Yankee Pier

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our night out at Yankee Pier.
The service was wonderful… good sense of humor, very attentive, very much on top of it all!
Our cocktails were perfect… we love martinis and these were very good!
We spli a Caesar salad as an appetizer and couldn’t have been happier. There were a lot of menu items to choose from that were all very appealing. We had the curry prawns and the blackened rockfish tacos. Each of us gave the other half of our entrée so we could sample two entrees. They were both cooked perfectly, seasoned well, not too spicy.
This was probably our 10^th visit and like all of the other times we had been here, everything was top notch and well cared for! I would highly recommend Yankee Pier for any occasion.

I’m coming back. Our fish, salmon and cod, were both done perfectly. I was treated by my best girl friend after she took me next door for a spa day. This was the best fish meal I’ve had besides Miss Pearls Jam in Oakland. Sadly, Miss Pearl is gone, but happily, I’ve found the replacement!
Great service. Quick seating but I would suggest making reservations if you’re going on the weekend. I can’t imagine they would slow by any means.

Just had the BEST lunch at Yankee Pier ! The grilled chicken with sautéed mushrooms and spinach with garlic was so amazing. I work right next door at I Do Dry Style Lounge and always come here for a quick soup but decided to switch it up today and it was so satisfying. Will for sure order that again !

Love, Love, Love this place. My husband and I enjoy a wonderful meal and the service was stellar. Homemade chips were #1 on my list. So addicting. I’m in the process of planning a client meeting their I’m February. Can’t wait. Have my bag of chips (cigarettes) ready.

12÷26÷15. Dinner
Until this dinner, I’ve only known Yankee Piers from San Francisco airport. This Lafayette location is warm, inviting, and homey. It’s a seafood restaurant that offers oysters, crabs, and a variety of fish.
*Lobster Roll ($ 25) is plenty of lobster meat lying on a brioche pocket. Lobster meat, although fresh, is not very flavorful. The housemate kettle chip is very good, thin and not greasy.
*Blackened Swordfish ($ 20) tastes better better it looks. It’s dark on the surface, a bit overly blackened but the inside is perfectly cooked. It’s very tender and moist. I don’t care for the braised Swiss chard but love the squash. Interesting dish.
Both the Moscow Mule ($ 10) and the Byron Pinot Noir ($ 11) are average, but the higher prices only reflect the neighborhood they are in.
It’s a decent place for seafood. Friendly service. Convenient location in Lafayette right off the 24.

Yankee Pier turned away the Girl Scouts who wanted to sing Christmas Carols. What a bunch of Scrooges. Last time my family patronizes these bah-​humbuggers!

Great service and amazing food especially the fried shrimp poboy! Friendly environment. I highly recommend checking this local place out!

Next time I want to spend $ 134 for a meal that includes 2 kids meals and fish tacos I’ll go to Baja Fresh 6 times. From the paprika laden Bloody Mary, to the small! portion of overcooked salmon, to the weird mix in the fish tacos, this just didn’t do it for me. I feel like what we got did not justify anywhere close to the price. The best thing on the table was the kids fish tacos. Beet salad over priced. The elderly folks all seemed to be happy though.

Last evening was Disappointing after good reviews from others. Real sad to see mediocre food overpriced. No value for the $.
Waitstaff were hospitable, service good, but not enough for what we (3) paid. $ 120 before tip. No alcohol.
Clam appetizer … So so, noting special. Lettuce wedge 1/​8cut portion with blue cheese dressing $ 9, $ 2 more for bacon bits. My entrée of 2 sand dabs and 1.5 cups of vegetables seasoned with chili powder and paprika had 2 small dabs leaving me hungry. My companions had lots of filler and less entrée as well.
Lots of work needed there before I would go back, drop so much money and leave still hungry. I have dumb days but not stupid.

