Ivy Room

Really fun ' dive bar ' . We went to listen to music and WOW did we get a treat! A singer songwriter named Maddie Carpenter sang 6-7 songs and blew us away. Check her out!!!! The place was really fun, the people working there were kind and charismatic and the stage and sound were great. The vibe was definitely pro women and pro peace, which was really refreshing for a bar experience! We had a lot of fun.

Intimate venue with great vibes, plenty of street parking, and don't forget to tip your bartender.

It was my first time to this iconic venue. I saw one of my all-time favorite bands play, Steel Pole Bathtub with the Antler Family opening. This is a quaint little venue and people come from all over the Bay Area. It's also run by all women. It's also not far from the BART station.

Small venue with a big bar & tiny stage that gets you up close & personal with the band. The owner seems like a nice guy & the overall atmosphere was pleasant. I'll definitely be back if they keep bringing in such great music!

Love this venue!! Great music, live bands!! Cupcake is a sweetheart!! Coda is a top shelf craft bar maiden, Paul is a refined sound engineer, Lany is the best, the whole crüe it legend!!

Pretty fun place to see a show. This was the 2nd time I went and this time it was not oversold-making dancing a much more enjoyable experience than when it was accommodating music fans and bar patrons both. Friendly folks working, too!

Had a good time watching a friend's band. 4 bands in case you didn't like the last band. Not much seating, standing audience for the most part.

Great bar and venue with interesting but small selection of draft beers and a vast selection of liquors and mixers. Great vibes and v friendly staff.

Cool spot but the bartender was rude. She tried to charge me $5 for a club soda, I had ordered $50 worth of drinks. I sent my hot wife up there and suddenly it was free. Funny thing is the bartender was a woman. Don't be sexist. It's not a good look

Love love love this place, which has great vibes, fantastic and creative musicians, better than average drinks and a great crowd. Sound is great. If you're an aging rock and punk fan like me, you'll be happy to know that there are a few chairs and booths for you to sit in if you're too tired to join the pit, but if you're in the mood to dance and approach the stage there's plenty of space and time for that too. Get there early in the evening if you want a seat. I love that it's woman owned and operated and women are well-represented among the bands that play here too. Great ambiance and bartenders.

Came to Ivy Room for a concert. Sound wasn't great. Seating was minimal and not great. Drinks were expensive and not great. All that said, not paying much to see one of my favorite artists in an intimate setting WAS great. Overall, wouldn't come back except to see a special performer.

Love this place! I have seen so many shows here, across a wide range of genres. The bartenders and staff are always friendly. This place is a treasure! If Albany is an oasis, the Ivy Room is its Casbah!

Great venue with a great sound system, live music, and awesome decor with old show posters! Definitely a spot to check out local shows with a wide variety of genres! Bartenders and staff are always friendly! The cover fee is so cheap for the live music you can check out! Always a blast here and the Poison Ivy is a fun cucumber drink that tastes amazing!

I feel like this is definitely one one those if you're from the area you've been to or you know of this awesome little venue. They always have great musicians coming through and their sound is really good. You gotta check out the old show posters on the wall, there are some that I wish I could have seen! Bar staff are friendly and welcoming. They consistently bring their A-game

I have been coming to the Ivy Room for a few years now. It is truly one of the best music venues in the bay area. The owners are wonderful people and the space is perfect - small venue so you can enjoy the bands up close and personal. They have a really nice bar. The bartenders are always great. Last night I let the bartender choose my whiskey and she picked a winner. Drink was delicious and not overly priced. Parking is usually relatively easy especially compared to San Francisco. Crowd is eclectic and always a bit different depending on the band, but always friendly and warm. I think a lot of neighborhood people go there. I'm so happy that they have managed to survive Covid. I know it was touch and go there for a little bit and I encourage people to go there and see live music. It's so worth it.!

This is the second time I've paid to see bands and had to leave because the music was way WAY too loud and I had earplugs in. I really want to like it: it's close to home, has a great vibe, lots of great bands and good drinks but damn, the noise level is out of control. After we left we were sitting in our car at the red light right outside and could still feel the bass. This was on a Wednesday night around nine. I know I sound like a crotchety old fart, but my partner is a musician and we go see live music all the time at places where we don't have to leave early.

