Tupper and Reed

Make a reservation to get table service upstairs. 43 pages of cocktails and spirits, and everything they make is amazing.

The décor and atmosphere in the bar are are great, but service was not spectacular. I feel like a bar of this caliber that charges $ 10+ for drinks should at least have someone waiting on tables and bringing your drinks. The bartender who took my drink order was busy and made me feel as if he didn’t have time to even take my card to pay for my drink (tho the second one was much more friendly). Drinks were meh. Mine tasted watered down and my friend’s was way too sweet.
But the worst part of it was when I used the ladies restroom (in the basement down a dark hallway — creepy) and came out to find not 1 but 2 sinks that didn’t work. I couldn’t even wash my hands. Instead there was hand sanitizer. In my city that would be considered a health code violation. Not to mention it’s just super gross.

It’s the old Becs. The entire construction is still the same, beside the booths that were right in front of the bar. Lots of drink choices, great mixologists, 4 beer choices. Very dim inside and no food.
In the heart of the Shattuck, to me it’s a great place to get a drink after a movie, or eating somewhere close. They make some of my favorite drinks that other bars don’t have the ingredients to make. For example a pisco sour. Bartenders choice on what’s playing over the speakers.
The place is very dim, very. It’s nice if on a one on one date but with a bunch of people it’s iffy. I’ve seen someone get robbed here, inside, a night they didn’t have a bouncer. I guess it is still Berkeley. Sad thing is everyone was against the person that got robbed until he proves it. Was too bad.

Good place in Berkeley to grab a drink. They don’t have a lot of beers on tap, but it’s more of a cocktail type of place. They have love music, so I’ll need to check it out when that is going on.
Only 2 bartenders, so getting a drink can be a little bit of a wait.

The appeal of this place is the quaint interior design/​architecture and their amazing cocktails. The drinks are on the order of $ 11, but they are stellar. They are not too sweet, and they are made up of interesting flavor combinations. If you want to get one of the large bowls, get the one with grapefruit in it, because the other one tastes like syrup. Everything else is highly recommended!

Oh this place is nice. I came here after dinner with my friend and found myself loving it. It’s got this old vibe to it (which is reminiscent of Bourbon and Branch which only makes sense). The downstairs has a bar that’s open to everyone, but I’m going to talk about the exclusive upstairs area. Well not super exclusive since they had reservations open on Unilocal.
I will admit, it is super dark upstairs so it makes the menu hard to read. It was also a lot of drinks to choose from — but only a few drinks were girly and fruity. I ended up starting with the Golden gun and the Polaroid. These were fruity and delicious — recommend for people who don’t actually like bourbon drinks.
Protip: make reservations online!

This place doesn’t pick up their phone calls which is pretty pathetic on their part. They make good drinks but if their service is bad and they don’t pick up their phone I don’t see how they can even be mediocre. You need to pick up your phone at the minimum.

This place was great. We almost walked right by so be on the lookout for it. We got there early in the night so the place was pretty empty so we got to hang out at the bar and make conversation with DJ, the bar tender. The first round of drinks were delicious, the cucumber gimlet was a little more limey than I usually like but still tasted great. Husby got the revolver, which we cleared from DJ was taken from the signature cocktail menu at Bourbon and Branch, a sister bar in the city.
You will see this a lot because I truly do have a great time and all of the concepts under this group. The drinks are always on point and I love being abel to watch the bartenders do their thing while still being engaged with other customers. DJ didn’t make our first round of drinks but heard I asked about fresh basil. He was ready to recommend a cocktail that he thought I would enjoy, so of course, we stayed for a second round. My husband like the Revolver so much he go the same thing and I wish I knew what I had but it was really good, I believe a vodka based drink with lemon and basil eu de vive (sp?).
We talked a lot about other bars under in the group and about different cocktail ingredients. All in all, very worth of each of the five stars.

«Savan» was the opening barkeep. Happy Hour all day; which means you get a dollar off of draft beer & daiquiris for six dollars. The daiquiris were refreshing. They do not serve food. Old building with character & charm. Dark inside, even with front door open & sunshine streaming in.

Nice and dark, home and local. Service is personable, drinks well crafted. Would recommend.

