JJ’s Fish and Chicken

The food here is the BESSSST :) omg if you haven’t, you need to try this. Wish their were more locations though…

While I was in training in Oakland I was given specific orders from my trainer to be careful where I went while driving in certain parts of Oakland. Having grown up knowing people from all walks of life I wasn’t afraid to venture out where people would consider the hood but this particular night I was hungry and know some of the best places for food will be in the most undesired locations to be. Had I not taken the risk this evening to venture out I wouldn’t have never found this gem.
when you first walk into JJ’s Fish and Chicken first opinions are not going to leave you good impression. Its like going to the gas station in the hood. You’re going to talk to a cashier behind a one inch piece of clear plastic and request your order. I didn’t know what I wanted so I asked the cashier what do most people order? First off she asked me how hungry I was and I told I was really hungry. Knowing my appetite and my desire to try new places I over ordered as usual. I get a ten piece catfish dinner along with a ten piece chicken wing dinner. Good and bad move on my part. Since I was only here for four evenings I wanted to order as much as I can in one trip so I would not have to come here twice during my trip. Total food coma when I was done and I probably gained 5 lbs after that meal. Good thing we had a gym at the hotel or maybe that was my problem since I did just finish my workout before I had arrived there in the first place!
I took the order to go and went back to the privacy of my hotel room to gorge in excess of my overtly large meal. The catfish was nice and tender. It was not overly battered and fried perfectly throughout. The chicken wings were in the same boat. Fried to perfection and not overly battered. These guys are serious about frying and know how to do it perfectly. Both meals came with bread, fries, and coleslaw. I was completely stuffed and almost ate everything. The next time I’m in town in Oakland again I will need to stop by here again and try more of their menu.

get the catfish and shrimp combo !!! delicious !!!

420 celebrations completed with JJ’s Fish and Chicken!
It was my first time venturing past Downtown Oakland and let me tell you it was about as two faced as San Francisco weather. My best friend Chong took me to the more residential area of East Oakland and I was amazed at how gorgeous the neighborhoods were and even compared them to St. Francis Wood. She scoffs and says «Oh, wait til we get to the bottom part where JJ’s is».
Christ! I thought I hallucinating and playing Call of Duty or something.
Cops at every corner so we pulled in super fast parked and went to this fish and chicken sanctuary.
Service was pretty terrible, but it was understandable why, there was a shortage of workers and a long line of crackheads and potheads of the like.
We ordered: Hush Puppies, peach cobbler, macaroni & cheese, fries and 12 pc Catfish
There are a few places I’ve been to that kind of reminded me of JJ’s. Roscos’ chicken and waffles, Popeyes, Good Frikkin Chicken just to name a few. Chong was very insistent with her order told me their fries had to be the best in the world and I often compare these standards for proof of its genuineness. They surpassed my expectations, the cajun fries made me nostalgic of Popeyes but I knew the fries in my mouth had just changed the bar of best fries for the unforeseeable future. The Hush Puppies were new to me, I never had stuffing in a corn dog before, they were kind of dry and really sweet. I fell in love with the macaroni and cheese and all these sides definitely built up towards the Catfish.
The peach cobbler was gone in 2 bites.
Love this place!

Damn, JJ’s is hella good!
Deep fried catfish, fries, some bread, and coleslaw!
So damn good. Tartar sauce is awesome. Would be dope if there was a hot sauce fountain inside too.
Seriously, located in the hood, may appear sketchy, but the food will blow your mind. Greasy, but delicious!

Yum!!! My moms fried fish is the best but JJ’s is definately in 2^nd place! lol. I’ve gone to this one and the one off International. Same quality, same service which is much appreciated. If I remember this is the one that is way smaller and doesn’t have alot of places to sit but who cares! I take my food to go anyway.
Overall, good food, good service… whenever my mom doesn’t want to fry up a lil catfish or snapper, Ill def head that way :)

This is the place to go if you want lots of hot fried fish or chicken wings and you need them fast. I have tried the other seafood items and they are good for what they are– deep fried fast food. Prices are very reasonable. They have good desserts as well. Red velvet cake and other goodies are supplied by Marita’s Sweet Potato Pie Co.
The big guy who works there kinda looks like my husband and my bro in laws, which is funny. He is very sweet and we usually talk about their shared Middle Eastern Heritage. Poor guy gets lots of wingnuts asking him if he’s Pakistani or Al Qaeda and other stupid isht, but he takes it in stride. He has pretty good insights into the neighborhood too. Wish I could get him to join our Neighborhood Watch. I’ll keep trying.
Like the owner, food is good, just wish the place wasn’t a magnet for panhandlers.
Go Oakland GO!

We had the catfish. It tasted fine. Not much else to say.

