Jack’s Oyster Bar & Fish House

As others have said, the 20% tip is so over-​the-​top and grossly unfair to customers here. My wife and I got appetizers and drinks and the service was terrible. In fact, we asked waiters directly for bread several times… and never got it until we were leaving. My cup of soup was stale and my wife almost spit out the mussels. Sadly, I am not exaggerating… it was just that disgusting.
When we wanted to leave, I was forced to go to the bar and demand that the person sitting customers swipe my card. This happened after we sat with our food and drinks empty… for about 20 minutes with not a single person checking on us.
Oh, and the waiters got a 20% tip off me.

Delicious fresh seafood right on the waterfront.
Best fish and chips ever.
Crispiest fries.
Homemade tartar sauce.
Sweet Lemonade.
My friends loved their oysters too!

I have been to jack’s a few times but this time was the last. I noticed from other reviews that the wait and service has gone downhill, but it is in the crapper.
We got to jack’s a little before 1pm and ordered two bloody marys, clam chowder, lobster roll and the burger.
It came out to $ 90, as jacks now does not let to choose the tip. I am fine to pay for good food… however when it takes a half hour for clam chowder to come out which is too long for soup. It was nice of them to separate it into two bowls but that does not make up for the time the food took.
As we have been to jacks before, my boyfriend is a fan of their lobster roll, however this time it was flat. The first thing I said when I saw it was did you put the slaw on it. It had this green onion and celery mixture on top and I can say that there was almost no lobster.
The burger was alright, not horrible but lacked anything special. It was also watery from the onions and pickles.
Overall, it was a huge disappointment and I can say that I will never return to jack’s. If it takes an hour and half for $ 90, i rather go to wood tarvern. Also, I wanted oysters, I can go to district in oakland or café rogue in berekley.

The waitress was was pretty rude and completely disconnect; I can honestly say she didn’t give a shit, which isn’t surprising since the tip is included. The menu has some updates, and it’s shitty. Their best dish, the lobster roll changed, and it’s awful and expensive. They served us bad muscles; they were hammered open before bringing them out, there were shards of broken shells, someone’s finger even got cut on the jagged edge of broken shells. ! We pointed these things out to the «manager», she was not the manager, and she really couldn’t have cared less. Everyone, except the woman who brought our food out, had an «I don’t give a shit vibe». Ordering scotch was a problem and waitress keep saying, well that one is $ 22 a glass. It was like she thought we couldn’t afford it. We finally just went to the bar and ordered right from the bartender.
So Jack’s you have gone down hill into the shitter, unfortunately. I don’t know if it’s changed hands, but it’s not the same place it used to be. The staff seemed new. I’ve been there plenty of times, and I didn’t see anyone familiar. Don’t waste your money.

Jack gets five stars in my opinion!
Fresh oysters with several varieties to satisfy everyone, good drink menu, and $ 20 pre-​fixed dinner! It was a deal– I expected maybe a salad, entrée, and mediocre dessert but instead, I got to have seared scallops for an appetizer, followed by grilled ono over soba and finished it with a lovely strawberry shortcake. It was tasty and I was happy.
Another great thing was that it’s kid’s friendly. My 14 months daughter screamed a few times but it was lively enough that no one really seemed to hear her. What does that mean? We got to eat our dinner without feeling guilty or apologetic for ruining other parties’ dinner:) I will love to go back here even if I have to cross a bridge :)

I LOVE JACK’S. It’s one of those automatic date night spots for my partner and me. We had a wonderful first experience here on a Monday night when we were both super bummed out. We came out of dinner laughing, smiling, completely transformed. That’s because everything about the visit was perfect– attentive staff, drinks brought and replaced lightning fast, food out of this world. The grilled octopus is one of my top 5 favorite things to eat in the entire world. It is prepared and served simply, but the texture and taste of the dish are RIGHT ON. I crave it almost daily. We’re not quite on a first name basis with the manager but she is great– totally accessible and friendly while keeping the ship running smoothly. Finally, parking is easy and FREE at dinnertime and the location on the waterfront promenade is awesome.

Good food, terrible service
Came here for my birthday to get oysters. From the beginning we got a very aloof greeting from a somewhat bored waitress. We ordered several items from the menu to share and nothing was correct. We specifically asked for a medium rare steak and got a blood rare steak instead. Forgot the drinks forgot the silverware forgot the plates and nobody checked to see if everything was OK. I can see why they include the tip with the bill since the Service doesn’t warrant a good tip. It’s too bad that this is such a bad experience since the food is good and the restaurant is very attractive. I get the impression that nobody really cares if you are happy or not. Considering how expensive this restaurant is and the bad experience I’ve had now twice I will not be returning.

