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Categories: Pubs, Breweries, Restaurants [Edit]
901 Gilman St
81 reviews
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill
"I love the feeling that I get when I walk into my local, favorite bar. I haven't gotten this feeling since my hayday in Chico until I met up…" read more »
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After posting my angry Yelp! review, I was contacted by the GM for Pyramid Brewery and Alehouse. He apologized for the incident and is making efforts to better the situation. I apologized for losing my temper and writing a harsh review rather than contacting him. I think this follow-up on his part is commendable. My friend and I are going to return to Pyramid and give it another chance, and I hope to continue to add stars to my review.
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10/04/2008
Poop & Jabroni
Wow - can customer service be any worse? I went here with my friend Liz Friday night…
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i totally get the whole salty food + beer = match made in heaven idea.. pretzels, peanuts, goldfish crackers (if you're lucky) those make sense to me!
HELLSA SALTY overdressed caesar salad......... does not make sense.
i've tried the fish and chips before.. which was okay.. nothing special
the sausage and mushroom pizza... ditto above
and why oh why do they always seat us at that table underneath the stairs? and this last time i went, of course there had to be 5 children sitting above us leaning over the rail.. i kept thinking they had better not spill drinks or drop food down.. or else.. it's ON.
and what the with the service? talk about SPOT-TY. our server was quick with the beer, take home containers, and water (which she spilled). the food took days. and speaking of food, what the moff? secret menu!? how did my friend order nachos when they weren't even on the menu and how did it take 40 years for some dried up chewy cheese on chips to come out of the kitchen? siggggggh.
okay okay, the reason for two stars is because i like the beer and the chicken wings. other than that... everything is.. o-k.
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Wow, talk about karma.
My first bad experience at Pyramids... not only was service sluggish, the lady spilled water on me while trying to trapeze 3 glasses on her wobbly arm. I didn't realize till I stood up that the water had gotten under my seat so I had a soggy ass after dinner. She merely apologized and got me those small, dinky coaster napkins to wipe the puddle on and under me.
Touche, karma...touche....
Best time to go is Sunday for lunch....the restaurant.com coupon works, the place is near empty, and the service is better....
10/03/2008
Only 3-stars? Come on...
Whether it's with a group of friends or one-on-one date with my bf, it's a…
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Ok Why all of a sudden Pyramid made a noise dive to being crappy?
It was a nice lovely Sunday afternoon and the family wanted something different than your traditional Chinese dim-sum.
-Luckily my brother in-law noticed before I took a sip but my glass of water DIRTY! The glass had a huge slither of cheese of some sort. So I ordered an Arnold Palmer not once did this lady ask If I wanted a refill!!!
-Portions are getting smaller and smaller!
-Calamari, ok I remember when they used to give a grip load of calamari. I counted 10 sticks of calamari. I know times are tough these days but why are you skimming me out on my crunchy goodness
-Service. Now it wasn't even that busy. Though it was noon I would say this place was still dead. Our waitress had to buss maybe 2-3 other small tables. On Top of that I had to wait 20 minutes to get my change back!!
Lunch totally ruined my Sunday afternoon!
08/14/2008
One of the many Gems in the East Bay. I didn't know or even hear about this place until I… Read more »
This place was great. Good food--totally reasonably priced, hopping, and tons of screens to watch whatever game you're into. I'm a fan!
My friend brought me here after the Cal-Arizona Game this past weekend. We got there probably a hour after the game. The wait wasn't as bad as one would expect. The bar had seating right away but there was a good wait building up for dinner. The service seemed almost self serve cause it took a while to get a waiter to help us order some drinks. Not too bad tho. I tried the "HEFandADE" i get ittt!!!. It was really good. My friend also told me the beer sampler is well worth is. She appears to have good taste but I'm not sure cause I just met her...so take it with a grain of salt =). Yes I know you are reading this. The chicken wings arn't bad but a bit spicy. I lOVE SPICY! The place is huge. They give tours everyday cept sundays. Overall, great place to check out after the game. Ill update this later when I go back for dinner.
I would normally give this place a 4 but my friend told me to give it a 3 cause she thinks critics should be critics...sorry. Go here tho!
I was in a wedding here this past weekend and it was soooooooooo much fun! I'm not a big fan of beer but I'll have to admit that after walking around the brewery and smelling the alcohol you know I had to down at least one glass. YAY for the apricot ale!
I would definitely come here to watch a sports game and hang with a bunch of guys. For anything else.... ehhh not really my style. The food here is pretty good. They have a good tri tip and pasta. Stay away from the spinach dip..... that soooo did not settle well with my beer.
