The Dock

Food was mediocre. I had a hamburger and dessert. They were ordinary at best. The kitchen service was also poor. The hamburgers came long before the dishes for the others in our party so you either ate them alone or ate them cold. The wait staff, however, was terrific — both the waitress and the bar tender. The ambiance was also good. But would not return here in the future!

One of my favorite local spots, and yet it feels like it’s out of the way. Great drinks, great food… check it out!

The night started out well when I realized there was a legitimate parking lot for this place — wow! Something you do not see often in the City, so it was such a pleasant surprise that parking was no issue. We then walked in and over to the bar while we waited for our final two dinner guests to arrive, but we unfortunately had quite a rude bartender who looked over at us right after we sat down to say «are you guys going to order something or just stare?» Considering we had perhaps been sitting there 20 seconds and that was our only greeting (and no drink menus in front of us), it was a bit off-​putting to say the least. Luckily, the last two of our party arrived about 5 minutes later, so we didn’t have to deal with the bartender for too long.
Dinner did not disappoint! The beef short rib with peas may have been one of the best dishes I have had this year, and the risotto with mushrooms was to die-​for. It was a truly delicious meal and we had great service for dinner.

Cool urban vibe near the working docks of Oakland. Great to check out a new place a short couple of blocks from Jack London Sq. reminds me of SF’s Potrero Hill 30 yrs ago. Ck them out… Would like to try the restaurant next door. Not so fond of the CESAR popcorn… Tad too out there for me. Would like to do a burger one day. Super nice owner lots of things on tap.

This place has some of the very best food in the east bay. The service is great, the wine and beer selection fantastic, and the atmosphere was terrific. It’s hard to believe that with this combo it’s not more crowded. If it was in a different location or different city this place would be packed! Same owner/​chef, James Syhabout of commis (only 2 star michelin star restaurant in the east bay) and hawker fare. This place is definitely a must if you live or work in Oakland.

I loved this place. The building is soulful and gorgeous. They kept a lot of the original industrial elements. Parking is easy. The food was really good. Especially the starters. Next time I’ll just stick with those. The popcorn is a MUST. Indescribable.

Very cool place. Industrial décor, brick walls, casual, and relaxing.
Short menu. We started with the potato bread with hen liver mousse and apricot jam. Very tasty. A good balance of savory and sweet. Then we had the jerk spiced chicken wings with habanero pepper gastrique, candied pineapple. This was my least favorite, because I’m just not into jerk spice at all. It’s a personal thing. I’ve had jerk chicken before and never liked it. My friend thought it was good though. We also shared the shed burger with malted fries. The beef was very tasty, but just a little overcooked for me. Otherwise it was good.
To round it all off I had the buttermilk panna cotta with stewed strawberries and black pepper meringue… very delicious. Love it! My friend had the s’mores in a jar, which is chocolate cake & mousse, burnt cinnamon marshmallow fluff, and french vanilla gelato. It seemed that they sort of over baked the chocolate cake or accidentally burnt it. Because it smelled like the cake got burnt not the marshmallow fluff.
Over all, it was a good dinner with friendly service. I would come back again. It’s a good little place hidden in the industrial hub. You wouldn’t have guessed that it was there.

Alright, another great new spot in West Oakland. Finally the cogs of the redevelopment machinery are grinding away in West Oakland and we are well on our way to making this a fun, vibrant, safe, hospitable, quaint, historic section of the city. We need more spots like this and others! Thank you for opening here. Please come support the renaissance of West Oaktown!!!

Coasting on its previous rep. Our MeetMe Grp had a dinner here; the host had come last year for a birthday dinner and was wowed. But this time… none of us, including the host, would come back here again.
Caesar popcorn: Much is made of this dish. Indeed, the dressing is better than 90% of the Caesar salads we have gotten in restaurants. But the popcorn itself wasn’t the dressing’s equal. It had a tough hull and not much tenderness to the bite. 100% agreement: wouldn’t bother ordering again.
Brussels sprouts: A nice dish, everybody liked it. But not a «destination dish» that would bring any of us back again. Maple vinegar dressing was mild and delightful; pumpkin purée tasty.
Grilled bread, 3 toppings available: We got all 3. All were good, but again not remarkable. Bread is cut very thick, barely toasted.
Sunomono: An interesting Cal-​Mex-​Japanese mashup. It wasn’t the best sunomono ever but a good variant. Pleasant but not a «destination dish.»
Jerk-​spiced chicken wings: Everybody liked these. The pineapple vinegar is sensational. Not as chile-​hot as true jerk dishes. Generous serving. The ONLY dish that won hands-​down as worth coming back for!
Salt Spring Mussels: Everybody liked the collard greens it came with, but even the mussel lovers thought this was just average.
Warm Buttermilk Biscuits: Meh. If you want good biscuits, go elsewhere. Low-​quality flour leaves the interior crumb bland and soggy.
Flat-​iron steak: The unusual beet steak sauce was very good. Beef was tasteless altho salted before cooking. Good-​sized serving, especially compared to the trout, below.
Grilled trout: A ripoff compared to the steak. Less than 3 oz of trout fillet. Beautifully cooked, but all the accompaniments were oversalted — strange because everything else was salted just right.
Summary: If you drink, maybe you’ll like the Dock. Not for wine, their selection is minimal. Beer or cocktails, in which case it probably doesn’t matter what you order.

