Forge Pizza

Had the Arugula salad and a Margherita pizza with my aunt Susan! Everything was delicious and the outside seating was very cool. Our waitress was cool and I liked the fact that the bus boy cleared the plates and wiped the table before we got up to leave. I could tell he didn’t do it to try to rush us. Overall, second time here and I love this place. I will definitely recommend it to anyone who is seeking a great place to eat along the Waterfront in Oakland’s Jack London Square.

Nothing but great things to say about this place… Food, atmosphere, and service is impeccable. Did walk in last Friday at 10:30pm, starving… Only place around still open (according to Unilocal hours) and they told us they were closed. Not cool.

The location and ambiance is nice but I was not impressed with their food or service. My boyfriend and I came here for and early dinner on a week night before heading to a movie. It was only a little past 5pm so there weren’t too many people there. Our waiter took forever to take our drink order and we almost asked to cancel it since it took so long. We split a salad and the margarita pizza. The pizza was thin, greasy, and overpriced for what you get. I most likely won’t be coming back.

Great pizza and friendly staff make this a great place to meet up after work. They have a good list of beers and cocktails and ample seating. The only drawback is that it can get noisy inside so you have to be okay to talk over the din at times. They also have outdoor seating which is great during the summer.

I love this place. It’s a great location, the staff is consistently friendly and wonderful, and the food is good. I’ve been here a ton of times and never had a bad meal. I’d highly suggest adding an egg to your pizza. It sounds weird or possibly terrible but no, trust me, it’s great. I’ve never had a bad seat in the place either. Outside is fun, but can get a little windy. Inside can get a little loud but again, still good.
One downside — they got rid of the chocolate mousse! I’m allergic to their current dessert offerings and that chocolate mousse was one of the best desserts I’ve had in years. I really miss it!

Fast Friendly and good price. We shared a salad and we shared the spicy salami pizza. We had Heff Beer that had banana under notes.
We will return great place!

Been here twice. Not impressed and don’t plan to come back.
My husband and I came one night during the week. The service sucked, frankly. Seated us and forgot about us. Finally we order drinks. They take forever to arrive.
Then they brought out the wrong pizzas. The woman argued with me about it too. Really? You are telling me what I ordered??? Of the two of us, which one of us is more likely to remember MY order!
Finally they brought out the correct pies. Just dropped them off and said, «here, these should be the right ones,» and ran off. No apology. Nothing.
My husband ordered a: pepperoni, speck, sausage and onion pizza. It was delicious. The speck was uncooked and just sliced on top. Tasted great that way. My pizza was the mushroom and sausage and was below average frankly.
So I thought, hey, they had an off night.
Then this weekend our friends wanted to meet here for dinner. I say fine, to give them a second chance.
We go. The booth is dirty. Thank goodness I carry wipes. My husband ordered the same pizza he ordered the last time we were here, with the speck.
Comes out and it looks NOTHING like that last one. The speck is cooked and under the cheese instead of on top. I explain it to the server. Different server but THIS ONE ARGUES WITH ME TOO! Really???
This time the pizza is all salt. Tasted terrible. I tried the two other pizzas at the table. Neither of them were any good either. And the fried cheese curds are bland and soggy.
What the heck is wrong with this place? They need to train their servers and their kitchen staff so much better. And their pizzas, at 19 – 25 a pop, suck.
My husband and I are from the NY/​NJ metro area. We know good pizza. This isn’t it. Keep looking folks. Trendy, loud, over crowded, with poor service and frankly overpriced food.

Great location and great atmosphere are pluses at Forge Pizza. In the heart of Jack London Square, which has been given a resurgence in recent years, this spot knows how to craft a good pizza.
But before we ate the pies, we had to try out the fried cheese curds ($ 9). I would highly recommend these if you’ve got a few people at the table. Otherwise – watch out! Cholesterol city. They were addicting, but I had to stop eating them since they’re like, a trillion calories each.
For the healthier eater, I would highly recommend the warm spinach salad ($ 10). Topped with crispy shallots, blue cheese and dressed with warm bacon vinaigrette, it’s one of the best I’ve had in awhile.
We ordered 2 pizzas: the classic Pepperoni ($ 18.50) and the Cauliflower ($ 19.50). Both were very good, but very different from each other. The pepperoni had an expected saltier flavor with a bit more kick. The tomato sauce stood out to me the most. Its creamy sweetness gave it a unique character. The cauliflower pizza, on the other hand, was a bit more subtle. Containing some solid ingredients (pistachio pesto, leeks, Gruyère, arugula), this one was set up to be a standout. However, I think I preferred the pepperoni’s savory flavors. Back to back, the two pizzas were just too different to pair together, and the cauliflower just got a little overpowered. Nonetheless, they were both terrific and I would order them each again – but individually.
Ironically, the highlight of the whole meal was the Forge Burger with cheddar ($ 15.50). It was actually amazing! The meat had some tasty flavors happening and the bun it was served on was buttery and just crispy enough. We ordered it with blue cheese, but they accidentally put cheddar on top. Despite the mess-​up, we kept it and were not disappointed at all – rather thankful. Suspicions were raised on whether or not the kitchen just passive aggressively gave us the cheddar knowing it would be better. Either way, I’ve just entered this burger into my Top 10 (fax me for the rest of the list).
My only complaint with this place was the price. If everything was just a few dollars cheaper, we’d be all good. If you have some extra money to spend, head on over to Forge Pizza because the food will definitely be worth it.

