JAC's Steakhouse — Local services in Tomah

I'm sorry to say I will not be going to JAC's for the foreseeable future. I want it to work out but it's just not worth the time or money. I would rather spend the extra time and money driving to the roadhouse in Onalaska.

To me it seems JAC's is trying to punch above their weight with the bill to match. I decided to take the wife here for our second go around on New Year's Eve at 4pm (4:12 exactly if you must know) because I know it's going to get busy for a holiday evening and the Packers play at 7. Gotta get in early, ya know?

Unfortunately some of the things I was hoping would change have not. I feel like everywhere on earth does a set order of operations except JAC's.

Tonight, for the second time now, they sit you down and forget about you for 5-10 minutes. Then bring water. Then get your drink order, appetizer order, and entrée all at once - so your appetizer is coming out mere minutes before your entrées. You've been doing nothing for 10 minutes so of course you have your entire order ready so the kitchen gets hit with everything at once.

My wife ordered the Oyster Soup Appetizer which tasted like oysters in water and melted butter. I'm sensing a theme at this point in that nothing they serve has salt or pepper. You might has well have opened a can of oysters and drank it water and all. That's what it tasted like.

The duck wontons were again, amazing. The jelly served with it is awesome as well.

My $60 Tomahawk steak - the crux of the issue here. It's so bland. Again. It's so bland I can taste the grill marks. JAC's is one of the only places in town that can cook a rare steak but they can't season it at all. Same story as last time.

My loaded baked potato. It's a baked potato they charge an extra dollar to 'load up' but conveniently don't have butter. For an extra dollar you can look at my potato (that I smashed) and decide if it is 'loaded' or not.

Long story short; You get fine dining prices without the the fine dining flavor, atmosphere, or anything notable.

-------------- Original Review ------------ I had to delete part of this to make space above.

We had reservations at 5:30. Appetizer order in at 5:45. Still no drinks by 6 when our meal order is placed and I make mention of the appetizer. 6:10 our salad that comes with our meal comes out and our drinks. Salad complete around 6:20 or so. I ask our waitress about the appetizer yet and she said "it's so busy but they're working on it." Alright, I get it. It's 6:45 still no appetizer. Our meal arrives and my steak is missing the fried onions. It happens and is promptly fixed. Appetizers arrive about 5 minutes after our meal. Apparently they 'were never seen by the cooks' despite the two prods 30 minutes and then an hour after sitting down. I get it though, everyone is new and it's the first week so I'll cut some slack on service. Everyone was very polite and attentive. We finished our food and left at about 7:15 though (without the after meal chatter). Two hours is kind of an insane time line when you're just waiting on food for 75% of it.

Food quality. This one is tough. I like a rare steak and everywhere I go they end up overcooked - but not JAC's. They nailed it. Unfortunately the food is bland. Little to no salt / pepper in the steak. My wife's Tiger Prawn Shrimp was bland. Just bland meals BUT cooked perfectly if you can believe it. Just a tweak to the seasoning and it could be perfect.

We had the Wonton Duck with Bacon appetizers and although it took an hour and some change to get to us these were some of the best appetizers I've eaten anywhere in my life. Absolutely loved these. Bit on the pricey side at $12 / 4 of them but wow. The sauce that accompanied them was also amazing. Highly recommend these.

I have to be honest and give them a 3 / 5 for the first outing because I feel constructive criticism will help them go further than being a 'yes man' but they're very close to being an amazing sit down restaurant. I'll give them another go in a few weeks after they find...

Everything about this evening started right. Wonderful hostess greeted us and sat us promptly. Got beverages and placed food order and then things took a turn. Asked the waitress if there was any word on if our food would be coming as we were at the 50 min mark on waiting for food. We were told by the waitress,” She couldn’t go ask or it would upset the cooks and make them take longer and that it is clearly posted on the menu that meals could take up to an hour and that was restaurant policy.” My wife said we would not be coming back next week if this was how things were going to be. The waitress was then over heard by the table talking about us to another waitress in the soda/bussing area as it was right next to our table. Our food came out 10-15 min later. As the food was delivered we could see very different tone and body language from the server as she went from pleasant to abrupt and cold. We ate and waited for the check. When we got the check we noticed an 18% gratuity was added but the bottom of the receipt said that would be added on parties of 8 or more. I went to the hostess station to ask if there was a manager but she wasn’t there as she was doing her other duties so I patiently was waiting for her to return. While waiting our server came up and asked if she could take the bill. I told her no as I needed to speak to a manager about it first. Server said there was no manager on duty. She then asked if it was about the gratuity and that it was only fair that she got a tip since it wasn’t her fault the food took so long. I told her that her tip was based on her actions and she would have gotten a tip if it wasn’t for the change in attitude because we asked a question and then talking about my family and I in a place we could very easily hear it being said. She then went on about fine give me a minute and I’ll take it off. I told her no I’ll wait to talk to someone in charge. She came pack with a new bill without the gratuity and asked for the other copy and for me to just pay the bill. I told her I would pay it but I was keeping the old bill to call and speak with the owner on Monday. Well the owner is here would you like to speak to her. I thought you didn’t have any management here and yes I would. Waited for a while and finally someone came and asked if there was an issue. Asked if she was the owner but said she was a manager. Had a long discussion about the staff being afraid to talk to one another, staff lying to customers, and staff stealing from customers if they don’t look at the bill and didn’t think they were going to get a tip. As this conversation was happening the server came over asking why I was still on this and could you just pay the bill and leave? I finished explaining that there is postings about meals taking 45+ min if they are busy but that the restaurant was less than half full so they were less than busy. I got up told the manager we wouldn’t be back if this was how things were going to be. If you hear you are going to be sat in Linda’s section ask for a different server or you will be sorry. Might give the place another try after a while and when Linda is gone but not anytime soon.

I tried calling but I could only leave a message with the person that answered. It’s been a couple months with no response to messages so I’m guessing that the response to my review was just an answer that makes it seem like the restaurant cares about its customers but they...

Three words: IT. IS. AMAZING.

We rolled in on a Friday night expecting the usual “take a number and hope your stomach doesn’t eat itself” situation, but nope—Heather seated us right away and even played wine whisperer for me. (Bless you, Heather. You’re the hero we didn’t know we needed.)

Enter Mindy, our server: equal parts personable, fun, and basically the kind of person you want to invite to your family Christmas just so she can keep things lively. The vibe? Perfect. Cozy enough to relax, lively enough to eavesdrop without shame. (Shoutout to the table next to us for casually narrating the restaurant’s history. Felt like dinner and a podcast.)

But let’s be honest—you’re here for the food. And good lord, the food… My son went classic with the kids’ spaghetti, while I braved the fish fry. Friends, I am not exaggerating when I say it was hands-down the best fish of my life. Crispy, flaky, perfect. Like the culinary version of winning the lottery without the awkward press conference.

And the soup and salad bar? Oh, the soup. Tonight was chicken vegetable and chili, both so good I briefly considered writing them into my will.

If I lived in Tomah, I’d be here so often they’d probably give me my own booth with a little plaque. Chris and Jennifer clearly know exactly what they’re doing, and I’ll just say it now: they’re ruining other...