Huge thanks to Mike! I stopped in for a drink to meet some friends after work. It's my second time in at Brown's and Mike was working last time too. Honestly the best local-friendly-brilliant bartender I've been served by in a really long time. Everybody knows him, they come in for him and he knows everyone's drinks. My go-to shot, Casamigos Reposado, was given the "Mike Special" -- cinnamon and an orange slice. The best way to enjoy Casamigos, and quite brilliant! Also as a gay man, sometimes quite eccentric I found this to be one of the most inclusive bars in all of Marin. At least by the staff (Mike) and (most) of the locals. Thanks for the great time and vibes, will be back and back! read more

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Monday night karaoke They don't respect the karaoke list and it's not fair to everyone read more

Brown's is not here to impress you. There are no craft cocktails here. This is not where to go to talk about your stock investments or your golf swing. Come here to talk about dogs, trucks, and divorces. Be nice and people will be nice to you. Wear jeans or be mocked (not really). They have a good juke box but be prepared to pay extra for your tunes to jump some of the other patron's lame songs. The women's bathroom is hysterical (see pics). read more

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lady Bartender was very rude, Would not recommend! Its not a welcoming environment for young adults.

If you're looking for a fun divey bar where the drinks are poured heavy this is your spot

Take your business elsewhere!! The bartenders who have personal issues with patrons will not serve them, will not allow them in the bar. Even when they're not 86d. The owner condones the behavior of staff drinking with bar patrons and allows them to have free will with who is allowed in on specific days simply for outside person vendettas . It used to be a nice fun place to enjoy time with friends but now it's a weary spot to approach, never knowing what drama is going to happen. Very unfortunate what this community staple has turned into read more

Kudos to Joyce for classing up the joint with the nice tables, and stools! The ladies bathroom is great for selfies (or so I've seen) but it's small, and always stuffy. I used to go there a few times a month about four years ago, and three years ago I stopped due to an incident regarding a man who wanted to talk with me about snorting my dead sons remains; I broke up a fight, and somehow it all turned bad, for me. Lesson learned, don't do the bouncers job, even if the bouncer doesn't do their job. Even the owner asked me if I wanted the guy to leave, but I insisted on leaving instead, as there was no need to stay, but her story changed later. I've learned a valuable lesson from the owner and employees at Browns, and am forever grateful. All is forgiven, and I try to avoid going here, but, like I said, great place to shoot pool! read more

Brown's Binyerd - Kimmer was the best bartender Brown's had in the time I went there. - American Near Me - Novato, California

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Top notch service. Hella affordable. My review needs at least 85 characters to post. It's a great bar

Visited this bar on a Friday evening and this place doesn't have much going for it. The entrance is very hard to find at first, but if you walk pass the convenience store on the corner, you missed it. There is street parking outside the bar as well as a small private lot behind it. I wouldn't risk parking your car too far down the street because it doesn't look the safest of places at night. The service here on a Friday evening (4pm-7pm) was ridiculously slow. There was only one bartender and he just took forever to get people's orders. There wasn't even that many people in the bar... The bar has 2 pool tables and a dart board. However, one must pay to use the games. You can break your bills at the bar as well. The bathrooms (especially mens) is gross. The stall door is broken and you're bound to touch the wall/toilet at some point because it is just so frigging cramped. I would not recommend this place to anyone nor will I be going back any time soon. read more

Absolutely unreal. My and my coworker(he's 23 and I'm 24) went to this bar to get a drink and play some pool. The very rude blonde bartender refused to serve us drinks because she believed one of our ID's was fake and couldn't tell. Now given, I have a class A commercial drivers license with endorsements. Which is not something an underage person would fake. Plus we had several debit and credit cards with our exact names on them. I would absolutely not Recommend this bar to anyone. This is a very scummy place and should be avoided. read more

Mike is cool, Aubrey is cool, Shani is great, Guy is my favorite, sorry ya'll. Love Monday night karaoke here, no B.S. feel safe and have a blast! Bring your own mirror if your a male, no mirror in bathroom :/ - Thank you to the owner too! read more

This review is based on neighborhood dive category & authenticity. Brown's sports two pool tables, friendly/ authentic staff, very reasonable prices & pours. A real locals' place Also pretty sure 'binyerd' is not a word, so that's kind of badass read more

Once a shitshow, always a shitshow. Decent dive bar but sometimes the clientele can be a bit too engaging...like, please just let me drink with my buddy. I don't need to hear about your treatment program...it's not going well. read more

Very average bar. When its crowded its basically impossible to get a drink. Not a big fan.

