepped-​up versions of bar food and casual eats, burgers and the like being the staple of the kitchens offerings. And, thankfully, there are more than a handful of vegetarian or pescatarian options.
It might not be among my first dozen choices of places to eat, but for a drink on busy Telegraph, sho’nuff.
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I have fuzzy memories of sweaty, rowdy concerts here,
but for the life of me, I can’t remember who I saw.

I am old. I was once again reminded of this when spending an evening in Berkeley. When you are not carded in a college town this means that you have passed the point of any question regarding whether or not you are of legal drinking age. While this was a bit of a depressing realization for me, I did enjoy a lovely night of live music.
We were finally carded when making our way to the basement but I think that had more to do with checking our names at will call than for determining whether we would be allowed to purchase alcohol.
The live music was my friend’s brother’s band and they were awesome and Blakes is a decent place for enjoying a show. The live music space is cool — dark and cozy.
I definitely agree with Michelle S that the bathrooms are a bit scary. I understand that they get a lot of use but other venues seem to be able to keep their bathrooms maintained just fine.

I have friends in the music business.
And by business I mean they have bands.
And by friends… I mean several guys I know through other people.
They play here sometimes.
And by sometimes, I mean I have gone to see them once, when they were both playing.
It should be noted that this was prior to dating the singer of one and after becoming good friends with the singer of the other.
What can I say, apparently I have a thing for guys who can sing.
Blake’s downstairs has a Uncle Ted and Aunt Kate’s Rec room vibe to it. It’s dark and basement like. It kinda looks like a good place for a dungeon or some secret millionaires sex party.
I ordered a beer from the downstairs bar (which every good sex party should have) and some nachos, which weren’t very good.
I’d come back. Mostly because as a friend of the business, I’m obligated to show my support.
It’s either that or deal with the whining.