I met my fabulous broker Ruth Stroup and a new friend at The Dock last night.
They are wonderful. Great drinks (had a Kentucky Mule, which is the Moscow mule with bourbon (I love my bourbon). We had several dishes bec they’re small shareable plates. The chicken wings were tasty (jerk style with pineapple) and they had nice sautéed Brussels sprouts. We had fried chicken when biscuits but thought the biscuits didn’t have what I was used to (didn’t have salt butter so that’s kinda done if you don’t have dough with flavor you won’t have a good bread with baked in goodness; while imma Brooklyn transplant i had a momma from South Carolina who threw down in the kitchen).
The standout dish was their mussels with collard greens and potlikker and it was sublime. Yes. SUB-Fu*****-BLIME. I think it’s one of the best things I’ve tasted in Oakland, ever, PERIOD. A bowl of briny goodness with succulent sautéed collards that reminded me of my friend Wallace’s slow cooker collards. They were the consummate comfort food. I hope they keep those on their menu for a while. I will be making that dish for sure.
Pretty nice fried chicken as well. Will definitely be back there.

Given the strong review of The Dock, I had high expectations. They weren’t met for two main reasons: 1) food had a few too many misses and 2) wine selection was pretty weak. The place is known for its beer selection and I’m not a beer big beer drinker.
Pluses:
–Cocktails were very good. I had all three of their cocktails, very nice.
–Chorizo peanuts were great.
–Service was really good.
–The setting is lovely. Very impressive.
Minuses:
–As I said, white wines were weak. Clearly the person picking the wines likes a dry, metallic flavor. Perhaps you like that, I don’t.
–Most of the food was bland. We had the butter lettuce, cucumber salad, mussels and charcouterie. Perhaps I should have gotten the spicier options, but these items didn’t have a wow factor.
–For what I paid, quality wasn’t on par. Definitely overpriced.
Would I go back? Probably, but mostly for the peanuts, cocktails and I may be try to the spicier menu items. This way you benefit from the menu strengths and the lovely ambiance.
Bottom line: In Oakland, you can spend a lot less and get something better and consistent.

This place is over priced. The menu is limited. The service (particularly the manager «Ray») is rude and unaccommodating. Finally, I went here with my family, and this is hands down the worst restaurant for children I’ve ever been to. DO NOT BRING KIDS HERE. My children (both of them) eat in restaurants all the time and have for their entire lives. They were incredibly well behaved at The Dock, but still the management was hostile to them. I will not be going back, with or without children.
I should also mention the wine pours are ridiculously small.

