The ForgeGreat pizza in JLSNice, enjoyable place to relax with friends and enjoy some pizza. Nice wine list, good food and the outdoor patio is large enough for many a guest. Will be back.6/14/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat Patio!Brought out-of-town visitors here for Friday night dinner. Love that I could make a reservation for outdoor seating on the fantastic patio space. Pizza was delicious, nice cocktails and good beer list. Service timing was a little off and felt a little pushy. But will definitely be back for more pizza on the patio.6/14/2013 12:00:00 AMGREAT!!!This place was great! Great find, location, love that there is outdoor seating, bar is great, pizza and salads are awesome!
Definetly going back and soon. :)6/13/2013 12:00:00 AMThin crust pizzaOur second time here. We had reservations and had to wait at least 1/2 hour. Once seated, our waitress apologized for the wait and promised our food would be out quickly. She was right. We had the margarite pizza and potato pizza. Both excellent. Started with chicken wings which are a favorite and ended with cornmeal cake. The only things I don't like about forge is the noise level - very loud - difficult to have normal conversation. The other thing are the tvs all over. Even if I don't want to watch, it is very distracting. Food/service was good. We will be back.6/7/2013 12:00:00 AMsunburned but happyThe patio seating is lovely -- until the sun goes down and it's blinding your eyes and burning your face. Hopefully management will add shades to drop off the overhang to cut down on the misery.
The food was really excellent: octopus appetizer was super flavorful and perfectly cooked. The arugula salad was perfectly seasoned and dressed. The pizza crust was sourdough goodness topped with plenty of cheese and accents like speck and spinach.
The beer selection left much to be desired, as it is 90% IPA.
The service was good, the food came quickly on a Saturday evening. Although I have to confess that the uber-casual attire of the staff is a bit off-putting, you generally can't tell who works there vs a customer.6/1/2013 12:00:00 AMMarvelous!What a gem...A plus!!,,,,
Smoky chicken wings are delicious...We had three cheese pizza...thin,light,creamy best pizza
Ever had, and also potato pizza which was equally good....hip, beautiful view of boats and our server
Was a delight...don't miss the butterscotch pudding for dessert...sublime!5/28/2013 12:00:00 AMArtisan Pizza + Other Good ChoicesWonderful service and good, carefully prepared food. The location, looking out at passing sailboats and the water at Oakland's Jack London Square, is wonderful. There is a generous outdoor seating area with huge fire pits.
What a great find on Memorial Day when so much else was closed! I appreciated the non-touristy vibe. Our waitress was just perfect too, attentive, accomodating but not over-bearing. She was happy to change our table to a window location.
I would go back in a minute.5/27/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat addition to Jack London Sq.Tasty appetizers- fun airy fried cheese curd, the baby octopus was off the hook!
Fried buttermilk chicken was moist and crunchy, (uncut 1/2 chick)
The local on tap beer list was really good, as were the cocktails and wine.
Nice industrial chick atmosphere, great outdoor seating w/firepits and water views.
Beautiful Italian wood burning oven, fresh pizza toppings were tasty, the crust was a bit flat,
may have been an off night for the pizza dough, will try again. Great Butterscotch pudding, not too sweet.
Service was spirited and warm, overall a memorable meal.5/26/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat California pizza with a viewI'm from the East Coast so know "real" pizza. This place has great California-style pizza. Thin crust, brick-fired. Great flavors. Wonderful view and outdoor dining. This is a great Oakland spot! Will definitely be back.5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat pizza, service, and location!We really enjoyed our meal at The Forge. Four of us shared the fried mozzarella curds - they were light, crispy, and delicious! We then shared three pizzas - the Margarita (my husband's favorite), the sausage pizza, and the potato pizza. Each tasted completely different and delicious. I loved the use of fresh herbs, and how those flavors were really prominent in each pizza.5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMA nice warm evening (rareA nice warm evening (rare occasion in Oakland) made for a wonderful outdoor dining adventure. A great view of the waterfront, and excellent people watching. The food and drinks were really good. The waitress was fun and very personal. The Pizza's were nice thin crusts, with excellent topping. The best thing was the Calamari Salad with Fava Beans. It was a special that night, but should be a regular. The only item we would not order again is the "Crispy Cheese Curd" appetizer. Not that it tasted bad, but my body doesn't need deep fried cheese.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMGoing Away Business LunchWe enjoyed the Forge. We will return for dinner when we can try the alcohol list.
Delicious pizzas and salads. Reasonably priced5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMLocal fresh and seasonal everythingThe beauty of this spot is in the ability of the diner to choose the indoor or outdoor seating thereby creating their own experience. I have sat inside at the bar on a Friday night (very busy, very loud, and very entertaining even if you succeed in ignoring the televisions - I hate televisions, I don't go to restaurants to watch television), and on the patio on a Tuesday evening which was delightful in that it was less noisy and allowed for conversation and people-watching in Jack London Square with sailboats right across the way. The Amtrak trains go by every thirty minutes or so about 200 feet away so expect some loud noise periodically even outside.
