When you get served a surf and turf that costs $47, and you get it and it appears it has been under heat lamps for hours(I was also the last of our party of 6 to be served and had to wait for a unsatisfactory substitution), and you already have emailed the company BEFORE you write a public review and you get crickets??? Yeah, me, and my whole family will not be coming back. Make a change, or sell the business. It's apparent that quality control and customer satisfaction are NOT at the top of the Owner's or Manager's list.... read more

Delicious food, nice staff and great views, love Sailor Jack's. Keep up the good work!

What a gem! We had a fabulous first experience at this spot. Excellent food. Excellent service. And a gorgeous view! I had the shrimp Louie and added blackened salmon. Absolutely loved it! I'm on keto so subbed out the 1000 island for ranch. We also had the Brussels spouts app. Everything was delicious! And our server was fantastic! Excellent service. We will definitely be back! read more

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Wanted to have a quiet dinner and rolled dice on Benecia's 1st street. Plenty of places to dine on that street, but randomly went with Sailor's Jack. I have no regrets. The view of the Carquinez Strait from my table was a beautiful sight. Even though I've fished there many times, it was a different perspective. It was a Monday evening and the entire place was chill. I only seen 2 different tables being waited. I was surprised and appreciated the lack of traffic. As far as the food goes, I was happy. Not like I was blown away by the food, but it was perfect for the occasion. One thing worth mentioning is that the gumbo didn't taste like gumbo. It was more like a cioppino and still great nonetheless. Our waitress has been nothing but the best. There's nothing really more I could ask for. I'd definitely return but never on a busy day. One day I'd would like to just enjoy their appetizers with a few rounds of beer. read more

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Food is pretty good but the service is HORRIBLE. First, we wanted to sit by the water but were told there was no room so we were placed alone on a small deck. Then we saw other people sat group by group in the empty tables along the water. I had the special which was Mexican sea bass over risotto and the flavor was great. The kids loved their food. My fiance had the calamari and clam chowder. The clam chowder is really good and the calamari is ok. The service is terrible terrible terrible. It takes them forever to bring everything. We were 4 people with 2 kids. The adults food came in a reasonable amount of time but the kids food took FOREVER. They came out and said the kitchen was backed up. Why didn't they make all of our food together? 30 minutes after our food came, the kids food still finally came and our food was cold so we couldn't essentially eat our food hot together. The waitress was empathetic but the kitchen has no idea what they're doing. Although they comped the kids plates for the wait and brought them ice cream, I overall wouldn't recommend this place. It's not worth the wait. read more

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Food is fantastic. I had the cod and chips which was delicious. Also had the ahi poke which was equally amazing. The service though is very slow. I'm talking snails pace slow. Takes a very long time to get your drinks and a bill. Food is 5 stars. Service is 2 stars. I'll still come back though bc I really loved the food. read more

Oh my goodness! Everything was absolutely delicious. The battered shrimp were cooked to perfection. I can't wait to return. The service person was a joy. She was very attentive. The atmosphere and the design of the restaurant is as if you were aboard a ship read more

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Sailor Jack's might be one of the cutest spots on the water -- the setting is absolutely charming. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. The service is downright awful. Slow, disorganized, and indifferent at best. It feels like no one's in charge, and no one really cares. Requests are forgotten, orders come out wrong or cold, and you're left wondering if anyone working there has actually been trained. The food is just as bad -- bland, overcooked, and overpriced. It's the kind of meal that makes you regret not going somewhere else. For a restaurant in such a prime location, it's honestly baffling that the quality is this low. What this place really needs is a competent manager and a chef who knows what they're doing. Until that happens, it's all wasted potential. Come for the view, but don't expect anything else to live up to it. read more

Chose this place for the outside area in front of their building as I had my dog. The Sevice was actually good and pretty attentive and even brought my pup a bowl of water. Sadly the Calamari was awful. It seemed like it was freezer burnt and then deep fried. It was tough and chewy, and some pieces were inedible. It was like chewing gum that you could not break down. It was bad. I was going to order food but with prices and the appetizer being so bad I decided on just the beet salad. It was pretty good but a bit sweet. Needed more spinach with all the pecans, and other sweet dried cranberries and some other berry. The dressing although was good it was too sweet and too much. I'm glad I didn't order food to be further disappointed. My drink was good but as hot as it was, I had to get more ice. They don't skimp on the drink which was nice. Wasn't overly impressed but my sever was good and pretty attentive. read more