Visiting from out of town a few weeks back for work and found this place in a search. Funky, divey, and dark in all the good ways. I found the clientele friendly and engaging, the bartenders amiable and quick and the prices quite fair. Read some reviews that brought up feelings of being ostracized for some reason or another, I have found that usually when someone goes looking for a reason to be offended they'll find one. Go out looking to meet good folks and good folks will find you. I found them here. I'll be back when everyone gets to open their doors again. read more

I was really surprised when I wandered back in here. Crowd was friendly, people were having fun, was a Saturday night, and it was a gas! Don't go here hoping for a miracle - it's a goofy old Novato bar - but if you have a couple friends and need a couple drinks, give it a shot. Do check out the bathroom. read more

What a fun place to hang out. Strong drinks, friendly regulars, and good service. Easy to have a good time.

I couldn't say more things about how amazing the staff is here. Mike and Joyce are fantastic here the drinks are perfect and the night life is great! read more

My review is based on the one night of the week that I actually go to Brown's - Karaoke night! If I'm going to ANY bar, I don't' have high expectations - it's a bar after all, and the nicest people can get pretty stupid after a few drinks. I don't think the environment protects them from how much they drink. So my evaluation is based on my limited experience. Karaoke Nite is the best night of the week! Lots of fun people, everyone having a really good time, and some surprising talent... : O The KJ's sound system rocks, song selection is WAY above average, and I actually think I sound better at this Karaoke location than others. My rating could go down on another night of the week, but it's Wednesday nights that I go for... A lot of fun if your into Karaoke - or some serious people watching. read more

OK. So someone dragged me over here the other weekend. The place has changed from a few years ago. They had a reggae band cool. Interior changed for the better. Someone bought me a mixed drink that was actually fairly good. There were actually good looking women in there. So, I have to give it an upgrade from last time. It is a bit above the dive bar line now. read more

Friendly people, decent service, and reasonably-priced drinks... Been here a few times, and always had a fun night (and left with a couple phone numbers). -1 star for being out of Bushmill's recently, and another -1 star for having unstocked (although clean) bathrooms, but other than that, no real complaints... Definitely not my typical "type" of venue to hang out in, but more than adequate for shots and beer pong (Wednesday nights) or pool with friends. read more

Cheap beer, pool, and good atmosphere. Can get rowdy, but I've never had a bad time here.

Best bar in Novato hands down if ur young and don't wanna chill with a bunch of old fucks ranting about there shity alcoholic lives.... beautiful bartender/owner Joyce allows beerpong every fri/sat and sometimes on game days if she loves u .. Winner doesn't have to pay for beer great idea if ur a broke fuk like me and u want drink for free all night cause u can throw a ping pong ball into a small cup which really says what a piece of shit u are and how far u will get in life 2 pool tables watch out for Loa he's a shark and he's no fun to play with ... Jukebox has a lot of music Friday nights are most popular sats ok Wednesday is karaoke night if u kick ass ull sing a song real shitty this is a bar where everyone knows eachother and we all look out for one another come correct and ull have fun here other than that my uncle Guy will throw ur ass out with a flick of a pinky . read more