Having the wedding here was a lot of fun. They were really flexible with all the ideas the bride had (photo booth, candy buffet, root beer floats, cupcake towers) and the staff was very accomodating. I don't know if Casey works for pyramid, I'm pretty sure she does, or if she's a wedding planner but she did a GREAT job. We were catered to in between set ups and break downs and the whole pyramid staff was very active in making sure we had a great experience.
why only 3 stars? for regular sit down and eat places i wouldn't drive all the way to berk to have some beer here. worth a visit especially during football time but not a place i'd keep as one of my regular spots.
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They accommodate large parties with relative ease...they set up tables for 20 of us on a Saturday afternoon towards the back of the restaurant.
The service was a little hit and miss, but it could have been due to the size of our group.
I know that I shouldn't have expected much out of their wild mushroom pizza, but it was pretty darned good when it came right down to it, especially with a healthy shake of red pepper flakes to give it an extra zip.
I tried the mussels, and they were acceptable, but nothing special. The hot buffalo wings were more fried that I would have liked, but the meat was extremely tender and the sauce was mouth-wateringly zesty, almost vinegary enough to bring tears of joy to your eyes.
Decent food, okay setting. Wasn't much to watch along the line of sports...we saw a couple holes of golf (yawn!) on their big screen TVs that were perched right over our table.
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This place was more fun when I was 16 because my family let me sneak sips of their apricot beer. Unfortunately now that I can legally drink, it's just like being at some crappy restaurant with a weirdo vibe and an unimpressive menu.
I ordered the soup of the day (onion) and the chopped salad. I was excited for both of these items because I LOVE french onion soup and the salad sounded great because it had golden raisins in it, which are nature's candy, dontcha know? The soup was gross and had too much pepper and onions. The salad was bland with the exception of the raisins and walnuts. The greek goddess dressing was good but it couldn't save that salad. Our waitress was friendly enough but we waited hecka days for the check.
I'll probably never return unless someone drives me there and pays for me. And besides, you can get their beer ANYWHERE. It wasn't any better fresher, in fact, it was almost worse because of the vibe and the food. I'm sorry Pyramid, but you kinda suck.
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It's like a chain restaurant... except they have more beer. Food isn't impressive, but it's spacious and clean. I can only imagine all the dads who have to drag their kids around on game day- bring them here.
Went here a lot for opto events. Breweries always have a good variety of american comfort food so it's never hard to find something to eat here.
I was here for a wedding last weekend and I had a pretty fun time here. It was definitely not your typical wedding, but it was still tons of fun. "Open bar" was all beer, but I can't complain since I've developed a liking of beer =D The bartenders were so much fun, too. By the end of the night all the guests who were still there and all the bartenders were taking shots after shots after shots all together. Fun fun! The food was good too, not THE BEST, but still better than some of the other wedding food I've had in the past. The only reason I thought it kind of sucked as far as the wedding goes was that the attention wasn't always on the bride&groom the whole time. I felt bad for all the things I missed because I was somewhere else in the brewery (probably taking pictures in the photobooth!). But it was still fun!
It's big, it's clean, and has a jumbotron. Not exactly the quintessential Berkeley establishment, but a good spot to down some brews and watch a game.
The key to remember here is that it's a brewery. The food in general is mediocre, and I'd recommend sticking to Burgers and the Chicken Sandwich. Even the Buffalo Chicken here was goofy.
I'm really surprised there are so many luke warm reviews of this place. I always liked going to this joint, and the beer was SO good, SO fresh. MUCH better than the beer you'd buy at Andronico's or Safeway or wherever.....
Nothing like a cold pitcher of Apricot Ale (yeah, i know, I'm a chick) or Hefeweizen, and some good friends. Great beer (and I rarely drink beer).
Cool little shop to buy Pyramid schwag.
Gets very popular, so possibly expect a wait.
I don't know if it's just the after glow from a day at Golden Gate Fields (a couple of blocks away) or what, but I've got love for Pyramid. I'm a fan of their Hefe anyway, and straight from the tap makes anything better, but I wasn't disappointed by their food either. I was actually surprised at the quality knowing that they could get away with crappier food on account of how good the beer is.
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Well there are 2 ways to review this place 1 as a sit down dinner place and 2nd as a brewery.
As a dinner spot this place is overpriced and the food is just OK.
However my favorite way to enjoy Pyramid is on a Sunday afternoon during football season. Everyone there is sporting a shirt, hat, jersey, whatever with their favorite teams logo on it whether they are playing that Sunday or not.
