Drake's Dealership occupies a converted Dodge dealership building on Oakland’s historic Broadway Auto Row, and the bones of that old auto shop are still visible in the soaring ceilings and industrial bones of the place. The owners salvaged wood and steel from the original structure to build out what’s now a full-service restaurant with 32 beers on tap, most of them brewed right here in the East Bay.

The draw here is really the open-air beer garden out back. It’s a genuinely spacious setup with fire pits scattered throughout, Adirondack chairs, and room enough that you won’t feel like you’re sitting on top of other people’s dogs. This is where you’ll spend time with your own dog, and they’re welcome year-round. The wood-fired pizza oven turns out solid pies while you work through the rotating tap list, and the kitchen sources most ingredients locally and seasonally, so the food menu changes based on what’s available.

Inside the main restaurant, it’s a different vibe — exposed brick, that industrial architecture I mentioned, and the kind of place that gets busy on weekend evenings. The bar itself runs deep, and if you want to grab fresh beer to-go, they’ve got you covered. They also host Trivia Night on the first and third Tuesdays from 6 to 8 pm, which draws a decent crowd if you’re into that sort of thing.

The location on Broadway puts you near the rest of Oakland’s increasingly walkable corridor, so if you time it right, you could hit this spot and then explore some of the neighborhood’s galleries and shops. Parking isn’t complicated, but it fills up on busy evenings. The beer garden handles overflow reasonably well, especially if you don’t mind the slightly chaotic energy of a popular spot on a Friday night.