Escape From Fisherman’s Wharf

The crab sandwich was excellent. Perfectly seasoned and tasted fresh and delicious. Lettuce and tomato both fresh as well. Try it on Dutch crunch bread. It was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The clam chowder was very good too. One point lost for being cash only business. No credit card or debit card accepted.

This place is ridiculously good. So far I have tried their crab sandwich, Reuben, clam chowder and calamari cocktail. The crab sandwich is unbelievably good! I have both eaten here and taken my food to-​go, food is consistently great either way. They are cash only so be prepared. The calamari cocktail is fresh not fried calamari just FYI. The sandwiches come with a small bag of potato chips and the calamari cocktail comes with two slices of sourdough, a lemon wedge and oyster crackers. The customer service here is awesome and they make you feel like such a valued customer.

Clam Chowder was great, so was the Ham and Cheese sandwich. Warm and friendly place, not too big. Recommend!

Best crab sandwich in the East Bay!
This is my second visit in the past week and I have been coming here for quite some time. I always get the calamari steak sandwich on dutch, crab melt on sourdough, and clam chowder. The crab melt is stuffed with crab and not heavy, the sandwich is just the right size. The cheese is melted and comes with lettuce/​tomatoes and the sourdough bread contrasts well.
The quality of the seafood is fresh and if you order something hot, it comes out piping hot! You can tell the owners really care about their customers because they always ask how you are doing and they remember you from before. To the customers who complain that this is a cash only place, there is a Grocery Outlet next door. You can go buy something small there and get cash back.
There is no need to drive across the bridge to get my seafood fix. This is truly a hidden gem and if you try any of the sandwiches you won’t be disappointed. I highly recommend this place and look forward to coming back again! Did I mention their cookies are amazing too? They have a wide ice cream selection which I will need to try next time. Great food!

Crab Sandwich was good, and pretty stuffed with crab.
I also got the Clam Chowder, which was okay.
Nice little mom and pop deli in a random spot. They have a large selection of various sandwiches! Prices aren’t too bad either.

I have to say that this place is really overrated, specially their highly acclaimed dungeons crab sandwich. I tried this along with some chili and some of my kiddo’s raw oysters. I would say that the oysters are the reason for the two stars. Back to the sandwich. Bland, poor portion of crab and bread too toasty. I could not get the taste that everyone has been raving about. Was not even picture worthy. Oh yeah the clam chowder was a little on the salty side. Maybe it was also the fact that they did not have any bread bowls. Well I won’t be back to try it again.

Based on fellow Unilocalers recco’s and a hankering for crab, I found myself in this little neighborhood shopping strip.
The little place was dark and warm and there was only a woman at the counter and a man in the back cracking crab.
I ordered the crab sandwich with Avocado on a croissant because what doesn’t sound delicious about that? Unfortunately, I had to pause to go next door and buy something to comply with the cash only (they don’t accept cards) policy.
But my order was complete by the time I made it back so all worked out well. The crab sandwich was awesome: Fresh, light and with the creamy avocado it was perfect. Seems weird that the they would serve with a bag of Lay’s chips but that was just the right amount of salt in the mix to set it off.
I will definitely go back. Apparently they will sell a whole crab at market value upon request. I’ll have to remember that and have enough cash on hand next time.

They may be small but the food is fresh! Homemade clam chowder served with a warm sourdough roll, add a crab cocktail, delicious! Give them a try. Open Monday –Saturday 11 – 8. Thank me later!

I ordered the crab sandwich because of the below reviews. This was the most BLAND/​BORING crab sandwich I’ve ever had. I won’t be going back.

A mom and pop shop serving clam chowder while using the popularity of a SF tourist trap, I guess that’s okay?
Fair prices, decent selection of fish and seafood options which in turn reminds me of a restaurant that’s aspiring to be like Swan Oyster depot in SF, but not all the way. Shrimp cocktails are available and a nice touch for the local area.
Opted for an Albacore Tuna on Dutch crunch sandwich which for some reason I was expecting to be a filet type of sandwich but turned out to be more tuna salad. An alright sandwich with some delicious dutch crunch.
Will probably try the clam chowder bread bowl next time around, seems to be their main seller or crab sandwiches, except crab season is in turmoil this year.

My family had lunch at that this little ol’ deli & seafood spot. My daughter had the clam chowder in a bread bowl. My husband had the pastrami sandwich with a cup of clam chowder. I had the crab salad sandwich, and they use real crab and not imitation which was fresh and delicious. Next time we want to try the calamari salad and hot crab melt sandwich. They also serve other meat sandwiches, salads, milkshakes, floats, ice cream desserts and espresso bar.

it would have been better if Escape from Fisherman’s Wharf was actually closed.
haven’t eaten in Fisherman’s Wharf for decades, i can’t judge the difference.
saw real crabs (probably previosly frozen) in deli case.
offerings: traditional and seafood sammies, clam chowder, clam chowder bowl, seafood cocktails, peerless coffee, seafood items.5.
eats:bowl clam chowder with garlic bread (5.95?)
–noticed clam chowder alone (3.85)
–soup starchy, little potato, clams mia.
–garlic bread filling, salty, garlicky
2.5 stars
crumbs:
–crackers really fresh, little experience in opening packiage so some scattered on floor.
–made it home without health issues so ingredients are fresh, just not prepped to highest standards.
–sad to say, doubt high end chains can do much better, food wise. boudin’s maybe…
–friendly, friends and family operation, a few tables inside for seating.