Well the atmosphere was great. But the salmon I ordered gave me terrible food poisoning. I mean, soon as I got home it was projectile vomiting like the damn Exorcist. I will never eat there again. Stay clear if you don't want a full body purge an hour after eating. read more

Food is ok. Price is ok. Service is ok. I like that this place is by the water. Bread is good. read more

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Had the best lunch! The food, service, and atmosphere were all outstanding! My party of four was shocked that the overall rating was so low on yelp. We couldn't understand why. We had the calamari appetizer which was delicious! We split the fish tacos and poke appetizer - both of which were fabulous! Had a merry berry mule their holiday cocktail which was also delicious! Looking forward to going back! read more

Eat here all the time. It's always good food and great location. Try the mahi-mahi tacos. Service is excellent as well.

Long overdue review... Been here a handful of times and must say the food and views are just amazing! Have had the calamari, mahi mahi tacos, chowder and oysters. Great location with lovely views and the ambiance of the restaurant is adorable. Small parking lot but plenty of parking options on the street. Quantity and quality of food great. Customer service could be improved as it's my only concern. Younger female Server was not attentive and had forgotten our requests for service. Upon first visit she was not friendly at all. Most recent visit didn't check on us until we were served the bill which was unacceptable. Did not refill our water or check in after food was served. No bread though we made sure to ask. For the most part would return though hope the service gets better read more

I love Sailor Jack's. I will admit my first time there it was super packed and I didn't think much about it. Good food, nice staff, it was a good experience. I've now been back several times in the past year and it's grown on me tremendously. Early evenings kissed by the sun and view of the water (inside or outside) paired with a delightful meal with wine and service with a smile never fails. read more

Popped in the lunch on Sunday and while there was a wait for tables we were able to sit at the bar right away which was nice. They've done some updates since I visited last and it looks really nice inside. The bartender was super nice. He was really busy since he was the only bartender. He made really good drinks (which I forgot to take a photo of). I had the Brussels sprouts (marked gluten free on the menu) they were good and I didn't have issues the next day so I think cross contamination is okay. Not a huge fan of the aioli it came with but they were good with hot sauce. I want to try the gluten free artichoke and spinach dip next time. All in all a nice time. Everyone we interacted with that worked there was nice and there were stunning views from the second floor. read more

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The food here is very mediocre and poorly handled, I have gone here twice and once i got food poisoning for 2-1/2 weeks not even able to eat and if i did i would throw it back up, I ordered their oysters and that's what did it! I loved oysters up until then and now i think they are absolutely disgusting. The service is sub optimal and they only have outside seating available unless you make a reservation and when you sit outside everything blows away because it is so damn windy. The view is quite nice though... It has cool decorations and is overly pricey for such a horrible experience. If you wanna spend money for food go to Matsuri in vallejo, they have great sushi read more

Went on a Saturday night, not busy at all. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and amazing food! I had the salmon dinner, cooked perfectly with nice crunchy asparagus and mashed potatoes. We are frequent customer and lately the customer service has drastically declined. Got our meals in and 1 round of drinks in and we never saw our server again. I couldn't get a Refil on my drink either. She came back finally and said I'm sorry I forgot about you guys I've been busy with other tables. Mind you our bill was over $100. Once we finished our food we sat for another 15 min trying to pay the bill. With this amazing view on the water eating such delicious seafood the customer service really needs to step up. This is the 2nd time in a row being forgotten while being a customer. read more

Sailor Jack's - Salmon dinner with mashed potatoes and asparagus - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

This used to be one of my favorite places to eat. The parking has always been sketchy but yesterday due to a festival it was insane. I love eating by the water, they kept the tents outside which I like. With all of the updates, you still do not have the ability to make a reservation online. You have to call and you will often receive a busy signal. Food: The drinks aren't as strong as they used to be. Which is a bummer. I had the Dona Benicia Margarita. It was good, but it wasn't strong it was light on tequila for sure. Crispy Brussels - no complaints they were good Fried Oysters- were ok, they could've been fried longer a few were undercooked. Service: The waitress was slow, she did put in the orders on a hand held device which was cool. When the food comes out it's wrapped in foil and dropped off at the table. They don't bother to remove the foil from the table which I find odd. We sat outside and there was a fairly large size rat roaming the dining area. It was very off putting and I've never seen any ever in my prior visits. Yuck. read more

