Nick’s Lighthouse

When in SF, you gotta have clam chowder right?
I came in with a group of about 8 late rainy night. Clam chowder sounded about right for the weather. I ordered the Clam Chowder bread bowl. It was decent, but might have needed a bit more flavor.
Overall, good food, friendly and efficient service.

Based off of the reviews I was expecting a lot worse from here. The food was pretty good, the crab had a nice saltiness to it and the shrimp was really good. It was however a little over $ 50 for 1 lb and one crab.
Also the dining was pretty messy but what can you expect for the whole fisherman wharf experience?

Playing hometown tourists and dropped in here after a trip to Alcatraz; that will not happen again. My partner never tasted a lobster tail so I encouraged her to order it and it was so over cooked that she had to saw it out with a knife and fork. I am a vegan but a former carnivore and KNOW this was an overpriced, terribly tasting experience for her. I asked for a linguine with basil, tomatoes and mushrooms, no cream, dairy… No animal products whatsoever. The waiter said, «what about seafood?»
My partner’s beer did not come out until I reminded the waiter, my salad came with shrimp on it; just a terrible, terrible experience. I am ashamed that this restaurant is one face of my hometown to tourists, especially this occasional hometown tourist.
Blah!

Ehhhh… My friends and I accidentally walked into this restaurant. We originally had the place next door in mind but the exterior format confused us. This was one of the poor choices we made that day.
The service was just okay but at times my friends and I felt neglected. We would have to wait to catch their attention as they stood there chatting. The food wasn’t that good either and would go cold super fast because of the rotating fans above us. I ordered the lobster based soup and my friend got the clam chowder. The clam chowder was bland in flavor and a bit watery. The lobster soup was good because of the lobster bits and was the only thing I really enjoyed. We also got calamari rings which were mediocre.
It does have a view of the dock and the interior is interestingly decorated. The tables can even be merged with the removal of the small wall in between the tables. The bathrooms in particular were not clean. I waited for the female stall to open up to see a male staff walk out. The male stall was entirely fine but either he really had to go or he couldn’t care any less. It felt uncomfortable using the stall after he did. Not pleasant at all.
I paid with my credit card but they told me it didn’t work so I gave them cash instead. Turns out it did work when I went to the Starbucks at the Wharf a little while later. Don’t really know what was up with that. Maybe because the waitress couldn’t swipe the card properly.
I’d say this place would have a smidgen of potential if the staff were more attentive and interested in their job.

Crab season started so we had to celebrate at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Packed restaurant so service was spotty as waiters were constantly busy but friendly when we did get their attention.
Got seated reasonably quickly though as we were lucky a booth opened up.
Ordered the dungeness crab and deep fried platter. All good. Crab was expensive as hell but was moist and tender and a decent size.

It was okay. I visited the restaurant at a Saturday night and it was packed, I was with my family of 6 and we waited 10 – 15 minutes, so it was a good wait compared to the other restaurants that required a 20 – 25 minute wait. What was cool is that they had a seafood bar outside so we ate oysters while we waited (oysters were delicious, not overly salty and a decent price). When we were seated the staff were nice and were great on communicating with my Spanish-​bound family with poor English. My only problem was the clam chowder,
—if you want to come here for the clam chowder DO NOT COME HERE.— However, the lobster soup was pretty decent and have not tried the crab chowder. I ordered the linguini portofino and it was pretty good (to me is was). A little on the pricy side but it was good!

Do NOT come here!
This place is extremely disgusting and very over priced
The shrimp sandwich tasted like mayo and celery with very hard bread, the lobster bisque was alright, looked like purée, and the clam chowder was also mediocre at best.
This is one of those places that looks like nothing has been cleaned since it opened, feels like a cockroach is going to pop out
Service was ok, nothing good or bad to say

Friendly, tasty, affordable $ 150 for 3 and that includes beers. Crab chowder and the fettuccine with saffron and scallops was phenomenal. All the wait staff was great.

The family spontaneously decided to go here for dinner. As we walked in, the restaurant has a funky, fishy smell to it. I guess that’s normal since it’s right next to the pier.
We ordered the boston and crab chowder, fish n chips, and crab fettuccine:
— Both the chowders were okay, a bit on the saltier side. ³⁄₅
— Fish n chips were decent. ³⁄₅
— Crab Fettuccine was surprisingly better than expected ! ⁴⁄₅
In general, the experience was okay. The server we had seemed unexperienced! He was slow and didn’t know the menu. We wouldn’t come back here.

December 23^rd:
We had Noooo idea were to eat clam chowder, What place was the best, and ultimately what restaurant has the most to offer.
Babe said nicks since we were starving.
Sat down inside, decided to dine in. Makes sense, why stand and eat?
Clam chowder bowl: 5
Calamari: (boyfriends fav) 5
Garlic bread: 5
Service: 3.5 (it was busy, totally understand)
The server forgot our waters, but we did have anchor stem. The moment we asked we got it within that minute. Very attentive.
I wish I can rave on with every detail but to be simple and just, our time at nicks was worth the prices, not big, huge portions but we were content and full. Everything tastes amazing. So we will def come back here.

Best lobster roll ever! As we walked around the Wharf, all I wanted was a fresh lobster roll (not the cold ones in the market cases). Chef Nick was greeting customers with a lobster and crab to take pictures. I asked if he could make me a lobster roll. Chef Nick said «I’ll take care of you. And you will love it!» True statement!
I’ve had lobster roll in other cities like Boston. Hands down Nick’s Lobster Roll is at the top of my list. Fresh, warm, lobster served on fresh, buttered sourdough bread. Chef Nick even made me a delicious lobster tail, cheese, and veggie bake with the extra lobster meat. It was a little price but well worth it!

