East Bay diner SFist Julie goes pirate!

Okay, it's really NOT a soup kitchen, but if you have a boat docked in Oakland’s Embarcadero Cove Marina (down the highway from Jack London Square and across from Alameda's Coast Guard Island), have a pot belly and a brush mustache, and a propensity for telling jokes like: “What kind of fish likes to sing? A tune-y fish!” -- and bursting into laughter at your own brilliance, you, too, have probably enjoyed a basket of fish and chips or a burger at Quinn’s Lighthouse Restaurant and Pub.

And, NO, we don’t own a boat. We did have a friend from England who was living here for a year, on a work visa at a business in a part of Oakland we’d never been to, and she was the one who introduced us to this little-known treasure of the East Bay. Ahoy and arrrrrgh!

After the jump: peanut shells, the historic lighthouse, and -- you can't go wrong with the classics (burgers and fish and chips)!

Upstairs, the boisterous bar serves an extensive list of imported, domestic, and microbrewed beers, plain and schmancy wines, and generous mixed drinks; unlimited free baskets of perfectly-salted roasted peanuts in the shell (with former shells carpeting the floor inside and out); and the same food menu as the downstairs restaurant. On a warm day, the patio tables overlooking the water, with lovely views of Alameda and Downtown Oakland, are a prime place to dine in the Bay Area.

Downstairs, the rockin’ music gives way to smooth jazz and the carpet of peanut shells swaps for actual carpet. Huge glass windows frame the view more sedately while models of tall ships and racing boats hang on every available wall surface, keeping the kitsch factor -- while a tad more el-ay-gahnt -- high.

Not to mention that the whole kaboodle is located inside a historic landmark lighthouse originally built in 1890.

So what about the food?

Another reason we love Quinn’s is the sheer quantity of options on the massive eight-page American-style menu. The way that Italian, Mexican, and Cajun influences make audacious appearances, the way we feel enthusiastically chatted with by the nature of the descriptions -- our burger ($9) is from a “Happy Cow,” (though not an added-hormone-free or antibiotic-free cow), via the family-owned Weber’s Quality Meats in San Leandro.

Yes, we like this under-$10 burger -- a 10-ounce juicy specimen on a fluffy Kaiser roll, but it’s only under $10 for about a minute as we do recommend asking for “extras,” like cheese and avocado, and double portions at that. One piece of melted cheese and a quarter of an avocado is just not enough to cover that much beef real estate in our opinion.

We also recommend the beer-battered Atlantic pollock and chips served with malt vinegar and not-creamy slaw ($12), whole-leaf Caesar with house-made eggless dressing ($8), fried Monterey Bay calamari ($10), fresh Belgian-style mussels in saffron broth with fries ($15), and the milkshakes and floats made with Figaro gelato. We also love that the fountain sodas and non-alcoholic mixed drink specialties are large and bottomless. For us, the multi-culti dishes are a little ambitious, so proceed at your own adventure level. We also can’t personally vouch for the pasta, though on our recent visit many people seemed to be digging in to their plates of noodles with great gusto.

While this place may not win any Iron Chef battles if pitted against the vast constellation of star-foodies in the Bay Area, the un-self-consciously friendly and fun atmosphere, the something-for-everyone menu, the aye-aye-cap’n decor, and the amazing views make this one of our favorite casual dining destinations.

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Hours:
Open daily 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; 11:00 p.m. on Saturday & Sunday.
Sunday Brunch menu served 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location:
51 Embarcadero Cove, Oakland, 94606
Phone: 510.536.2050