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Other than the view, this was a really bad experience. Service: Our server definitely didn't want to be there. It sounded they were understaffed which sucks but there was only 1 other table occupied in the room. It took them about 10 minutes to take our drink order and another 15 before we got anything. I asked if I could get 2 each of the oyster types in the 1/2 dozen order. He said no. I get whatever the kitchen gives me or all of 1 kind. I asked which one is most similar to Kumamoto. He said he doesn't know and doesn't have time to go ask. Cool. I won't get the oysters then. Drinks: Decent beer menu but took forever for us to get what we ordered. Food: I got the beet salad. It was ok but way over dressed. It was swimming. My friend got the halibut over risotto. Terrible. No seasoning. Fish was super over done and the risotto was swimming in butter (and only tasted of butter). read more

It's a wonderful place for a date. My girlfriend and I had dinner there a few times and I recommend sitting on the entry level floor next to the windows. And if you time it just right, your date will look perfect with the sun setting and the water splashing on the beach. The food is wonderful. If you want to relive the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp, you can do that. The service is great. The servers are very polite. read more

Just back from lunch at Sailor Jacks. Fish n chips had good flavor but the fish tasted 'mushy' not flaky like the fish should be. This 'fish' was probably processed like fish sticks. One person had a beet salad with Shrimp. The Shrimp was tough and rubbery. When someone commented this fact to the waitress; "he old the waitress she should try the shrimp that it was no good". The waitress smiled and didn't say anything. Then the waitress comes back and asks if were want desert. She should learn about being a good waitress in a good restaurant. We should have asked them to take the shrimp off the bill since many went un eatened. Again, poor waitress....Didn't get our complaints. We won't be dining at Sailor Jack's again. We've been there many times before and something has changed..... There are many restaurants that outshine Sailor Jack's in Benicia..... read more

FOOD POISONING View and atmosphere is great. Server was grat. Clam chowder was great. Burger was rare. I did not even get half way through it, then had to stop. Could not finish my meal. Became nauseous, could not finish my meal. Barely made it home before having to throw up. Stomach sickness carried into the next day. Could not work. They took the burger off my ticket but wish I had never gone there. read more

Been here twice and alas each time I'm really hungry, then the food comes and it looks so good and smells devine and I forget to snap a picture. Hopefully next time. Food is fresh, perfectly prepared and so good that this combined with the views make this truly feel like a special treat place, though the atmosphere is laid back and comfortable. Staff have been friendly, helpful and considerate. Great service! Let's face it no matter how good the food, bad attitude and/or service from staff can ruin a meal. I have to drive about 30 minutes to get there, I'd drive 1.5 hours due to perfect combo of views and great food. Bonus. Right outside the restaurant is a lovely paved walkway out to a pier, or you can just drive out onto the pier if you prefer. Downtown Benicia is cute too. read more

We went here recently after a Beer event a road the street. We had a gorgeous view of the Bay and it was almost sunset. We did not have a reservation but they accommodated us for a party of. 3 easily. We had started of with a few cocktails and beer and appetizers. Calamari was nice and plentiful portion wise. I had ordered the Mango Tuna steak and wifey had a seafood pasta with Shrimp. Both dishes were very good and pretty good portion wise , as well. Server was super friendly and attentive. Their House beer isn't bad and we had a spectacular view of the sunset. Nice scenery and good food will bring us back to SJ's in Benicia. read more

Sailor Jack's - Pasta with Prawns and red sauce - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

Picked this restaurant for the view. Unfortunately the outdoor seating wasn't open so I got a window seat. Clam chowder was amazing. Fried oysters were good. Short ribs were dry and risotto undercooked. read more

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Walt here from Walt's Adventures and revisiting Sailor Jack's in Benicia, California. We love the seasonal decorations and we're immediately given a table out front. Instead of the ordinary bread that every restaurant delivers, we were given homemade biscuits. They were all light and flaky and served with both butter and jams on the side. It is recommended to use either one or both of the sides for the biscuits themselves were dry. When eaten with either side, the biscuits true flavor comes forth and are a delightful change from the usual. We ordered the Jack Burger and Fish and Chips. The burger was very good. It was juicy and flavorful. Although, it was so juicy that it made the bottom bun a bit soggy. The Fish and Chips was served with a home made tasting slaw. My only regret to the slaw is that I wish I had more of it. The presentation was a good amount but I was sorry to see the bottom of the dish. As for the fish, it was perfectly presented and you could even just dip it into the tarter sauce itself as if it were a large stick. Let's talk about the accompanying fries. The fries with the Fish and Chips were just fries. I was not impressed with what flavor I could find. The garlic fries, on the other hand, were underrated. These fries were some of the best garlic fries I've ever had a pleasure consuming. If given the option of fries, always choose the garlic fries. It was obvious that Sailor Jack's loves flavorful food and cares much about customer service. It is a restaurant that I am happy to say is one of my favorites. read more

