I love their specialty drinks. The vibe is really great there on Friday and Saturday nights. They play an wide array of music, they usually have some great B Movie or Cult Movie playing on the TV and there is always a wide variety of people hanging out at the bar. Also, don't forget to check out the taco truck in front!
Review Source:Pro: This bar stands out in its gin selection. And they know how to make martinis. They don't skip on the vermouth but only use the right amount. They also have st. Germains elderflower liquor, great substitute for vermouth.
There is a fantastic Mexican roach coach outside where they let you bring the food into the bar.
Cons: like most bars in Berkeley they can't accept that they are not a club, and keep the music at levels that are not conducive to conversation.
TLDR: great for gin drinkers, great food available outside to bring, a little loud.
Hotsy Totsy has many things going for it. lots of night action i haven't experiecned yet:
-free movies
-free jukeback
-interacting with the crowd (empty during the day)
. the ambience shows. (bathroom signs in chinese, at least the pics  are present also for a hint). many flatscreens for sports, etc.
HH daily till 7 pm. wells (3.5), bottles(3) $1 off cocktails, only PBR draft.
pour: gin & tonic(3.5)
-stiff drink
on draught:
-bartender ok, friendlier after getting tips.
-place is small, gets crowded fast.
-many new wave hard liquor available.
-taco truck outside .
This has to be the quirkiest dive bar in the East Bay! What better way could you think of spending an evening than sipping generous cocktails, playing shuffleboard, and watching 80's soft porn classics on big screen TVs. Oh, and don't forget about the taco truck, which serves amazing tacos and burritos for dirt-cheap prices. As a beer drinker, this isn't my favorite place in the East Bay; they really only have PBR and a couple other major brands. Don't expect to find any microbrews here, but then again, this is a cocktail bar, not a brewpub. Still, it's a pretty decent night out.
Review Source:My buddy Ed/Josh and I used to go here and screw around, strong drinks and a great selection of bourbon, plus they know how to pour a solid dirty martini. on the weekends there is a badass taco truck that pulls up and sells cheap tacos made properly. They play vintage movies in the background with no audio but the jukebox is constantly cranking something out and usually its pretty good tunes.
Nice staff and a lot of fun.
Came here on a Saturday night after the Chocolate & Beer Festival up the road. I was told it was a dive bar (many of which I love) and we were all in the mood for a reasonably priced drink and a quiet hang-out after a busy day.
But, whoa! If you're tired and hungry but not ready to go home or break the bank, this place couldn't possibly be better. There's a Taco truck outside that partners with the bar (I had an awesome $5 burrito), where you're supposed to get food and bring it inside to go with your drinks.
Mind. Blown.
A bar and a food truck partnering to offer the best of both worlds?!
As if that wasn't enough, the inside is a little, quiet, clean bar with a quick and truly brilliant bartender, free shuffleboard (!), pool table, tables and chairs good for small groups, and a jukebox. Did I mention they had classic (and I mean classic, pre-looney toons slapstick) cartoons playing? I hear they always have obscure classic movies playing, only on one screen and in a discreet corner so you can ignore it if you want.
There were a number of people there when we were, but the result was cozy rather than crowded. A chill, friendly, mostly 30+ crowd of locals relaxing on a Saturday night (including a great old man who gave us whipper snappers some solid shuffleboard advice!)
All in all, great place with budgets and simple comforts in mind. I'd come here again in a heartbeat!
Who even knew good things existed in Albany?
Features include:
-velvet paintings
-shuffleboard
-pool table
-odd crowd that I really enjoy
-soul train on the tv
-a ladies room that does not make me feel like I am going to contract a disease or get raped!
-excellent selection of spirits
-great prices
-adjacent taco truck
-speedy service
-parking lot
Hotsy Totsy is an amazing faux dive bar.
