Pier 23 Cafe

Nice location on the water. Food is ok. Nothing special. The help is very nice and the atmosphere is very casual.

We came here because of the RockABilly music — which was great — but really like the excellent service from everyone on the staff as well as the delicious food! Next time we are back in SF we will be sure to come back.

This place is ok. Looks like it’s been here for a while, current owners have been running it for over 30 years. Great views of course, coit tower, bay bridge, treasure island, it’s right on the water. Food is ok, not spectacular.

I just walked out of this horrid place. I sat for 10 minutes staring around waiting for someone to serve me. Nobody even offered a water. Meanwhile, a couple of idiots in Broncos jerseys walks in and immediately is served. I was sitting right next to the area for them to get drinks, condiments, etc. so literally every waitress had to walk by me. Finally after 15 I walked out and went across the street to Fog City. I walked in writing this review and already have a drink and my order taken. Get a clue 23, pissing of locals in lieu of helping out of owners is not a great way to sustain business.

I came here on the reccomendation of a friend. The host said the wait was 15 minutes, but I was waiting almost 45 minutes. I’ll try one more time next time I’m in the area, after that TBD.

Amazing spot. The bartenders are great and the food is good. We had the sf crab and shrimp sandwich. The place gets busy fast, so come early. we sat at the bar, which is the best seat in the house. Say hi to Mike and Eddie! :)

The service was quick and friendly! Stopped by here because my partner and I were looking for clam chowder and this was the first affordable place Unilocal recommended, closest to where we were. The oysters I ordered were not great, but the clam chowder and sourdough bread were okay. I would go somewhere else next time I’m in town…

Recommended by our hotel clerk, she sold us wrong. Defintely a «meh» experience.
King crab was over boiled; over salted and nearly flavorless.
Music was great. Grab a beer; listen to the band. Give the food a pass.

If you are visiting San Francisco, realize that the parking meters run from 7am — 11pm seven days a week (they accept credit cards).
That said; we came for the music (no room to dance) and dinner. Bar in front, dining in back, though food is served in the bar area. My tasty ribs were placed on top of a bed of potato salad in a bath of juice. My wife enjoyed her crab and shrimp sandwich. Service is good. Street parking was plentiful on this Sunday night. The band rocked!

Really cool bar with nice view outside and perfect music!
We visited it on our way to Pier 39 — decided to get some fast bear ;) Really liked this place because of nice music (rock etc), amazing atmosphere and nice view outside (we were in bear garden).
Can’t say anything about food because we weren’t hungry, but it smells really tasty ;)))
After our first try we’ve visited it again in few days… and will visit it again for sure!
UPDATE: in one of our next visits we’ve tried the food (SF Crab & Shrimp Sandwich and Clam Chowder) — didn’t like it… at all!!! :(((I suppose, it just the matter of taste (but we are not food snobs) :/​and Margarita cocktail was salted (the cocktail was salted 0_​o) — left w/​o drinking for the first time in our life.
So, for us — just beer garden with all things that we liked at our first visit :)

Had lunch at the Pier 23 Café before taking a cruise over to Alcatraz. Our waitress was very accommodating when we told her that we were in a bit of a hurry to catch our cruise over to the Rock. She took our order and brought our food quickly.
I ordered the shrimp and crab sandwich with French fries. My boyfriend ordered the chorizo breakfast burrito. My sandwich was tasty and filled with the shrimp and crab mix — the sourdough bread was fresh and tangy like good SF sourdough bread should be. The fries had a nice season to them. My boyfriend enjoyed the chorizo burrito and said it was filling.
The view was nice, the service fast and friendly, and the food good quality for the price. Nice little spot to have brunch or lunch when you’re down on the water.

Pier 23 Café, should get all the stars in the Galaxy, for their outstanding hospitality, service, and management. Period.
About a month and a half ago, I decided I was going to have my boyfriend Justin’s 30^th SURPRISE Birthday Party, at Pier 23 Café. I was really nervous, and feeling unconfident, about actually planning and going through with it, but Mac made everything feel okay! On January 2^nd, 2016 it happened!
The party went so smoothly, everything was so organized and exactly what I pictured in my head. :) I ordered King Crab, Ribs, Clam Chowder, Crab Cakes, and other dishes for our friends and family attending. Everything was amazing, tasted like Heaven. These guys should be presented a Michelin Star. No joke.
All the servers for our party were on top of it, and never let anyone’s drink remain empty for long. That is very important. They were very efficient, knowledgeable, and friendly! Gold Star!
Thank you guys so much for helping me with that party, it was so awesome! A night we will never forget. :)
P. S. WE FOUND THE BIRTHDAY BOY! Ask Mac, for details.

