La Botella Republic, a wine shop, tasting studio and event space featuring Northern California-sourced wines, beers, and meads paired with seasonal American tapas and weekly pop-up dinners in the Arts District of Downtown Berkeley. Husband and wife team Christopher Clarke and Lauren Brody-Clarke have drawn from their respective experiences in New York at The Food Network and The Bottle Shop to dev
elop a unique program of local wine, beer and mead flights from the North and Central Coast, Inland Valleys and Sierra Foothills. The tapas and charcuterie menu offers considerable variety to adventurous eaters. Weekly pop-up dinners such as Taco Tuesdays with cochinita pibil, lime-marinated sole ceviche and strawberry-nectarine sangria add variety and encourage a social, inclusive dining atmosphere. A dynamic retail section of hand-crafted blackened steal and reclaimed lumber shelves extends up to the 20 ft ceilings to display a library of wines organized by flavor profile for customers to carry home. Antique Mexican ceiling tiles encase the 20 ft L-shaped bar which is topped with blackened zinc. An additional 16 foot standing-bar-styled common table, a wine-themed sugar skull mural by Bay Area artist Jessica Hess and window seating perfect for people watching accent the space. Regular tasting classes, farmer’s market food pairing programs and other special events with guest chefs, sommeliers, and winemakers will showcase the art and science of wine and food pairing.