The beer is great- I prefer Curve Ball, Apricot Ale and Hefenweizen.
The nachos are huge and so are the burgers. So typically I order a burger and an appetizer and split them both.
Service is decent.
Multiple flat screens with a big projector as well.
If I wasn't enjoying the delightful company of my companion, I would have had a worse experience.
The food is really slapdash here. My friend's Marguerita pizza was white (undercooked). I had an okay cup of cheddar cheese soup (no bread or crackers offered), but my chopped salad with green goddess dressing was as bland as could be.
I asked the waitress if bread comes with the salad and she sort of sighed as if I'd asked her to drive me to the airport at 2 a.m.
Yes, she did grudgingly bring me bread, but I guess they must keep the butter in a locked safe or something, 'cos I sure as hell didn't get any!
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Bad customer experience overshadows the good beer and food. I tried ordering a root beer keg for a Boy Scout event but was told over the phone that one cannot preorder them. I called back a few days later to check on availability only to be told that they have to be preordered through a manager. No manager was in so I left a message, but NEVER RECEIVED A CALL BACK.
I wrote a letter expressing my disappointment and finally received a return call from a manager who apologized, said he'd "probably" send me something (he never did) and invited me to call him back to talk about my negative experience. I called back, but haven't heard from him again!
Pyramid really needs to work on its customer service. I'd gone there for years but now will be taking my business elsewhere!
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It's all about the Beer Sampler and the beer that you order with THAT to wash it all down. Apparently I've eaten food here as well, but why would you go here and NOT have beer?
The quesadillas I remember being tasty and nice to share. In fact, it's all really decent food for sharing. If you're hungry for actual food and not into sports or other people, you really should try to find somewhere else to go. If you're into hanging out, watching sports with strangers and drinking some pretty fresh beer, then buddy, you've found a nice spot. Yeah, that's right. I said, "buddy."
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great place for beer and watching the sports but food is just ok to me...i tried the ribs and it was so salty!
great service, spacious inside and outside...
they've got samplers so i'm sold:)
The decor is pretty nice, a cross of a sports bar and Cheese Cake Factory may be? You can see the brewery in the back too.
My order of meatloaf wasn't bad, flavorful and juicy. Paired it with a Amber Weizen, fresh from the tap, delicious.
This is not the kind of place you want to grab a bite and go. Take your time with some friends, down a few beer over conversation.
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4 stars because you can get a $25 gift certificate for $3 on Restaurant.com, use it Tuesday for Pub Trivia night (maybe even win a 6 pack), and get decent beer. So a night out really doesn't end up costing that much.
Without all that, probably more like 2 1/2 stars. Food is OK, but nothing I couldn't make myself. Very casual atmosphere, lots of TVs & kids.
Service is a bit unattentive - you have to ask for things because you won't see your server unless you're ordering or paying.
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Novel place to have a few beers. Our waitress and waiter were lovely and attentive despite the big crowd. The beer sampler was very tasty and cold as was the 16 ounce hefeweisen. I didn't have the food, I know better. Just by walking into the place you can tell you are not going to get a culinary experience. It is sort of like a souped-up chain restaurant but you get to look at the guys making beer. Also, on the pricey side if you are planning on drinking a lot. But overall a good place to bring out-of-towners for some homebrew...and kick some know-it-all Cal booty at trivia on Tuesday nights.
Last night we went to T-rex (review is below), but the real story is that we started out at Pyramid Brewery in Berkeley (about 2 blocks away from T-rex).
We all met out front of Pyramid and before we went in I asked why we weren't going to T-rex which, again, was only 2 blocks away. Both my friends looked at me and said, they had no idea.
When we got to T-rex, we each told our stories of bad dining experiences at Pyramid and decided we were just being polite when noone questioned whether or not we should be at Pyramid (looks like I was the least polite of the three of us).
I would say that Pyramid deserves a 3-4 for beer and a 2 for food. So, I will give them a weak 3 and call it good. I will eventually eat there again - because my son likes the fries, but if I have my choice I will always be at T-rex.
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For dinner this was a great place to go with a group of people. There was plenty of seating and a very short wait for 7 people on a Saturday night. One of the big incentives of going here is, of course, the beer. They have a range of their beers there and if you don't know what you like, they have a sampler that you can try that is very affordable.
The food is pretty standard brew pub food. Nothing spectacular, but it's not bad either. They have traditional dishes and nothing from the menu really stood out to me, but I was happy with the grilled chicken sandwich that I ordered.
The service on the other hand, at least this particular night, was horrible. Our table was convinced that our waiter was at least drunk. He was not attentive at all and forgot to bring almost everything that we had asked for. Not to mention that he could barely keep his eyes open, swayed as he took our order, and almost walked into a poll at least twice.