Food has been consistent in its quality here and the house cocktails are off the hook!4/30/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat Addition 2 Jack London SquareFabulous addition to Oakland's dining scene. Housed in the old El Torito location in Jack London Square, The Forge adds another notch in the revitalization belt of JLS and Oakland in general. Serving mostly pizzas of the thin crust variety, they also offer a handful of appetizers, a few salads, a daily soup, a daily catch and fried chicken. Of the menu items we sampled - 3 apps, 2 pizzas - everything was tasty and fresh. Service was great too, as our server was professional yet warmly welcoming, and informative. We will definitely return to try the other items on the menu!4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMRecommededGreat place to have a drink and some good food. The staff is friendly, location great, and relaxed atmosphere. It's great to have Forge in Oakland!4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMViva NapoliReal pizza pie, wonderful simple ingredients prepared and cooked correctly! Viva Napoli!4/23/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat location, excellent foodThe Forge, a recent arrival at Jack London Square, does justice to its excellent location fronting the Marina along the sea walk. This fun place has outside seating on a raised patio with several fire pits. The house specialty is hand-crafted thin crust pizzas that are top notch. We had the Pepperoni pizza and the Potato pizza with guanciale (pig cheeks bacon). Both were delicious. Our starters included the fried cheese curds (don’t miss these) and smoked chicken wings with buttermilk blue cheese. There is a small list of specialty cocktails and a good assortment of local beers. The wine list is small, but with good selections reasonably priced. Service was excellent. Jeff was very knowledge about the food and gave us great recommendations.4/23/2013 12:00:00 AMWe enjoyed a birthday celebrationWe enjoyed a birthday celebration Saturday evening. The beet salad was great (the panzanella not so great- too much fennel for my taste). The pizza was yum- especially the wild nettle pizza. The sausage pizza was very good too and the fried chicken received rave reviews. I think one of the main reasons we will be back, though, was the server. I wish I remembered her name. She was very accomodating to one of our guests with food requirements (didn't even feel like she was having to accomodate!)and she brought a complimentary birthday dessert, even though it hadn't been set up ahead of time. Thank you- great job, Forge.4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMLots To loveThird time at this place. Service is warm, friendly, and efficient--at the door, our waiter, food runners, bussers, all well-trained; even got a visit from an "owner type" which means they care (they're still new to the location)
Lots to love about this place.
Definitely one of the better places in oakland for casual dining: good food, reasonable prices, great service.4/14/2013 12:00:00 AMThe fried cheese appetizerThe fried cheese appetizer stole the show and was big enough to share at a table of five. Pizza was tasty, although of the two we ordered, both were charred black in some places forcing us excise the burnt bits. The sausage and the olives were super flavorful on the pizza: they obviously use high quality toppings.4/12/2013 12:00:00 AMLoved it! Our waitress AshleyLoved it! Our waitress Ashley was outstanding and we loved every dish. The salted butterscotch pudding with toffee crunch was the perfect finish to a great meal. And yes, the fried cheese curds are spectacular!4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat wood smoked pizza.Great wood smoked pizza. Whole restaurant smells good! Excellent salads too.3/31/2013 12:00:00 AMThe service was excellentThe service was excellent - the cheese curds (after eating them in WI for over 6 years) it was so nice to see someone fix them they way they should be. I had the margarita pizza and it good but a because the crust was so thin (which I love) the middle was a little too soggy. Wanted it to be firmer. Otherwise nice restaurant.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMTry the Cheese CurdsWe had a great time at The Forge. Perfect service, delicious food, and great ambiance. Don't pass on the cheese curds - they're a dream, and totally addictive. We also had grilled baby octopus with heirloom carrots. I don't like octopus but even I gave it a try and it was pretty good. We also shared the three cheese pizza, and added sausage. Really delicious - loved the crust. I would definitely give The Forge a try!3/29/2013 12:00:00 AMOnly been there twice. ButOnly been there twice. But service and food is so good, I'll be back often.3/22/2013 12:00:00 AMThe octopus special was fantastic..The octopus special was fantastic...unique. Definitely something that we wouldn't have made at home, but are now intrigued. The mussels & arugula salad were the usual strong performers.
The potato might be our favorite pizza@the forge. Try it with an egg! The pepperoni and marinara were great for the kids.
Can't wait to go back!3/16/2013 12:00:00 AM3rd time there, really love3rd time there, really love this place. The fried cheese curds are sinfully good. Our server was attentive and friendly, and they accommodates our request for a booth. We'll be back!3/14/2013 12:00:00 AMBeautiful spot in Jack London!Very much enjoyed the food and ambiance! They gave us nice options on choice of seating. Service was great when we sat outside by the fire pit, but at our table it took a little while to flag somebody down to get the check. All in all, though, a very good experience!3/12/2013 12:00:00 AM