Free House

This place is right next to Berkeley, good ambiance. Food was great and service as well

Comfy sofas, large outdoor seating in the front and back, good beer and wine selection, great place to meet up with a bunch of friends or just for two

Great service. Revised and good menu. Good beer selection

Salmon was really good! The pool sticks are suck but we had fun anyway.

I've been going there for a couple years whilst a grad student at Cal. It's a good time.

After The Bear's Lair went full gentrified, this is the next best spot for a drink around the campus.

Great place for Cal students to grab drinks and a bite!

Nice spot for some reasonably priced pub food & beer

Nice place to have a beer and eat. Good food and good drinks

Great place! Love the pizza and beer :)

Good low key college with selection of good food and draft beer.

Great beer selection, Kirby knows his stuff on beer. The rest of the bar is good too. Bartenders and locals are great people to drink with!

Great place to go for dinner and chatting. The burgers were great and the service was also great. The food came out in a very timely manner.

Relaxed atmosphere with fresh food options. The beer and drinks are very goof as well. Great outdoor seating on a sunny day.

One of my favorite places to get a quick drink after a long day of classes. A bit pricey but with a nice older atmosphere that i felt more fitting.

Had their chicken sandwich and beef cheeseburger back to back and would highly recommend. Good seating and service, too.

Awesome burgers and brews. Tremendously friendly staff. Conveniently located 10 feet from the Cal campus. Go Bears!

Hawaiian burger was delicious. I matched it with a Fid St gin from Hawaii in a Last Word. Perfect.

They have the best bar food in Berkeley, the best selection of beers, good service, a free pool table, outdoor seating. What can you ask for more?

Really enjoyed the location and seating. Went with friends, we all got the burgers.

Favorite bar close to campus on southside. Chilling patio, great bbq pulled pork sandwich, awesome beer selection. Just not open on sundays unfortunately

The food was first rate, the service was pleasant and prompt, and the ambiance was relaxed. A perfect lunch!

Yes! Come here when not in football season... super nice fire pits

Beautiful place in the heart of Berkeley. We hang out as a group by the patio. The place has a variety of beer selection as well as a nice hard liquor if you are a type of person who enjoys hard liquor. Price was very affordable for a place like Berkeley and proximity to UC Berkeley.

The portobello fritters and burgers were amazing & very reasonably priced. Great location just a few minute walk away from the Greek Theater. The open air inner courtyard was a nice touch as well.

Its in Berkeley a little hidden its rustic and very nice. We were there late and they were very accommodating. Food was great.

Beautiful bar in the heart of the town! Filled with old time charm, I would visit again.

Impressive building with high ceilings and comfortable seating, both inside and out. I went alone but this would definitely be a good place for group gatherings. Vegetarian options available. I had the veggie burger, which itself was great, and it came with a liberal portion of fries. Will certainly be back.

I love this place. Food, drinks, space, outdoor patio, etc. Amazing staff always. Only suggestion would be that i wish it was open on weekends too.

Great historical place in Berkeley. A lot of space, nice beers, good prices.

Lucas Laughery

Impressive building with high ceilings and comfortable seating, both inside and out. I went alone but this would definitely be a good place for group gatherings. Vegetarian options available. I had the veggie burger, which itself was great, and it came with a liberal portion of fries. Will certainly be back.

Livana H

I love this place. Food, drinks, space, outdoor patio, etc. Amazing staff always. Only suggestion would be that i wish it was open on weekends too.

Gabriele Caracausi

Great historical place in Berkeley. A lot of space, nice beers, good prices.

10/10 would recommend. Sat on the courtyard patio, lots of umbrellas and lively vibe. Chicken sandwich, kale salad, and sweet potato fries were all tasty. Good beer selection and our waiter was so so pleasant.

Can I say this about the fried chicken sandwich? ***WOW*** It may be the best one I've had this decade. The fries were to die for. Plus did I mention the extensive beer menu and full bar? And it's right across the street from campus?

