Acme Bar & Company

Around six months before we got married in Berkeley in August, we started reaching out to possible welcome party venues for the night before the big day. We wanted to find a place that would allow for outside food at a reasonable cost, provides quality drinks for a fair price, and has a nice access-controlled event space on premises. As someone who has run a number of large events previously, I know well that this task can be somewhere between tough and impossible. The minute one uses the term "wedding" to any vendor, costs can go way up. Or venues can charge exorbitant fees for space reservations, or have minimum spends that are crazy. And, honestly, it is really hard to simply find venues that allow for outside food.So we started the search, and emailed venues throughout the East Bay area (Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, Albany, Alameda), At first, the only possible venues I could find were craft brewing establishments. The one with the best location for us charged a lot for space reservation, and for a space that was not access controlled, and without our own dedicated bar. So, in effect, we would be paying thousands for a craft beer spot to a few "reserved" signs on some random tables for us. Suffice to say, we were starting to get discouraged.Then, after another internet search, I found a listing for Acme Bar in west Berkeley. Having never been there before (it has been a few years since I have lived in the East Bay), I asked around and realized that it's a pretty cool bar with good service and great drinks. We checked in out in person, and was pretty impressed with the available event space. But our greatest surprise was when we actually emailed Acme, and got to know the owner of the bar. She must have had a previous life as an event planner or something, cause she was amazing. The prices she quoted were quite fair, and she helped identify possible outside food vendors that met our needs. She helped arrange special drinks for our event, which ended up being really tasty. The beer selection we ended up having was top notch as well, as was the wine selection. We arranged for our own dedicated space on a Friday evening, with our own bar. She helped identify our needs for us, and went out of her way - along with her great staff - to ensure we had a great event.Some of my friends are quite experienced with events, and others are pretty hard to please, and everyone had a great time. The price quoted was on target, and there were absolutely no surprises, price-wise. I have never been more satisfied with a venue, or had a better event for the price. Working with Acme was, in two words, both fair and fun. We highly recommend working with them - you will not be disappointed.

Cute bar with friendly staff and good drinks. I really enjoyed the sangria drink special.

Cozy spot to try a WIDE variety of Whiskey. Three of us went and ordered two flights. This worked out perfect. We had enough for each of us to taste all 8 samples without feeling like we had too much since we were already full from dinner and walking home. The bourbon flight was our favorite. Very smooth. The Tour of Scotland was good but you need to like your whiskey with more bite for this flight. The last one really burns, lol. Very nice ambiance, if it wasn't so late we would have hung out longer. The only thing I would have preferred is if someone came over and explained the whiskeys, like when you do a wine tasting. I've heard they do this but it didn't happen the night I went.

As an amateur scotch and bourbon connoisseur, this is one of the best places for whiskey. They do have beer, wine, and typical well drinks but they also have an extensive whisky and mezcal collection as well. This is probably the only bar I know so far that has Michter's Toasted Barrel, which hard to purchase (expensive). The hype was well worth the taste! They have many other limited and rare selections of whatever you can think of. Excellent bar!

Even during a power outage you get the best from Camille! Knocking out cocktails like it ain't no thang!

It doesn't look like much from the outside but the inside is amazing! Low lighting and awesome bar tenders. This is a great chill out spot without having loud music. They have tables inside and outdoor as well. They have a private room that you can also rent out that looks gorgeous! It's walking distance from me and I come here off and on when I want to get out of the house. The bar tenders suggest drinks too which makes their service even better!

Pros: The craft coctails are great, the bartenders are friendly, they have dog rescue fundraising drink specials. The patio is bright and sunny, dogs are welcome. They just expanded the size of the private party room, it's a really nice space. Women-owned, etc, etc. It's one of my go to places.Cons: The bathroom entrance is a little awkward. They don't serve food although they do allow you to bring food in.

We've always gone to Acme for a neighborhood nightcap so when it came time to throw a milestone birthday party I could think of no better place. Jennifer was amazing and so flexible! She embraced the sparkle theme by throwing edible glitter in the punch bowls. I wanted a taco bar and oysters, and that's what I got. All my guests were raving about the space (back room + patio). Highly recommend for any private event!

A fun simple bar with hundreds of whiskeys. Great service. Very little food. In fact, I asked what food they had, and the bartender said chips and salsa and then said they had no chips and salsa. They do have Ritz crackers potato chips and pimento cheese. So, it's all about the drinks, which is not bad. There are drink specials during happy hour, and you'll find almost every type of alcohol here and very creative and talented bartenders that can create drinks for you. A fun crowd here also.

Super cute place! They have an outdoor area with fire pits and numerous heaters so you don't get too cold. They also hold private events here which is nice. The staff are friendly and follow vaccine mandates. They allow outside food too and they're located by some great eateries! It's a win-win situation. Parking was easy as we came on a weekday evening. It's street parking on San Pablo, though, so it's a busy street.I'm definitely coming back and enjoying their outdoor seating. And will recommend for private events.