This is the type of neighborhood bar that you dream of having in your neighborhood. Â
The jukebox is exceptional. Â Everything from Michael Jackson, to Wanda Jackson. Â
They play obscure movies most nights, often featuring a shirtless Connery. Â
The drinks are exceptional. Â
The ingredients are exceptional. Â
The reasonable prices on drinks is also exceptional. Â
The bartenders don't just squeeze fresh lime juice in your drink, because they know that your drink should not have fresh lime juice. Â That juice needs to age for a day, so the flavor can develop and mix perfectly with your drink. Â The bartenders KNOW this. Â They have extreme knowledge of how things interact, allowing for the perfect cocktail. Â
This is the type of place where you let the bartender make you what they want to serve you. Â Tell them your preferred liquor, and ask to be surprised. Â
There is an exceptional taco truck parked in the lot next to the bar every day except Tuesday. Â Tacos are a $1.25 a pop. Â Delicious. Â
They have a terrific selection of good liquors, and PBR on tap. Â
I wish I lived nearby, I'd probably go every day. Â
Order a manhattan from Keli. It just might change your life.
How do you not like a place called "The Hotsy Totsy Club"? Â
I was recently introduced to this place and immediately fell in love with it. Â The first thing you see is the bitchin neon sign, then you walk in and it's got this killer metal ceiling and creepy black velvet paintings scattered throughout the place. Â There's a massive shuffleboard table and a Wurlitzer old school jukebox (which are both free). Â Pool table in the back. Â $8 pitchers of PBR are a nice offset to whatever cocktail you might indulge in. Â I was digging their old tom gins. Â The bartenders are super nice and on top of things. Â It can only get so crowded cause it's tiny and the vibe is low key. Â I imagine this is the official bar of the North Berkeley Lawn Bowling Association and Cal professors. Â It's not a dance club, but there is music and I don't imagine people would get too pissed if you cut a rug in there.
And there's a taco truck right outside in case you need to get a little food in your belly.
Last night was my second trip there and I did it correctly this time. Â I took Bart and didn't mess with drunk driving. Â I had lots of PBR, gin and good times with friends. Â This place is epic and if you've ever thought about ducking in here, you definitely should.
By far my favorite bar in the Bay Area. Expertly made cocktails, shuffle board, soft core porn (beats baseball, football, hockey, etc.), artisanal ice cubes. It's everything you'd expect in a hipster bar...except hipsters. The crowd is mostly older on the nights I've been: mid-to-late thirties, employed, often wearing unironic T-shirts. So I don't know what some of the below whiners are talking about.
The best part is that you can get a plate of tacos from the truck next door and bring them into the bar with you.
It's $10 a drink, so don't go there if Miller Lite and ESPN are more your style. But if you want the best Ramos Gin Fizz or Sazerac of your life, hit up Hotsy Totsy.
Had some really uncool experiences here. After spending over $40 on drinks ond different days (recipts to prove it) and paying for tons of pool games, I was told by one of the bartenders that I need to spend more money here.
Many times where I would be standing at the bar within view of the the manger, to order a drink, the manager continued to act as though I was invisible. Â I know she sees, because I'm standing right infront of her.
Just reciently, Â as I entered the bar, Â and after showing the bartender my ID (Both me and my buddy , Id's were legit), she began prevoking me about unrelated things, which she did on purpose so both me and my friend would be forced to leave.
I then told her " I dont know what your agenda is (I know it isnt goog though),but whatever you do bad to people, it will come back on you"
There is sure some subliminal ( messages) under the table treatment at this joint.. She even had her own cheering section as well.
If you like a well made, crafted cocktail...this dive bar is the place to be. From the outside it doesn't look like much...an unassuming building off a busy street who's name resembles that of a strip club...but don't be fooled, this bar knows how to make a good drink! The hubs and I have been here a few times now with friends and we always are impressed with the quality of the drinks made here. We always order rounds of old fashions and they are well made, stiff, and oh so good. It's worthy to note that the ice used here are actually square. A small detail, but one we always notice and give props for at a bar. Their mint juleps and manhattans are always very good, too. What's great is that even though this actual bar doesn't serve any food, there's always a taco truck parked right next door and you can bring in the food purchased there to eat in the bar and enjoy with your cocktails.
