Eli's Mile High Club

you may or may not have heard that this bar, a long-standing oakland countercultural hub, has been through a lot of trouble in the last year or two because the legitimacy of one of its past construction projects was thrown into question. well, i believe the drama regarding the dubious "patio" space at eli's exemplifies not only a problem with the bar itself (on a level worthy of impacting any review of the establishment) but one with the punk movement in general, which we should all be old enough at this point to talk about (i do know there are gen z punks, but this particular conversation is for millennials and gen x for now). here's the thing: you can't "DIY attitude" your way out of complying with local regulations that exist for the preservation of health and safety. yeah, there's a lot of bureaucratic obstacles needlessly slowing down projects, and you can fight for reform on that, but you do unfortunately need to do it through slow, boring, above-board avenues. you can't just put up potentially unsafe or improperly ventilated structures and call them "good enough" when we live in a society where a basic level of trust is assumed by anyone walking through your doors. the stubb

Rented out Eli’s for my 40th birthday, and it was such a dope venue for this or any other party. Fern the manager and the whole team there were great and easy to work with. It was honestly super reasonably priced, and the space was so fun to get friends together at— great music system for a friend to set up his DJing and everyone to dance, reasonably priced drinks, great kitchen able to serve food, indoor and outdoor space for kicking it, excellent vibes. 100% recommend if looking for a space to have a party.

I stopped by to see a buddy from work band play. The atmosphere was nice but I didn't buy any food. Parking was hard to find within a block so I had to park 3 blocks down which wasn't an issue for me other than I was running late to see my buddy and his band perform.

Aye, a great divey punk bar in the east bay. Ideal outdoor space, inside there’s a small stage for intimate shows. Metal core is blaring in the background, and there are two stocked pool tables. Drinks are affordable and stiff, and people are just having a great time. Along with it being a cool spot, there is some great food too. Pop up by Lula’s pit was so good! There was a delicious vegan sandwich option, but for omnivores, the tri-tip sandwich was also delicious. The mac and cheese was also insanely good, a ton of flavor and I loved that they used farfalle pasta. Definitely will be back here soon. Thanks Eli’s!

staff was friendly. crowd was friendly. drink was strong. went to a metal show here last night and it might just be my new favorite place to go.