Nice bar, especially for law students since it is across the street. Like you could maybe squeeze in a bev between classes. Enjoyed the vibe inside as well as the large outdoor area. Good local and craft brew and the food looked good (we were just drinking). It is exactly what you would think a law student hang spot should be.

Great staff and wait staff. Good range of beers, not cheap but not unreasonable. Cool atmosphere with a wooden high roof University style inside and two good outdoor areas to choose from. Interesting tasty small eats on the menu such as grilled chilli brussel sprouts

Too many American restaurants rely on familiar menus to succeed without really trying. This place actually puts in the work. The food may be traditional American fare, but it's executed with excellence.

The food was very yummy. I had a Blue & Gold burger which was tasty and filling. She had a Cobb salad, which she enjoyed. The service was friendly, competent and prompt enough. We were impressed to hear the music from the band that we were about to go see at the Hearst Greek Theatre playing in the background! Kudos!

Food and drinks were good, the old fashioned was nice, nothing extra special. The Brussels sprouts were the best I have tasted. The ambulance is more of a rustic old style. Dimly lit. But if that's what you like then you'll like it. Very close to Berkeley University, so lot of young crowd around. Difficult to get parking, so plan ahead.

First time trying this place. Great burger. Ordered it Medium, got it Medium. The Blue and Gold has a great balance of Blue Cheese and Balsamic Onions which does not overpower the flavorful beef. Also.... Just one waitress servicing easily 15 tables and she was doing it like a champ! Will definitely try this place again... And just a 5 minute walk from my office.

Kyle Pointer

Too many American restaurants rely on familiar menus to succeed without really trying. This place actually puts in the work. The food may be traditional American fare, but it's executed with excellence.

Randy Gordon

The food was very yummy. I had a Blue & Gold burger which was tasty and filling. She had a Cobb salad, which she enjoyed. The service was friendly, competent and prompt enough. We were impressed to hear the music from the band that we were about to go see at the Hearst Greek Theatre playing in the background! Kudos!

Sarosh Patel

Food and drinks were good, the old fashioned was nice, nothing extra special. The Brussels sprouts were the best I have tasted. The ambulance is more of a rustic old style. Dimly lit. But if that's what you like then you'll like it. Very close to Berkeley University, so lot of young crowd around. Difficult to get parking, so plan ahead.

Megan McElroy

10/10 would recommend. Sat on the courtyard patio, lots of umbrellas and lively vibe. Chicken sandwich, kale salad, and sweet potato fries were all tasty. Good beer selection and our waiter was so so pleasant.

David Leimsieder

First time trying this place. Great burger. Ordered it Medium, got it Medium. The Blue and Gold has a great balance of Blue Cheese and Balsamic Onions which does not overpower the flavorful beef. Also.... Just one waitress servicing easily 15 tables and she was doing it like a champ! Will definitely try this place again... And just a 5 minute walk from my office.

Mark Mueller

Can I say this about the fried chicken sandwich? ***WOW*** It may be the best one I've had this decade. The fries were to die for. Plus did I mention the extensive beer menu and full bar? And it's right across the street from campus?

Tres Williams

Nice bar, especially for law students since it is across the street. Like you could maybe squeeze in a bev between classes. Enjoyed the vibe inside as well as the large outdoor area. Good local and craft brew and the food looked good (we were just drinking). It is exactly what you would think a law student hang spot should be.

kullen Manley

Great staff and wait staff. Good range of beers, not cheap but not unreasonable. Cool atmosphere with a wooden high roof University style inside and two good outdoor areas to choose from. Interesting tasty small eats on the menu such as grilled chilli brussel sprouts

Fun student place. The food is not really yummy though

Awesome, but check if it's open before going here

Good pub food, e.g. salads fries and burgers. Pleasant service and a selection of drinks.

Ambiance is nice if you don't mind the stench of graduate students

Simple menu. Good fries. Nice looking interior.