Since one of my bf's best friends was visiting us from out of town, we took the chance to check out the Ivy Room to kick off our night out together. I've heard great things about this bar for several months now, and actually checking it out exceeded all of my expectations. Ivy Room is THE community dive bar in Albany, hosting a rotation of local artists almost daily-- on nights with performances, the bouncer collects a small cover fee. We happened upon Credit Electric during this time, a bay area dream pop/indie band. All adult ages welcome. The bar area's compact, crammed full of folks ordering drinks, pushing back and forth from the second room. REALLY need to elbow your way in to get any bartenders' attention-- but once you're there, the staff are incredibly kind and quick to get you what you need. We picked up a few beers and hurried over to the stage to avoid getting trampled. Fortunately, the stage area was relatively spacious-- ample back area for folks to stand, with a strip of seating against the wall. As the band was setting up, the three of us took the chance to check out their photo booth in the back to commemorate our first visit here :-) During the performance, sound quality was surprisingly good. We could hear the vocals and instruments with minimal distortion and interference from the crowd, all throughout the room. Even the crowds were friendly, seemed to mind their own business (no creeps). We didn't expect to, but we stayed until the end of the set before heading off to the next bar.

This spot in Albany boasts of nightly music with local bands. They have tickets that you can buy ahead of time or at the door. For a measly $10 you can see 3-4 good local bands and support local thriving artists. What I like most about this place was this feeling of community with bands, all of them supported each other and some even shared the same artists. It was truly something I hadn't seen before with bands pumping each other up. Each band was diversely different but the music was always entertaining. Th service is also great with the bouncer being welcoming and the bar service being quick. There isn't a crazy rush to the bar or stage like most places with everyone resourcing personal space. Parking is street and easily available. This institution is great for an evening of music.

What a lovely place to see a band. Great sightlines, good sound, reasonably priced drinks, plentiful street parking. We'll be back!!

I was thinking what would be worthy of my 4,600th Yelp review milestone, and by sheer coincidence, I've come back here after an absence of 4,600 years. OK, it hasn't been that long, but I was knee-high to a man and gave me a piece of mamma daddy never had...when I was last here. Oh Philadelphia Freedom, shine on me. Anyway I distinctly remember more of a tiki vibe back then and a pina colada in my hand. I think it even had a tiny, folding pink paper parasol in it. Now all these years later, Jamie W. and I are back for St. Paddy's Day to see how the Ivy Room was holding up. Very well if you ask me. It definitely feels more like a comfortable neighborhood bar than I remember from my youth, but of course I've become more comfortable and neighborhoody in my advanced years so maybe Ivy and I have been aging at the same rate. This time we avoided anything fruity or tropical and went straight for a couple of $5 Drake's Hefeweizens in plastic cups, of course (photo: http://bit.ly/2Z9HadJ). We watched, listened and danced a wee bit of a jig to a ten-piece Pogues-inspired bar band aptly named The Bogues (video: http://bit.ly/2ZajBBe). 'Twas a grand time we had even if there was no place to sit. In fact, we liked our experience so much we came back a couple of weeks later to see Fleetwood Macrame, a tribute band to, you guessed it, Fleetwood Mac with the lead singer and guitarist evoking Stevie Nicks quite accurately with her shawl-draped moves (video: http://bit.ly/2Z9HfOz). Oh yes, Ivy Room, I'm back. DRINKS - 3 stars...the pina coladas are fades memories but the Hefeweizens hit the spot MUSIC - 4.5 stars...what we came in for AMBIANCE - 4 stars...laid back and chilll SERVICE - 4 stars...the bartender moved fast TOTAL - 4 stars...definitely a homecoming for me RELATED - Looking for dining options on Solano Avenue? Here's a collection of places I've tried and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2HvcTQH

Always good live music, used to live nearby but it wasn't my go to bar, no pool tables but a good music venue

I've lived my Albany all my life and never went in here. It's a fun little venue. Good vibes. And on top of that, they had my favorite rum. Couldn't ask for more.