Avoid fishermans wharf and come here.
Beautiful view /​good food /​and well made cocktails.

Great clam chowder and fish/​chips.
The reason I was so impressed was the customer service. We arrived when they were booked up with a party but offered us outdoor seating in the back off the water. Beautiful seating but I thought we would get terrible service… I was WRONG! We had great service (shout out to Kimberly). Our drinks stayed full, order taken quickly and food arrived quickly as well.
They are on my must eat again list when I am near the wharf!

Food was ok (cup of chowder followed by fish and chips). Portions ok, made fresh, decent flavors. Fish and chips needed different plating. Small basket had coleslaw on bottom, then chips, then 1 piece of fish. Basically had to eat in order.
Ordered a Manhattan. Only $ 8 for rail burbon, so that’s a good deal. Sadly it was a canned glow-​in-​the-​daek maraschino cherry floating on top.
Service staff not having a great time. Seemed to generally be tolerating customers.

While my husband was at work, I happened upon this café while exploring The Embarcadero. What caught my eye was their advertisement for a gypsy jazz band that was playing that night. I knew that my husband would be interested.
We sat on the beautiful dock that evening. I was impressed with the view, but had a feeling that this was merely a tourist trap with bad food and service.
Not so.
We weren’t very hungry, so we decided to share some appetizers. We ordered the calamari with jalapeño ranch dressing and the quesadillas. The quesadillas were carnitas style. I requested them with no meat and thought we would get simple, thin quesadillas with a little cheese. Not so.
Those quesadillas were bursting with not only cheese, but a generous assortment of vegetables. A very pleasant surprise! The calamari was crispy, not greasy, and the jalapeño ranch sauce was divine.
We made our way in to hear the gypsy jazz band. Again, just like the view, the food and the service, these musicians were top notch.
So glad that we gave Pier 23 Café a try! It made for a delightful evening.

I wonder how many tourists are like us and intended to walk all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf, but then wimp out and just jump in here for a cold beverage. We are so glad we stopped in and had a great time! The weather was a spectacular 70 degrees so we sat outside and our server was really quick with the beers.
We weren’t super hungry so just ordered the calamari app and the 2 fish tacos to share. Both were really good with the beer. Whoever came up with that fresh tomatillo salsa for the tacos is a genius! Delicious! Great flavors.
After another round of beers we only spent $ 27.19 before tax and tip. GREAT deal and a great time. The pictures on the walls cracked us up too, and my husband had to get one of their famous t-​shirts. I’d stop back in any time we’re wandering around the piers.

Pier 23 café has a really great location, obviously. The one great thing I liked was the beer garden. We just wanted a drink so we went to the bar and then were directed to sit in the beer garden with a water view!
They were busy and the bar was packed which isn’t an issue for me. However, the lady who made our drinks wasn’t real pleasant to deal with. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt since I’m sure she sees a bunch of tourists, but still, this is your job.
We didn’t have any food but I’ll give it 4 Stars for the location and great beer/​drink options!
Tip: Demons Kiss is dee-​lish for those who like drinks with a kick!

I met up with a friend for lunch here, and the view was spectacular! It was a bit sunny, but our waitress was so kind to put up the umbrella for us so that we could enjoy being outside without being burnt to a crisp.
I didn’t try either of the Guy Fieri recommended dishes, but really liked the fish tacos! The fish tacos were marketed as fried on the menu, but they happily served it to me grilled instead. The portion was a bit on the lighter side with only 2 tacos, so if you’re hungry, I’d suggest getting a little something else to complement this dish.

