Nice atmosphere. Everyone was friendly and it's interesting to watch people play pool and also to listen to some local music.

It was a Saturday night. The bar was pretty busy because there was a Tibetan event that evening somewhere. People came to bar after the event. This was my second visit to the Bar. I had two IPA in timeframe of 2 and half hours. Things were okay until I bought a food (chatpate) from the food truck just outside at the door of the Bar. I took the food inside (it's allowed). I had couple of spoons and I needed to go to Bathroom. I asked for paper napkins and covered the food so that they won't throw it ( that's what I learned the American culture is, at least california). I came back from the bathroom within few minutes, my food was gone. I asked a lady bartender about it and she said she doesn't know and I suppose not to keep food like that. I told her I asked for the paper napkins and covered it to protect it. she went paper napkins doesn't protect food'. I am like that's what I learned is an American culture. She left. I of course wasn't happy but I was still okay wanted to order my final beer. And this guy came. I was normal and since I thought he is a cool guy I could talk to him. I said ' I would like to order another beer and I have a small complaint to make'. He got pissed off immediately and goes 'I don't listen your complaint now, I can't' very rudely. Then he still had time to keep waking around and giving me his eyes and trying to intimidate me. And he said I was too drunk to make a complaint lmao. That was too much to handle for me. I told him I also work on costumer service and this is not the way you treat your costumer. And called security in me?? That was too over react of him and pissd me off totally. I simply told him he is and a**h*le and his IS a complete jerk. Doesn't deserve at all to be in costumer service profession. The security guy didn't find any possible threat so he left. OH! And I asked his name because I didn't wanna blame the whole business for his poor work ethics. He denied to say and thought I would take his picture so that people would know and he called security again. No one said sorry once for my food lost, not a word 'sorry' for a costumer's inconvenience. PS: my first time experience was pretty smooth. He wasn't the bar tender. There was another lady, I had 5-7 (I don't remember) IPAs and tipped her 30-100% every drink I bought. Working in a costumer service and relying on tips I understand how important it is for workers like us. And the Bar is owned by a Nepali-American and being a member of same community I always try to support the business own by community people. Having plenty of great options in El Cerito, East Bay Area, I had to choose this one, stupid me ! read more

Very cool bar! Great service and selection of liquor and 8 craft beers. Cozy patio and fun pool table! Mixed crowd of people and friends read more

Lama Bar - Finally they have their new sign up! After two years of waiting!! Good luck - Dive Bars Near Me - El Cerrito, California

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Fun dive bar with 1 pool table. Lots of good pool players. Owner and staff are friendly and quick. 3 TVs. Outdoor area out back. Hawaiian restaurant nextdoor if you're hungry. read more

Fun little dive bar. New owners remodeled it when covid hit, so if you ever went here when it was Crown or Blue Moon, it is much changed! Still has a great, eclectic group of regulars. Beautiful back patio (with heat lamps for when it's cool), juke box, pool table, plenty of TVs (including 1 out back) to watch sports. Dj some weekends. Some parking behind the bar.... You can also park next door I the parking lot behind O'Reilly. read more

If you are looking for a place to hang with the locals at a chill dive place with a pool table and backyard, head to lama.

Really updated nicely and run well. Great pool players too. I like the happy meal special, beer and a shot, and the nice sunny back area that still allows smoking unlike a lot of places. read more

Crown Bar takes over Blue Moon's space. pool table seen in website pics not seen in house during drink-in.. nice patio area in back. parking lot in back. offerings: house specials, 2 drafts. amenities: patio, small flatscreens all around, small bar seating area, pinball machines, electronic games. brew: 1 shot whiskey + tecate (5) generic whiskey strong, haven't drank jack daniels(my favorite) in decades. -not a lot of seating at bar. -pbr beer (lst round) was lukewarm. on draught: -wouldn't repeat unless i wanna get drunk on shots. -am sure artisan cocktails made, just not my narcotic of choice read more

Great Bar, fun people! Great neighborhood bar. The place to be. Lots of events happen here read more

This is a great little dive bar masked in a red glow... very Twin Peaksy. I came on an El Cerrito dive bar tour with some friends and although I only made it to two, this is the one I preferred. The bartender was nice, the music was awesome, the local regulars were posted up at the bar, shit faced and super friendly; overall a great experience. We cozied up at the bar and then moved to a few tables in the corner. I spied 2 pin ball machines and potentially a door to a patio? Overall, I dig. A great little dive bar, for sure. read more

Love this place, a great local bar with a bunch of fun, colorful characters who love music and pool.

I used to come here when it was the Blue Moon Saloon and I loved that there were regulars there and the bartender knew everyone. Now, Lama has taken over since 2019 and revamped it and there is strong Tibetan community there. They have a pool table and an outdoor seating area with some coverage from the rain. They even offer a grill for those who want to tail gate while watching sports. I recently had a party there where I was able to bring in food and set up some decorations without having to pay a fee or guarantee a number of drinks. It worked out very well. I think I had about 20-25 people show up throughout the evening and everyone mingled well with the other clientele and the drinks were flowing and eventually, the pool table was moved and the dancing began. It was a wonderful experience and I would happily do it again. Also, most of the my group were super excited to find this gem of place and I suspect we will all be heading back there many times in the future. read more

$5 beer and shot specials, this is the definition of a dive bar and you can tell there are locals that frequent. Even though it doesn't look welcoming from the outside, the bartender and patrons were nice and it's a cheap place to go to after dinner, no food available here. read more

Lama Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - El Cerrito, California

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Lama is very rude and not very good with making drinks the bar need lots of fixing most of the regular customers or very cool and respectful Andre is very good with the customers at times read more

Please avoid this bar at all costs, there so many other amazing local bars to go to besides this one. The owner is shockingly disrespectful and really just terrible to his customers. The regulars here, or so they call them selves, are aggressive, rude, selfish, and dangerous. Just go somewhere better and that's very easy to do. The two police cars leaving the bar before I went in wasn't a good look either. read more

Haven't been since they removed the pool table about a year ago. Used to be a GREAT dive then the owner changed and it became less and less stable (e.g. irregular, temp bartenders after dumping the ones who knew everybody). The internal design changes got very 'bloody eyeball' and just creepy, like we had been swallowed. The overall divesque ambiance became utterly less welcoming. The previously huge human diversity factor around age, gender, ethnicity, job station, formal education, etc ... all but strangled out entirely from before. Used to be a place where all kinds of folk made meaningful connections to very different people from what they would otherwise encounter anywhere else, all in one spot, catching up over and over the years. No more community events extending outside the bar like soccer and picnics, home visits. Then they ran the pool players out by removing the pool table along with a lot of other cool jovial regulars. Killed ALL my reason for going... read more

I LOVE THE BLUE MOON SALOON. This rebrand is hot garbage. Taking over an environment and community that was thriving, just too put your own name on it, is not inline with our values. The blue moon is terrific, the patrons are terrific, but if you're gonna try and steal a bars brand and community.. AT LEAST CHANGE THE SIGN OUT FRONT. Blue moon forever read more

This is a great place to drink filled with awesome customers and knowledgeable bartenders. There's a new era juke box, pool table, flat screen tvs, and even a fenced off patio area in the back. The drinks are reasonably priced. Definitely should give it a shot if you're into dive bars. read more

Great place! Great neighborhood place to hang out. The bartenders are nice and the drinks are cheap. People are friendly.