10/15/09

DO NOT EAT HERE! EVER!

by Michael Jacobson

Tough Brisket, A sin in it self, this place produces truly inedible food and this is hard to do. Tough Brisket, Sour and mushy potato salad, A sauce that resembles hot red motor oil paste. Some of the rudest and most unprofessional service in the HISTORY of food service. Do your self a favour and do not eat here ever.

• Pros: Nothing
• Cons: Everything

07/24/09

E&J BBQ... take it or leave it

by hungrygirl1

It's a shame the management of this place doesn't do something about their staff - wait and kitchen. If they had consistently good food (I personally don't find the portions large except for the platters, cause you have to buy things individually) and better trained staff, trained to be more efficient and courteous - the place would be looking to expand instead of being half empty. It was doing quite well 8 yrs ago when I first started eating here. I'd go for the great lounge in the back - some amazing performers are to be found at Q's, and it's a comfortable setting too. I eat when there just 'cause the smell of BBQ gets to me every time.

• Pros: good sauce and desserts
• Cons: never consistent, and poor service

01/13/08

Lacks Service, OK food.....

by foodie_grl

People raved about this bbq joint and I have no idea why! Service is awful, takes forever to get acknowledged and seated, the waitress seem like she would rather be anywhere but there and the food is semi-warm when you finally get your food. The bbq itself is OK....rather eat bbq we cue up at home than this place. The sides, i.e. corn bread, beans, potato salad, etc....is OK....I would say Whole Foods or Safeway deli sides are better than theirs! Overall, not worth it. We tried it once for the sake of all the raves and the raves were definatley over rated!

• Pros: casual
• Cons: lacks service and food is just ok and parking is limited

Down-home Southern 'cue joint, where barbecue is a noun and the sauce legendary.

by Contributor

In Short
Whether it's a visit to one of the takeout joints or the hoppin' Jack London Square location, diners are sure to get messy. Sweet and smoky sauce covers the dishes and patrons alike. Vegetarians should kindly walk on by, as even the side dishes of baked beans and greens come loaded with meat or drippings. Diners take their pick of ribs, sausage links, chicken or beef brisket, or a combination of two, three or all four.

07/31/07

Food? decent. Service? Atrocious! but......

by patcheek

you might as well try it at least once. It's a historic Oakland landmark, but I suggest not going on an emptry stomach or at least bring some snacks to munch on before you actually get to eat your food which could be a very long wait. I normally give the benefit of the doubt to resaurants, but when the services is consistently horrible then it's just time to stop. I've experienced it all there: long wait to be seated, long wait to get a waiter/waitress, long wait for water, long wait for drinks, long wait to order food, long wait for food, long wait to get my check and get the hell out of there, you pretty much get the picture. The food is ok, but there are definately other places that are just as tasty, but with much better service. And to echo some other reviews, cold food? check. Wrong orders? check, I even tried to call in and order some food for pickup and was on hold for like 15 minutes, this wasn't a busy Friday night, it was Tueday at like 9pm. It's not just me either, everyone i have ever brougtht there thought it was the worst service they have ever received. They need to fire the manager and all the staff that work there.

• Pros: If you get your food then it's worth trying out.
• Cons: Service is THE worst! How do you go to a restaruant and feel like your being punished by being ignored for eating at there establishment. Food will likely get there cold, water will likely be warm.

08/07/06

Average BBQ experience

by th3b0y

I heard many great things about this place so I finally went to try it with 2 of my friends. All of us were a bit disappointed. We ordered the Four-Way combo, so we can sample all their BBQ meats (chicken, links, ribs and brisket). It was the perfect amount of food for the 3 of us. The portions are pretty good. The combo cost about $26. It came with 2 sides and 2 corn muffins. I didn't like the links, but the brisket, ribs and chicken was not bad. I expected WAY more, since I've heard many great reviews. I had better ribs at Tony Roma's and Texas Roadhouse. The cornbread was the best part of the meal for me. The 2 sides we got were candied yams and potato salad. The yams were great and the potato salad was average. The service was average just like our overall experience. We don't plan on going back, but we didn't regret going. I would say go try it but don't expect too much.

• Pros: Good portions, average prices
• Cons: Average food

04/17/06

Decent BBQ, and big portions

by icee429

I had the bbq chicken, beef brisket, beef links, and pork ribs. They were all tasty, but nothing spectacular. They do give you a lot of meat though, very big portions. For side dishes, I had the potato salad, candied yams, and corn bread. The candied yams were so good, almost the best part of the meal. The rest of the sides were average. Overall you do get your bang for you buck, and it is a fun atmosphere.

• Pros: Candied Yams, Portions
• Cons: Parking

04/02/06

Bad Food, Bad Service, Why Go?

by jedison

I have been going to E&J and the other BBQ joints in the East Bay for over ten years. Service at Jack London has gone from indifferent to surly and incompetent. The ribs are usually undercooked and tough, unfortunately, only occasionally returning to their former glory.

Our last visit was the last straw, sadly. After waiting 1.5 hours we were seated and told it would be ANOTHER 45 minutes to get any food. We got up and left, since earlier statements made to us about the wait had been wrong and the server lied about not ignoring us for 20 minutes. They really have no respect for their customers. Perhaps with their apparent popularity they don't have to care, but I won't go again.

The ribs aren't that good. Go to Doug's or KC's where you'll be appreciated and enjoy your meal.

• Pros: Funky Atmosphere
• Cons: Poor Food, Terrible Service, Expensive

04/01/06

Can you say. . .Horrible Service?

by jesslovn

waited too long for pre cooked food, delivered cold, wrong order taking, waitress looked and acted like she would rather be sleeping, and the bill was rushed. Hated it!

Advise doing take out where you can watch the kitchen prepare it and bag it not prepare it to sit for 30 min waiting on the waitress to bring it out. They need to fire everyone including the manager and start over with people who actually have some experience.

• Pros: good bbq, good music, good drinks
• Cons: waitresses, managers, owner

03/13/06

Its true, good ribs but service is bad

by akoypinoy

We have heard the hype plus coverage on tv about this place so we decided to eat there before watching concert at Yoshis. This is our first time so we decided to get the combination plate to try out different meats. We really enjoyed all the meat but the ribs definitely iareoutstanding. The side dishes are all dissapointing. The waiters are so unfriendly and uncaring. If you can ignore bad service and side dishes then the ribs are worth it.

• Pros: very good ribs
• Cons: bad service, parking