Image courtesy of Jennifer Palacio.
The Silver Peso is a Larkspur landmark in more ways than one. The bar is located in one of Larkspur’s oldest buildings. It has housed a blacksmith, a market and a tavern. The Silver Peso was born after World War II when an ex-GI purchased the Peso with silver pesos he recovered during a dive into Manila Bay. He had heard that the Philippine government dumped its national bank reserves into Manila Bay to prevent them from falling to the Japanese.
Today, “the Peso” is well known for being the local dive bar. Think Cheers, but seedier. I recently read the reviews of the Silver Peso on Yelp and got a good laugh. Here are excerpts from a few:
- “Great mix of the ages and the best mullet in town.”
- “It has drinks and pool tables and really, really bad decor. What makes this a cool place to hang is the shuffle board game. Great way to pass the evening with some friends.”
- “Best little gem in Marin”
If you look at the majority of bars in Marin, this doesn’t fit the mold, which is probably why I like it. Casual, fun. A place where everybody knows your name. (Ok, maybe not that part- thankfully, or you might be hanging out here too often)