The ambiance is divey and super casual. When we've been there the crowd has been mostly made up of young professionals or 30 somethings making the old campy vibe of the bar cool and fun. They have a pool table and a shuffleboard...and they do have a tv that sometimes plays sports, sometimes plays old batman movies and on our last visit played weird old soft core porn movie trailers???...needless to say, this is a unique and quirky little bar and despite what's being played on the tv...the drinks make this place worth the visit.
4 year'ish years ago this went from the dive bar that wouldnt die to the little local place to go.
Now there are 2 sides to this coin. Â
The day shift is a no fuss, no mixed drinks with long shots poured. Â The old man has been pouring drinks longer than I've been alive.
Night time; A different crew, the drinks are mixed to perfection. Â The only downside is the price.
You gotta come here just for the name! Not a strip club at all, just a dive bar on San Pablo Ave. Lately dive has become the new chic.....I guess its like gentrification or urban renewal? This bar has been here way longer then I've been alive! Damn!, I missed the Yelp event here! This is the kind of bar that would be all smokey, before the days of the non-smoking laws came on. Drinks are reasonable priced and maybe 20 years ago this might have been a place for fights and drunkenness, but its pretty civil now...at least the 2 times I've been. My BF remembers this place from the really old days, when he used to go to the "IT" club at Central and San Pablo...been torn down for years now he says.
Review Source:The name "Hotsy Totsy", shaped like an "X" and emblazoned in neon lights?
Naw, it's not THAT kind of place.
The type of place that's trendy and attracts a large, younger crowd?
Sadly, it's not that kind of place (at least, when we were there).
The pictures of topless women in the bathroom, and the supposed "Skin-emax" style softcore they apparently play from time to time?
Really...it's not THAT kind of place.
A divey-ish bar with cheap drinks, a jukebox, pool table, and shuffleboard?
Yeah, it's that kind of place.
A chill spot to have a couple of drinks with friends for a buddy's birthday?
Yup, definitely that kind of place.
All that plus the Tacos El Autlense truck parked right outside too?!
Damn, I kinda like this place
I love this bar. I am surprised that I hadn't been to it prior to going there on a rad first date but I am glad my date suggested it.
I am a lover of vintage decor and kitsch and have to say the little 50s sofa in the corner with the velvet paintings is a nice vignette and its for sure what I think of when hearing a place is called the "Hotsy Totsy".
I have a had a few different bartenders the half dozen nights I have been in the bar and all of them have been pleasant, quick and personable--I am very much into speed when it comes to boozin' it up and they are certainly quick to get you your order.
I can't say I have gone beyond the bottled beer and shots of Jameson but when I drink at a dive I skip the fancy cocktails.
Its a comfortable place to meet up with friends or to hang out at for a first date and if only traffic on San Pablo moved quicker during rush hour I would be there more often.
Don't forget to fill your stomach at the taco truck sitting right next door.
Booze and burritos---yep, that's the way to my heart!
Small space not too crowded during the week and pretty easy to get in a pool game or some shuffle board. They use fresh juices in their drinks and they make their drinks on the stiff side. Easy to find a place to sit (though I don't go in on fri/sat nights). The door guys are friendly and the bar tenders have always been awesome. They play cooky movies on the tv behind the bar and the taco truck is off the hook A-MAZING. It is a dark bar(as in lighting) and not my favorite place to kick it if I'm by myself. I have had friendly conversations with people but it still feels dive bar-y so not my go to to chill on my own.
I heard on Halloween they cleared out the tables and had a dance floor.
The bar has great table bowling, awesome bartenders, my favorite drinks, and a laid back chill crowd. Â
Only disadvantage of the bar is that it is an extreme straight guy sausage fest. Â If there was a contest called East Bay Sausage Fest 2012, this bar would win that prize. Â I would give it 4 stars if it was gender ratio even, and five stars if it was more women than men.
I remember driving up and down San Pablo avenue all these years, wondering everytime I passed by the iconic Hotsy Totsy sign, "What goes on in there!?" Â All sorts of savory yet unrenderable thoughts would flash across my mind before being immediately snuffed as I passed by the Sizzlers and Taco Bell nearby.