Alright, I’ll bump this up to 3 ½ stars.
This time around, I ordered the Manila clams in linguine for the main course. The dish, overall, was a bit bland for my taste, even with the basil and garlic. I think the most flavorful thing on that plate was the toasted garlic bread. Even my parent’s fried fish had a strange, bitter aftertaste to it.
The entrees are not very memorable, but the seafood appetizers we ordered were fresh and delicious. We ordered the littleneck clams, Fanny Bay oysters, and Kusshi oysters. Lowest price for oysters was $ 18 for half a dozen, so a bit pricy. Tasted just as described on the menu. The Fanny Bay oysters has a briny taste that tastes like it came straight out of the ocean. The Kusshi osyters had that nice meaty taste.
The staff was really good about clearing our old plates out of the way before each course. They even split my parent’s entrée onto two separate plates ahead of time, which I thought was very thoughtful of them. I like how each of the tabletops contains a different part of a map of the Bay Area. I also like how they have an open kitchen area.
In summary, great service, entertaining décor, and fresh seafood appetizers!

Have been here several times. Visited for my daughters birthday earlier this week and was a bit disappointed. The menu has changed and where in the past I’ve had a hard time choosing between items, this time i struggled to pick something i wanted.
My daughter started with the fuji apple salad (very good but she requested it without cheese and it had what appeared to be extra) for an entrée she had the lobster which was a very large portion and very yummy.
The heirloom salad was very flavorful. Could have just had that for an entrée as the portion was quite large. I followed with the linguine and clams in white wine sauce. The sauce was more of a broth, way too much liquid and lacking flavor. Pretty disappointing!
Husband enjoyed his salmon dish but agreed that the menu was more limited than before.
The peach crisp dessert was delicious.
A reasonably good meal (except for pasta dish) but ill certainly check the online menu before deciding to visit again.

Décor: appropriate and pretty seafood related decorations; it could be casual or dressy casual too
Service: was ok, never did see them besides taking our orders, giving us our food, and handing the check. My glass of water was never refilled.
Food: Caesar salad and clam chowder. The Caesar salad was good, but perhaps there was too much dressing. The clam chowder was very filling and flavorful, but there were parts that were gritty as if there was sand or dirt in there.
Not too shabby of a restaurant. I might come back if I was in the area.

The only person who was nice was the gentleman with glasses who seated us. The server was no good. I don’t want to give bad reviews based on the service but your dining experience heavily depends on the quality of that one person who serves you. If you want the name, you can write to me privately.
He barely said hello, no smiles. Delivered our plates with no words whatsoever, no refills on water, no checking to see how everything was, took our credit card without saying one word nor did he show us the bill before he took the card away.
Food was decent. I don’t know what this place was like before, so I don’t miss anything they may have had before. $ 30 salmon was underwhelming but we would’ve been fine if the service was better. I suggest the better education on customer service.

I think I just figured out why this place has gone down the crapper. I replied to an email from the GM after writing my last review about how bad our experience was. She didn’t have the decency to offer us a refund, just that she would tell the chef that my food was soggy. Oh gee.that helps me a lot lady. NOT
So I reply and tell her that her place has gone down the Sh^^te^, She had the nerve to write me back and dictate how I should not cuss. who the heck does she think she is? Putin? No wonder her staff is low budge and does a horrible job, they are working for Stalin… My parents don’t tell me how to talk and I think I live in America. not Russia. Do not go to this place, you will be terribly dissapointed that you wasted your time and your hard earned money. You’re better off with a Filet of Fish at McD’s.Kid you not
«I am sorry that you did not have a good meal but you really don’t have to use that language.
Kathryn»
Bugger off lady.

Super delicious seafood. And let me clarify, not just good, but fresh.
Our family was quite pleased. We had two orders of oysters… everyone was impressed.
Salads…very good. The blue cheese on the wedge was some of the best, freshest, smooth blue cheese I’ve ever had.
The meal was outstanding. Lobster, ceviche, captains platter. Everyone was enjoyed the meal.
The service was great. Our waitress, Carmen, was on top of things. There was clearly an orchestrated effort from the kitchen staff to get food to the table in coordinated fashion.
Ambiance was nice. Perfect for our evening. There were indoor and outdoor options. Either way, the restaurant was clean. Not over-​crowded, not under crowded. Very comforting for our first time visit.
Definitely will be on our short-​list of local seafood hot spots.

