Jim’s Dock

I’m giving this place a 1 star based on our overall experience, not necessarily the food. The food was decent.
We arrived at Jim’s Dock at 6:30 on a weekend, which is prime time, and we expected to wait for a table. Finding a parking space is nearly impossible, so get there early.
Upon arriving, we (party of 2) were told it would be about a ½ hour wait for a table. No biggie. We took our 6 pack of Corona (BYOB) and sat down on the upper deck to enjoy the view of the marina.
After about an hour and 4 Coronas later, we asked if they skipped us, since we’ve seen several large parties wait, then get seated, eat and leave. Nope, we were still in line behind 2 other couples. Ugh.
After another 45 minutes, I asked again and was told we were behind one other couple. When I asked for an approximate wait time because «we were told ½ hour wait and that was 1 hour and 45 minutes ago!» I was told by the manager that the wait time would be the time it took for a couple to finish and leave their table. Yeah, thanks Einstein!
Well, 2 hours later, just as the sun completely set, leaving us in the dark, we were seated. And the hostess was all excited and informed us that «we got you a BIG table!» as if that was going to make up for our 2 hour wait!
So now we ate our lobsters in the dark, while the mosquitoes enjoyed snacking on us! My wife was bitten probably 30 times!
Then as we left, I noticed the inside tables were completely empty. The hostess told us to have a good night. I said, «I wish you would have mentioned that you had inside seats available, so we could actually SEE our meal and not get eaten alive by mosquitoes.» Her reply, «We have bugspray.» and «It’s not the tables that are a problem, the *kitchen* was backed up.»
Um, sorry sweetie, but if it was the KITCHEN that was the issue, we wouldn’t have sat for 2 hours while every other party of 4+ were seated, ate and left.
And to top it all off, people go there, eat, then STAY AT THEIR TABLES for an hour or more to enjoy the sunset, while other people are waiting for a table. Jim’s needs to put a time limit on tables to avoid this situation. You order, you relax, you eat and when you’re done, you LEAVE and let someone else enjoy the experience.
Needless to say, I will NEVER be back. (And who serves french fries with steamed lobster?)

I usually only like to write reviews if they are good, but this was a tough one. First of all, shame on me for visiting a waterfront restaurant prime time dinner time on a Saturday. However, the hostess said the wait was only a half hour, so my husband and I took our byob beers to the deck and hung out.
…Almost two hours (and one six pack) later, we were finally seated just in time for the sun to set where we couldn’t see our food and were devoured by Mosquitos (30+ bites to be exact). I mentioned that to the waitress and she laughed and said «yeah, they’re bad here».
The food was good, but I couldn’t see it and I was so itchy from the bugs I just wanted to go home. The hostess mentioned as we were leaving that they had bug spray. Gee, thanks.
Service needs quite a bit of work here, but it doesn’t seem like the staff genuinely cared about turning over tables and they let some parties linger on and on with no orders while there was an 1.5 hour wait.
Tip: This place caters to large crowds (they only have a couple tables for two) so you’re more likely to get seated being in a large group and not forgotten about like my husband and I.

Always liked Jim’s Dock… until this past Monday! We asked the hostess to be seated outside in the shade as it was 99degrees outside. She brought us to a table that was mostly in the sun… duh…we asked to move to the table in the shade and she said sure. So we moved. I don’t even think there was more than 5 people having lunch at the time (1:00). While looking over the menue a waitress came over and asked us if we could move because they had a party of 10 that just came in. We said «no» we were sitting here. About 10 minutes later another waitress comes over and tells us that they are going to have to move us because the party of 10 has to sit here, so we got up and said we were leaving and wanted to speak to the manager. Well the manager never came and after a few words with the waitresses that had gathered around we left… too bad, very shabby treatment!!!

Pros:
Beautiful location
Byob
Beautiful location
Outside seating
Cons:
Overpriced for what you get
The food at Jims is ok above average even. I have pretty high standards for food and after 5 visits have yet to have a meal where everyone liked their order.
The lobster roll is always excellent. The fish and chips is ok. The best bet is the fish of the day special.

Great for a reasonably priced and good breakfast.
Okay for lunch. But overpriced. A lobster roll, fish sandwich and two iced teas came to $ 42. without tip! $ 22 for a small, mediocre lobster roll?! C’mon. Website is not updated so disregard the menu prices.
Nice view of the boats in Galilee but food is much better at Matunuck Oyster Bar.

Good breakfast. Dog friendly
Out on the deck. Service was great. Cool little fish tank with some small dogfish and other cool little sea creatures. Big hit with the kids!

Sit on the dock if you go. Service was a bit on the slow side, but this is good to have a leisurely lunch. Was surprised to find the whole belly fried clams were more expensive than the lobster roll, but both were fresh and delicious. Always ask about the market prices if you want to avoid that surprise.

Great little place off the road with lotsa decking for outside seating to watch the boats coming in/​out.
It’s BYOB so come prepared with your libations of choice. The outside deck was pretty busy so I opted for a interior table by the water which was fabulous since there was an excellent panorama of the Marina.
I ordered a dozen oysters. Super fresh, & delicious. Service was super fast, and friendly.
Definitely coming back! All the other dishes looked great & I loved the atmosphere & vibe.

Over priced. Food is extremely average if not below. Wouldn’t doubt the fish being frozen. Why go here when you drive by Matunuck Oyster Bar to get here and the prices are exactly the same. Only gave it three stars because of the view.

Great food, great service!!! Young wait staff was very attentive! Awesome chowder and clam cakes. I’ll be returning often. Oh yeah, the views from the outdoor seating area are very relaxing.