So quickly: Â this is a dive bar (and this is after renovation some time ago!) with a diverse mix of people and a good vibe. Â It's a good place to grab a casual drink with a buddy, but there isn't much of a singles scene: Â the ratio isn't great and most women here are "taken" -- did I just use that word? Â Wow.
On the plus side, they seem to take their drink pretty seriously, as some good cocktails may be had here. Â There's even a showy drink for the attention-whores in the house: Â it involves sparks and flames and tastes mediocre. Â I forget the name, but let the bartender know you are seeking 5 seconds of eyeball time and ask for a recommendation.
I especially enjoy watching the lounge lizards at work on weekend nights.  One night,  one of these mack daddies told me that the bar stool next to him was "taken" so my friend and I watched for many minutes as his imaginary companion never returned.  Unfortunately, no lovelies inquired about the seat in question and he was left to just drinking with his wingman, looking a bit dissatisfied with the whole situation, and  occasionally scanning the bar with those hungry eyes (thanks Eric Clapton!).
If you're not convinced yet, how about this kicker:  on many evenings there is an awesome taco truck serving the goods next to the bar.  Hotsy Totsy even lets you  bring the food inside.
And yeah: Â weird South Asian horror flicks on the telly.
There are many reasons why I am a fan of the Hotsy Totsy and the list is quickly growing after each time I visit.
First of all, the signature drink - The Hotsy Totsy is my favorite. Yes, I make this baby at home often (without the flaming cup fire show) and loved to see it on the menu. If you have not tried a real "Hot Toddy", you should try theirs. They make it perfectly and I couldn't really ask for a better drink unless....
You've dared to try the Bourbon and Bitters cocktail. In such a dainty little glass with a strong drink that packs a sweet punch. Perfect for sipping if you are a Bourbon fan.
Then there is the Hot Buttered Rum, I have wanted to have one of these for awhile and I'm sure that they make it best. The warm buttery rum drink gave me such a sweet little buzz and put a smile on my face.
The place is comfy with plenty of seating areas for groups, a pool table, classic pin up art in the bathrooms and classy cocktails. Did I mention the Taco Truck?! Nope, they need their own review. I know why the HHK loves to come here, it's classic, comfy and they make great cocktails.
I know I'll be back, so say Hi if you see me sipping on a Hotsy Totsy. ;)
I've grown up in this area and seen this place for literally decades.....from the outside. Â I never thought I'd set foot inside. Â But some friends that I personally thought might have the same "wariness" have gone a number of times and kept telling me periodically I should come too. Â
The first visit was pleasant enough but too short to really get a feel of things. Â This last time I spent more time here, paid more attention to the goings-on, and had a really good time.
HT is a cool lil spot. Â The staff seem quite skilled. Â The drinks are really good. Â The environs are lively enough to keep you engaged but not large and "corporate". Â
Taco truck outside is convenient and puts out yummy food. Â I'll be back.
Holy crap. Where have I been this last year in the East Bay?
Where I should have been: the Hotsy Totsy. As a friend of classic cocktails, Hotsy Totsy has just shot to the top of my list for fine drinking establishments. Their master bartenders are also serving up new house creations that incorporate classic ingredients, like the brilliant "Miller's Daughter" (gin, vermouth, creme de violette, and st. germain). Also, their menu has a whole page of gins. A whole page. This is officially the best place ever.
I understand that this place used to be pretty divey - all I can say is that their recent renovations necessitate a new look for anyone holding out due to prior conceptions. Their new atmo preserves its retro dive feel (jukebox, shuffleboard, low lighting), but in a way that is classy and understated, like a good secret. This is the kind of place that "should" be crawling with obnoxious 20-something hipsters, but I guess they couldn't scooter their way up to Albany, and instead, the clientele is mixed and low-key.
Come enjoy an amazing drink at the stylish but unpretentious Hotsy Totsy.
The pretentious, expensive bars of the Bay Area should take some cues from this authentic East Bay bar. Expansive back bar, swanky big ice cubes, carefully crafted cocktails, and even barkeeps that are versed in the huge liquor list. SO well versed that I was directed away from Black Maple Hill to Rowan's Creek. Who knew?