What a let down! I have been going to Yankee Pier for many years with my wife to enjoy fresh seafood and other items on their menu. Tonight we discovered that they had radically changed their menu… read that eliminated many old favorites and significantly downsized what is now available from a previously abundant menu of types of fresh fish and options for cooking that fish. When we asked why the «big fat buttermilk biscuit» was no longer on the menu, since it has been included for literally years and is very popular, the answer was an empty explanation relating to the restaurant trying to have a lighter menu for the Summer. Well folks, all they have managed to do is take a perfectly good distinguished and popular menu and turn it into a light-​weight poor imitation of its former self.
The sustainable fish, which was previously explained on tent cards on all of the tables as well as the menu, was nowhere to be seen. I am not sure if this means they have abandoned their standards of serving only sustainably caught fish, but then perhaps that’s why the menu is so much smaller with so many fewer choices now.
Bottom line, I am heading to Postino down the street or to Scott’s in Walnut Creek for seafood and letting my wallet do the voting. Our congenial server indicated that they may be bringing back SOME of the old menu in the Fall/​Winter. I don’t plan to go back before then because I really felt disappointed tonight with all the changes they have made to a previously venerable menu.

The sole was succulent and flavorful. Placed over sautéed spinach and whipped potatoes. Beautiful presentation and taste. I loved how fluffy, smooth and buttery the potatoes were! We had the ceviche beforehand and it was great.
Service was impeccable. It’s been a long while since I’ve experienced a waitress and busser with such great coordination. I really was impressed with how attentive both were and respectful they were to keeping things moving along without us feeling rushed. Extremely happy and look forward to visiting again soon!

Did someone say seafood? Cute place that has indoor and outdoor seating. Came here for an early Father’s Day dinner. Got some raw oysters, 1.5lb lobster, some salad and some fish tacos. Everything was delicious! Price is very reasonable. Place fills up quick so definitely make reservations! Staff is friendly and place is very causal but has good energy. Parking in the back which is a plus.

This is a good spot for family gathering that involves children. They offer a kids menu and knew to get the child’s plate out first.
The service is very attentive, and the food was solid. The rock cod tacos were delicious.
Nothing is over the top amazing, but fresh seafood nicely prepared!

Have been there twice. We’ll be back.
Nice service, friendly staff
Menu items I love:
Crab Cake — it’s amazing, large portion with a great aoli sauce.
Popcorn shrimp — yum.
Their warm bread– so fresh it melts in your mouth.
Desserts– their desserts are top notch.
This last time I had their Apple Shortbread dessert. Essentially layers of baked cinnamon apples topped with a homemade shortbread cookie, drizzled with perfect caramel and vanilla. Small portion, but realist. Just because I wanted it super sized doesn’t mean I needed it to be.
My husband had their warm bread pudding that was packed with fall flavors drizzled with caramel and whipped cream. YUM.
Entrées we’ve tried:
Linguini with clams — we liked
Grilled NY steak w/​half lobster tail– not the best we’ve had. Lobster was wayyyy chewy. Steak could’ve been seasoned more.
Sauteed Shrimp Scampi
garlic herb butter, capers, white wine & linguine pasta– pretty tasty–
my complaint was that they left the shrimp whole in its shell, head, eyeballs and all. I know some people enjoy this.
I’m just not one of them. When my dinner arrives I want to eat, not figure out how to get the meat out without making a mess.
This last time I wanted a half lobster tail but it was only on the menu paired with the steak (my husband ordered that combo), the chef said yes to switching out the lobster tail for the shrimp in the shrimp scampi pasta dish for $ 3.00 more. That was accomodating of them, unfortunately the lobster was chewy, like hard to cut with a knife chewy.
So, for the love of their apps and desserts we do like this place. Next time I’ll likely order my main meal as their claim chowder and a salad and fill up on the before and after goodies.