PRECURSOR TO COMMIS
As an Oakland resident one of the restaurants I wanted to eat at is Commis, which is the only Michelin Star restaurant in the East Bay. I chose to eat at The Dock because it was listed on the SF Chronicle Top 100 Restaurants. It also stated that the chef James Shyabout who owns Commis also owns The Dock. One thing I noticed about the SF Chronicle Top 100 Restaurant list was that Commis isn’t listed yet The Dock is. Interesting?
I ate here last Friday the 13^th. Would I have an «unlucky» dinner? I ordered three dishes. For the starter I had Cornmeal Cheddar Pancake. In general I’m not a big fan of pancake as it tends to be heavy. I especially thought the cornmeal and cheddar would make the pancake more heavy than usual. The main reason I ordered it was because there was beef cheek in this dish. To my surprise the pancake was light. In addition the cornmeal and cheddar added a buttery texture. The beef cheeks weren’t finely chopped and had a chunky portion. This dish had a lot going on not only because of the pancake and beef cheek but also because of the vegetables. It looks like mess because it doesn’t make sense but it does. Even though this dish is listed as a starter this dish can be a main course. For the main course I ordered the Grilled Ocean Trout. This was one of the best fish I had in a long time as it was cooked to perfection because of its crispy skin and moist meat. To cook fish in this matter shows the skills of the cook. Most of the cooked fish I’ve in restaurants tend to be dry. For dessert I ordered West Oakland Tan Sundae. This isn’t a skimpy portion of dessert that is normally served at restaurants. It had a healthy scoop of ice cream with big chunks of brownie.
What I noticed from the menu is that there aren’t a lot of items, but the portion is more than filling. Some have described the menu as limited. I rather have one page menu then to have multiple pages on the menu. It’s that saying quality over quantity. In terms of business having a small menu is the most efficient way to operate a restaurant. Too often I’ve seen on shows such as «Restaurant Impossible» and «Kitchen Nightmares» where restaurants are overwhelmed with financial difficulties due to many items in the menu with large portions that the customers end up taking home. Therefore the restaurants are losing money on each item. With a small menu a restaurant can focus on the quality of food and have large portions that won’t financially cripple the eatery.
Overall I was more than elated with my meal at The Dock because every item was exceptional. Just because a chef currently cooks at its Michelin Star restaurant doesn’t mean the other non Michelin Star restaurant will be good. What’s important is what the chef learned from cooking in a Michelin Star kitchen. From my experience last Friday Chef James Shyabout applied what he learned from Commis into each dish at The Dock. Did my eating experience at The Dock set an expectation of what’s it like to eat at Commis in the future? I don’t know. However I could tell you that if I didn’t enjoy my dinner at The Dock I would’ve crossed off Commis from my Michelin Star bucket list of restaurants to eat in the future.

This review is limited…
After having a nice experience wine tasting at Campovida next door (such a good experience that I joined the wine club), I was all ready to have a nice dinner here.
Wait staff were prompt and friendly. We had been warned by the (very thoughtful) waitress about impending large parties, so we cut our wine tasting a bit short to ensure we got our orders in before they did.
Atmosphere: great. Décor is unfussy, and in a half empty restaurant, the noise level is nice and low.
Menu: the most pretentious thing I have read in ages. Seriously. It reminds me of the menus made light of in «American Psycho.» My foodie friends were appalled, until we realized that this signaled the d’bagging of Oakland. Ugh.
After puzzling over the menu, even getting interpretations from our very patient waitress, we voted to leave and get dinner at Le Cheval.
We left a $ 5 tip and left.
Too bad. I love the free parking here.

A very cool spot out in the boonies of Jack London Square, The Dock exuded very much a rustic farm-​to-​table vibe and was thankfully not too terribly packed at all on a Saturday night.
All the dishes are meant to be shared family style and come out as soon as they are prepared, per our server. Starters included some ridiculously rich foie gras mousse even compared to its seared counterpart at other places paired with great twice-​cooked buns, super flavorful and just as spicy jerk chicken wings as well as particularly well done beef tartare.
Mains came in the form of Wagyu hangar steak and grilled black cod — the former was exceptionally tender while the cod was just as perfectly cooked. To finish, we ordered all the desserts of which the olive oil cake and West Oakland tan sundae stole the show. Loved the essence of EVOO in the cake and its pairing with bourbon thyme meringue and figs while the soft serve sundae was just brimming with chocolatey goodness. I’d probably pass on the blackberry cremeux though as it was largely uninspired and boring on the palate.
Overall, a great dining experience with the family here though the portions are admittedly on the smaller side given the price. However, the quality and executed are very much there and I was definitely a fan of the location and atmosphere. The Beer Shed right next door provided even more versatility to grab drinks before/​after a meal in a comfortable, casual setting inclusive of patio seating.