Wonderful, full of UC Berkeley students, quite popular on Fridays and Saturdays

Very enjoyable place. Loved its fish and chips.

Delightful, historic setting right across Bancroft from Boalt Hall with good food.

Decent beer selection and menu. Slightly overpriced.

Nice place next to campus with outside seating next to cozy fire pits and wood paneled inside bar. The roasted brussel sprouts were fantastic.

I had the fish & chips, battered and cooked to perfection, would have loved a larger portion of fish. Coleslaw very flavorful, sliced a little thinner and it would have been perfect

Atmosphere perfect for a casual date.great selection of beer and sliders could get a better tasty flavor...Over all my self and my girlfriend enjoyed the perfect time!

They have a fantastic beer selection and offer a veggie burger, but the latter is only mediocre. They were able to accommodate our group of ~20.

16 taps and full bar in a classy, vintage, wooden ambiance with B&W photos of protest and dissent on two of the walls. Good food and outdoor patio too.

Soft prezel is a must-have as drinking snack. I like the fried chicken sandwich as well. Service is nice.

Love the decor/architecture, but the food/drinks have somewhat decreased in quality over the previous few months, and the staff is either short of folks or slowing down.

This is a really fun place to go: they have a nice outdoor seating area, good beer, and very good food. They have my favorite veggie burger anywhere (though now they have a huge bun on it so it's a bit less good).

Great place to relax outdoors have a drink and enjoy some snacks. The pretzel with honey mustard or white cheese is so good!

Great place for students to hang out because of the convenient location. Drinks and small bites are good but nothing special. I would not go out of my way for it...

As others have mentioned, it’s still a good spot, but there’s definitely room for improvement. We ordered two cheeseburgers and Brussels sprouts. The food arrived quickly, and the server was really friendly and attentive. The food was "good" but not exceptional. We didn’t mind since we were looking for a quick bite and really enjoyed the service and ambiance, but we probably wouldn’t return specifically for the food.

Great range of beers and cocktails, good food, the staff are really friendly and helpful, there's plenty of outdoor seating in the quad behind the main bar. But it is LOUD.

This place was solid. It's just really far out there to get to for me so I had never visited before. The wings were good but a little overpriced. The alcohol selection was good and the food had a lot of variety. The bar set up seemed awkward and a nuisance for the 1 bartender that had to go from one spot to the other to get different kinds of beer from the tap.

Hanna Kang

As others have mentioned, it’s still a good spot, but there’s definitely room for improvement. We ordered two cheeseburgers and Brussels sprouts. The food arrived quickly, and the server was really friendly and attentive. The food was "good" but not exceptional. We didn’t mind since we were looking for a quick bite and really enjoyed the service and ambiance, but we probably wouldn’t return specifically for the food.

Sean Corfield

Great range of beers and cocktails, good food, the staff are really friendly and helpful, there's plenty of outdoor seating in the quad behind the main bar. But it is LOUD.

Courtney Dawn

This place was solid. It's just really far out there to get to for me so I had never visited before. The wings were good but a little overpriced. The alcohol selection was good and the food had a lot of variety. The bar set up seemed awkward and a nuisance for the 1 bartender that had to go from one spot to the other to get different kinds of beer from the tap.

It’s a very happening place right in front of Berkeley Law School. Went for a group gathering. Very specious. The ambience is so great. Loved it! Although I felt the quantity of appetizers was comparatively less. I had piña colada mocktail- pretty decent. And pop tates- which was good.

A really nice experience, not too busy. Our waitress rocked. We had non-alcoholic beer. We were pleased they had 3 options #FreemontBrewery- I did the wheat which was Blue Moon like and my husband did the IPA. Great food, great beer options and a kick ass waitress.

SHRUTI GANDHI

It’s a very happening place right in front of Berkeley Law School. Went for a group gathering. Very specious. The ambience is so great. Loved it! Although I felt the quantity of appetizers was comparatively less. I had piña colada mocktail- pretty decent. And pop tates- which was good.