Came across this place while roaming around Berkeley with my girl. It’s shocking to see this place only have 3 stars because it’s a hidden gem! This place is definitely more on the classy side. The ambiance is very inviting; feels like something from a different time. I was diggin the musical theme they had going on.
All these drinks are made with love and style. We were able to try the Cucumber Gimlet (which was refreshing, I’d say it was a better version of your average Moscow mule), the Crescendo (My girlfriend was a big fan; it had a minty hint to it), and the Revolver (which is their own AMAZING rendition of an old fashion)
Tips: Walk-​ins get limited to only the downstairs area. Make a reservation online and you get access to the mystery upstairs which supposedly has bigger cocktail menu!

Very mellow on a Sunday evening, and there was plenty of seating even in the nooks by the fire in the back.
Bartender was very friendly, and our drinks were fine (everything is around $ 9 or 10), though I can’t say that Tupper and Reed has the same flair that Bourbon & Branch usually brings to its bars. Not a bad thing necessarily since the building itself is gorgeous and should be showcased.
There must be a larger cocktail menu, but what we saw were nine divided by citrus-​forward or spirit-​forward.
Odd music choices though, and we left to a Britney remix.

I love the drinks here and the bartenders are super friendly! This bar has a classy yet casual feel to it. The lights are dim with candles everywhere to create a romantic atmosphere.
It can get a little loud but you don’t really see people acting drunk and crazy, which is a nice change from other bars around campus.
I have been here a few times and even came here for the Star Wars night they had! The drinks are always delicious even though they could be sweeter in my opinion. When I asked the bartender for a sweeter drink, he made me something off the menu which was so good that I have to go back and get the name of the drink so I can recreate it!
The cocktails are about $ 10 per drink which is normal around Berkeley. I have not had wine or beer here yet but I think wine prices are similar to cocktails and beer is closer to the $ 5 mark.
Something to keep in mind though is that they don’t have any food!

I love Bourbon and Branch, so naturally I was expecting this place (under the same ownership) to be a home run. Not so much though…
I’ve only been here twice, but I was not impressed with the mixologists either time. Sure, they have a few cool drinks on a menu, but they aren’t knowledgable about them. I was looking for a specific gin, and since they didnt have it, I asked for a gin recommendation. The guy working acted annoyed to have to interact with me, and didn’t have a clue about gin. It seems as if they’re used to quantity over quality. Don’t even get me started on the abrasive bouncer, which almost deterred me from trying this in the first place.
Drinks are reasonably priced at $ 10 – 12 ish. I do love the location, the building, and the ambience. However, I’m not the biggest fan of their use of space. Be sure to make reservations if you’d like to try out their upstairs (cannot accommodate a group larger than about 8), which is closer to a speakeasy, but not quite on the mark. Honestly, this place has so much potential, and could be done much better.

Tupper and Reed is a fairly new addition to the Berkeley bar scene (and I remember finding out about the grand opening by accidently going in to see what this place was about). With so many bars in Downtown Berkeley, Tupper and Reed still holds its own because of its unique atmosphere/​extensive cocktail menu.
The Drinks: The cocktails here are beautifully made. They are tasty, albeit, they are not super strong. I think the drinks here can be too sweet at times, but they are still well crafted by the bartenders. That being said, I would come here to grab drink with a friend or celebrate a friend’s birthday. The service was friendly and quick, and if there’s any delay in the drinks, it’s probably because the bartenders take their times making the drinks.
The Atmosphere: This feels like a Speakeasy in the overall way this bar is laid out. It’s almost 1920s themed, and even the bartenders are always dressed to the nines. There is an downstairs, which is open seating, standard cocktail menu, and the general bar in front. The upstairs is for reservations only, has great large tables for groups, and a HUGE cocktail menu called «the Symphony». Sometimes the music can be a bit loud, but overall it’s a great place to hang with friends.
Recommendations: The Crescendo and the Jack Rose.

Went here for a little bit while we were waiting for our table for dinner.
It is an okay place. Definitely easy to miss because outside it is not very lit nor marked well. Kind of quiet and low key. Dimly lit. Seating is okay, lots of open space a few table. It wasn’t very crowded so we just hung out a tall table. Not everyone got drinks, but the ones I tried were okay.
Sorry, not much to say about this place thus «A-​OK» because it definitely wasn’t bad! Just not a GREAT experience.