I made a reservation online for 6:30, with a request for an outside table. We arrived promptly, but had to wait half an hour to be seated. The woman at the front desk was extremely charming, but the management needs to be more realistic about how long each party will take. Keeping people waiting for half an hour is unacceptable, and offering them an inside table is really not a substitute.
That said, the beer was good, and the salads and pizzas were excellent. It’s a very pleasant atmosphere, but be prepared to wait. Or leave.

i made a reservation from Unilocal.No wait time, great customer service… front desk team is A+
Food is really really good, curds-​pizza-​wings… i will come back for sure. I recommend to my friends.
* nice view
* happy hour 3pm-​5pm week days (½ price pizza=)

Have to give this place 5 stars for the view, the super friendly servers. The cauliflower pizza is consistently great; cauliflower roasted to perfection. Drinks are tasty as well. Oakland has gotten so expensive to eat out, and consequently I have gotten very particular about restaurants — since they are all expensive. This place is worth it!

Awesome spot on Jack London Square. Very chill and friendly atmosphere, great bar with top shelf microbrews and friendly service.
I had the Three Cheese Pizza and added Sausage and Salami and it was wonderful for two! We experienced very friendly and knowledgeable service. We were served by Ashley at the bar and she was awesome and very friendly and the first beer she recommended to me was spot on. I would definitely recommend this place and go back there again.

Hey Bay Area! this is nice place to eat over here. Large indoor seating as well as very nice outdoor seating area with views of the water. I wanted to come to Jack London for dinner and found this place and it was on the night the Warriors got 73 wins so lots of people with warrior gear. We sat outside since it was less noisy and enjoy the nice scenery around us. I was happy to see there was heat lamps to keep us warm!
Everything was pretty good in terms of service and food. The first thing we tried was the cheese curds and I’m not a huge fan of cheese but these tasted great. It was deep fried perfectly on the outside and the cheese quality was good. I got the Fat Boy pizza with all the meat on it and I liked it. It was pretty cheesy in different spots but overall good. My wife got the Arugula salad and she commented how the vinaigrette dressing was good and light but wanted more croutons. She said it was good and tasted fresh. Lastly we got the chocolate mousse which smaller than it looked on Unilocal pics but very tasty, rich, smooth and creamy.
Overall I enjoyed my time here and had a good dinner. Oh btw, congrats to the Warriors. As a Laker fan myself, I’m happy for the Warriors getting the record tonight.

Clean, trendy, nice outdoor seating. It was a nice late lunch. Even though it was a very weird hour, still a handfull of ppl. Plus it’s right by the pier so the ambiance is great.
We got margarita pizza and cheese curds for appetizers. The cheese curds were excellent and I recommend to anyone who like cheese. They make the tomato sauce themselves too. The pizza was yummy. I liked the crust that was chewy rather than hard and flat like some places. For taste it was good but I think needed a bit more cheese.
We also came during happy hour so pizza was half off. Pretty awesome.

