The corner suite at 2 Orinda Theatre Square used to sell morning coffee. It now pours a tequila-and-sherry spritz until 10 p.m. most nights, and until midnight at the bar on Fridays and Saturdays. Bar Sorso took over the former Starbucks space and quietly welcomed its first guests on September 23, according to Bay Area Telegraph. The Orinda Theatre is right next door. Its biggest live nights this season fall on Sundays at 5 p.m., the same evening Sorso stays open until 9.
For this November and December, that one corner is where an evening out in downtown Orinda happens. The other big project, CreekHaus, is across Highway 24 and still has no opening date. That makes the season's evenings simple to plan, and the plan centers on Theatre Square.
What Moved Into the Old Starbucks
Bar Sorso is the project of longtime Orinda resident Daniele Carsano. When Bay Area Telegraph spoke with him earlier in the year, he said his goal was to "give residents an excuse to stay in Orinda." He also told the outlet that some people doubted Orinda could support the kind of lively bar he had in mind.
"I'm going to do something in Orinda and prove people wrong."
The name means "sip" in Italian, and the menu follows the aperitivo idea of drinks with something to eat. Here's what the opening announcement listed, as reported by Bay Area Telegraph:
- Small plates: local oysters, seafood crudo, a vegetarian bruschetta that changes daily, and warm focaccia with mortadella
- Larger plates: wagyu tartare, lamb chop Milanese, and prawns with cannellini beans, celery, bottarga and olives
- The specialty: pizza al padellino, a pan pizza from Torino with a light, airy crust
- Cocktails: the Sorso Spritz with tequila, orange aperitif, amontillado sherry and amaretto; the Firenze Highball with Tuscan gin, plum vermouth and chamomile; and the Spicy Nonna with tequila, cilantro and serrano salt foam
- Also pouring: Italian and international wines, amaro and Italian beers
The drinks program has a local connection. Beverage Director Lucas Tischler was previously general manager of Montesacro Walnut Creek, according to the restaurant's representatives. In August, Carsano told The Orinda News he planned to lean into seafood, especially oysters and a seafood tower. He described a full bar with about 10 seats, plus table and lounge seating for roughly 25 more. With that few seats, a group of four on a concert night may be waiting a while.
As of late October, Bar Sorso's website lists these hours:
- Wednesday through Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m., with the bar open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
- Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m.
- Closed Monday and Tuesday
- Walk-ins only, with no reservations "at the moment"
Hours often shift in a restaurant's first months, so check the site or @barsorso on Instagram before you head over.
Two Sundays That Fit Sorso's Hours
The Orinda Theatre's Live At the Orinda concert series starts its shows at 5 p.m., and both of its remaining 2026 dates fall on Sundays. Sorso opens at 4 p.m. that day and closes at 9. You can have an early drink before the show, or a few plates after it, without leaving the square.
- Sunday, November 8: Beth Leavel. The Tony winner for The Drowsy Chaperone is playing her first Bay Area concert in seven years, with two-time Grammy-nominated music director Phil Reno. In late October the theater's page showed only three tickets left.
- Sunday, December 6: Bryan Eng. It's the Northern California debut for the New York jazz pianist and singer, who is a resident performer at the Carlyle Hotel and was in the Broadway cast of Plaza Suite. The 5 p.m. show sold out, so the theater added a 7:30 p.m. performance.
The two Eng shows call for different plans. If you have 5 p.m. tickets, the evening works like the Leavel night, with Sorso before or after. The 7:30 p.m. audience will be getting out close to Sorso's 9 p.m. Sunday close. For that show, plan on Sorso beforehand. Arriving at 4 p.m. leaves time for oysters and a spritz before you walk to the theater.
A Thursday on the Village Side
The next event on the calendar is across Highway 24. Hospice East Bay's Tree of Lights ceremony for Orinda and Moraga is Thursday, November 12, at 5 p.m. at Village Square by McCaulou's, 31 Orinda Way. Moraga combines its ceremony with Orinda's that evening. Moraga's tree is at Moraga Country Club, but the ceremony itself takes place in Orinda. The ceremonies honor friends and loved ones, and Hospice East Bay says the donations support end-of-life patient care. Its 2026 season runs November 2 through December 4.
If you can't make Thursday, Lafayette holds its ceremony two days earlier, on Tuesday, November 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the Round Up Saloon parking lot at 3553 Mount Diablo Blvd.
The Orinda ceremony falls on one of Sorso's open nights, an hour after the bar opens. For now, it's the only spot on the Theatre Square side open that evening.
CreekHaus Is Still Under Construction
The project meant to give the Village side its own evening hub is CreekHaus, in the former Bank of America building by San Pablo Creek. The Orinda News reported in August that the building had been stripped to the studs. It will become a multi-level mixed-use headquarters for the Orinda-based Paymun group of companies, with restaurant, café and bar concepts overlooking the creek. Paymun originally targeted a mid-summer opening. When that date passed, the paper reported growing speculation that the project might not open until closer to the holidays.
Paymun spokesperson Alex Arnoff told The Orinda News that the team was "working closely with the city [of Orinda] and our project partners through the final construction and permitting milestones, and we'll share an opening date as soon as we're able to confirm it." As of late October, The Orinda News hadn't published a newer Storefront column, and the CreekHaus site still listed no opening date.
CreekHaus is planned to open in phases:
- Phase one: Equator Coffees, the CreekHaus Beer Garden, Paymun's offices and Launchpad Learning, an after-school math program founded by two Orinda moms that will take an upstairs space
- Later: a bistro and a craft cocktail lounge
PizzaHacker is still the project's pizza maker. Operators for the beer garden, bistro and cocktail lounge haven't been named. CreekHaus's Equator page already lists the menu: specialty coffee, signature drinks, seasonal offerings, a frittata sandwich, Boichik bagels and local pastries. The first phase is coffee and a beer garden. Even after it opens, the cocktail-lounge part of the plan will still be ahead. That means Sorso is likely to stay downtown's only late-evening bar for a while longer.
Paymun founder and CEO Ben Zarrin, an Orinda resident known for building high-end homes in Wilder, is taking on his first commercial retail project. According to The Orinda News, he envisions a family-friendly community hub that will hum from morning to night.
What Else Is on the Way
The rest of downtown's pipeline is further out. Morucci's Deli, known for its Italian subs in Walnut Creek's Saranap neighborhood, has signed a lease for an Orinda location near the theater. The Mercury News reported in August that the opening could be as late as 2028. Owners Terrence Heaps, Anthony Johnson and Parham Mirshahpanah are opening a Pleasant Hill location at 236 Golf Club Road first. The Orinda News mentioned 70 Moraga Way, which Atithi vacated, as one possible site, but described it as speculation. The Mercury News didn't name an address.
One change the same column ruled out: CVS looked at the vacant former Rite Aid building next to CreekHaus and then decided to stay at its current location across from the theater.
So for the holidays, downtown's evening calendar is short. Beth Leavel and Sorso on November 8, the Tree of Lights on November 12, and Bryan Eng on December 6, with Sorso open on all three nights.
A new bar next to the theater gives downtown Orinda a reason to stay out after a show, and the area around Theatre Square feels different because of it. At Tiscareno Homes, we follow these changes closely, because they shape how a home near downtown feels and how buyers see it. When you're ready to talk through what your own home could be worth, request a complimentary staging and market consultation.