One of the classier bars in Berkeley, Tupper & Reed is speakeasy-​esque and easy to miss.
Though it’s a double story bar, the upstairs is reservations only. The menu you get upstairs is a lot more comprehensive than the one downstairs. You’re pretty much handed this huge binder of drinks to choose from based on a «symphony» which the waitress usually explains. Also, if you’re seated upstairs you get a complimentary drink which is usually really good. I had a savory artichoke one the last time I had a reservation and it was nothing like anything I’ve had before (in a good way). Downstairs isn’t bad either! There’s usually plenty of seating, and the bartenders are friendly. My personal favorites are the gin cucumber gimlet and their white rum punch (forgot the name).

Came here on a date with a lovely lady last minute. I didn’t expect Berkeley would have nice little tucked away bars like this (a spot I always walked by in the day time).
We were fortunate to get seated right away and our bartender (I believe his name started with a V, like Vander or something).
He got us our drinks right away, one order was a red Zinfandel another one was a Single Malt (who’s brand I cannot recall, which was similar to Glenlivet). The beverage prices were a minimum of $ 10.00 and up.
There was a live band that played. They have a full bar and the spot was pretty cozy. One could suggest that when you’re with the right people (or person), the atmosphere and everything around you blends in with one another, the music and noises start fading away, and you get lost in the whole fantasy.
All things considered, the staff and the people helped created an ideal spot to bring a date.
Total amount plus tip equaled to about $ 35.00.
Thank you Tupper and Reed staff, I’ll most certainly visit in the near future and come back a happier customer.

I came here a few weeks ago so now I can officially say I’ve been to every single one of the B&B bars… Hmm does that make me an alcoholic? Anyways, we made a reservation a few days before and unlike the popular sister bars in the city, Tupper and Reed was not crowded on a Saturday night.
After being seated, we were pleasantly surprised with a taster on the house — a concoction of punt e mes, falernum, and lemon juice. I then had 2 drinks off the Finales menu, the Earthquake Cocktail (bourbon, gin, sweet vermouth, absinthe) and the Minutely Absurd (bourbon, punt e mes, amaro, chocolate bitters). The former was well-​balanced, with the perfect amount of absinthe for complexity but not overly licorice-​y. The latter was good, but could have used more chocolate bitters in my opinion. In general I’d say the cocktails are good, but nothing special, especially compared to the explosion of creative cocktails in SF. But at only $ 9 – 10, I’d definitely return to Tupper and Reed for a cocktail (or 3!) when I’m in the East Bay.
Lastly, I want to mention that the Laphroaig Project ($ 13) is actually really good, by far the best drink of our evening with an excellent nose and a good amount of herbal-​ness and smoke. It was just a bit more citrus than I prefer since I am not a fan of citrus, but that’s just me. Go figure, the best drink on the menu is one created by a Bourbon & Branch alum…

Tupper and Reed is one of the classier bar lounges in Berkeley, and I am in love with its outdoor décor. The entrance to the bar lounge is through a vine-​wrapped trellis, which gives it a kind of secret garden vibe — very upscale and romantic!
The inside décor is also quite intimate, with soft dim lighting and low-​key music, which I love because you can actually have a conversation unlike most bars in Berkeley where the music is blaring. Sometimes they do have live music, which has a jazzy-​folk feel to it, keeping the vibe of the bar lounge still calm and open for mingling.
Tupper and Reed has an impressive selection of hand-​crafted cocktails, which are all unique and delicious! The bartenders really know how to create yummy cocktails which are both beautiful and have a good amount of alcohol in them, so you know you are getting your money’s worth. I particularly like the wine bowls, which are like the alcohol goblets you can purchase at most bars, but Tupper and Reed’s bowls are concoctions of different wines and juices, and no straws are involved. Each person gets his/​her own cup to scoop the drink out of the bowl, giving the experience a classier feel to it. The wine bowls are pricey though, at $ 45 per bowl, but they are definitely big enough to share amongst four-​five people.
Overall Tupper and Reed is a fun place to come to for a special occasion or even a nice night out with friends, and I miss being in college again to be able to come here whenever I wanted.