Came for dinner Tuesday night and the place was empty except for a few tables at 7pm. People must be recovering from the long weekend. I was surprised to learn though they share the dock space with Linden St Brewery they don’t serve the beer and don’t really do a food pairing with the brewery except on special occasions.
Our group shared —
* CAESAR POPCORN ($ 6 anchovy, lemon and black pepper, chives, grana padano cheese) — very yummy but also very oily
* SHIGOKU OYSTERS ($ 12 for 3, on the half shell, basque vermouth, horseradish mignonette, celery) — good but pricey
* CUCUMBER SUNOMONO ($ 10 rice wine and vinegar pickle, avocado, furikake) — this was the surprise winner of the night, the cucumbers were very pickled and slightly spicey which was offset perfectly by the creamy avocado and furikake. Try to eat it all together in the same forkful to get the full effect. 5 stars!
* PO’ BOY TWINS ($ 13 for 2, lamb sweetbreads, pickled cabbage, tartar sauce on milk buns, crystal hot sauce) — okay
* FOIE GRAS MOUSSE ($ 15 for 2 buns + lots of mousse, chinese five spice, apple cider vinegar, garlic scapes, golden raisins, twice cooked buns) — I love foi gras so no surprise that I love this too! The mousse was very rich but with the buns and garlic scapes it was perfect. You’d think they’d provide more bread though. I find that most foi gras dishes don’t provide enough bread. You’d think the money is in the foi gras and some more carbs wouldn’t hurt their bottom line. 5 stars!
* ANSON MILLS POLENTA ($ 15 jidori yolk, fried shishito, brentwood corn, tarragon, espelette) — really ice polenta with lots of corn kernels, very sweet and rich with the egg yolk
* OLIVE OIL CAKE ($ 8 bourbon thyme meringue, spiced peanuts, peaches) — the cake was dry and the peanuts made it too salty
* WEST OAKLAND TAN SUNDAE ($ 8 salted scotch caramel, malt balls, graham cracker and fudge brownies) — giant sundae, not my thing but my nephew loved it.
Overall the food was good but really salty. Not like it tasted salty but I found myself drinking lots and lots of water during the meal. I drank at least as much water as I ate in food.

This place never disappoints. The only thing not 100% Was the Berkshire pork shoulder which was too fatty and not cooked enough. I loved every single starter; squash a la plancha, tartar, foie grass mousse, Monterey squid and all desserts and drinks

The Dock at Linden Street has been getting lots of press and we wanted to experience the hoopla. It’s definitely very casual and edgy, housed in an old warehouse in an industrial area a short drive from Jack London Square. Not much going on as far as décor other than updating the roughness of the old building. The staff are super accommodating and knowledgeable about the food. Ask for recommendations. Everything is small plates meant to be shared and with some of the plates being way too small to be called a plate. Items in the «To Start» menu that were satisfying enough to share with four giving everyone a bite were the blistered summer peppers ($ 10) and the Monterey squid ($ 13). Two orders of the Po’ Boy Twins fried lamb sweetbreads ($ 14 per order) gave each of us a small Po’Boy. The Amberjack Crudo ($ 15) was delicious and delicate, but really best for one or two people.
On the Mains, we adored the Berkshire Pork Shoulder ($ 27) — rich, thick, and juicy as well as the Grilled Ocean Trout ($ 24) which isn’t a trout at all but a Steelhead Salmon. These were by far the standouts on the menu. The Vegetable Bibimbap ($ 16) wasn’t exciting featuring more rice that veggies. The biggest disappointment was the Braised Brisket ($ 19). Served in a tiny bowl with a few spoonfuls of broth, we thought this was a side of sauce and not the main course. It definitely needs to either be moved up to the «Start» menu for a lower price, enlarged to be considered as a Main, or removed completely. Make sure to order beer while you dine as their selection of beers on draft are fantastic as there is something for everyone. We didn’t find The Dock to be in our list of Top 100 SF Bay Area restaurants. Although the food is interesting, the portions are so miniscule for the price charged. For this chef/​entrepreneur, Hawker Fare ranks higher in our estimation.

