Upscale British Pub, The Growlers' Arms Starts Pouring Tonight In Oakland

Seamus and Shelley Mulhall's upscale "British Country Pub" the Growlers' Arms will open tonight in the former Marzano space in Oakland, Inside Scoop reports.

As we noted way back in May, the Growlers' Arms will focus on a homey, vintage British theme. In the kitchen, former A16 sous Brian Ventura has made the leap to executive chef and has apparently been drawing inspiration from a recent trip to check out the high-end taverns of the British Isles. Expect everything from Yorkshire pudding to housemade sausages and haggis — all sourced from locally available California ingredients, of course. On the veggie side, Ventura plans to make use of Marzano's old wood-fired pizza oven.

There's also a full bar with a craft-heavy beer list and the Mulhalls recently told Inside Scoop they're looking to offer a higher level of service than the neighborhood has had in the past, but in the spirit of ye olde British pub, they hope to make the place homey and accessible to everyone with a 20-seat patio and a plenty of tables available for walk-ins. Menu prices range from $5 for bar snacks to around $30 for entrees. (Tablehopper posted a sample menu right this way.)

The Growlers' Arms will be dinner-only to start, with brunch service rolling out sometime in the next month or so. Their website, which features two adorable cartoon dogs and some pastoral scenes of the British countryside, is right here.