Came to see a fun cover band. We had recently been to Nashville which based their Covid policies on science , not mass hysteria. It was great to have fun in a free state . Thousands having fun with no incident. We want to support the small businesses , but this place makes it hard. Jerk at the door doesn't say Welcome , thanks for supporting us. He says if I see you without a mask I'll throw you out. The CDC says the masks are 18% effective but I wear one to be polite because people have freaked themselves out. We get inside and it's freezing from the ice cold air pumped in . The band is yelling mask propaganda: thanks for wearing your mask ! Sing along with your mask on! It was so cold , we didn't want to drink anything . Figured it was worth losing the $60 cover just to leave. We've been to a bunch of shows and concerts , to support local venues and arts which are struggling. This is the first that just completely sucked.

COMPLETELY lost me on the literal dumbest "covid protocol" ever. Put a mask on to order a drink... from the other side of the bar? Hello??, You follow when they say put it on but not when they say its cool to take it off? You ask for vax card but thats no good ONLY when you're ordering?? Mind bending idiocracy and hysteria. Making my brain hurt just reliving this junk. Science is NOT Virtue signaling. But clearly not science or data based at Ivy Room. What a joke. A bad one too. SMH... Also, while I'm here just a nice little word of caution... You might want to look on the side of the mask box you're handing out for people who will acquiesce... Those crap masks don't protect against viruses... and I'm not into power trips so... yeah. NO. Way to make your customers feel like you're being weird and for making everyone (whether they will admit it or not) uncomfortable. As someone who goes out a LOT, this gets the dumb award of covid for complete nonsense and paranoia. WEEKS after mandates have been dropped like a bad habit. Goodbye forever. I'm sure the feeling is mutual so no worries. I spent a lot of $ last night 10 doors down from there and had a great time. Door guys are cool and always have been. I'll miss this place (honestly). But there are just too many things to uncouple with this BS.

I haven't been here in years since a Yelp Holiday Elite Event a few years ago back in December 2014. Now I see that they have a small stage in front and a friend and I came here to see our friend and his band and there were 3 other groups playing, Maracutu Pacifico, Ritmos Tropicosmos and our friend's band, Namorados Da Lua! I loved all three as they started with Maracutu Pacifico with their drumming, Ritmos Tropicosmos with cumbia music and Namorados Da Lua with the Brazilian jazz and reggae rhythms! We had a great time! I had a beer which was good and reasonable though I cannot remember the name now! They have a listing of 7-9 beers to choose from.

Check out the webite for show dates but there is music here most days. When you walk in, there's the bar. Then you round the corner to see the stage. The reason I mention this is that you can have a conversation with someone at the bar without the music pounding you so you can't hear who you are talking with

One and done. I'm never coming back to this place. The venue is falling apart. The bands were complaining about the monitors crapping out. There's no hot water in the bathroom, either. Bouncers do periodic mask patrol duties for those actively drinking, which is fully within the letter of the law, especially since we're all vaxxed. The merch guy is cool though. That dude can go maskless all night. Now before you label me a dirty Republican, consider this. It works against the bar. It means I drink way slower, which means less money for the bar and less tips for the bartender. It also means that the bartender screws up orders because he thinks I said Racer when I said Trumer.

I never get to see my name in lights. Coming to a rock show at the Ivy Room is the closest I'm going to get I guess. We came in one night to see a few rock bands play a live show. The room is small. You get real up close and personal with the performers. And its loud as hell. Bring your ear plugs. The bar is fast even with a packed house. There was an awesome hot dog truck serving it up outside too. They seem to have a lot of live music preformed here. All of which are all different genres. We had a great time. I bought a cute tank top too. Way to represent the Bay Area local music scene and having a unique name.

I have mixed feelings about this place. I've been a regular here for well over 15 years & seen it go through several owners & layouts. On one hand the most recent owners have certainly stepped it up. They've successfully turned this from a lil neighborhood dive bar & live music joint to a place where members of Greenday do surprise concerts & established bands bring a hundred or more people to stand & watch em play. But that's partially not always a great thing. They ripped out all the seating, got rid of the pool table, raised the price of drinks, limited their operating hours, & no longer host some of my favorite smaller local acts that they used to. So part of me is really happy I get to see major acts here in my neighborhood but part of me is bummed that if I wanna meet some friends for drinks & chill during happy hour on the low key I gotta go across town.