Just. .so. .yummy! We’ve lived in Pleasant Hill for a long time, and every so often we treat ourselves with some chowder and a sammy. The food is consistently good, prepared well and fresh-​crucial for seafood.
This past trip we ordered a crab sandwich combo, and a calamari sandwich combo. Both came with soup.
The crab sandwich on sour roll was packed with fresh crab. So much crab that chunks tried to escape with every bite. It was far from dry, and totally delicious!
The fried calamari on sour roll was perfectly cooked and tender. My son gobbled it in no time flat!
Oh the soup! Creamy, chunky, perfect. Everything homemade chowder should be. Perfect for the cooler weather right now.
Escape from Fisherman’s Wharf is a local gem, don’t miss out on trying a bite here! Truly 5 star food (cash only, so minus one star).

The menu was a bit confusing but i realizdd that $ 7 was too cheap for a crab sandwich. Then i thought the $ 12.50 combo was for the crab melt sandwich but it was actually the regular dry crab sandwich. There was a combo for the melt & clam chowder & salad for $ 17.50,but i didnt want a salad. The cashier told me itd be $ 2 less if i got the crab melt and soup by itself but i ended up paying $ 17.25. He didnt know the menu well and i realized he was making our sandwiches without gloves. Overall food was decent but id take the trip to SF if i could. Oh and CASH ONLY.

This place is great. Before today I didn’t know a place like this existed around the area. When I went in I realized this place was popular among older folk being that i was probably the only customer in the shop under the age of 50. Its a nice, quiet, comfortable place.
I love seafood so much so it’s hard for a place that sells crab sandwiches to go wrong for me. I had the crab melt and clam chowder. Both were great. Cant wait to come back and try new things!

Walked in and cashier was already waiting for us. Ordered Dungeness crab sammich on Dutch crunch ($ 9.75 extra .25), clam chowder with garlic bread ($ 5.95), for to go I got Reuben sandwich on dark rye ($ 7.95) and an order of clam chowder ($ 3.95). Total was $ 31… Ooops, as I handed her my debit card she says «CASH ONLY». So I had to go next door to grocery outlet buy something and get cash back (–1 star)
I loved my crab sandwich, it was simple and the star of the sandwich was the fresh chunks of crab. The bread wasn’t too hard like other Dutch crunch I’ve had. The toast on it was just right.
My son loved the chowder, although I wasted my money on the garlic bread because he didn’t even want to dip it in his chowder, when I tried the bread and dipped it, it was a perfect combo.
By the time my husband ate his Reuben the bread was too soggy but he said he enjoyed it. My take out clam chowder was also a hit for him and my son even ate more of his.
Will come back to try their crab melt! They also have ice cream, and espresso for sale.

1. Cash Only
2. Order the #5
I am blown away by this gem in Pleasant Hill!
Delicious clam chowder and crab sandwich on a toasty croissant with the most gorgeous, thick pieces of the freshest crab stuffed inside.
Can’t wait to visit again on my next trip to the East Bay!

Save yourself a trip to the city, and come to Escape From Fisherman’s Wharf! I was craving a tuna sandwich for the passed 2 and a half weeks… thanks to Unilocal,I was able to stumble upon this gem. And that crave for a tuna sandwich slowly passed on to a crave for a crab sandwich.
The menu has such a large variety of things to order from salads to clam chowder bread bowls to amazing seafood sandwiches — fairly priced, might I add.
They call it «escape from fisherman’s wharf» because of the bread that they’re using from that same location… at least that’s what I read on their menu. (I find the word «escape» to have some lingering negative connotations.) They’ve definitely brought some tasty food to our homes in the east bay, and I am grateful that they have!
I want to try everything on the menu! Sandwiches come with a small bag of chips. And they have a half and half order for soup and ½ sandwich for only $ 7.15 during lunch hours. The sandwiches that apply to that price are of course of the meat variety, not the seafood.
Their selection of bread ranges from sourdough, dutch crunch, wheat, croissants, and many more. My crab sandwich was about $ 10. BRING CASH!

This place will boldly take your taste buds where they’ve never gone before.
I lived in New England and know what great seafood and chowder tastes like. This place has the best crab I’ve ever had on the west coast. For lunch today I had their crab sandwich on a croissant and some clam chowder. The crab sandwich was to die for. All the flavors worked wonderfully together and I found myself upset when it was all gone. The clam chowder was pretty good as well, but paled in comparison to the sandwich.
The prices are incredibly reasonable for fresh crab and seafood. My whole meal was $ 12.50 and it was all that and a bag of chips (literally).
As mentioned in other reviews, they are cash only. The reason I didn’t give it a 5 is because the service wasn’t up to my standards. It wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t 5-​star worthy.
Either way, I will be back for their crab sandwich and to also try all the other delicious seafood dishes on their menu.

What a hidden gem of a restaurant! I wish I knew about this place earlier (thinking that I’ve lived here for all my childhood). This place is small, quaint and is riding on years of service, but the homeyness of seafoods and soups fresh from San Francisco are something that is definitely appreciated.
This place is run by a small Asian family (as it seems) and they seem to treat each customer with concern and care, even if just doing they’re everyday job.
Their daily specials are often a good deal. I had the Shrimp Croissant Sandwich + Soup, which comes with oyster crackers and a bag of chips. The quality of the seafood is really fresh and the shrimp is like a shrimp salad (much the way a crab salad would be in a sandwich). Although I would have preferred a different bread than a croissant, the food is definitely comforting. The soup is classic Clam Chowder with potatoes and clams and it surely makes you feel warm inside while filling you up satisfyingly.
The pricing here is expected for fresh seafood, as you can’t find food like this often in the area. I’d love to come back when I’m craving a good bowl of Clam Chowder or even just a seafood deli sandwich. The quality and taste will bring me back – and they make/​prepare every meal right on the spot. Fresh, hot garlic bread? Yup. If you don’t mind a seemingly outdated interior/​exterior, you’ll find this place a treat as well.
Also: CASH ONLY. They’re pretty old school here.