JJ FISH is the best. I’m am not big on seafood, but since I work in the area with not much variety, I figured why the hell not and I don’t regret. This place is great. No ocean taste and the chicken taste great. Fries and pies tasted fresh. Prawns… ohhh boy they good!
What really caught my attention was manager’s passion to serve his customers with quality of food and quantity of food… all with a friendly personality.
I’ve probably eaten here about 5+ times now and I never get sick of it.
SEE YOU SOON JJ!

2.5 stars.
Lot’s of food (all most too much) for the dough, but so so on the food scale.
Just lacks seasoning and cooking technique.
Wings can be way overdone and dried out. Same for the seafood.
Décor is ugly and depressing.
Cold in the winter, hot in the summer.

There’s no shortage of fish joints in East Oakland and having tried them all my wife and I prefer this one mainly due to large portions freshly made with good hush puppies (the fries not so much) and a one-​man-​show owner who is there 13 hours a day seven days a week — it seems he really cares about his customers.
Always a mellow vibe for E. OAK standards — like to grab a $ 1 Cobra Malt Liquor can next door at HuntsBerry Market and kill it while the Catfish fries — oysters good too — generally not a bad item on the menu and prices fine.

This location is a godsend, its out in the middle of nowhere oakland but damn it is convenient when you need some good fried foods to start a long day or end one!
I come by once a week, as its near my job, and I cant get enough of the fries and chicken tenders! The manager is always present and is always in a good mood and really treat the customers with a friendly demeanor. He remembers names and orders of frequent customers, which is strongly lacking in today’s fast food society.
⁵⁄₅ Stars for this restaurant and its amazing menu of fried foods!

there’s only one person working here doing the cooking, order taking, and the cashiering. tried the buffalo fish dinner (8.99) and was sorely disappointed. there was plenty of fish but they was too dry. maybe it was cuz my order was cooking while he was cashiering and it was overcooked. the fries were forgetful. what’sup with the thimble full of cole slaw? the fish also had a very strong fish taste, (not fresh?)
anyways, the amigo on duty was very courteous, i fault the management.
btw, you can see the pies they serve by the boxes on display. they are the same you can get at costco (hayward).

JJ’s came onto my radar thanks to a co-​worker. I think I was griping about living in the burbs, the lack of late night food or life in general. He started bragging about all the things that were open late around his house, this was one of them. This place is so small you might miss it and placed nicely next to a liquor store, they are about 5 liquor stores in a mile radius so that might not be a good landmark for you. It’s clean with a red and white interior. Once again the staff is behind glass/​plastic, there are a couple of stools and a counter that wrap around the front. I usually order a two item combo, shrimp and red snapper. It comes with fries, bread and a small thing of coleslaw, but you can ask for a trade out for potato salad. By small I mean like a bite or two. This place is awesome. Items are fried to perfection, the food primo! I walked into the house and the roomies were like umm, that smells good. I grudgingly shared the food I drove 20 minutes one-​way to get. That is the ultimate expression of love. All of the fish is fresh and through the barrier you can see them turning cold, pliable animal flesh into hot, crispy animal flesh. They dredge it through the seasoned flour mixture and into the grease. The counter staff is nice and one of the dudes is super hot (married to be sure) and he takes the hoodness with good grace and since he is big dude 6’5−6’6 250 – 275 lbs they don’t get too out of pocket. They are open late, take plastic. The customers are pretty nice too. Typically set back 12 – 15 bucks.

Before I review JJ’s, I have to get something off my chest. I’m mad at you, JJ. You bought Dad’s BBQ, the best in the neighborhood. You even told me you were planning on keeping it a BBQ place. You were sweet to me when I called in my BBQ order close to closing time, for which I thank you. And your BBQ was almost as good as Dad’s, which impressed me. SO WHY, oh why, did you decide to abandon the BBQ and change to fish fry? Your other fish place is only about 2 miles away! We didn’t really need another fish place in the neighborhood. Sob. I miss Dad’s.
Lament out of the way, I will now speak to the matter at hand.
JJ’s fries everything to order, so don’t come here expecting fast food. If you need it fast, you must call ahead. Otherwise, you will hang out and wait patiently for your meal while trying to remain calm despite the mean rudeness of the other customers. And when you food comes, it will be good, fresh, and tasty. If you don’t want to stand around, you’ll get a kick out of sitting in your car and watching the incredible crack scene on that corner. Those guys are really adept at avoiding the cops. Or perhaps there’s an understanding between the cops and the dealers that I don’t know about.
The menu includes a wide variety of fish, chicken and parts, okra. Everything batter fried. Don’t come here looking for mac and cheese or greens. If it’s not fried, they don’t have it. But it’s all good. Oh, and it’s all to go, in case that wasn’t clear.