Came here yesterday morning on opening for some early lunch before the session fest began and also wanted to treat our friends for brunch. The interior was very nice and modern and loads of liquor bottles displayed behind the bar counter. The staff promptly opened on time at 11am and quickly seated us.
We ordered half dozen oysters, parmesan garlic baked oysters, 2 tuna tar tar, clam chowder, lobster roll and ciopinno for our meal and 2 perfect Manhattans, 2 mimosas and 4 shots of fernet. Our bill ended up crazy high (~$ 300) so, the reviews on this place about the expensiveness are true. Extremely high prices and automatic 20% gratuity and prices are high probably from high renting space for the area.
The oysters were very fresh and were both milky and salty (super good) and my ciopinno was definitely worth my $ 20 as it was loaded with an amazing amount of seafood (crab, prawns, shrimp, scallop, mussels and clam) and the flavor of the broth tasted perfectly and not overly tomato-​y. The tuna tartar was executed well and the aoili sauce was a nice touch.
The lobster roll was packed with fresh lobster neatly tucked in a pretzel bun but, the clam chowder was a bit disappointing as it tasted more of an onion soup according to my friend who ordered it. The service we received was great and everyone were attentive and we received all of our order promptly. Our server was kind and funny and made sure every thing was on point.
The food here is tasty, but the prices they charge are super high and guaranteed if they were located in an different area where they could lower the price of their dishes, this place would be a top seafood restaurant in the east bay. If you have a bit of cash you could throw away slide by and try it out; if not, slide through on happy hour will probably be the best bet.

+ THE FOOD
My boyfriend and I had an amazing deal on Groupon for Jack’s ($ 140 worth of food!) so we had an enormous meal here. We ordered a dozen Miyagi oysters, a dozen Shigoku oysters, half dozen Fanny Bay oysters, the ahi tuna poke, charred octopus, lobster chowder, mussel and fries, and the cioppino. Our server was so surprised by how much we ordered, and yes, we did finish it all! All of the oysters were really fresh and tasted great, but my personal favorite was the Shigoku oysters. Even though they’re smaller in size, they have the best flavor. I would avoid the hot sauce because it was REALLY spicy. The ahi tuna poke was decent and tastes just like poke anywhere else. They also had this furkake cracker, but I didn’t really taste the furikake and the cracker kinda tasted weird. The charred octopus was AMAZING. I was a bit worried that the octopus would be too chewy but it was not at all! In fact, it was really soft and pretty much melted in your mouth. We loved the red peppery taste to it along with the charred taste. The lobster chowder was just alright. I thought it was interesting that they put some type of bean (seemed like edamame but probably wasn’t) and mushroom in it. Probably would not order this next time. Next up, my boyfriend really enjoyed the mussel and fries. The fries were delicious and even had a small hint of garlic to it. The mussels were fresh and delicious! Finally, the cioppino, my personal favorite! So many different delicious seafood in there– salmon, mussels, crab, scallops, and clams. The stew was so hearty and the tomato sauce was perfect. Overall, I would definitely come back to order the oysters, charred octopus, and the cioppino!
+/​-​THE PRICES
Many of the entrée AND appetizers are around the $ 15 – 20 range. I didn’t think the appetizers were worth that much, especially the ahi tuna poke since the portion size is significantly smaller than the entrée sizes. Oysters were $ 2.50 each, but I definitely would want to come back on Wednesdays for happy hour where they are $ 1.50 each. Also, there is an automatic 20% gratuity that is applied (to the entire bill too prior to any discounts/​Groupons). Just something to note.

Well I really wanted to have a nice leisurely meal outside in the sun here, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations.
Number one: Service is NOT good. People here seem very indifferent and do not care about you at all. Most likely because there is the built in tip of 20% Good to know that before you come in. They have no reason to be friendly and enthusiastic when they are already getting their tip. There were a few waiters that were cordial enough, so I guess I’ll let that pass.
Food wise, the best thing we got was the charred octopus. Comes fully intact, charred just enough, very tender, Good to share between a few people. This is probably worth the $ 20 price tag. The mussels and fries were alright, but the mussels are so tiny, and they literally plopped on like 15 fries. What the heck, that is just not enough!!! It left us craving more fries! We ordered 12 oysters since it was Happy Hour Wed for $ 1.50 an oyster. They were ok, Drake’s Bay oysters, a bit on the small side, but good to eat 6. I’m glad they weren’t too huge or I would be too sick of the oysters. Whoever shucked the oysters, however, didn’t shuck them very well as I would find shell shards in my oysters.
So since we were still hungry, we decided to also order the lobster roll, which unfortunately doesn’t come with fries so we had to order them on the side. We didn’t realize this however until we received the lobster roll so we had to wait for the fries to arrive (which they finally did and with plenty to spare this time) But by then we were already full! Service just takes too long here. We also waited half an hour for our 2^nd round of drinks.
The lobster roll however was good. Lobster tastes really fresh and juicy and plump. There was a hollaindaise– like sauce they added which I liked and it was on a pretzel bun, which was good– a little on the sweeter side but still enjoyable.
Sitting outside is nice here, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to return. The service is just not that good for the prices.

