Forge Jack London Square
| Address: | 66 Franklin St, Oakland, CA 94607, USA |
| Phone: | +1 510-268-3200 |
| Site: | theforgepizza.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10:30PM 11AM–10:30PM 11AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Stephanie Klein
Great pizza, really poor service. I went here with my friends for dinner tonight and ordered a cocktail. When it came to the table, it had a big, dead black bug floating right at the top of it. The girl who brought it out (who was not our waitress) left before I could say anything. When I finally got the attention of our actual waitress, she rolled her eyes and said "there are a lot of bugs outside." Now, I understand that there are bugs outside, I really do. And if I had been sipping on a drink for a while and a bug happened to land in it and die, Id deal with it. But I had clearly not touched the drink, and she knew that it had just been served to me (or at least she should have). Without the slightest hint of an apology, she said "its going to take a while for them to remake it." Now, Ive worked in the service industry for the majority of my life in various capacities. I have had beautiful, perfectly cooked cuts of meat returned to me as "unacceptable". Ive had customers insist their meals should be free, eat almost all of a meal and then send it back and refuse to pay for it, the works. It sucks, but Its just part of the industry. If theres anything Ive learned, its not to argue with the person youre serving. Just try your best to put on an apologetic front and do what they ask. It just goes with the territory- you are, remember, serving them. It really doesnt matter if its inconvenient for you at that moment or if you disagree with them, its your job to make them happy. And I understand that maybe your job sucks and people that need things fixed make that harder-I get that. But if you literally cant chalk up a smile or even a hint of an apology, you really dont belong in this line of work. On top of that, my friends food was 15 minutes behind everyone elses (with no apology or explanation, of course), our appetizer was brought out by some bus boy to literally every single table on the patio before he finally realized it was us (and it was a hot dish), all of our food and drink orders were brought out by different people, and our waitress never came to collect any of our plates when we were done with them (which is kind of gross after a while). But dont worry, her 18% gratuity was included.
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Shawn Clover
Ive had a great dinner here, but lunch is a different story. A group of us came here for lunch on a sunny Sunday and were seated outside. It was nice getting caught up with everyone at the table, but we were getting hungry and realized that no one had even acknowledged us. After some time looking around for a server, I looked at my watch and realized wed been sitting for over 20 minutes with no service. We flagged someone down and she went off to find a server from another section to help us. Finally, after 25 total minutes, we had a server who was very apologetic and accommodating. It was a warm day and I ordered iced tea. It had no ice in it and was lukewarm. The pizza is really good, and on par with my some of my favorite thin pizzas like Boot & Shoe Service or Zero Zero. This is a great place for dinner (and beer!) and Ill come back for dinner, but Ill pass next time were in Jack London Square looking for a lunch place.
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Amy Schroll
10/1/14 My in-laws took my husband and I out for lunch yesterday and we met at Jack London Square so that they could try Forge Pizza. We ordered the 3-cheese, my husbands favorite, and a meat lover that his dad picked, as well as an arugula salad that his mother and I enjoyed together. The pizza was as terrific as I remember it being last time we were here, which was unfortunately about a year ago! Two pizzas for our group of four was a good starter course - its not going to fill you up - but we wanted to leave room for dessert and Farmers Market food possibilities. The outdoor seating was awesome; it was a beautiful day and the view of the marina is very enjoyable. I was a little disappointed to hear that octopus wasnt being served at lunch, but was available if we came back for dinner. Ill definitely try it on another visit - and Id get the arugula salad again too. The anchovy-lemon dressing flavors were outstanding!
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Sean Schluntz
Visited Forge for a family lunch and I think its a nice place down in the Jack London Square area. Much more affordable than a few of the other choices in the area. The interior is a mixture of modern pub and Ikea with a mixture of high tables and booths. The metal chairs arent the best but they work to keep your butt from hitting the ground. A group of seven of us split four pizzas and an appetizer and it worked out perfectly. Their pizza selection is a mixture of pseudo-traditional Italian and Californian traditional. The crust is tasty and the ingredients are fresh and overall were good. Outside is fire, which is probably quite nice on cold days and give a nice vibe when youre hanging out with friends. I saw a couple of the staff interacting with folks and they all seemed to be positive. I really liked our server, she was helpful and kept our drinks full.
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Miles D.
I had a very bad experience at Forge on my first visit. Mostly due to the waiter we had that evening. I wrote the manager an email and he offered a gift card hoping we would return. I felt really bad about the first time and the experience we had because it was a favorite for a friend who invited us there the first time. We decided to return with the same crowd we joined for dinner before plus a few more and the food was delicious and our waiter was awesome. The drink menu was dope and the pizza options were as well. Many thanks for the second opportunity and the kindness of the manager to extend that offer to return. We were very pleased with our experience and will visit again soon.
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Vivian Chan
Hard to beat dining al fresco in Jack London Square on the waterfront--Forge has a five star location. Good drink selection with local brews. Food-wise, meh. The fried curds were what youd expect, crispy greasy cheesy goodness, but their pizzas (which should be their bread and butter) were not impressive. We went for the chorizo and corn, and the corn did not seem like fresh corn. After having had Slivers corn pasilla pizza just the past weekend, the comparison left a lot to be desired on Forges front. But for a couple drinks on a patio on a hot day or around the fire pit on a chillier one, Forge could be your place. Grab a seat in the front and people watch to your hearts delight.
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Victoria P.
Two words: Cheese curds Always, always, always order the cheese curds. Tiny fried cheese morsels with a marinara dipping sauce will turn that hangry frown upside down! I visited Forge through Savor Oakland Food Tours. The pizzas are neopolitan style, and I got to try the margherita pizza and their mushroom pizza. Im not a fan of mushrooms, but I that one was my favorite. The venue is very modern, with a patio area overlooking the marina. Ive passed by this place at night during the Eat Real festival and it was hoppin. I would love to come back here with a large group and enjoy the warm East Bay weather with their pizza.