Been here twice in the past two weeks, far exceeded my expectations.
Presentation ⁵⁄₅:
Whether you decide to sit inside the restaurant or outside the restaurant, this place has a very tasteful décor. A bar centered in the middle of the restaurant with both big and small tables elaborately placed around it. Has low lighting which creates a very laid back ambience and the servers/​workers here appeared to love their job. Outside, there are tables/​lounges around a warm ‘immortal’ fire if you prefer the fresh air.
Customer Service ⁵⁄₅:
Don’t remember the gentleman’s name (had long hair) but he was very knowledgable of the menu and the daily specials. Didn’t seem rushed and checked on us very often (despite the crowded restaurant) to refill waters and ask if we wanted anything else.
Food ⁵⁄₅:
Not really a big fan of traditional pizza but this was a definite change up.
Thin crust with fresh toppings, tried the Fat Boy and Cauliflower w/​Prosciutto pizzas.
Lightly marinated chicken wings that were a change from regular wings drenched in sauce, and the mussels are a must try (comes with fries for you fast food lovers).
(As for the beer, try the California something, it is quite refreshing)
Overall, ⁵⁄₅. Definitely a nice place to take a date for a change of scenery or a spot for friends to come and watch a game. Every staff member is wicked.

I do not frequent Jack London Square as much as I would like, but when I do get the chance, I try to check many new restaurants as I possibly can.
Forge Pizza was on my list of places to try because of their thin crust pizza, much like Neapolitan style. It was hard to decide what type of toppings I want, everything sounded so good. Therefore, we ended up ordering half/​half Fat Boy and Smoked Prosciutto pizza top with arugula. An order of crispy cheese curds with a side of tomato sauce for dipping sure hit the spot.
With the view overlooking the Marina, one would say this place is awesome. On top of that, the service was excellent. I hope you give this pizza joint a try. Cheers!

Why 5 stars? Because everything about this place was just ridiculous.
— — —
This was my first time to hang out in Oakland, and I came away very impressed. With the reputation that Oakland has developed, you’d think that you’d have to drive around in an armored car to get around. Of course, we live in a sensationalized society, so I’m happy to report that I made it out alive! And Forge Pizza could not have been a better Oakland Ambassador for me.
Ambiance — We sat outside on a typical, chilly night in the Bay Area, but it the heat lamps kept us plenty warm. I was a bit nervous to set up shop outside due to the temps, but those heaters were busting their ass to keep us comfortable.
Service — It couldn’t have been friendlier. We had a very lovely server who was came by often to check on us.
FOOD:
Brussel Sprouts — Among the best I have ever had. Amazing.
Cheese Curds — Absolutely THE BEST I’ve ever had. The highlight of the meal.
Pizza — We went with a Fat Boy and a Three Cheese. They were both tremendous. Again, some of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.
Beer — The selection was phenomenal. Tons of local and other west coast beers to choose from, and I found a couple different options I’d never tried before.
So as I said, Forge Pizza could not have been a better ambassador for the city of Oakland. If only their basketball team wasn’t so damn unbeatable, I’d be all-​in for OAK.

A friend and I decided to meet in Jack London Square and landed on Forge as our lunch option. We were seated at a tall table near the back. I was excited to hear that they have hooks under the tall tables for purses since the chairs don’t have backs.
I love the ambiance at this place. It’s big and open. There is a patio, with heaters, where you can enjoy your beer and pizza while people watching. Our service was great!
The server arrived shortly after being seated. She was great! I only wish I had her name to give her props! We ordered beers (proving ground IPA for me!) while we decided on pizza. We went for the Margherita Pizza… And pretty much inhaled it. We initially were going to get only one pizza, but decided on a second. We ordered the spicy salami, which was also a hit.
Can’t wait to go back to eat more pizza! And try those cheese curds, I’m disappointed we didn’t order those.

I am giving Forge 4 stars because, I didn’t indulge in any libations or dessert.
Pros:
Kindly Greeted upon our arrival
The cheese curds and the fat boy pizza definitely was a hit.
Our service was on point and the food was ser ved faster than a two minute brother.
I will fo sho be back, will indulge in some vino and some sweets!
4 yums up!
The cons are I didn’t have any wine or dessert!

One of my favorite neighborhood hangouts. The waterfront location makes for great atmosphere, whether at counters overlooking the marina and the promenade, or at outdoor fire pits that are good for groups. Inside, there are sports screens and seating options (a bar for small groups, booths for larger ones, and a large communal table) galore, which makes for what I feel is the best sports viewing of any bar or restaurant in the immediate area.
Of course, it’s the food that makes the venue. I’m a fan of the pizzas here. Even though they’re on the greasier side, I find that they’re generally loaded with toppings and worth the price. The fried cheese curds are a sinful, must-​have appetizer too. There’s also a well-​curated selection of beers on tap. In addition, service is always friendly, fast, and on point, whether from the bartenders, or from hostesses like Bridgette and Ashley.
Overall, one of the better choices along the Jack London Square waterfront, and one that’s certifiably dependable enough to revisit if you live and/​or work in the neighborhood.