I'm giving two stars only because we came here twice in one night and the first time was just OK, but the second take was irritating to say the least. A friend and I went there after work right before 6. We got there and there were only six other customers in the bar. My friend had just lost her id and had her passport. The bartender, young male, took her passport as id and poured us two pints, but then never checked back with us, until 15 min after finishing our first pints. We would have stayed and ordered another round regardless, but were meeting another friend up the street. We met up with her and came back; when we returned there was a different bartender (woman) at the bar and two of the previous patrons who were on there way out. Only one other customer remained. She would not take my friend's id as proof of age, this wouldn't have mattered much to me except for her argument that because she didn't know us she wasn't going to take my friends id and that a passport wasn't a valid form of id .....((3) Documentary Evidence of Age and Identity (Section 25660 Business and Professions Code) a) Bona fide evidence of majority and identity of the person is any of the following: (1) A document issued by a federal, state, county, or municipal government, or subdivision or agency thereof, including, but not limited to, a valid motor vehicle operator's license, that contains the name, date of birth, description, and picture of the person. (2) A valid passport issued by the United States or by a foreign government. (3) A valid identification card issued to a member of the Armed Forces that includes a date of birth and a picture of the person. (b) Proof that the defendant-licensee, or his or her employee or agent, demanded, was shown, and acted in reliance upon bona fide evidence in any transaction, employment, use, or permission forbidden by Section 25658, 25663, or 25665 shall be a defense to any criminal prosecution therefor or to any proceedings for the suspension or revocation of any license based thereon. ), .... taken from http://www.abc.ca.gov/FORMS/ABC299.pdf ... because if there was an undercover officer she would get in trouble (OK, that's fine, my complaint is more with her following logic, or lack there of) she proceeded to tell us if she did know us it would be fine...as far as I can recall it wouldn't be fine for an undercover officer to witness a bartender serving a drink to someone that looked of questionable age, she would still get fined. So, she was incorrect about the law and was rude to us trying to defend her stance. If she really didn't want to serve us she could have just said so, not make up a convoluted lie. Mostly, I'm confused why you wouldn't want to serve customers when your bar is empty? read more

So lemme just say, I used to hate this place so much, the crowd wasn't very good almost every night, and it just had an awful vibe, the only reason I started coming back here is thanks to Ken and his awesome friendly service. One night my friend convinced me to go and Ken was the one bartending, he's a pretty cool, friendly guy and that kinda service is what made me stick around and come back only to see the crowds had gotten better, and the staff was more friendly. It's not the most top of the notch bar but if you're looking for average priced drinks, somewhere to play pool, play music on the music box, which btw you should pay the extra credit to have your song play first because there will be those nights some asshole plays 30 songs and sets them all to play first lol, then this place is for you, they also have darts, and beer pong if you're nice and ask. The downsides are that on Wednesdays they have karaoke so so loud so it's hard to hear you and your friends talk, the bathrooms are small, crammed, and filthy, and like all bars, creeps will show up. My advice also is, don't cause any problems or they will 86 you, I've seen it happen numerous times, there's this girl there especially who is a boss at kicking people out, its not Joyce the owner but a different girl who normally wears the "Staff" shirt. One last tip would be to take a taxi home if you can't drive, Novato cops sometimes drive around this bar like bees around their nest just waiting to catch someone. Be friendly, don't cause any problems, have fun and try not to use the bathroom so much haha, happy drinking everyone. read more

Brown's Binyerd - A view of the bar - American Near Me - Novato, California

A high school reunion every day! but if you are a regular (which im not) its like hanging out in moms basement...with a pool table! its fun when youre bored, but not for a good night out. read more

It doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is. A dive bar with cheap drinks loud music and beer pong. I like it a lot.

I am a regular here at this bar. Karen makes the best swaa drink. I highly recommend this bar when Karen's bartending .

I read a few of the other reviews, and I can understand SOME of the opinions. First thing Ladys Bathroom IS THE BEST in Novato! The improvements that have been made are GREAT! Lets not forget this is Novato, and boy has it changed over the years. In the past we had Browns, Viking, Deborbahs, Bit a Honey and Yes GOOD ole Joes crossroads, Now we dont, half those are only memories. The bars that are all in the same area Browns, Viking and Deborbahs well thats good old Novato! Browns is the most welcoming of them all. Not to mention they offer SO much more! Darts, pool, TV, juke box, Live music, Karaoke, and a game of beer pong. I lived in Novato for over 35 years, and WOW has it changed! I look forward to Browns when in town, its a comfort to still see it open and running. its like an ahh momment , some things never change. Imagine Mikes liquors not being on the corner? Browns is Novato!! Great place , great owner, great prices and yeah now and then a bartender might not be 5 star, but noones always perfect. Come in and see for yourself. Give it a try, make some friends, sing a song play some pong. Great place to chill. read more