Not that I’m especially proud of it, but I just ate an entire dungeness crab in about 5 minutes. It was the best crab I’ve ever had, by far.
Minus one star for being a weeee bit pricey, but that’s to be expected in a tourist hotspot. Worth it for the freshness and quick service.
I recommend taking your order to go and parking it at a bench on one of the several nearby piers. What a great way to enjoy the view… Crab-​stuffed.

As we were strolling by all the out door Markets/​pantries (opened up by the restaurants) trying to decide where we wanted to get our clam chowder we hear a gentleman ask if we’d like a seat inside. I look at my 1 yr old and 9 yr old and immediately said yes! It was way to crowded, hectic and a bit cold for my darlings to try to eat outside standing like their awesome mommy, auntie Jenny and uncle Freddie. LOL. So in we went like most seafood place I’ve been to the lighting was dimmed with an ocean view. There were many booths and tables but the restaurant seemed compact, packed, it was hard to get by with a stroller. Kinda felt like we were in a sardine can whenever we had to get up. Luckily we had a large booth near the window that was able to accommodate my fortunately small umbrella stroller of the day. Any bigger, had I brought one of my other 2, we would not have fit.
Our server, whose name I can’t recall, was friendly. She got our meal out, checked up on us as needed and we’ll gave awesome service.
The food. We started off with calamari, lobster bisque and of course CLAM CHOWDER. The calamari was on point crispy, flavorful and yummy. The lobster was delicious it seriously melted in my mouth. Apparently the lobster bisque did the same for my 1 year old because my baby finished my bowl, only giving me a few spoons lol. The clam chowder however was just ok. It didn’t wow us like I had hoped. So we were a bit disappointed since it was what originally brought us out to dinner at Fishermans Wharf that night.
For our meal we decided to do it family style. I went with the special which was linguine with an awesome amount of seafood (mussles, fish, shrimp, crab) sautéed in white wine sauce. YUMMMY! Freddie ordered us the fried platter which comes with more calamari, fish and fries. Jenny also ordered one lobster with shrimp and raw oysters. Not a big meal since we were munching at different places through out the day and still had to meet my BFF for dinner lol =P the food here was delicious! Everyone including my kids enjoyed the meal. We even grabbed a lobster sandwich from outside as we were walking to our car lol. Oinky status (^_​^) I would definitely be back on our next trip (^_​^)

Thank you, Arnulfo! You took such good care of us and you were so very attentive! You get 5 stars.
The food was delicious (4stars), a bit overpriced, but it’s a tourist area so we expected it to be above average. The cup of lobster bisque was so so so lip-​smackingly flavorful and I wish I had a bigger cup/​bowl. The oysters were yummy but has bits of shell on top. The hubby made mmm-​mmm sounds over his cioppino so he approved! The sole w/​capers dish was good, too. Overall, I recommend and if I have a chance to return, I’ll order a bigger lobster bisque

Rude, rude, rude!!! Terrible customer service. The girl ran my credit card and their system was taking a long time. She was getting irritated and told me I should have paid with cash. I told her I didn’t have cash so she looked at me and basically from her face you could tell she wanted to just forget about the sale. But too late, my daughter was already chowing down on her crab and shrimp. I had asked to get another crab and shrimp plate but she told me no because it would take too long for the credit. Even when I spoke to the manager he didn’t do anything or apologize! So after their credit are machine finally worked I went next door to the really nice Asian family and bought my seafood from them instead!

First time I walked into the seafood area at the Fisherman’s Wharf I was overwhelmed with all the seafood eateries everywhere. Walking all the way at the end of the isle you hear a man asking if you want a table don’t mind him just order your choice of seafood!
The price is by lbs. so plan on spending some $$ on some fresh tasty seafood! They steam your seafood right in front of you! It you want a table just follow the man into the restaurant but I prefer sitting outside under the huge Fishermans Wharf sign. Enjoying the fresh air, and watching the tourist walk.

I really do regret going to this restaurant and would not recommend it to a friend. The service was alright, but our waiter was a bit obnoxious. The clam chowder was not thick in consistency and barely had any clams. The pasta’s fish was over seasoned with salty flavoring. The chicken tenders were too tiny for the portion and the french fries that came along with them were not crisp. I did not like the restaurant since it was too cluttered together and I did not feel sanitary in here.

You gotta do the clam chowder bowl in the wharf at least once. Yes, it’s super touristy but there’s a certain charm from eating on the wharf with your clam chowder on your lap while being serenaded by a street musician and seagulls gunning for your food.
The clam chowder was aiiightt. and the bread bowl… aiightt but still enjoyable. The crab sandwich was full of crab and the calamari was actually really good. Grab some napkins because it’s goinna get a lil messy.

Nick’s is sort of a hole in the wall on the Wharf, and that’s ok. It wasn’t too crowded, but I chose to sit at the bar. The bartender was excellent at conversation, Marvin was his name I believe, and made me feel at home.
He explained the kitchen is really just a final cook spot as the real kitchen is across the road. The workers have to haul the dishes and food back and forth to wash and prep. Crazy! It’s small and very kitschy. He gave me all the history on the place and was entertaining.
I had the clam chowder in a bread bowl and it was tasty. Nothing remarkable, but just good. Creamy and fresh tasting with a lot of clams. Marvin was really the highlight of this place.

Server topped up our Sprite with water… Twice. Saffron rice served with Salmon was made using old saffron or food dye. The color was there but there was no taste or bouquet of saffron at all. Salmon itself was good although a little overcooked for me, I really think it should be served medium rare and had asked for it to be served that way but it came well done. Meals were expensive for what you got and nothing was what I would call fantastic.
Table was tiny you certainly wouldn’t want to come with more than three people.