Tap Haus

Just what Berkeley needed. A place that had enough space and cheap beer. Now that Bears Lair isn’t cheap anymore we definitely needed something else to go to

Tap House is a cool place to chill and have a few German beers and some Knackwurst. Bartenders are great too!

The service was excellent! The vibes were great! The food was even good! Definitely coming back here next weekend for the fries, beer and pool!

I haven’t really been around campus since I graduated several years ago, so pardon the ignorance. But I’m pleasantly surprised that this location, which formerly housed a number of failed business including the 2-​star-​rated (by me) Pepe’s pizza, is now occupied by this cool bar/​hangout spot. I wish this was here when I was in undergrad!
I have to caveat this by saying I came during Christmastime, so campus and South Side were really quiet. So I’m not sure if my experience is the standard one, but in my solitary experience here, the bar was pretty empty, a few groups of people were hanging around some of the games, and a few tables were occupied by groups of young people. From what I recall, there are a number of pool tables (maybe 6?), two giant Connect4 games, an oversized shuffleboard table, and two (or more?) TVs. There were also a number of long wooden bar tables and plenty of barstools to use. Seems like a fun place to come hang out for some drinks and some bar games!
They also had some food on the menu but we didn’t get anything, so no comment on that.

I came to Tap Haus randomly on a Thursday evening to have some beers, brats, and play some giant Jenga. When we arrived it was pretty quiet, and this place is pretty large and spacious. The beer and food was solid, and the staff was really friendly. It eventually did get a little crowded with some rowdy-​drunky students, but eh, I can’t complain when I go to a college bar. In the past 13 years I’ve been in Berkeley I have not seen anything survive in this spot for long, so I sure hope Tap Haus has better success than its predecessors.

Was looking for a place to watch the Warriors game and learned about this from a friend who says Tap Haus is supposed to be the next best thing since Talassa had closed down. It was pretty empty when we got there but it’s to be expected since a lot of the college students were out of town for Thanksgiving. Some of us were starving so we ordered some food to eat. We ordered the Caesar salad, the shoestring fries, and my boyfriend and I shared a brat plate. The Caesar salad was really good. It’s not your typical Caesar salad. Yea, it’s a creamy sauce but it tastes so much different than the normal Caesar salad. Like a German Caesar sauce. Needless to say, I liked it so much that I ordered two of them. The shoestring fries were really good. They were truffle fries with a garlic aioli sauce. I never was really found of truffle fries just because I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be tasting when it comes to the truffle flavor but these fries were really good. It had a nice garlic truffle taste to it. I couldn’t stop eating them, but I was also pretty starving too. I tried the first two brats on the list and they were good. I’ve never had German brats so it was different taste to American dogs.
The vibe was pretty chill. They have a giant connect four display that you can play, as well as, giant jenga pieces that will scare the crap out of you when they fall if you’re not paying attention. There’s also 6 pool tables and that game where you slide the pucks across a salt table. I don’t even know what that game is called. At around 9:30−10pm, the lights dim out and the ID card guy is seated by the door to check your ID. They also play really awesome music. Some old school rap songs, some new, a bunch of in between. It was an all around good time. But don’t overdo it on the German beers. They’re a creeper, I kid you not. All of my guy friends who drank them had killer hangovers the next day. But then again, they had at least 5 – 6 cups each.

Been here 2 times… It’s usually pretty packed by the time we go.
Me and my friend came to the conclusion that this is the kinda bar you go to when you come with a big group of friends.
They have jenga, connect four, and pool tables but it’s kinda hard to start playing since there’s always a ton of people I feel like you have to get here early.
As for the crowd I feel like it’s pretty low key, I’ve never really talked to anyone that didn’t come in my group.
If your looking to meet friends and new people this probably isn’t the place, but if you go with a group I think it is fun.
Plus the boot of beer they have is only $ 15 and it’s pretty big!!!
Beers are good, that’s all I really drink so it’s perfect for me.
I’d probably be back, but it wouldn’t be my go to spot

This place needs some SERIOUS ventilation. Stopped by after the Cal/​USC game and yes, I am aware we went to a bar on Halloween after a rivalry football game, but it was still gross.
The floor was exceptionally sticky, actually, everything we touched was sticky. It smelled so stale and was extremely stuffy downstairs even though there were probably only about 50 people total in the entire place.
After standing at the bar (behind 2 people) for about 15 minutes without be helped we just left.