Overall, it was a fine experience and I will probably go back for beer and a meal, but it's not the number one restaurant on my list in Berkeley by any means.
I haven't eaten anything at Pyramid but damn do I love their beers! Apricot, the Hefe, their summer Curve Ball, its all good! Definitely appreciate happy hour, Mon-Fri I believe from 3-6, with $3.50 pints and $10.50 pitchers, WHAT A DEAL! Not sure if I'll try the food, being a vegetarian they only have one entre I can eat. We'll see. COME FOR THE BEER.
Do you know what tastes sweeter than beer from the tap?
Beer from the tap IN the brewery!
The food was great too. I ordered the pepperoni, sausage, and mushroom pizza. All pizzas are made with a hefe welzen crust and cooked in a wood fired oven. The pizza isn't overloaded with cheese or sauce and the crust isn't burnt. My partner-in-dining had the BBQ St. Louis ribs which were made with the delicious blackwatch porter bbq sauce. The ribs themselves were a little gristly like all St. Louis ribs but the sauce was great.
We didn't have room for dessert after all that food, the beer sampler and 2 more pints of Hef and Porter. Maybe next time...
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so perhaps I'm being slightly mean for giving it a 2 but it could just be because of service we had last time I was there.
I was with a group of 20 or so celebrating a friends 24th birthday, we got there and once we were seated in our section we ordered drinks. As expected they took a while to arrive, then we started to order our meals.
I can't seem to recall what I ordered exactly I just remember it being a sandwich (it wasn't satisfying to my taste) so I ended up not eating it. A few of my other friends had issues with their orders the meat on a burger was totally dark! Super super DARK. a COUPLE OF OUR GROUP MEMBERS WERE UNABLE TO GET THEIR ORDERS WE ARE NOT SURE IF THEY FORGOT ABOUT THEM OR WHAT, BUT IN ALL IT WASN'T SUCH A GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR US AT THAT TIME.
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I'm surprised the reviews here aren't better. I've eaten here three times since moving, twice with large family parties and once with just my husband, and all three times the food was great. The big negative, however, is with kids we really enjoy sitting outside for noise level control since its so noisy inside. And the first time we did that we got adequate service. However, the last time we got very little/poor service but I don't think it was the fault of the server. The management changed and they are no longer assigning a server to the garden area (so we were told anyway). I understand the decision if few people decide to eat out there, so just be warned.
once upon a time i was 17 and it was my birthday. i thought it was, like, socool that we were going to a brewery, even though they ID so hard that there was no way of even sneaking a sip of a brew. Pyramid was my first of many breweries, and it offered me a glimpse into my boozy future of loving brewery beer but not being so into brewery food. it's just nothing to really write home about, ya feel? Gordon Beirch, Thirsty Bear, the old Magnolia, Pyramid... great beer, mediocre grub.
since then, i have been back to Pyramid more times than i can count, mostly by default. the beer really is delicious. lots of crazy times have been had at that place over the years. last time was father's day, cause my daddy-o wanted to watch the golf thingy on TV and had walked out of Spenger's because they weren't havin it.
the Black Apricot 'Beer-tail' is pretty fab- Apricot Ale mixed with their chocolately stout. to nosh on, i had the halibut with garlic mashers. pretty good but my bf's Pyramid Burger was looking carne-riffic. maybe i should re-thing this whole pesci-vegetarian thing.... we also had the coconut shrimp app (eh...) and the curry shrimp app (pretty good).
long story short- give Pyramid a try. you won't have the best meal you've ever eaten but the beer itself is worth the trek out to Gilman St.
get the beer sampler!
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Being a tourist, Making a big effort to get to one of Berkeley's most famous stops - Made me feel completely not belong there.
I have been around the Bay Area for a long time and went to other bars, pubs and breweries and always felt welcomed but when i asked for a beer in Pyramid i was shocked to find out that "California state regulations require a physical description on your ID" that is the answer i received upon asking why don't you take a European standard driving license.
The bartender went to check it with his boss but came back with the same mantra "California state regulations require a physical description on your ID that means you must have height or eye color printed on it" - "Can i show you my passport?" i asked "We Don't take passports- California state regulations require a physical description on your ID" was the answer.
Well, if they don't take anything but Californian driver license they probably want just the same boring crowd that comes there. And don't get me wrong, i realize that California is big and diverse but there is a whole world out there.
I guess that Cal students only want to socialize with fellow Cal students and Europe is not sophisticated enough for them.
