The Sardine Can

Was a bit skeptical because of some negative reviews. The service was friendly and attentive. We most enjoyed the Bloody Mary, Clam Chowder and fried prawns. Yum!!!

Pretty neat little place. Stumbled on this place while having a business lunch and was suprised by it. Fun out of the way place for a bite if your in the area.

Unfortunately, we have been waiting for over an hour for our food despite our having had a reservation. Half of our party received their food half an hour before the rest of our party. What a ridiculous experience.

Come here for the comforting environment and view of the water :) It is a very relaxed, seafood type of environment. The bloody Mary’s are surprisingly delicious. Love their sandwiches/​melts. They make delicious tuna melts!

I will never be coming back here. I ignored the reviews and decided to give it a shot. It’s extremely overpriced for what they serve. I ordered a $ 15 crab sandwich and it was 75% imitation crab when the menu states «grilled crab.» Honestly we shouldn’t have even paid for it. They threw a couple of pieces of real crab in there?! Long story short it was the worst crab sandwich I have ever had. Trust the reviews.

I always come with my friends and family :) Cool atmosphere and great food. Service is awesome. My favorite brunch spot in Vallejo.

This place is at the end of Harbor Way behind a warehouse. Everything I’ve had on their menu (mainly lunch menu) so far is good. Their grilled crab and avocado sandwich is probably my favorite! Their fish in the fish and chips is flaky with a nice crispy batter, definitely not those skinny fish patties you’d get anywhere else. The jambalaya, creole and cioppino are HUGE and have a nice kick. They have different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner And if you check-​in on Unilocal,you can get a free cup of soup (I would suggest the clam chowder)

Great Bloody Mary. We haven’t tried the food yet, but we can’t wait!

Ambiance: faux fish house with a wide indoor dining area overlooking the Vallejo yacht dock and Mare Island. There is also an outdoor dining area in the front. 4-​seater tables surround several picnic bench style tables in the middle. Clean surfaces and attentive staff.
Food: I had the bacon cheddar burger with fries and another side of Texas chili. It is by no means a gourmet burger, but it is high in flavor and very satisfying. The fries are thick and standard. If anything, I would only say that the Texas chili fell below my expectation, but not at all a failure.
Lunch Menu: There is a wide variety, from burgers and sandwiches to seafood and fried fare.
I’d come here again and again to try the varied menu selection and enjoy the caring wait staff.
Cheers!

If I could give it no stars, I would. So 1 star for the view & funky décor.
In the ’90’s & early ’00’s, we LOVED this place! The food was to die for. We were regular customers.
We went back last year & it was HORRIBLE!
Food especially bad, service bad. We actually told them, left our uneaten food & they said we didn’t have to pay, as I recall. I’ll have to ask my son, for sure, if we paid for that crap.
It’s very sad, because we loved this place, but will never go back again!
Maybe the owner will see all our bad reviews & try to get this once GREAT restaurant back to it’s former glory! I’m hoping!

Price is right food is good for breakfast and lunch. I cannot speak on dinner… Bloody Mary has bacon! Staff is friendly and familiar. It’s a local busines

This is a nice go to place. Very casual and friendly atmosphere. To come to a place with the name Sardine Can, you expect some good seafood. And yes, we had their Crab Sandwich, homemade Clam Chowder and Fish n’ Chips. Loved them all! Their crab sandwich uses real crab and tastes delicious, their clam chowder is chunky with lots of flavor and the batter on the fish n’ chips is just right. Its not so thick that you actually can enjoy the flavor of the fish. Hoping to try their Linguine and Clams next…

My husband & I were born & raised in Vallejo and make a point of patronizing Vallejo establishments. We will give credit where credit is due, good or bad. We have eaten at the Sardine Can for years, and use to eat here at least once a month for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Today, this review is for their dinner & service.
I have to note first that when we arrived that there was a large, happy & loud group on the deck outside so we nixed the idea of sitting outside. I honestly can say that service was BAD and went down hill from the time we walked in (dinner was not much better).
Usually the servers would recognize you when you stepped into the door way and say «Sit wherever you want.» None of this happened for several minutes. Finally one of the servers slipped out from the kitchen area, crossed in front of me & proceeded to key in an order without any acknowledgement. Finally she looks up and said «oh, yeah. You can sit anywhere.» And returned to her computer. Really made you feel welcome, NOT!
It took 10 minutes before the server brought us menus and another 15 before my husband received his mixed drink and my glass of water. I guess she didn’t see the aspirin that I had sitting out on the sticky table. We should of got up & left but considering we just left church to have dinner we would give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt.
My husband ordered his usual clam strips dinner with a side salad. I ordered the fried shrimp (& was promptly corrected by the server that it was fried prawns) & baked potato with butter. 15 mins later salad arrives & within mins we rec’d our main meal. My husband had just barely started with his salad. My baked potato was served loaded so my husband had to catch the attention of the server that it was served wrong. Server came back 5 mins later with a new potato that was barely warm. Prawns had cooled off while waiting for a new potato. PLUS prawns were too greasy for my liking. They were sitting on a lettuce leaf that was covered in oil. Needless to say I couldn’t finish my dinner.
I would say that this was just a night that the service was off, but there was a table of 4 behind us that complained to the server regarding their food this same night.
I know the 2 servers were overwhelmed with the outside group (as the inside was not packed, there were several vacant tables) but customer service and food needs to improve before I could ever recommend this place.