Overall Jack’s is a wonderful restaurant. The oysters were delicious as well as the tuna poke. They have outside seating with great a atmosphere.
Our waiter was Amazing! Seriously great service. He made some wonderful suggestions from drinks to appetizers and he was funny!
Room for improvement: The mussels and fries. I’ve had tons of mussels in my lifetime whether it’s in SF, Brussels or Seattle. These mussels were good, but they could have been better. More flavor or more seasoning.

Food was decent, but the service horrible. They automatically add 20% gratuity to your bill, no matter how many in your party. So this gives the wait staff no incentive to really care and therefore everything is terribly slow. Order two drinks at a time, that way you won’t have to wait.
They discretely tack on a 16% «Lift Up Oak» surcharge, and then another 4% «Service Charge» to your bill, regardless of the service you receive.

Jacks Oyster Bar is located in the lovely Jack London Square. But I didn’t come for the scenery, I just dropped by with some colleagues to get my grub on:
Maine Lobster Roll: ²⁄₅ — The buttery toasted roll was the only good thing about it. They were very skimpy on the lobster… probably had 10 small chunks of lobster mixed in with a bunch of nonsense.
Hamachi Sashimi: ³⁄₅ — The sashimi tasted like butter, as always, and sat on a bed of seaweed with ponzu sauce; however, there were only five paper thin slices. disappointing.
Spicy Ahi Tuna Poke: 4.5÷5 — Bomb! The aioli sauce that covered the poke was really flavorful and tasted even better with the paper thin crackers.
Miso Glazed Black Cod: 3.5÷5 — The small filet was just okay. I thought it had a little too fishy. The risotto, however, was BOMB — very rich and creamy!
Charred Octopus: ⁵⁄₅ — A must order if you come here! The octopus was super tender and had the perfect char to it. It did not have to come with a steak knife because it cut like butter!
Oysters: ⁴⁄₅ — It was good, as I expected. It came with a few dipping sauces. Can’t go wrong with these, but it’s nothing special that I can’t find elsewhere.
Overall, I thought most of the dishes were just a little above average, but super overpriced, even with the Groupon deals. The only good thing about Jacks Oyster Bar is the OCTOPUS! Go get you some of that!

At first it took us a little bit to find the small entrance as it was a bit hidden among all the patio chairs outside. We parked nearby at a $ 10 flat rate parking lot nearby and it took about 5 – 7 mins to walk here.
Great seafood place. Great service from our waitress. We ordered the Charred Octopus, Mussels & Chips, Black Cod, a dozen oysters and a Fish & Chips for our family.
3 of our orders arrived promptly except for the fish & chips and then realize the waitress didn’t take my order in the first place. She apologized many times for her mistake and even offered to remove the item off our bill as an apology, it was so nice of her to do that although she didn’t have to. Waitress gave us great recommendations from the menu as well and was so helpful and friendly.
Food was delicious. My charred octopus tasted really good although it was smaller in size as I expected. I saw photos on Unilocal first before I arrived and knew I wanted to try that. We even ordered the donuts w champagne sauce as our dessert which was what our waitress highly recommended too. My kids loved the food a lot and we will definitely be back for more.
We loved our friendly and stylish waitress who told us she moved here from LA!

Great location but hard to find treat parking. We ended up parking in the boiling place’s garage. Decent food with nice view and friendly staff. We tried three courses and all are delicious.
However, they charge a 10% Lift Up Oak Surcharge and 4% Service Charge, which is actually mandatory tipping. This is why I took off 1.5 star. The other 0.5 is for the price.