On the 2015 SF Gate Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants List
3.5 stars but rounding up. We came for an early Father’s Day dinner, and I was able to make reservations for a party of 4 on a Saturday night at 6pm a week before. The restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived, but definitely got busier during the 1.5−2 hours we were there. They serve any dish you order as it comes out from the kitchen, which has it’s pros and cons– you get your food fast and don’t have to wait patiently for the appetizers, then wait again for the entrees. However, you could end up in a situation where you have 3 – 5 plates of food come around the same time and you’re eating faster than you should so that you can try everything before it gets cold. You could attempt to try and pace your dishes on your own by ordering in batches, but I think the pace of the food automatically slows down once there are more diners. We tried:
LOVES–
–Caesar Popcorn (Anchovy, Lemon, Black Pepper, Chives, Grana Padano Cheese, $ 6,
): A MUST ORDER– this was one of the best dishes, and I would be happy just eating 3 portions of this. All the ingredients worked amazing well together, and the saltiness of the anchovy and cheese combined with the zing from the lemon make this dish super addictive.
–Bread (Commis Levain, Whipped Lardo w/​Arugula, Lemon Zest, Sea Salt, $ 5,
): Yum– this is really good bread! The crust was super crunchy, and the middle part was very fluffy– highly recommended.
–Foie Gras Mousse (Chinese Five Spice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic Scapes, Golden Raisins, Twice Cooked Buns, $ 15, Foie Gras Mousse (Chinese Five Spice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic Scapes, Golden Raisins, Twice Cooked Buns, $ 15): You can order additional buns for $ 1/​each, and I would definitely recommend it since the buns were delicious. The mousse was also super creamy and luxurious, and I liked this dish even though it was a little too heavy on the five spice.
–Po’ Boy Twins (Fried Soft Shell Crab, Pickled Cabbage, Tartar Sauce, Milk Buns, Crystal Hot Sauce, $ 13,
): Yum– the soft shell crab was fried perfectly.
–Wagyu Beef Tongue (Braised Tendon, Burnt Onion Broth, Vietnamese Herbs, Bird Chile Vinaigrette, Lime, $ 18,
): WOW– the beef tongue was super tender and flavorful, and I enjoyed all the different flavors in this dish.
OK–
–Blistered Kanpachi Collar (Japanese Charcoal Aioli, Frying Peppers, Togarashi, $ 14,
): The parents liked this, but it was salty and on the dry side since they fried it instead of broiling.
–Linguica Corn Dogs (Served w/​Escabeche, Lime Crema, Whole Grain Mustard, $ 12,
): Solid but not amazing.
SKIP–
–Crispy Potatoes (Charred Octopus, Olive Tapenade, Wild Fennel, Preserved Lemon, $ 12,
): The olive tapenade was overpowering, the potatoes could have used more char and the octopus less.
–Berkshire Pork Shoulder (Santa Rosa Plums, Mustard Greens, Soybean Sprouts, Miso Dressing, $ 27,
): Yuck, this was our least favorite dish that night. The pork was super medium rare, and they used red miso for the dressing, which overpowered the entire dish. The pork was also chewy and bland.
–Buttermilk Panna Cotta (Vanilla, Blueberry Compote, Lemon, Mint, $ 7,
): I think they used too much gelatin since the panna cotta was really thick. I didn’t like the blueberry compote, which was too sour– this dessert needed some additional sugar, which is something I rarely say.
–West Oakland Tan Sundae (Salted Scotch Caramel, Malt Balls, Graham Cracker, Fudge Brownies, $ 8,
): This dessert sounded so good, but I didn’t think the components worked well together. Everything tasted good separately, but together, it was too sweet– I think the caramel was also too bitter.
Our service started off as really attentive, but we had to flag down our server a few times after the crowd came in. Come early if you want to avoid waiting for your food and drinks. I will probably be back at some point to eat more popcorn and check out The Beer Shed next door. Parking is easy to find since they have their own lot.

What’s up, Dock?
Ha!
With an uneasy misgiving, I take keyboard in hand. The feeling is not unlike the feeling one might experience when one was getting ready to tell the Unilocalosphere about a hidden hot spring or a slot canyon, or those other things that one loves but largely because there isn’t anybody else there. Sharing The Dock is different to me though because there are already hella people that know and you’re going to find out soon enough anyway so I may as well just sing the praises and get this over with. With the hot springs I’ll still be circumspect, though confident that even if I did divulge there’d be no rush of culturati from the Bay to the desert bc it’s dusty and there is no fine dining and it takes all day to get there and no Pious has ever made it over either pass in.
The other night I had a meeting that began at 7:30 in The West and was done with the work 90 minutes before and what to do. The evening previous I had an engagement at the brewery next door and had at the time wondered for a moment about TD and when I had this unexpected time on my hands the very next night I thought why not.
Sat at the bar and sampled beer and whisky that I had not previously tried. Bartender was perfect and chill and helped me taste things. I liked it so much that last night when I had promised the C monster whisky and she wanted to go to Old Town I thought wait a minute, she’d like this too.
We sampled fish po boy and asparagrass with a banana cream pie for dessert. Whisky. Damn sam it was good. Different chill bartender; friendly house, even on a Friday the sitting area for foods and the dozen or so bar stools were mostly filled but there was no din more a happy hum and conversations in conversational tones could be had.
Royalty coming. Soon. Watch.