San Pablo Barber Shop

Weird. So I walk in the morning, Friday, around 10:30. There’s one barber cutting, one client in the chair getting his haircut, and another waiting. When I walk in the barber tells me he’s closed, then continues to cut hair without any explanation. Confused, I leave.

Just checking out the reviews on Unilocal I knew that this was a good spot. I love the atmosphere of the shop, adorned with posters of famous black historians, 2 classic leather barber chairs and customers that share a mature, comical sense of humor, especially about women. And most importantly the barber cut my hair just the way I asked him. He even kept checking throughout to make sure it was what I wanted. I’d recommend this place and will be going back again soon.

Closest shaves I ever got. Also, I was the only white guy I ever saw in there and the only straight hair and Yusuf cut my hair better than anyone before or since.

Beware of this establishment.
I tend to prefer local barber shops over places like super cuts, my haircuts are simple and don’t require anything special.
But this place was subpar. I honestly came home with multiple spots uneven, not slightly, but some patches of hair TWICE the length, which is pretty much requirement #1 for a haircut. Just keep hairs relatively even is the minimum.
Now the styling overall haircut is the harder challenge, clearly not a factor in this case.
He only used the buzz trimmers, took less than 10min and just kept going shorter and shorter instead of measuring and being precise.
He showed me my hair at one point that was so clearly uneven with no regard or concern, like he either didn’t notice (fail) or didn’t care (fail).
Fortunately hair grows back but this was very disrespectful and discourteous to a customer trusting you to cut his hair in a professional manner.
The more I think about it, the owner did act funny towards me, I don’t think he truly wanted my business and was trying to make a point. Was very abrupt overall and truly doesn’t care about making customers feel comfortable.
Unless you don’t care about your hair cut or are getting a simple buzz, I would not bet on getting the attention to detail that a hair cut requires. Lots of other places out there.

UNFRIENDLY & RUDE!!! MAYBE RACIST!
«I DO NOT CUT HAIR FOR PEOPLE WITH STRAIGHT HAIR LIKE YOU!!» — This is what the barber told me when i went to get a hair cut there for the first time! Startled and hurt i was leaving the store when i got yelled at by the Barber — «CLOSE THE DOOR! YOU BETTER CLOSED THE DOOR!!» In the midst of the situation of being «MISTREATED», I didn’t realize that the door don’t shut automatically! I apologized and closed the door. While i was leaving, I heard him say «YEAH RIGHT!», and one of the customer was laughing!
There were four people there. Two customer waiting, one customer getting haircut, and the barber himself. They were all black. None of the customer said anything! I can safely say that i was racially mistreated by them.
This was very first time i was racially mistreated. It’s very Hurtful! I hope no one have to experience that kind of treatment. People with these kind of attitude should not be able to run a business now or in future. Hopefully, in the future, there will be legislation enforcing no racial mistreatment of the customer by the employee or the business owner!

This is the best barber shop in Berkeley for African-​Americans.

I am a HUGE fan of this barbershop! The barber specializes in African American, and short hair styles. When my hair was long, he respectfully declined cutting my hair as that was not his specialty.
The atmosphere is comfortable and clientele is colorful and usually engaged in interesting/​passionate conversations surrounding sports, economics and local happenings.
Plenty of metered street parking. Bring your change! Berkely parking enforcement personnel are swift and will ticket your vehicle before you can add time to your meter. They are SERIOUS about ticketing your car.

I’ve been coming to this place since I was a young’n. This is one of the most PLEASANT places I know of, better than any coffee shop or lounge. The barbers are always engaging, the discussion is always lively and passionate, and oh yeah…
They cut good hair. No matter how full the place is, they take their time with each customer. Even when I’m in a rush, they get done quickly, without trying to hurry me out the door.
If you’re not into «hanging out» at the barber shop on a Saturday morning, your best bet is to come in on weekday afternoons, after 3pm. I’ve never had to wait long then.

Extremely good service and very affordable! My hair is difficult to get right and he did it PERFECTLY. I’ve never been happier with a haircut!

Go to the place constantly and consistently, would never go anywhere else.

Right out of central casting, the only thing missing from this place was Floyd from «Mayberry RFD.»
When you walk in, there is the distinct aroma of perfumed talc and astringent. The place is clean, if weathered, with floors of linoleum and old mirrors that are beginning to silver out at the edges.
Two barber chairs sit across from a row of mix-​matched seats pushed up against a wall of 50’s style wood paneling. There is a small television showing TCM-​type movies starring people like John Wayne, Barbara Stanwyck, and Hattie McDaniel. When I arrived, both barber chairs were full. One customer was a Russian fellow, who had given explicit instructions about how his hair was to be cut, which were followed to the letter.
The barber chairs are vintage, with ornamental heavy silver foot rests and thick black leather seats. In the corner lies the fully leather booster seat, hand tooled with studs to hold down the leather. It is the same booster we remember from our childhood (and not some awful plastic thing that’s mass produced). Classic.
The walls are adorned with positive message posters; everything from excerpts of Martin Luther King’s speeches and images of Obama, to hopeful statements about freedom of religion. There are sweet potato pies for sale in the window. By noon, they were almost sold out.
As black barbers will, your sense of humor will be tested if you’re new, but once you climb into that chair, your wish is their command. Whether it’s a full cut, a shaped neckline, or a little off the sides, they will take care to ask you what you want and deliver it. Just. Like. That.
Most barbers have me in and out in about 20 minutes. Because my hair is short, they think of it as a quick job and just sort of «shear» me. Mohammed had me in the chair for a full 50 minutes, not because I was dissatisfied, but because he wanted the cut to be perfect. «I’m not quite satisfied,» he told me at one point, about 30 minutes into the cut. «I want you to look like Jane, not GI Joe.»
When I was done, he gently wiped the hair from my neck with an astringent, brushed the tiny bits of hair from my forehead, and dusted me with talc. The $ 15.00 price for the cut was a bargain at double the price.
This is not just a barber shop for black hair, but it is a black barber shop, filled with everything wonderful about the era when local places were on every corner. It feels good to go locavore.