The only thing that averaged out this rating was the decency of the food. Came here for a Valentine’s Day brunch with reservations made. When we walked in, the hostess didn’t even ask if we had reservations because obviously we didn’t need any given the place was pretty empty. We chose patio seating which turned out to be shared tables, kinda awkward. There were more people sitting outside, but with at least 2 servers covering the patio section and only 2 – 3 tables seated inside. It took awhile for a server to come greet us and by the time he did, we were basically ready to order. We got a Bloody Mary and a Mimosa for drinks and went with the following:
–One Dozen Mix and Match Oysters (Kumamoto, Kusshi, Marin Miyagi, and Shigoku)
–Crispy Brussels Sprouts
–Saltspring Mussels & Fries
–Asian Pork Ribs
After placing out order, 30 minutes gone by and all we received were the oysters. All the other tables around us had already received their food too so I’m not sure what the hold up was. Even our drinks took awhile to come out. The bloody mary tasted like straight up horse radish and you could even see thick chunks floating around as if they half assed it and rushed to throw it together. We finally asked our server if the rest of the food was coming out and he made some comment like «wow…let me check on that…» Within minutes, our food came out as if it had been sitting under the heat lamp for awhile. Everything was mediocre until the Mussels came out…
I had told the server in the beginning I had food allergies to dairy and he even came back after checking with the kitchen to tell me that the Mussels contained dairy in the sauce but he would make sure that they didn’t. Of course, when the mussels came out, the sauce was obviously creamy and at first he doubted it then said to wait while he checks with the kitchen again. He comes back to say they made a mistake and that a new one was coming out. Well, I’ll be damned, the 2^nd plate of mussels came out SO FAST considering how long we waited in the beginning! I will hand it to him, he was kind enough to let us keep the mistake mussels even though it was way too much food already.
For the price, the quality of the food and service just doesn’t justify it. Especially the fact that 20% was automatically added to the bill. I wouldn’t mind the auto grat if our server provided the service deserved for 20%.

I stopped in at Jacks Oyster bar during Oakland restaurant week with my girlfriend with the intention of sticking with the prix fixe menu. Instead we went overboard and ordered extras that skyrocketed the bill, but left us very happy!
The prix fixe menu for Oakland restaurant week included a roasted avocado salad or fried oysters w aioli as appetizers, the entrée selections included pan fried steelhead or lamb with gnocchi, and the dessert was pecan pie squares with vanilla ice cream. My girlfriend and I decided to get one of each of the appetizers and entrée selections as well as some oysters and charred octopus.
The charred octopus is divine, braised then charred and served with a charred lemon. The octopus was so soft and the charred finish provided a good texture contrast. The oysters were very tasty, we especially liked the beausoleils oysters from New Brunswick, they have such a subtle taste that goes well with the mignonette.
The avocado salad was tasty, and my girlfriend loved the steelhead. I thought the lamb was super tender and packed with flavor. Overall a great dining experience, and the lighting and décor are pretty bad ass! Stop by for happy hour oysters to check this place out if you’re near Jack London Square.

My guy and I are fans of oysters, so we looked forward to trying Jack’s Oyster Bar. Our first visit was during the Eat Real Festival last year. We wanted to get off our feet, relax and enjoy some oysters and drinks at the bar.
While I tried the Bees Knees cocktail, my boyfriend opted for a draft beer which they have several local beers on tap. With that we ordered up some oysters that were served with a variety of sauces and vinaigrette. I absolutely went crazy for the habanero sauce, as it was so good and packs a nice little punch.
We loved this spot and will gladly come back again since they serve up our favorites.

Popped in here for a quick bite during happy hour (3−6pm every day! XD) and was pleasantly surprised by the warm feel of the semi-​dimmed lights and comfortably-​worn wooden furniture. Not much of a crowd at 5pm, but I can enjoy some quiet time as much as the next person.
Jackson, my server, was very attentive with regards to making sure I was happy with my food and water.
Because it was pretty cold outside, I decided to forego the oysters (even though the selection was quite tempting, and the special of the day was only $ 1.25…next time for sure). Instead, I went for the spicy tuna taco– which turned out to be taco (s) lol. The taco shell itself was a solid-​er version of a wonton wrapper to me that had been freshly fried into the taco form. The spicy tuna filling to me wasn’t crazy spicy, but definitely had a good after-​heat to it. I rather liked that the filling wasn’t overly cold, but instead room temperature-​ish so I could actually feel that the taco shell was still just a tad warm. The sauce that the tuna was mixed in was deliciously creamy and the filling was generous enough for me to accidentally squeeze it outta the taco confines as I bit into (and subsequently broke lol) the shell. All good though, that’s what the fork’s for right? Lol!
Here at Jack’s (as well as their sister restaurant next door, Bocanova), an automatic 20% service charge is added to your bill so you don’t have to go through the fuss of calculating tip. =]

I appreciate that seafood restaurants are a tough proposition, whether you’re the owner looking to make ends meet or a customer looking to watch your wallet. I also appreciate the fact that Jack’s is a sister establishment to Bocanova next door and that the owners are therefore doubling down on the Jack London Square neighborhood. Indeed, some of the servers move back and forth between the two establishments, so for me it’s great to see familiar faces around.
Offerings like the clam chowder, (fried) soft shell crab, lobster sliders, and lobster poutine were all decently hearty and satisfying, while cocktails like the «perfect» manhattan were OK too. Given the overall size and quality, I would rate the whole experience as pretty decent. Not quite enough for 4 stars, but definitely enough for a very solid 3. If I were in the area and in the mood for seafood, I’d clearly choose Jack’s over Scott’s or Kincaid’s across the way.