Lawrence Marcus17 days agoFrom
If the Grand Opening of The Left Bank Friday night was an indication of things to come for diners at Jack London Square in Oakland, then residents and visitors to the new Oakland, finally, have something special to cheer about!
The turnout of food enthusiasts was significant, with an hour wait for a table soon after the doors were opened even though the dining room and bar area is enormous. It was a well coordinated and animated effort. It seemed like half of Oakland was hired to provide welcoming and stylish service. The decor was authentic and most importantly the food and drinks were delicious.
Hopefully The Left Bank has the fortitude to hang out until all of the beautiful new residencies in Oakland fill up. If that becomes the case, it could bode well for the Jack London Square activity scene we've been waiting for.
Renée J17 days agoFrom
We’ve been here 3 times now and the food is consistently good. Our first visit, we had a wonderful waitress who was attentive and gave great wine recommendations. In our last two visits, the food was still great but the service left much to be desired. We didn’t even get acknowledgment from our waiter or any water until we had been sitting for 20 minutes in to our reservation, and despite telling our server we were ready to order twice, he didn’t take it down until we had been there a full hour. I know the French are quite happy to be left alone and enjoy a long evening, but that definitely was not the vibe here — instead, our waiter kept telling us unprompted anecdotes about his lengthy experience in the wine industry while we were trying to have a conversation with our friends. Sucks because they have good vegetarian options and cocktails, and I love the interior design.
Renee Morton17 days agoFrom
I made reservations a week ahead for 4 of us for lunch at 2:15 on a Thursday. I received 2 texts asking me to confirm, which I did. As we were sitting in the train station, waiting to take the train to Jack London Square, I received a call from the restaurant, saying that they had changed their hours and would not be open at that time. Period. I also received a text saying they had canceled the reservation. We had no choice but to try to find another restaurant nearby. When we got to the Left Bank, we were dumbfounded to find that it was open and we were able to eat there after all! This is no way to run a business - calling to cancel an hour ahead and then being open anyway! Shame on Left Bank. As for the food, although the Onion Soup and Escargot were great, the chicken was dry, the Petrale Sole had an unpleasant taste and the Hamburger was just okay. At these prices, everything should have been terrific. I gave the service the highest rating because our server was fantastic - she listened to our sad story, seated us and was there for us throughout the meal. Needless to say, we won’t be back and we won’t recommend you to our friends.