If this place was in SF, it would be filled with obnoxious tools with attitude. But it's not. It's filled with cool, normal people of every flavor, all enjoying the cool vibe and great drinks.
I literally grew up behind this bar. I could practically throw a baseball to it from my backyard. Actually, I think I have before... Anyways.
This bar has come a long way. It went from a joke to a hipster hideaway, and the change has been welcome.
The bartenders are always friendly, jokey men or super foine ladies slinging drinks. Â
There's a happy hour until 7, and free wifi.
The owner also is a big fan of dogs, and there's always a bunch of friendly pups walking around and making friends with patrons.
I am quickly drawn to places with PBR, especially on tap.
Add that to the sultry, sexy burlesque clips on loop and the fact that there's a taco truck there on weekends?
Yeah, I'm here way too much.
I've been mulling over how to explain my lust and desire for the Hotsy Totsy Club for weeks now, and I just can't seem to put it into words that'd do it justice. It's simply my favorite bar in the entire Bay Area for a multitude of reasons ranging from the quality of their cocktail program, the homey environment, and the sense that time is literally standing still as you enjoy muted '70s topless zombie bloodbath flicks with new wave jams on the juke and a room full of cheerful locals and their canine companions.
Instead of a magnum opus declaring my unwavering aphrodisia, let this video be my official voice <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJsWQfZKzz5k&s=71ba8a36cfa87a7e16faef110721804bd5a97d57b69009ad380f42fc31bfddf8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/w…</a>
You know those speakeasy style bars with dandy cocktologists sporting handlebar mustaches? You go there for a sophisticated quiet evening, discussing your existential life crisis while downing $15 expertly mixed cocktails.
What if I told you that somewhere deep in the heart of the East Bay, there's a bar that makes cocktails so good you'll swear your experienced tongue will never touch another sugar rimmed glass, a bar with as much pretension as a golden retriever, a free shuffleboard table, a free jukebox with a selection of old school 45s, a TV that plays a streaming array of playful 60s erotica and a team of locals that couldn't be more friendly. Â
It's rare that I find a bar to be so so so amazing, but last night at the Hotsy Totsy, I almost didn't leave. Owners Michael and Jessica run the bar with a casual intensity and a hospitality close to visiting grandma's house. The drink menu is vast and impressive. The ingredients might not be super familiar to one who's not accustomed to fancy drink culture, but any taste buds can appreciate the Mexican Velvet or the Hot Totsy.
To put it frankly, if I were to own a bar, I'd strive to make it just like The Hotsy Totsy.
Sunday = Funday
A few sidecars made stiffly for the drunk lovers.
A nice tiny little quaint space with a great diverse crowd.
Straight to the point with no fluff at all.
Nice sized shots of Fernet even one on the house.
The Delicious Autlense taco truck outside for the Mexican lover.
And the great Ol'Skool Ska bumpin!
My friend Mike lives in Richmond and, consequently, in the decade I've been able to drive, we've taken many a rides down San Pablo Ave. In that time, many things have changed in my life and tastes--one of the changes being that I'm now a total whore for bars that would have frightened me when I was younger. Within the last 8 or 9 months, during one of these drives, I turned to Mike upon passing the Hotsy Totsy Club and said something along the lines of, "Obviously, we have to go there." He agreed to accompany me, and then we just never got around to it. Plus, when I looked on the bar's website, it looked all fancy and sexy, which isn't really what I had been anticipating.
However, Sunday night provided us an ideal opportunity to check it out. Actually, the plan had been to go to Godspeed, but it was closed (BOOO!!!!!!!!!), so we headed back towards Richmond and decided to stop at the Hotsy Totsy, which was, thankfully, less fancysex than it had looked online, but definitely had a cool look. It's dark with green walls, a copper colored tin ceiling, and black upholstered bar stools and benches. The tables are covered with newsclip collages and the candle glasses on the bar are découpaged with newspaper.  There are paintings of scary, sad-faced, big-eyed children on the walls, and a couple nekkid lady paintings that would feel at home in the Casanova (booooobies!). I'm kind of a sucker for quirky artwork at bars.
