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Iconic Floating Restaurant Forbes Island Closes Again for ‘Unexpected Maintenance’

No word yet on its return

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Forbes Island, undergoing “unexpected maintenance.”
Flickr/Shanon Hahn Darlin

Forbes Island is closed and details are sparse. Sometime in May, the iconic barge-restaurant and beloved San Francisco curiosity went offline in Fisherman’s Wharf for “unexpected maintenance.” Director of operations Pierre Bleuse stars in the current voicemail recording which apologizes for the closure — backed by theatrical music, no less. Bleuse says that all reservations are canceled “for the time being” and they “hope to welcome you aboard very soon.”

Those are the only clues available right now, along with some angry Yelp reviews from some North Bay residents whose anniversary dinners were cancelled without any notification.

This isn’t the first time Forbes Island has closed with some mystery. In May of 2013, there was an unexplained fire. And in the spring of 2016, it also closed for two months for repairs that required its removal from the actual Bay. According to the current picture above, it seems these repairs have left Forbes Island at it’s current non-address off of Pier 39.

For a little more on Forbes Island’s history and 79-year-old founder Forbes Thor Kiddoo, check out this video (via Facebook) and this profile circa 1987.

As always, if you know anything about the current and future state of affairs at Forbes Island, please do email us.

Forbes Island Restaurant

Pier 39, San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 951-4900 Visit Website