Downtown Restaurant & Bar

The entrees at Downtown Restaurant & Bar are in the double digits, which usually doesn’t freak me out that much except when the portions are appetizer-size. Downtown just isn’t the kind of place where I’d order food because you get very little bang for your buck. The drinks, however, are another story altogether.

First of all, the décor is definitely worthy of double-digit prices, especially the beautiful oak bar which is my favorite place to sit. And the huge windows along the front wall let in tons of light and make for wonderful people-watching, especially on those blue-sky Berkeley days when everyone is doing their downtown business with an extra skip in their step.

I don’t know how we ended up here for a drink, but I think it was one of those nights when we decided we were going to “splash out, whatever it takes” (a favorite phrase which means we’re ready to lay down some dough). So, shaking nervously, we ordered two martinis without even asking the price first, and settled into some deep breathing exercises to calm us while we waited for our drinks.

The well vodka is an interesting brand that I’d never heard of and the bartender that night was friendly enough to bring us out the bottle to take a look. He was raving about the taste, and sure enough it was very tasty indeed. Fris Vodka (with one of those double-dot umlaut-thingies above the letter i) is a Danish brand that goes down real smooth.

It’s fun to sit at the bar and spy on the diners through the glass partition separating the bar from the dining room. I’d call the crowd “funky elite.” Most of them seem to be 60-something ex-hippies who have since entered the upper-middle class and aren’t afraid to flaunt it. In a funky-elegant way, that is. There’s a slight country club feel as people hob nob at different tables giving air kisses and promising to call each other. The narcissism of the Baby Boomers is alive and well in Berkeley.

If you ask real nicely, the bar staff will bring you a plate of superb sourdough bread with a ramekin of real French butter. Perfect accompaniment to an ice-cold martini with two of the plumpest olives I’ve ever tasted. They do have a few FiveBucksYouBet-worthy bar snacks on the menu, including house made potato chips for $3 and baguette with a choice of cheeses for $4. But glancing at the plates around me I wasn’t impressed.

So back to the drinks. We had a few rounds and then went back to our breathing exercises while waiting for the bill to arrive. “Splashing out, god damn it, whatever it takes,” I muttered, wincing as I glanced at the total. Surprise, surprise! Only five bucks each! Although Downtown doesn’t offer any after-work specials per se, I would definitely call time spent in their bar a very happy hour indeed.

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Downtown Restaurant & Bar (Reviews & Map)
2102 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707
510.649.3810
Open Tues-Sun, with late night menu Tues-Sat