Berkeley’s restaurants have long been heralded for spearheading now-iconic culinary movements like farm-to-table seasonality and what’s sometimes referred to as New American cuisine, but few would describe the city as a nightlife destination. Bar owner and consultant Dylan O’Brien calls Berkeley “an interesting place. It’s a college town, yes, but it’s also so much more than a college town.” Beyond the downtown watering holes favored by undergraduates, you’ll find welcoming neighborhood bars with breezy patios and expert cocktail programs, juice bars from esteemed chefs, and pizzerias with destination wine lists—if you know where to look. Leading the charge is Bar Panisse, a newly opened cocktail-centric offshoot of Alice Waters’ legendary Chez Panisse restaurant. “The ethos of the bar flows directly from Chez Panisse, which a lot of people appreciate,” says O’Brien, who created Bar Panisse’s cocktail program. “There’s this vitality around everything connected to food and drinks in Berkeley.”
Since its debut in December 2025, crowds of people line the sidewalk in front of Bar Panisse everyday before doors open at 5 p.m. The walk-in-only bar aims to provide “a more casual, European-style bar and cafe space,” says O’Brien. “It honors a lot of the philosophies and traditions of Chez Panisse—locality, organic produce, focus on quality ingredients—and translates it into classic cocktails.” The warmly lit interior has café tables and an elegant wooden bar serving lemon verbena–infused vodka Martinis, velvety Brandy Sours, Gimlets with Meyer lemon cordial, and seasonal shrubs with ingredients like Rangpur lime and fennel seed.
“We want to use really high-caliber products and ingredients,” says O’Brien. “We’re following classic cocktail recipes and aim to execute them consistently and perfectly, every single time.” The wines by the glass hail from nearby Mendocino and Sonoma Coast as well as Piedmont, Italy and France’s Jura, while draft and canned beers and cider include limited-time options like Death & Taxes Black Lager from Santa Rosa’s Moonlight Brewing.
“It’s natural wine, but not funky,” O’Brien says of the range of bottlings from this breezy urban winery.” They’re made in a very traditional method and absolutely delicious.” Established in 2002, Broc releases more than 20 wines each year. All are made from organically grown California grapes with native yeasts, and the range includes sparkling Chenin, Vermentino, orange wine made from a blend of Italian grapes, and a perennially popular Zinfandel, Vine Starr, that was featured in the cult Japanese manga series Drops of God. “They have this beautiful tasting room space where they do lots of pop-ups, and it’s just a really nice place to hang out on the weekend,” O’Brien adds. Still thirsty? “They’re in this area where there are a ton of wineries and breweries, so you can really make a day out of it.”…