The back room of the bar is filled by a pool table and wrap around bench, and the tables in the front provide ample seating, although there weren't many patrons when we walked in. Or when we walked out, actually. But 8pm on a Sunday is, perhaps, not the busiest time for a bar.
The bartender was friendly and attentive, offering to refill my PBR (sadly, the only draft beer option, but only $3) often, and making smalltalk with Mike and I, asking us if we were there for the ska, after overhearing us discussing old school ska and reggae. Because apparently, Sundays are SKA NIGHT!!! Also dub, roots, dancehall and occasionally two-tone ska. That, in and of itself, is reason enough for me to return. Also, the fact that he noticed that I stole my friend's lime and provided one for my second beer without asking. That scores him points.
Other things worth noting: cute patrons! Maybe some people don't go looking for boys to creepily ogle, but I do. And there were some cute guys in here. They have a monthly gay night. They also have pretty decent happy hour specials, which we missed, and a pretty exciting cocktail list, which I think I may have to check out next time I'm stop in for a drink...which I'll be doing soon.
People were stingy with their smokes here, though. But that's for the best, really. Oh, and did I mention that there's a taco truck in their parking lot? Yeah. Cuz there is. At least sometimes. Not sure how often, but, either way, c'mon. It doesn't get much better than that.
Dive bar? Really? Just because they have a 45 jukebox? Because the crowd is random? Because the drinks are cheap and there is no cover? Maybe the shuffleboard table or the ratty pool table?
Whaaaattttt-eva! I love this place. Stone IPA in the bottle for 4 bills and PBR (if thats your thing on draft).
Wish you were closer Hotsy Totsy... like in walking distance home. Enjoy!
I don't know about this talk of renovation. Â As someone who has been to the HT three times total-- twice in 2000 or so, once last week-- I can safely say that very little of substance has changed since then. Â They painted the outside (paint doesn't last forver, kids). Â They cleaned up the inside, maybe scrubed a few decades of smoke off the ceiling, threw out some ratty furniture. Â I'd call what they did "Maintenance". Â A place can't forever stay exactly as you remember it being. Â It's still cheap, it's just the dollar that sucks. Â You are poor and doomed to be so forever, just accept it and be happy. Â
The staff and other patrons were nice, and my friend and I particularly enjoyed the guy who hung out with his loaf of sliced white bread for about an hour, eventually to curse and stomp off in disgust. Â Perhaps at being cut off. Â
Oh and I got news for you, kids: Â There were cougars there 8 years ago too. Â Only you didn't call them cougars, you called them "mom".
Saturday night, abundant parking and shuffle board along the wall.
I sat at the bar and watched my boyfriend engage in an impromptu drinking game with whom appeared to be the town regular--the joker you might say. He was a jolly fellow who alerted us to the $6 pitchers of beer (why pay $4 for a pint when you can have that deal!?), and then proceeded to engage my man in a game where the object was to raise their glass every time they heard the word "pork chop".
"How odd", you must be thinking, since drinking games commence with much more thought out planning and usually coincide with some sort of degree of attachment to Kevin Bacon. Adding to the humor was the fact that my bf is a vegetarian.
The decor in the bar hasn't changed in decades. Neither has the bartender--a simple man who pours a mean whiskey and gladly fills your pint glass half way with tequila and doesn't even blink. The clientele is sporattic: ranging from the old timers who sit down and talk of the huge fare eaten at other establishments (hence the porkchop commentary), wayward hipsters who like to play memory games while getting plastered, and the band of merry locals who stroll in like Cliff from Cheers and harangue the owner, but it's all in good humor.
The juke box has a mind of it's own and the lighting may have been a bit too bright when we first walked in, but after a Prince song and a drink or two, they were dimmed.
Ahh, if you want to go somewhere and be left alone, make a friend or get a cheap, strong (yet small) drink, well then Johnny Boozerini, the Hotsy Totsy is for you.
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