Heads and Tails Barbecue
Sports bar · West Berkeley ·
BBQ, cocktails, beer, trivia nights, and sports viewing
BBQ, cocktails, beer, trivia nights, and sports viewing
"Currently open for takeout (but with a big dining room coming soon), Heads and Tails Barbecue is a Texas-style barbecue bar in Berkeley with frozen Irish coffee, fernet and banana liqueur shooters, and sheet cake. Their barbecue menu is expansive, with brisket, pork ribs, hot links, pulled pork, and chicken available by weight and in sandwich form. They’ve also got vegetarian sides like mac and cheese, street corn, beans, and roasted baby carrots. " - ricky rodriguez
"Housed in the former Gaumenkitzel space and currently takeout-only, this spot is serving a 'Tex-Mex meets California meets neighborhood bar' lineup — think brisket, ribs, wings, and more — available by calling in an order." - Justine Jones
"Positioned as an approachable Berkeley barbecue spot, this restaurant promises brisket, ribs, wings, and more in a style described as ‘Tex-Mex meets California meets neighborhood bar,’ with smoked meats sent tableside after time in a Southern Pride rotisserie smoker and starters such as smokehouse poutine and stuffed bacon-wrapped peppers to round out a meal or drinks." - Dianne de Guzman
"Eater SF reports that Heads and Tails Barbecue will open in early June in the former Gaumenkitzel space, part of what the article frames as a possible East Bay barbecue boom." - Dianne de Guzman
"Opening in June 2024 at 2121 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, this new spot aims to be a casual neighborhood bar that also serves approachable barbecue and Tex‑Mex–tinged plates; the operating partner Drew Majoulet describes it as “Tex‑Mex meets California meets neighborhood bar” and says, “We just want people to go there and be happy to be there.” I learned it will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight seven days a week, with customers ordering at the bar or via QR codes at the table to create a low‑key service style without traditional servers and bussers. Food will come from a Southern Pride rotisserie smoker (wood-fired with gas temperature control) producing smoked meats such as brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, chicken, and wings, plus sharable starters like white cheddar queso, smokehouse poutine, and stuffed bacon‑wrapped peppers; the team plans to use mostly oak and may mix in cherry and pecan when sustainably available. On the drinks side, the bar will offer six seasonal cocktails made with three or four ingredients each, frozen margaritas and frozen Irish coffee year‑round, four highballs, party shots, and packaged neighborhood beers (think Lone Star, Shiner Bock, PBR, Montucky Cold Snacks), plus a nod to the previous tenant with a good selection of German kolsch, rotating sours from Almanac, and perhaps a pilsner from East Brother Beer Co. The space required moving the smoker into the kitchen and installing a bar, but it already includes a full bakery area where the team plans to make all bread in‑house, and they eventually hope to get a license to distill their own spirits (gin, vermouth, bitters); there will be TVs showing sports but the emphasis is on being a low‑key hangout rather than a barbecue‑ or cocktail‑nerd destination." - Lauren Saria