Jake's Grill & Oyster House — Restaurant in Burlington

Last night on New Year's Eve, my friends and I had dinner at this restaurant, but something very unpleasant happened. We had made a reservation for 5 PM, and when booking, we were told the dining time was two hours. However, we arrived a bit late, at around 5:27 PM. The server who led us in reiterated the two-hour dining limit and specifically emphasized that the next group of guests would arrive at 7:30 PM, so we needed to finish and leave before then. I even mentioned to my friends how thoughtful the restaurant was to let us make up for the time we were late. Nevertheless, we decided to eat as quickly as possible.

We already knew what we wanted to order, but we waited for about half an hour without any service. After another 10 minutes, a server named Rachel finally came to take our order. After we ordered, it took another half an hour for the dishes to start arriving one by one. The table was so small that we couldn’t fit all the food on it. My friend asked if we could switch to a larger table, but Rachel became inexplicably unhappy and said it wasn’t possible. We didn’t argue and let it go, but because the table was too small, the empty plates piled up, and Rachel didn’t clear them in a timely manner. I had to hold an empty plate for 20 minutes before finally finding Rachel to take it away. At the same time, my friend asked her for ketchup, but after 20 minutes, it still hadn’t arrived. When she came back to clear the plates again, we reminded her, and she finally brought the ketchup.

Then, at 6:53 PM, Rachel suddenly told us that the next guests were arriving at 7 PM and we needed to finish and pay by then. I was shocked and pointed out that it was supposed to be 7:30 PM, but she rolled her eyes at me and said, “I’ll check.” We were all stunned by her attitude. Three minutes later, she came back with the payment terminal and said, “I asked, and it’s 7 PM.” When we tried to respond, she immediately cut us off rudely, saying, “If you have an issue, talk to my manager,” and walked away.

We raised our concerns with the manager, who fortunately was polite and apologized. However, the entire experience left us very disappointed. On New Year’s Eve, of all nights, this was not what we expected. As paying customers, we weren’t there to be treated poorly. We didn’t receive the service we deserved, and for the first time ever, I left no tip.

To Rachel, I would like to say: If you dislike your job and don’t want to be a server, you can quit and stay home. We came to dine, not to endure your attitude.

To the restaurant: I’ve noticed reviews from a year ago expressing dissatisfaction with Rachel, yet she is still working at your restaurant with no improvement. It seems you don’t take customer feedback seriously. Perhaps you think your business is good enough that you don’t need to care about a few customers, but let me remind you that aside from taste, service is even more important for a restaurant. And to be honest, your food isn’t so exceptional that we must dine at your place. If you continue to operate this way, all I can say is good luck. (Attached is the receipt to confirm the authenticity of...

Jake's was the restaurant we excitedly went back to when pandemic provisions allowed for restaurants to reopen.

Jake's was the restaurant we excitedly showed our parents / family / friends to because the food and service was great.

However, we will no longer be completing our tradition of going to Jake's for thanksgiving due to the discrimination(ableism) we encountered at the restaurant and how they handled the events.

My sister-in-law made the reservation on September 29, 2023 and called to ensure they were aware there were individuals who have mobility issues and one individual who is on a wheelchair (quadriplegic and can't walk at all). Thy sounded hesistant and asked if steps were okay. My sister-in-law advised them we wanted the ground floor.

We did not think anything of this interaction as we've had a previous reservation with a large groups( wheelchair included) and we were sat at the ground floor with normal height tables.

When we got to the restaurant, the table was up TWO flights of stairs. We talked to the staff again, they sat us at a table up A flight of stairs.

To an abled person, small steps seem like an unimportant matter. However, if you have issues with mobility or can't walk at all. It becomes a huge matter.

We talked to the hostesses and indicated the individual cannot walk at all. They said there was nothing they can do. Our party had to carry the individual + wheelchair (approximately 200lbs+ in total with the chair) up the stairs. The staff did not help. They looked annoyed that we were in the way of their serving.

When we spoke to the manager, they didn't apologize but that they told us they might not be able to put us on the ground floor. It felt like they were blaming us, and is that not open discrimination if the only choice then is not to be welcomed at the restaurant?

When we were leaving the restaurant, the staff's attitude and lack of empathy was very clear. Individuals with disabilities will be dehumanized and mocked if they step in...

Jake’s is the definition of an excellent dining experience! I am so glad we chose to eat here on our drive back from Niagara. As soon as we entered, though very busy, the young lady in the front with the tattoos (sorry I don’t know her name!) had made sure to make us feel seen and let us know she’ll be right with us with such a positive attitude and smile on her face. Immediately we were already happy with our first impression. Busy restaurant, but lots of seating available. She gave us the option to sit inside or in the patio, the patio was beautiful so we chose to sit there. Then, our server Mala, came by to say hello with the best energy from a server I’ve had in so long. She seemed genuinely happy to be there and really made our dinner feel special. She is funny and enthusiastic about the menu and just really made us feel happy that we were there. I wish every restaurant had servers like Mala and our hostess. Not only did Mala create a comfortable atmosphere, but her recommendations were also spot on. We had a half a dozen oysters which were delicious and many options of flavours to choose from. The fried buffalo cauliflower was also a great starter, really tasty. I had the ribs and my girlfriend had the fish tacos. The fries they serve were perfectly crispy to my liking. Ribs were fall off the bone and the sauce was great - baked beans were also so delicious. Fish tacos were good too! The restaurant itself is very clean, and has some awesome touches like the flip board that reads out funny quotes, there’s lots of TVs in the restaurant too so it would be great to watch a game here! Food overall was a 9.5/10. Service here, 11/10. Thank you to Mala and our amazing hostess for making our dinner at Jake’s a very memorable one. We will 100% be back whenever we take...