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So I made a reservation online for 7pm and saying i want upstairs by a window for our anniversary dinner. They did actually accommodate that which was nice. I did think since it was our anniversary they would have gave us a dessert or something but no. First impression was the view was amazing. When we sat down our table was sticky everywhere. Our glasses were stuck to the table. The plate for bread had crumbs on it. So cleaning needs to be stepped up. Not sure what happened there. We tried 2 drinks on the menu. Strawberry martini and benicia sunset. The martini was ok but my drink benicia sunset is where it was. It was great highly recommend. We ordered the burger and fish n chips. our fries were great. The burger was ordered medium well but it was more medium i would have just ordered well done. But it tasted great my boyfriend loved it. The meat tasted fresh. My fish n chips were good as well. My only thing is I like mine crispy and I felt they could be more crispy parts in the middle felt soft making it seem soggy. It was good and I'd get again but I just like them more fried for a crispness. The bread is good as well not warm which sucks but still good. I feel it was a good dinner cant beat the view. We did have to ask since it was almost sunset for them to open the blind. they never asked us nothing and i wanted pictures and actually see it. so i had to ask someone to pull it up. Thought they would have said something. Also we got someone elses bill and the internet was out so it wasnt letting us pay. so we had to wait for them to fix it. But we weren't in a rush just glad i caught it was the wrong bill. I think overall I say 3 but 4 because the view is epic and I would go again. read more

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Such a cute local dinner spot! Service was great. Plenty of food and drink options to choose from. I settled for the filet and it was cooked perfectly! Garlic mashed potatoes were amazing too. Would love to come back and try oysters next time. read more

Sailor Jack's - Filet with mashed potatoes and broccolini - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

A tradition of our family on Christmas Eve is to take family to a restaurant with a view. This is a "WOW!" You can see from the Carquinez Bridge to Mt. Diablo! I took this picture just before dinner! Beautiful! We dined with 11 family members and we all agreed and were very pleased with all aspects of this Christmas Eve choice of meals. From the Crab Cake, Brussels Sprouts, Caand Oysters appetizer to their Halibut, and their Salmon dinners. The kids were also happy with their burgers! Service was nice and friendly, accommodating and efficient! 5 Stars in our book! read more

Sailor Jack's - Sunset at Sailor Jack's Restaurant Christmas Eve 2023 - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

It's our first time in Sailor Jack's. The food is great. The service is excellent. The ambiance is relaxing. read more

Sailor Jack's - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

Decided to eat in the bar since I was dining alone. As I sat down, the bartender (Steve) left...went downstairs and was gone for several minutes. As I sat there waiting I noticed several employees just standing in a small circle and chatting. No one acknowledged me at all. Eventually Steve reappeared and eventually made his way over to me. No apology for being gone, not even a smile. I got my cocktail and a few minutes later was able to put in my order. I ordered the Jack Burger that comes with fries or salad. I ordered it with fries...Steve asked me if I wanted Sweet potato or garlic fries..had no idea I had a choice. Ordered the garlic fries but had NO IDEA that I would be charged extra for them. Food arrived and my cocktail was finished. Shortly afterwards Steve asked if I would like another drink, I asked if they had 805, instead of "no I'm sorry but we do have ...." He just said a stern "no" gave me a menu and walked away. He never came back and when he did, I was half way through and gave up on him coming over. No "sorry I took so long," or whatever and NO there were not that many people there or a ton of drink orders to make. The restaurant has an incredible view from both the dinning room downstairs and the bar upstairs. If you want to sit in the bar then sit at a table and NOT at the bar. Your service will be prompt and you won't be ignored like you would be at the bar. C'mon Steve-smile or at least try to be nice. read more

Sailor Jack's - Cup of clam chowder - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

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Wednesday, November 15, Friend and I stopped in here to Sailor Jacks for lunch, we sat up in the bar area, beautiful view of the bridge. Met our server, Crystal, started off with just a drink, martini, and ice water and bread. I ordered a wedge salad with a nice piece of medium rare Salmon - The Food was delicious! I have been here several times and will return !! Thanks Crystal ! read more

Sailor Jack's - Wedge salad with salmon - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