I can tell that I'll never return there and if i know about one's plan to go there I'll make sure he knows my story.
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We had our rehearsal dinner here, and I am so glad we picked it! We really wanted the RD at a brewery, with a casual relaxed feel. We were skeptical about Pyramid, just because their dinners are on the high end normally. However, the buffet selection was reasonably priced, and really delicious. I don't think any food was leftover from the party. We had around fifty guests, and were in the Board Room upstairs. There was a birthday party on the landing, and I was glad we were in our own closed off room.
The servers were fast, efficient and understanding. The poor things couldn't keep up with our beer consumption, no matter how many pitchers they brought up at one time.
I would recommend the Brewery for a fun-filled beer induced night.
This is based on what we had.
I ordered the short ribs which was very tasty and tender with the meat falling off the bones just the way I like it. The vegetable was very crunchy like it was just blanched in boiling water. Wished they that a bigger portion for the mashed potato because it was so good with the sauce from the short ribs.
Husband had the fish taco which came with a large plate of salad. He thought the fish taco was pretty good.
Service was very slow. It took about 30 minutes to get our food. Good thing I wasn't starving.
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Good for groups, and in an interesting part of Berkeley, and has good beer, but I wouldn't make the trek here unless it was for a birthday bash or a long lost friend.
I came here last night with my boyfriend for his friend's birthday, and the place seemed pretty cool, with the brewery part open for tours (though not at the hour we were there), and plenty of seating. They also sold cases of their beer right on the way out. The kitchen was also large and extensive and if you sat upstairs, you could peer over the railing and see what they were all up to.
I didn't eat anything (since I just came from a wedding) but the food looked and smelled pretty decent and I've heard that it's good bar food from my boyfriend ( he used to come here a lot). I will have to try that the next time I come..I did order a HefeandAde, which is their sigature Hefe mixed with lemonade. It was very good, and light on the palate with a hint of lemon tang.
The service was pretty slow and unavailable since the night was winding down and we were seated upstairs, where few tables were occupied. Also, I tried to use the bathroom but apparently it was flooded, the water came out of the bathroom door and onto the hallway in front...gross.
Will give this place another shot sometime, it seems like it could be a good drinking place...assuming the bathroom isn't exploding and the service is around.
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Food was pretty good.
I sat on the front patio and enjoyed my time here...
I've been to this brewery several times years ago. I'd say that it's best to come here for a big get together or birthdays. It's a very big place... This was one of my first Brewery experience right before I turned 21... The food was absolutely tasty. The short ribs are to die for as they are very tender.
I give this place 3 stars because I'm not a big beer fan, so I don't care much for breweries, but the food is really good. I'd say they need to hire better waitresses because I'd agree that some of them get pissy when hosting for a big party. If they can't handle big parties like this place accomodates, then go waitress at Chilli's or something... lol
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We definitely hit this brewery up every once in a while when we travel north from San Jose, but I must say this brewery is not what it once was.
The beer is about the same as it always was, and it's about the same as you can get in the bottle. However, the food is a little too fancy-shmancy for me... and the prices are too! We used to hit this place up for the Happy Hour specials when it was CHEAP, even on my $8 an hour wages. Nowadays, it's not even worth making the trek up here to get-- what?-- like 25 cents off my $12 buffalo wings? No thanks. I can get WAY better food for cheaper elsewhere in this town.
The short end of it: Only go here to hang out for a beer.... that's it.
We go here all the time, great place to drink some beer and eat salty food WITH the kids. It's loud, the service is prompt and the food is reliable. They have multiple tv screens for sports lovers, though we are not. But it gives us something to stare at until the beer comes. The beer is the best and they even have a tasters rack that let's you try a variety. Our fav is Hefeweizen, but in the Winter, I prefer Snow Cap. My bf and I used to drink 2 pitchers until we learned about unfiltered beer. No wonder we were so wasted, luckily we live close enough to walk. Now we have a pint each and that's more than enough because the food is actually really good. EVERYONE we know loves the chicken wings. Try them for sure.
Food portions are small -,-...at least I think its small of what we ordered. Service is good, pretty good because we had like party of 7, waiter remembered all our orders and they came in at a good time.
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The beer sampler is not bad, good size portions for the price. They were accommodating for our large group. Family style was the way to go. They serviced us promptly and efficiently for a group of 12. I had some artichoke dip, garlic pizza, tuna melt, hamburger, and anything anyone offered. I don't usually go here except for large groups. It's a good in-between place to eat. Price is okay, service is good, lighting could be a little brighter in the main dining area, overall, a decent place.
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