Deborah Simonova

A really nice experience, not too busy. Our waitress rocked. We had non-alcoholic beer. We were pleased they had 3 options #FreemontBrewery- I did the wheat which was Blue Moon like and my husband did the IPA. Great food, great beer options and a kick ass waitress.

The pretzel bites were pretty bad, wings were good, sliders were good

Good selection of beers. The courtyard is nice. However the food is not brilliant, just ok!

Nice selection pf craft beer the staff is cool and the food is good its a bit high priced

Not enough staff at bar so lines were long pre concert at The Greek.

Way too expensive now. Draught beer is went from 4 to 7 bucks in three years

A good selection of beers. The food is very ordinary though. And it is usually very crowded with students. And it was hard to get attention from the waiter/waitress.

Waited 45 minutes for a server to show up. Wait staff seemed to be avoiding customers. Finally gave up and had to go somewhere else which made us late to our show..

Favorite get together location for Berkeley students. Food is OK. Great selection of beers with prices generally on the higher side.

I'm not sure what happened here. It's kinda like seeing a movie with great actors and a great story but, it still doesn't work and you're not sure why. There's a few obvious things that weren't quite right but there's an over-arching malfunction that ruined the whole experience. There's potential but, someone needs to come in and fix what's wrong.

Decent food and beer in a historic room (2/5 Green Stars) I’ve been to the Free House a few times and always find it to be fine. It seems like it needs a little tweaking to make it really work. For a bar next to campus, I think they should lower their beer prices a bit. They have an interesting selection but the mark up seems a bit steep. They used to make a really good black bean burger but replaced it with a veggie patty made mostly from red quinoa and beets ($12, incl fries). It was interesting, but missed the mark for me. Bring back the black bean burger! This used to be the meeting spot for the Free Speech Movement, so take a moment to check out the photos on the walls. I’m also giving them 2/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, based on these reasons: • Decent selection of local craft beer • The menu is pretty meat-centered • Almost no info on ingredient sourcing or sustainability.

Pros: - skillet cookie with vanilla gelato - lots of seating (including outdoors) - solid sweet potato fries Cons: - noisy - difficult to get service during busy hours Bottom line: If you go, remember that Free House is located in a college town. The service, ambiance, and food will not blow your mind.

I visited last Friday for dinner, and I had a good experience, although there are things I would suggest. The service was excellent, and almost immediately after I sat myself down a server came to take my order, and was very friendly yet professional. For dinner, I ordered the Fried Chicken sandwich with garlic fries, as well as the BBQ wings. The wings were excellent, and really nice and moist, and a great BBQ sauce. However, while the actual chicken patty in the sandwich was light and crispy, it was a bit bland, as well as the fries, which I thought were badly balanced and a little too soft, with all the garlic sort of concentrated near the center of the actual basket. For a dish that is definitely on the more expensive side, I have to say I was a little disappointed.

Great spot to meet up after a long day on campus. Many grad students and profs. Usually excellent service, but one bartender is incredibly, unnecessarily rude. It's really unfortunate because the other servers are wonderful. Food's a little overpriced for what you get but still good. Great outdoor patio but is often booked for events.

MementoMorty

I'm not sure what happened here. It's kinda like seeing a movie with great actors and a great story but, it still doesn't work and you're not sure why. There's a few obvious things that weren't quite right but there's an over-arching malfunction that ruined the whole experience. There's potential but, someone needs to come in and fix what's wrong.

Abz Lee

Great spot to meet up after a long day on campus. Many grad students and profs. Usually excellent service, but one bartender is incredibly, unnecessarily rude. It's really unfortunate because the other servers are wonderful. Food's a little overpriced for what you get but still good. Great outdoor patio but is often booked for events.