Sooooooooo!!! My visit here went like this–
My servers were these two cute gals, they’re actually prob what made the experience better really.
The food was really gross. Like really gross.
I ordered something with rice and all types of seafood and vegetables and it literally taste like I was drinking dirty dish water with a tad of the sea in it
My man ordered the crab sandwich and same with that order. It just tasted so wierd blechhh
Also got the seafood samplers, I enjoyed those other than the clam strips
And as we were checking out in front I kind of noticed the cookers in the kitchen were kinda mean to the servers.
Now you know there’s always a background to what you see upfront, and as you’re right I don’t know what it is–
BUT you don’t have to be mean especially in front of customers .Shit
Anyway, prob will never go back

The food was really good, the service was sharp and friendly.
very nice place to go and hang out.
The shrimp was very good and fresh!

The food is good, but the wait is so long. So slow. Service is wanting.
We had to get our own menus. I feel bad for the other people ahead of us. Father’s Day and they can’t keep up. Come on owner, you need to be prepared.

We went to this little hidden restaurant yesterday, against my girlfriends better judgement. We were not swayed, it was a quaint little place with a decent location. However, the quality of the food did no favors for this place, as well as the price.
The service was pretty good, server was nice, it just didn’t make up for the fact that the food felt like a greasy brick at the bottom of your stomach.
The chef should consider laying off the butter and cheese, seriously. As well as adding a little bit more spices to his dishes such as the french onion soup which was so oily and without much flavor. The bread serves with it actually was better tasting then the soup itself and that was covered with some kind of red greasy stuff.
The salad that came with the soup (house salad) had an extreme amount of dressing. We are talking at least maybe 2 lattes of dressing. Usually a complaint at a restaurant is not enough dressing but here it definitely not the problem.
The appetizer we got was the loaded fries, these were good but felt as if they were microwaved, we weren’t even there about 15 minutes and received them almost instantly. Also, this was an extremely greasy dish.
Finally, I ordered the triple grilled cheese. It was pretty good, but how hard is it to cook a grilled cheese? The fries that came with it were also fresh and good.
Cons: Food was extremely greasy, chipped plates, unfiltered tap water, as well as ridiculously priced food. Food felt like it was microwaved.
Pro’s: Fast service. nice location.

In the modern day teenager term, «omg… I can’t even…»
How on earth does a grilled sammy along with fish and chips take forty minutes to make? And yes… I did start the timer on them! How? I looked at my Unilocal status on when I checked in and it was spot on.
No, no, no, no, no… My fiancé walked in to check on the food and saw it sitting under the heating lamp. What kind of establishment is this? NO REALLY? When the waitress saw him she told him that she was «just about to bring us our food.» B.S. if you ask me. So we’re eating and I’m irritated beyond belief at this point. She walks by without a word multiple times and walks by another table that has been there before us without saying anything to them too. Finally the other table gets the nerve to ask if they could finally pay for their food. Fifteen minutes later she brings the check. I’m like NOPE! I need a box… Let’s stand next to the register and demand to pay then leave (Because I don’t jump outta a meal like that…).
Hey Sardine Can, YOU’RE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS IMPORTANT TOO YOU KNOW.

I come here a couple times a month to catch up on news and gossip with a girlfriend. The Sardine Can is tucked away on Harbor Drive in Vallejo. Close to the water, but sheltered away from life, this is the perfect place for a long afternoon lunch with someone you want to spend time with.
I’d describe the atmosphere similar to the service: easy breezy. A waitress comes by to take drink and food orders, but then sort of leaves folks alone to eat and chat and lounge on the shady outdoor patio. I respect that. Each time we’ve come here, we’re spending 2 hours and not more than $ 20 each, as the food is delicious and deliciously cheap.
I’ve been getting the black bean burger with a fruit cup. The fruit cup is loaded with fresh, seasonal fruit.
My girlfriend has gotten several different crab dishes, all of which she’s loved.
This will continue to be our little hideaway catch up spot to dish over good grub just a step off the beaten path.

We’ve been coming to the Sardine Can for years. It’s a cute little place tucked away by the Vallejo Marina. The food is always been consistent, this waitstaff has always been very friendly, and we always have a good time!
We stopped in for lunch today and I got the chicken breast sandwich with coleslaw and BF got BLAT sandwich with fries. My sandwich was delicious! The chicken was juicy, bacon crispy, and the apple butter actually made the sandwich. The coleslaw was delicious too and not overdressed! BF said his sandwich was tasty (he always orders it) and his fries were good too! Great little hidden place in Vallejo for a quick bite to eat!