Set in a historic building in Oakland that used to house a newspaper until, well, you know, Tribune Tavern is a food-focused pub overseen by a chef who spent time at A16 and SPQR. Situated on the ground floor of the Tribune Tower, this wide-open space has seating for 178 (including 28 spots around a horseshoe-shaped bar) in an interior that feels early 1900s thanks to the original marble entryway & bar-top, a communal table made from old wheelbarrows found in the building (?), and tin roof tiles.
A bunch of local artists were commissioned to work on this space to make stuff like this hand-blown (uhhh) stained-glass image (ohhhh) of the Tower
And this stylish chandelier that kinda resembles the mecha-spider from Wild Wild West
The menu (presided over by the aforetalkedabout pedigreed chef) is a gourmet upgrade on the grub you'd normally expect from a pub, including this beer mustard-accompanied potted rabbit, or why Bugs always thought "What's up, Doc?" was so funny
And while the mains are definitely steak-focused, you can still grab deliciousness like these pork trotter and cheek fritters that are basically a stew encased in a delicious, crispy golden crust
To wash everything down, they've got a pretty extensive bar program with 10 different wines and eight local crafts on tap, two of which are cask ales delivered on a custom-made bicycle from Linden Street Brewery. Oh, and yes, there's a full cocktail list (with crazy stuff like sous-vide ingredients) presided over by a vet of Plum Bar and what former newspaper writers now call the internets (Haven).