Cancelled show an hour before doors open. Thanks, glad we got that baby sitter. Not going to be back. Only found out because I randomly checked website.

Dive bar with good bands. I hear Green Day often plays here. Saw steely dead here. The sight lines are awful so there are 2 TV's. If you get in early you can see the band live but a seat at bar or in the back is not enjoyable. The single bartender with his butt off

This is up there on the list of dive bars. Sound system is good enough for live music and the bartenders are super friendly. Easy to park, safe neighborhood ....great crowd. This is too cool for city people. East Bay to the bone.

Great experience for my first visit attending Black Sabbitch concert. The staff went above and beyond to accommodate my Handicap needs with a reserved table. Would recommend if you want a cool place to hang out for live music that this place is a must for locals and tourists.

I've driven past Ivy Room's red glowing neon sign often, and I've jokingly told my girlfriend that it is an exclusive bar that only admits Ivy League students in (hence the name). She fell for it, but I broke the illusion when one of my friends invited me to listen to his friend's band play at the Ivy Room. Got there at night, parked streetside, and went in. Had a bit of snafu at the door because I misheard how much the cover to get in was. Paid in cash and was on my merry way. The Ivy Room is bigger than I thought it was from the outside, but it's still a small and cozy space. Bar occupies the right side, and the stage is on the left side. A wall with openings divides the two spaces. Ambiance was good at night. I liked the way the stage was illuminated. it's cozy here at the Ivy Room, but if there are a lot of people listening to the same band it can be hard watching from the back. Had a lavender-lime (I think) mocktail here. Tasted great but it tasted more lime than lavender and was pricey for the amount given. Worth a visit!

Recently got to check out Ivy Room for the first time - how did I not know about / visit this place before? Well, I guess that's because it's in Albany... Nonetheless, it's a rad, old school Bay Area bar and actually pretty conveniently located (both by bus and the El Cerritos Plaza BART station). Got to check a show out here recently and it was a super fun environment. Stage was very intimate, but the room fit a surprisingly good amount of people. And, the bartenders were doing their due diligence to keep everyone from going thirsty. Speaking of which, beer selection is nothing special, but they were at least very local-centric and the varieties they had were drinkable. Certainly more of a neighborhood bar, but don't be afraid to make the trek. You'll be glad you did.

Love the Ivy Room so much been going there for years but they need to take a major chill pill on the Covid Protocols! Every other place in the bay area & beyond you have your mask on at the door , when ordering from the bar & waiting online for the bathroom etc ... but then you can take off your mask while you sit with your friends, drink your beer & dance. But at IvyRoom they want you to drink with one hand & put your mask on off in between sips with the other. It doesn't matter if you're in your own area with your friend. They literally scream at you & threaten to throw you out over this. I don't know what it is that made them decide they want to be stricter than every other place & really hope they cool it before people stop showing up there.

Used to be great. Not so much now. Hard to be a business I suppose. But wtf I was supporting local bands and my beer disappeared. Nothing they can do they said. Bye.

Got to LOVE the Ivy Room :) !! This is a bar we go for a drink every now and then, and once we were thinking of holding a friends party, the Ivy Room felt like the perfect place :) ! So, we had the party last week and it was amazing !!! The place is really cool, and could easily accommodate all our guests (about a 100 of us), the bar and bar tenders were amazing!! The sound system was perfect and the two DJ's we had got us all fired-up !! Thank you Ivy Room team !! Get ready for our party next year ;) ...

Wonderful place with the kindest owners - so grateful to have a friendly live music venue like this in our area!

Woman owned / queer positive space. Excellent staff and an all around welcoming and inclusive venue.

This place is really awesome. The music is different every weekend but if you like to party and enjoy the moment you will find each track as a different experience.

Have been to the Ivy Room many times over the years but this may have been my first time going there when they had a band. Great band and plenty of room to dance! Tammy's Camaro was the band.

I love the talent, layout and vibe of this room. But the bartender, who looks like a bad Elvis Costello with worse hair, was so utterly rude to me that I may never return. It's sad, as many of my friends play there frequently, so they will be out $. Your bartenders are not holier than thou. Please talk to them about customer kindness.