Pretty cool spot with lots of taps. Had two sour beers and fries, and we played pool. Yay.

The bartender wrote in a tip without asking me, and then handed it to me expecting me to sign it. When I protested, the bartender explained that they had already charged me before I even saw it, let alone signed it. Slimy.

It’s enjoyably relatively empty here so you can play silly drinking games and the staff is really chill about it. Before they had their pool tables available, you could play beer pong there which was a great time. I hope they figure out how to have some beer pong tables in addition to the pool.
The fries are quite good too.

I love this place. It was my friend’s birthday and after getting a Lyft from Prizefighter (which is awesome btw) in Emeryville and ate a hotdog at top dog, we decided to continue drinking at TapHaus since it was right there. I guess they JUST opened because the place was relatively new. I DIG THE ATMOSPHERE and I love that wooden décor. They have big long tables, shuffleboard, etc. It was pretty empty when I was there, but I think because they’re new they weren’t packed yet. Good beers, and they have DAS BOOTEN! My friend bought us all a round of boots, and got the birthday boy a HUGE boot, which was awesome. They also have board games there and those tables are perfect for it. I hope this place is never packed when I’m there because I absolutely love it. Apparently they have food– so I can’t wait to drink and eat and try new beers there.

The bartenders gave excellent suggestions and knew their beer. There weren’t that many people (probably because it’s summer), so maybe that helped in terms of service. Overall, great and helpful.
Food-​wise: the bratwurst (Atomic) was great because I love spicy!
Beer: They had a nice sour which was great and they had a good selection of German beers!
Also they have a few simple games like Connect 4 (ah childhood) for people to play.
Side note: the restrooms were clean.

Went here on a Wednesday night with a few friends. The guy at the bar was really helpful and explained each of the German beers to us. I got the Stiegl Radler, which tasted like grapefruit juice and was delicious. My boyfriend got the Weihenstephaner, which was also great and probably will be my next pick. A stein was $ 8.
Later the two of us shared a pretzel; well worth the 3.50 imo. It came with horseradish and mustard sauce.
They have games! We got some playing cards and later some Uno cards, which killed a couple hours in a great way. The place was pretty empty, so it was a nice hang-​out experience. Definitely going back.

Came here on a Tuesday afternoon at 5. It was empty but soon filled up w grad students and a diverse crowd. The bartender switched the tv to the Giants game for us and offered us a few beer tasters. Amazing service at the bar. German and domestic beers on tap. We ordered the herb truffle fries with garlic aioli, which was really flavorful– get it if you love herby shoe string fries.
Happy hour was 5−6pm. The deal was a pint with a pig pop for $ 10. Pretty good considering that would run you $ 14 on the regular. I’ll be back!

Terrific spot and it’s only gonna get better. Oktoberfest was goin’ down at their fun grand opening last night. Feels like a beer hall plucked right out of Germany– steins and boots of beer, brats, kraut and even an Oom-​pah band was playing. Great beer selection, yummy German fare, beautiful wood and stone interiors, beefy community tables, lights strung across the ceiling, pool tables and friendly staff. The owner really knows how to create a special, inviting and fun space in all of his establishments (also owns Kona club, Club Mallard and former Thalassa). From what I was told he seeks and returns, from his travels, with the interesting whimsical pieces you see that dress up his bars. Looking forward to coming back. Cheers!

Bouncer confiscated my friend’s beer that he had on him because it was an «outside beverage». Didn’t give it back when we were leaving. Very aggressive person, used force on my friend. Definitely a negative experience. Not coming back again!

Pros:
A good selection of German Beers.
Ample seating
Cons:
The women who work here couldn’t be less interested in doing their job. Chatting with friends. Ignoring patrons.
They don’t have a liquor license. Nor apparently a license to serve alcohol in a place with pool tables. The pool tables were shuttered. But you can go up a set of precarious concrete stairs and play pool, but not drink, since they don’t have a license for that.
Would come back, unless I see the apathetic ratchet girls ‘working’ the bar.

This is a great bar! It was very clean and nicely designed, and the beer selection was great. The music that they played was also very fun. I’d recommend this bar to anyone.

Love this place!!! Opened last week and is already my fave berk spot to get beers before a show! Here with friends, but def see this as a great date spot or a spot to bring a large group of friends.