Smitty's Cocktails

Stopped in here one random Saturday around noon!! Absolutely cute!! Not crowded at our time. Max was friendly and welcoming!! If we lived closer would probably make this a regular stop!! Thanks for being so friendly!! Had a great time!!

New owner: BYRON#amazingI always love this place (even with the old somewhat "shitty" mean old lady's service) because it opened early. But now, welcome Byron!I guess the bar changed hands, so to speak. Great move.Thank you Bruton for not screwing up another dive bar by Lake Merritt. Gentrification really screwed up this area, but thank G-d the new Smitty's owner is local and loyal. #newgotobar

It's too bad they close, I liked my bars smelling like piss, stale beer, and nicotine.

** Cash Only **Smitty's no longer has shuffleboard, but still has cheap drinks and the pool table. Cash only and pay as you go (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/smittys-cocktails-oakland?select=HYzETg2UvA7E4AKxIYoKSg)No draft beer and nothing too fancy available in bottles unless you count Racer 5 or Guinness (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/smittys-cocktails-oakland?select=yJjUlNpSCFdagYAD5b7twA)Great for a low-key drink, but go elsewhere for your artisinal craft cocktails with housemade tinctures.

I came here a few days after i'd been in a bad accident and my face was really messed up.One thing to note- there's a lot of mirrors on the walls here... so if you look messed up it's going to be very difficult to keep that under wraps.I wasn't really in the mood or headspace to be out and about but my friend was visiting from NYC and we'd decided to do a dive bar tour of oakland on his long weekend here.Smitty's was pretty similar to the townie bars we'd go to right when we turned 21 in the lower class suburbs of chicago illinois. Nothing fancy. But there's character and it's cheap so it's perfect. There's a pool table in back where we witnessed a very heated argument between two almost uncannily good pool players. It was more fascinating than anything but I gather that the table is not for gumshoes... or whatever a newbie pool player is called.The crowd is a real mixed bag, in a good way. Down to earth people. Who play very good music on the juke box based on my experience. When my friend went out to smoke a man did come up to me and ask if I had bad make-up on my face. He wasn't very shy about it. Like I actually had to tell him to please not touch because he went in with his hands like my stitched, swollen, bloody, bruised face was special effects makeup. And i'm certain he meant it in an interested way... but I dunno it was a little too friendly for me in that moment but otherwise might be a good place to make friends if you're curious.

Hello Readers!This place is 'Quadruple OG' (that's 4xxxxOG), if there is such a thing.Maybe come here one of these evenings, possibly play some pool, drink a bit of whiskey, shoot a lil' pinball, check out a Warrior's game, etc, perchance? You owe it to yourself, good friends.Love, Ben H.

Just what you're looking for in this kind of place. According to yelp I need to keep writing to make this review legit. Maybe this is enough but maybe not. We'll see what happens when I hit post this time.

In the neighborhood for dinner, the girlfriend thought it would be nice to grab a cocktail as an aperitif before dining. Of course, her idea (& mine too) of an aperitif is a Manhattan. The 1st bar we walked past was Smitty's, so in we went.If steel bars on the outside of the tiny front windows seem foreboding & somewhat reminiscent of a penitentiary, don't worry. Once inside, the atmosphere is relaxed, the patrons are neighborly & the bartender is jovial & personable.We ordered our Manhattans. This being a dive bar in Oakland, we passed on the pretense & went with well instead of some top shelf bourbon. Our drinks were ready in a jiffy & actually tasted pretty darn good. $5 each. That's right, it wasn't even Happy Hour & the Manhattans were only $5 each.With our appetites properly stimulated by spirits, we went on our way to get dinner. Smitty's was a nice little find in this neighborhood & I can definitely see stopping in again sometime.

Smitty's is what a dive bar should be about: Nice pour; cool ass people from all walks of life and good music!

The folks that work here are always (Mike, AG, Alix, Alex, Emily, Melissa and not sure who I left out, but everybody here is amazing and so welcoming and all around great energy )!!!!