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Heard and read great reviews about there fish and chips at Sailor Jacks. Excited to try, my daughter and I went. We sat outside near the water. Great view. Everything on the menu sounded delicious to us. Maybe that we were both just hungry. We wanted to try something that we never tried. Fried oysters. We asked a waitriess how popular they were. With a stright face very popular. When they came out, we both looked at each other. Not really what we were expecting. She tried first. I was waiting for her expression to pass. She said that I have to try. I did. I spit that out so fast. It was the worst thing that we have ever tried. Then we tried the salmon cakes. They looked good. Taste... let's just say we have had much better. A lot of breading. Then our fish and chips came out. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. They were ok. On greasy side. Tartar sauce was very good, as well as the coleslaw. The fries were awesome. Still have not found good fish and chips around here. Will still make the trip to bodega to get them as it is well worth the drive. Our waiter, George, he was great. We will go back and try something different. The customers at the next table food came out, their shrimp salad looked very good. Maybe we'll try that next. read more

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Get on the reservation list if you want to sit by a window woe outside by the water! Food- it's your American fare. Portions are generous and the meat is fresh and cooked well. Drinks- hubby likes their lemon drop, bring your own Diet Coke read more

Sailor Jack's - Sunburst Salad with Romain and blackened chicken - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

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I got the shrimp Louie it was really good. My friend got the grilled chicken club she liked it too. This was during lunch time. read more

Sailor Jack's - Shrimp Louie - Seafood Near Me - Benicia, California

+2 stars for location: table by the water on a beautiful day. Easy to get up and take a walk along the bay, or up First Street. The other guests also seemed very friendly. Food- below average. 1 of the fried oysters tasted like literal poop which put me off the rest. We left about 5 on the table out of a dozen. Crab Louie salad was very haphazard and the flavors didn't come together; it would've been better served as an intentionally deconstructed salad instead of one that was obviously thrown together with very little thought of presentation. Clam chowder wasn't bad, just average. My brother said that his salmon sandwich (not shown) was ok but I tried his fries and they weren't seasoned at all. Nothing, not even salt. They were like the fries you get in the freezer section at Safeway. Service- a little sparse. Our appetizer came out before we were provided utensils and bread- and no one noticed we weren't provided those things when they set the appetizer down. We had to ask for those separately. Also, I HATE the hand held credit card thing they give you that calculates the lowest tip at 22% and that percentage takes into consideration the tax. And the waiter is standing right there waiting for it. It makes you feel like a d*** if you want to provide a 15 or 20% tip on top of just the food. If the food didn't already leave a bad taste in my mouth, the credit card thing did. I'd give it another chance for the ambiance but order completely different things and also be aware of the tipping racket. read more

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I like this place! Great views and a great staff. Very cool inside, unique to say the least. Not for us today but looks like parking could be an issue during a busy time. My GF and I ordered calamari to start and it was perfect. The sauce it came with really made it better. She ordered the wedge salad and she enjoyed it, I had a taste and it had a good flavor. The blue cheese dressing was really good. I had the clam chowder and I was not impressed. Something was different from other chowders. Like there was to much of a seasoning the did jot belong. The bread they serve is a awesome sourdough and served warm. We both always ask if we would come back and we both said yes. I did watch about four plates come out of this opened faced crab sandwich. It looked really good and must be cause every table it to, just clean plates after.I WILL GET THAT! Why four stars? The chowder which I spoke about and we waited a while for our drinks to get refilled. Now I will also add this staff was busy and they are going up and down stairs. Again everyone there really nice and welcoming. Be more than happy to fill that last star after next visit. read more

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Our first visit to this restaurant. We usually go lucca or Bella Siena when in Benicia but it was for Sunday breakfast. So impressed with the "community vibe" - lucca does weekday breakfast and sailor jack on wkend so as not to compete. How kind! Hubby had eggs - I went more lunch menu with an appetizer - the ahi poke. It was delicious - high quality sushi grade tuna perfectly sauced. Amanda was so attentive and it was the same for all patrons. Views were nice - we will certainly be back given our usual seafood spot (wc yacht club) has closed. read more

Wow! We understand why this place is a local favorite now. The views can't be beat since it's right next to the water. We chose to sit inside since it was windy but still appreciated the scenery. The monte cristo sandwich was filling with just the right combination of savory/sweet. The salad was fresh. The clam chowder was rich and creamy and you can really taste the clams. The sole was tender and delicious. Overall, a great meal. Be warned that they really only have 2 bathrooms, so if you want to use them, there might be a wait. But otherwise a great experience. And you can stroll along the waterfront afterwards to walk off the calories. read more

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