I attended a show on 4/20/19-- being on the inside of the music line-up and knowing the promotor who put it together, I suspected I would be witnessing a total train-wreck-- But the staff at the Ivy Room (the bar tender and music techs) were freaking amazing and saved the evening for their customers. This was a four band line-up and these bands were top notch local acts like The Incubators and San Geronimo. The bands brought it and then some. The music was dialed in perfectly for by the sound engineers on staff. The beverages were great and the prices were very reasonable. I hope to see more North Bay bands play the Ivy Room.

My boyfriend and I stopped into the Ivy Room a couple of weeks back, when Erik was bartending. It was our first visit, and Erik told us all about their music scene, open mic, and even comedy nights. He was really friendly and informative and we totally are excited to go back and check out some live bands here.

Laid back crowd, good bartenders, diverse. No problems, live music that does not suck.

Saw a few bands here over the years. Recently saw H.R. from Bad Brains. Was such a great show. I love how they get such cool acts to come through. I stopped drinking, but I remember they have great, fresh beer and rotating taps. The water I had this time around was good. The doorman was cool too...guy with a septum piercing. He looks familiar.

Great local night club! Good music and owners seem really nice. Albany's best place to dance!

I haven't been here since the ownership change a couple years ago. Ronaldo was charismatic, funny, and took extra care to make sure everyone was happy with their beverages. However, this place has gone downhill since. Any changes in decor are minimal, though I do like the improvements to the venue area. The bartender had a surly attitude like we were doing him a disservice by entering the bar. Which, normally I would understand as we all have bad days and I'm industry myself so am usually very forgiving. Sadly we were treated so horrible that I just can't rationalize it. The mixed drinks were dull at best and the beer lines taste like they haven't been cleaned in ages. Definitely skip this bar and go to any other bar in the area.

Don't come for anything close to a passable drink. Just got served a flat G&T with a lime that looks like it got stolen from a drink that died 2 days ago. All browned up on the edges. Disgusting. The Tuesday night jam isn't as good than I remembered it... --moving on! Update: The bartender came back after serving me a seriously watered down Jameson's on the rocks as a replacement for the G&T and said she'd serve my girlfriend but not me; somehow me pointing out how bad the drink was my fault. Wow. Then she said I had to leave. Ridiculous thin-skinned millennial. Pouty-faced incompetence with zero responsibility.

This place is ok. But they have NO green room... and no merch space. Meh. MEH I SAID MEH!!! What do you mean "this review is "too short "? I said what I said.

My friend really likes this place and always insists we go when I come over to visit her. They do get some really good shows sometimes so credit to them for that. There's some pretty awkward open mic/comedy nights too, lol! The minus-points come on the bar situation. The garnishes are usually stale, drinks watered down, draft beer is stale and/or infected. After MANY disappointments on the drink side of things I'll usually get something bottled or canned that I already know how it tastes. Bartenders are always really snappy too, even when they don't seem slammed. I'm pretty patient when it comes to that stuff too, but I really just don't like the way I see them treat other customers. It's a shame that they can't step up the bar game, and it's just like a bar at a venue like the Fox or something. Yikes.

Chill, cozy, clean, and beautiful space. Friendly owner who seems to have even more plans in the works for this spot. And, cool, friendly barmaid... Hope she starts working there more. Love the cozy window seats and booths. There's one pool table, two flatscreens, nice CD jukebox, and a stage for live bands. With all of that going on, this place maintains such a warm, relaxing atmosphere. Can't wait to see some live music here, soon!

Very nice place with excellent music, atmosphere, pleasant people and good artists. I just visited the Western Skyline night and I really enjoyed it.

Cozy venue to hear local bands. There's usually a cheap cover at the door. This place is an easy night out.

Possibly my favorite small venue in the bay area. Great vibe, good music, fun bar area, comfortable bar stools and chairs (something that has become more and more important over the years), and easy street parking. Also, no creepy dudes. I can't think of a way this place could be any better.

New fabulous owners Summer and Loni! Bringing Music back to Albany Great atmosphere! Great stage! And seating area! Pool table!