Double fisting drinks is never a good idea. Double fisting drinks on a company luncheon is something you should never ever ever ever do. EVER! However, our waiter said it’s the right way to do things. I trust him. Only because he’s cute and looks a lot like a rugged version of John Krisinski from The Office.
Behind this dingy shack is an outdoor patio with big umbrellas that shield eyes from the blazing sunshine. If your not under an umbrella, you can borrow one of those straw cowboy hats decorated with a hand scribbled 23 on top. Upon entering the back, you’ll notice it says Beer Garden… however, there wasn’t a single German dish listed on the menu. But there must had been a beer brand hidden in their wall of liquor somewhere.
I ordered this amazing Mai Tai cocktail that tastes fruity with rum! Hmmm… it was amazing. The table ordered Chardonnay and everyone was drinking a glass and so I joined. This is where double fisting went wrong… or right… not sure which one it is, depends on perception, I guess. We did order food but for some reason, it was a haze… fish and chips, I believe I ordered. I saw a lot of ribs at the table, some crunchy calamari and maybe fresh oysters? Yea, I’m pretty sure I saw those orders come through. But like I said, it’s hazy. What I do remember is Mai Tai gone. Chardonnay filled. Then refilled. Then refilled again. I waved my hand to let waiter John-​Krisinski-​look-​a-​like no no no more, he ignore me and filled it up yet again. And I finished it. Every.Last.Drop. Then boom! I’m dizzy!
Me and 2 other co-​workers were all buzzy wuzzy and linked arms to keep stable as we walked back to work. It was a farewell party, so, linking arms with the co-​worker that was leaving the company is okay! Plus, she was our companies HR God-​mother, so, it was extremely okay.
Overall, I don’t remember the food. I do remember the drinks and the effects it had on me. And I remember having a really good time under that big umbrella. Sunshine is always welcomed with food and drinks. But sadly, in conclusion, double fisting is always a bad idea. Don’t do it. Your stomach will take revenge on you and let all bust out of your system. It’s a terrible feeling. But do go to Pier 23 to single fist drinks, it’s a great place to just chill out with beautiful views of the water. And if your lucky, you get to wave goodbye to one of those massive cruise ships that parks 50 feet away from this dusty rusty Pier 23 Café.

When you are in SF on a sunny day, and need a great place to hang and chill, this is the spot. What a terrific spot on the water, looking at the new Pier 27 Cruise Ship Terminals. We’ve seen it from the Princess Ships as we’ve gotten
Nice selection of beers (e.g. Lagunitas IPA and Shocktop) on tap today.
Food too was solid: Appetizer of three Tuna Poke on a crisp wonton skins was very good (albeit pricey at about $ 4 a bite).
Great Fish & Chips: fresh fish (not a frozen chunk of pre-​battered fish) and seasoned fries came with plenty of salty-​seasoned fries that had a jalapeño sauce that was amazing.
Excellent Baby Back Ribs: were meaty, ½ rack served on fresh sauteed greens and a wonderful potato salad.
Service was quick, very pleasant – the guy had this SF Giants Tim Linsicum look that he was really rocking.
Yeah the bill for a lunch (over $ 80 with tip) was definitely high but for the location, outside in the sun and great food, this was a real treat.
And, there’s something about the «Waterfront Hotspot» pictures that graced the backs of the waiters that was just really… riveting. I could just look at it all day…

We found out about this place thanks to Diners, Drive Ins & Dives before heading to San Francisco.
This place does great seafood!!! If you’re lucky enough to get a seat outside you have great views of the bay all the way to Alcatraz and the views as the sun goes down are immense.
We got a platter to start then for main I got the seared tuna sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries. Delicious! Definitely worth trying if you’re visiting SF

Located right on the San Fran Bay, beautiful views with the sun in your face and a cold drink in your hand! (at least that’s what I did)
When you walk through the doors into a small room filled with a few tables and chairs, also a corner filled with a band playing 70’s rock. The bar is also in this room, not a a lot seats here.
On either side of the bar is a door way that leads to a larger dining area where you can still hear the music playing. Limited outside seating with a few tables with umbrellas. There is a separate area called the beer garden with a few more tables and chairs on it. The entire wooden deck railing has chairs and enough room for your drinks and small food plates. We sat here because you have the best views of the water with boats passing by and sea lions swimming. There is no service here, you have to go back to the bar to order drinks and food.
I was looking to try more California draft beers, the bartender recommend” A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ «, from the Lagunitas Brewery located in Petaluma, CA. A very smooth wheat ale that tastes like an IPA. Also tried the Big Daddy IPA, this is a hop-head’s delight! Cooper color with a moderately sweet taste. Brewed right in San Fran, great local beer.
Loved the views and the different beers on tap here.