We tripped over this place looking for a place to eat while dropping our daughter off at school. What a find! We were bummed that it was BYOB only because we were not prepared. The food was excellent and good value. Deck seating a major plus. We will return on our next trip to URI, but will bring a bottle of wine next time. Linguine with clams and blackened swordfish were both well done.

Love kayaking over with my friends and pup. BYOB with some great oysters and clamcakes! I always tip over 20% since they have to handle my empty 12er haha.

I’ve been to Jm’s several times this past summer. I head out thinking i will go to Matunuk Oyster house and when i see the lines and the crowd, I keep going straight to Jims. The clam cakes and chowder are always fresh and delicious. I also am a huge fan of the ahi tuna, i get it on a bed of greens with balsamic dressing. Jim’s is BYOB and has a large deck out back with beautiful views of point Judith. There is a weird parking strategy, but overall it’s OK. You leave your cell phone number on your windshield and they will call you to move your car if you have blocked someone. Not a big deal. Parking is definitely scarce. Jims is a favorite of mine, for sure.

I wish this place was closer. It has everything I could ever wish for.
— Waterfront location
— Dog friendly
— BYOB
— Best lobster roll ever
I need more Jim’s Dock in my life.

Nice little place to grab some food by the water. I went by boat, they don’t have dedicated docking for customers but they can cater to open spots while empty. I had a lobster roll which was good but there was almost to much bun and a little dry. Fries were very good. BYOB so we brought our cooler right off the boat to the deck. I would definitely go back.

My mom lives near this place, and we go at least once a summer. Over the past few years the menu has gotten better (salads!), but at heart it’s a fish-​and-​chips place with a killer view of Point Judith/​Galilee and the Block Island ferries. They also have docks and a small beach where the kids can play, and a lobster tank with some small sharks swimming around, which kept my kids fascinated for a long time.
This year I had a blackened Mahi sandwich. I enjoyed it, but the Mahi was not noticeably blackened. The fries are generic seasoned fries. I like their coleslaw, and I ate my son’s leftover fish and chips, which was fine if nothing special. The service was fine, but again nothing to write home about.
Take note that they only accept cash, do not make reservations, don’t serve alcohol (BYOB) and permit/​require double parking in the lot (leave your cell number on the dash).
If my mom didn’t live nearby I wouldn’t ever eat here, but once a summer it’s a lot of fun and an OK meal with a great view.
A note about how I rate: It seems to me that people mean very different things by the stars they give in a review. Here’s what I mean: 5 stars means that a place is exceptional in some way, special even among very good peers; 4 stars means that the place is very good in every relevant category but not outstanding or exceptional; 3 stars means adequate – a place I would go to again but not great; 2 stars means unacceptable – a place I would not go again because it is seriously deficient in some way; 1 star is horrible, that the place was not only unacceptable in some way but that it was exceptionally, unforgivably bad. In every case my rating is comparing the place reviewed to similar places– thus an outstanding diner gets a 5 even though on an absolute scale its food might not be as good as that at a gourmet restaurant.

I mean, it’s a tourist trap, but the views and décor are great and the food is very decent. The lunch menu is just about $ 10 for everything so not very overpriced either unless you opt for the specials which are in the $ 20 – 25 range with smallish portions.
On my most recent trip I got the fish and chips which was delicious, and the crab cakes which they slipped me a side of maple syrup for! Delish! I’ve had the tuna here too, which is a catch. GET IT?

BYOB on the water is a nice touch. delicious oysters, muscles, clams, chowder, etc… pretty much can’t go wrong with the sea food. French fries are fire. breakfast never disappoints. been coming here for the past 20 years with my family, if you have something bad to say about it… gtfo

Fantastic fresh seafood and byob joint. We had beautiful sweet salty fresh creamy oysters on the half shell, doughy chewy clam cakes, fresh battered flounder sandwich, rich tangy chowder, and mussels in white wine garlic sauce and ate it all down to the last drip of butter off the mussels. So so so so good. So good.

I don’t get all the great reviews here. First, they are overpriced for what you get and I do not believe the food is fresh. I was looking to get a lobster roll somewhere and all they had is a cold lobster salad roll for $ 19. Something I can get for $ 5 less at hitching post. not even worth trying. Warm with butter should at least be an option at a seafood place. A cup of lobster bisque is $ 9. 6 shrimp is $ 14. It comes with coleslaw and fries but I do not usually eat fries. I asked for more coleslaw instead and still only got one serving for the same price. They have not updated their website and as a result are advertising cheaper prices so you get there and it is more than you thought. I like the atmosphere and the service was good but that’s it. I should have just went across the way to the other seafood places.
I ordered the crab cakes and fried shrimp with coleslaw. The $ 9 crab cakes were fishy and fresh crab cakes are NOT fishy. I also dislike fish so I was not pleased. The coleslaw was fine, shrimp was flattened and fried to a very hard crisp. Both of my seafood items remind me of something from the freezer section. I left very annoyed that I spent $ 30 here. I was in and out in 30 minutes. The food is served on cheap plastic plates with plastic utensils. Do not pass Matunuck Oyster Bar for this place. That is where I should have went. The difference in the food is night and day.
Also, when i got there I walked up the ramp and wandered around before figuring out where to go. Now common sense dictates that the winding ramp that ends right in front of the building would be the entrance. Not so. It is outside to the left of the ramp and there is no sign to tell you not to enter the ramp. The girl said they just opened for the season and are working out the kinks. huh? This is not a new business people. They have had many many seasons before. Parking here is a clusterf**k and I saw many cars double parked. Overall I was very underwhelmed and left wishing I had gone elsewhere