Ben 'N Nick's Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Oakland

A casual pub space with a decent beer list and solid food options.

Stopped in mid-day on a Saturday for some beers and a snack. The place was crowded but not full and we found a high 2-top easily. Though we came in craving wings we decided to order the nachos, along with a couple of beers. The beer list was alright... probably 16-20 choices, though I wasn't over the moon about any of them, and I wished that the keg of Pliny the Elder sitting behind me was actually being served. I got a tangerine IPA from Green Flash. It was fine, too tangerine for my taste, but that's ok. The nachos were excellent. A great ratio of stuff to chips - there were no naked chips leftover at the end, which is exactly how it should be. Lots of pickled jalapeños to kick up the spice factor, the cheese was plentiful and perfectly melted, the pico was acidic and the black beans were hearty. The chips were nice and thin, holding up to the ingredients but not trying to overtake the dish. Yum yum yum.

The service could have been better - while our server was SUPER friendly, she was incredibly slow... it took us way too long to order beers, to receive beers, and certainly to receive the check. I'd come back, but I'd likely sit at the...

Update: Ben 'N Nick's has become my go-to spot in the neighborhood. The bartenders and servers are super fun to chat with, the beer selection is solid and rotates pretty frequently, and the food (nachos, chicken Club, wings, etc.) has been really spectacular the last few times I've come in. Special shout-out to the burger-- absolutely perfect and a great price during happy hour! I also took my family here when they visited from out of state, and they loved Ben N' Nick's as much as i do. Great spot to hang out and have a few beers and a solid meal!

Original review: Fun neighborhood bar with a cool atmosphere and friendly staff. I've tried the buffalo wings, Philly cheese steak and chicken sandwich from here on 2 different occasions. The wings are great and I will definitely be coming back for more, however the chicken sandwich and Philly were both a bit bland and got extremely soggy after a few minutes. From now on I'll probably just go with the wings and a beer when I come here because they are awesome, but I will probably not have the Philly or chicken sandwich again. Would recommend this spot if you are looking for some great wings and...

We live in the neighborhood so we have been here several times but are not regulars. Everything is OK but it’s missing something that would make us want to go there regularly like other places.

We went again yesterday and sat on the parklet, which was nice because it was a hot day with particularly went for the live music, but found out later that they had canceled it. That would really have upped the allure as College Avenue is severely lacking in live music, but the waiter informed us that some people thought the music was too loud and didn’t like it.

Hamburger was good. French fries are good if you liked the extra crusty kind, but our friends did not enjoy their chicken tenders. Mixed Salad is big and tastes good.

Dogs are allowed on the patio but there’s not much space for them. We have large dogs so we cannot take them.

Metered parking or park at the BART free after certain hours or in the...