Aadi Milind Rane

I visited last Friday for dinner, and I had a good experience, although there are things I would suggest. The service was excellent, and almost immediately after I sat myself down a server came to take my order, and was very friendly yet professional. For dinner, I ordered the Fried Chicken sandwich with garlic fries, as well as the BBQ wings. The wings were excellent, and really nice and moist, and a great BBQ sauce. However, while the actual chicken patty in the sandwich was light and crispy, it was a bit bland, as well as the fries, which I thought were badly balanced and a little too soft, with all the garlic sort of concentrated near the center of the actual basket. For a dish that is definitely on the more expensive side, I have to say I was a little disappointed.

Service was extremely slow. Food came out undercooked, was returned, came bd k still undercooked. Would not recommend. Needs new management.

Worst service you can find in Berkeley is at Free House. If you like to wait, get ignored, and then wait longer then this is the place for you. The food is good, which is what saved the two stars.

The atmosphere is pretty nice. However, it's filled with overpriced bland food, poor service, and an annoying regular clientele.

Good food but service sucks, especially at the bar. Bartenders have no people skills which.

Great location, plenty of outdoor seating, decent beer selection and good food (though a little pricey). However, the service is terrible. I've been here a couple times in the last two months with groups. Both times we were seated promptly, they came around and took drink orders ... and then completely forgot about us. Last time it took 45 minutes to get a beer and over an hour to get food. Food service was chaotic: some people in the group were served long before others, and they lost my neighbor's burger (probably gave it to someone else) and the server had to put the order in again.

Paul Anderson

Great location, plenty of outdoor seating, decent beer selection and good food (though a little pricey). However, the service is terrible. I've been here a couple times in the last two months with groups. Both times we were seated promptly, they came around and took drink orders ... and then completely forgot about us. Last time it took 45 minutes to get a beer and over an hour to get food. Food service was chaotic: some people in the group were served long before others, and they lost my neighbor's burger (probably gave it to someone else) and the server had to put the order in again.

Horrible service and mediocre food options. A waiter refused to serve a friend of mine because she claimed my friend didn't tip her on a prior visit.

Absolutely terrible service. The food is cooked from frozen and ridiculously expensive.

Worst place ever with the rudest waitress ever. Do not go here

This place is trash. Found hair and a fly on my food. Don’t go here, there’s way better places then this trashy bar

Great environment but my burger was completely burnt on both sides. Really unpleasant end to what was a fun evening at Freehouse.

3 hours of waiting for the worst food of our lives. Manager was a complete a**. Would not come back even if a zombie apocalypse happened and this was the only place open for food. Stay away at all costs.

cold, slimy, grey. almost feels like you're being scammed. sad to see such a nice neighborhood have such a boring, eyesore stuck in the middle of it.

Came here for a friend’s birthday. Staff was extremely rude, wouldn’t let us get a second drink at 9pm. Forced us to pay for a drink that they proceeded to throw out. Would not recommend to the community of Berkeley or anyone else. Horrible service, just go to Henry’s down the block.

Not only was the service incredibly slow, they charged my card twice to the tune of nearly $500! And to think gratuity was added on top of that. No one picked up the phone when I tried to fix it and I had to physically go there to get things straightened out.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience was too uncomfortable to ignore. My friend and I (two young women) were at a table with a pitcher of beer and I went to the bar to ask for a glass. The bartender, Joey, stared at me like I was crazy before asking for my ID — which is completely fine — but his demeanor was immediately hostile. Because of how rude the interaction was, my friend calmly asked if we had done something to upset the staff. His became more aggressive and told my friend “I won’t serve you!” For the rest of the night, he made faces at us, smiling and waving sarcastically from behind the bar. At the end of the night, when we tried to speak to another bartender about what happened, Joey aggressively yelled across the bar, “Do you have something to say to me?” It was intimidating and completely inappropriate. As we were leaving, he continued glaring and making hostile faces. The other bartenders were kind and professional, and encouraged us to leave a review. Unfortunately, the manager was dismissive. This was openly aggressive behavior that bordered on harassment. We did nothing to warrant it, and it made us uncomfortable for the rest of the night. Completely unacceptable.