Jack's Bar & kitchen — Restaurant in Edmonton

We had such a disappointing visit here on Sunday. We went for my niece's birthday, most of the family drove in from Devon just to go to this place. There were 10 of us in total. We started arriving at 6 and it was promising -- the server was attentive and brought us water. Shortly after 6 everyone had arrived but it took the server probably 15 minutes to come back and take our order. (I should note, there were literally no other tables in the restaurant, just 5 or so "regulars" drinking/socializing at the bar but not eating). Our order was placed around 6:30. One pizzas came fairly quickly (maybe 15 mins or so) but it went downhill from there. Food came out one at a time, with quite a long delay between waves. The server also never came back to check on the food that was delivered or refill drinks or clear plates, etc. it seemed obvious she was trying to avoid us because she was quite aware of the wait. I had been waiting for my taco salad for almost an hour (I am not kidding, it was about 55 minutes and it still hadn't arrived) when I finally flagged her down and said 'just forget it'. Everyone else was done eating except me and two more of us (at that point we were still waiting on another pizza). The server did apologize and said she tried to tell the cook to make our food but he was busy with food delivery app orders? I saw three delivery drivers come in the entire time we were there and they were waiting around too. The server did end up bringing the taco salad out a bit later, and when I looked at the meat I immediately said "this isn't beef". She insisted three times it was ground beef, but as you can see in the photo, it was pork sausage. And it was also cold. I have never been served a taco salad like this in my life, yet alone wait an hour for a salad. Needless to say, I didn't eat it. Overall we spent 2 hours there and I didn't even eat. I really don't understand how they can't handle basic meals for a table of 10 in an empty restaurant. The other thing that grossed me out was the locals smoke right outside the front door, and the smoke and smell comes right through the door cracks, right where we were sitting. The washroom was also filthy. I will never...

After reading previous reviews I was a bit tentative to try out Jack's Pizza Cafe. Upon walking in my fiance and I were impressed with the decor and layout of the restaurant. It was not busy as it was later on a Sunday evening and we were promptly greeted by the one server on duty. There were only 3 other parties in the restaurant during our visit. She was inviting, friendly and conducted herself in a professional manner. Sometimes restaurant staff force an effort to act accommodating in order to secure gratuity, which is usually easy to see through. The woman who took care of us showed an evident enjoyment in her job and providing a great experience for guests. She brought our drinks and took our order quickly, and was attentive, but not smothering like some servers who feel they need to smother in order to receive a good tip. For example my fiance and I were in deep conversation at one point, and I noticed her walk up to come address our table, however she recognized that we were in conversation and came back a few minutes later. That kind of courtesy is something I've rarely experienced in a restaurant setting. We did not have to wait long for the food or the bill. We had the cheese bread appetizer as well as a medium Chicken Bacon Club Pizza. The pizza was piping hot and ingredients tasted fresh. The Cheese Bread appetizer was good, however if there's one thing that could have made it stand out would have been a sauce to pair with it. The salad bar in the middle of the space was a nice touch and the offerings looked fresh and inviting. I was not in the mood for a cocktail, and ordered beer and found that our Server had the entire inventory memorized, and Jack's stocks a selection to satisfy almost any taste. Almost all restaurants in the same sort of class as this one provide a similar product in terms of food quality. What separates these kinds of places for me is service, and this place provided excellent service. The food was good, not remarkable, but good which is to be expected. I'll be definitely going back as well as ordering from there during those instances when we get tired of...

I am extremely disappointed in the two experiences I have had dining in at Jack's Pizza Cafe. I have had take out / delivery and it is always amazing, I highly suggest you do that as opposed to going in to eat which is a serious shame because it is a really cool atmosphere. The first time we went in for the Wednesday night dinner buffet, except there was no buffet. There was a salad bar and two pizzas that had been sitting out for who knows how long. Between two of us we ate an entire pizza hoping they would set out a new one. We waited 20 minutes before we paid and left. Not what comes to mind when I think "buffet". I posted about this experience and was contacted by someone at Jack's who said they had watched surveillance video, saw I was telling the truth and that this was unacceptable. They offered a $20 credit if we came back and tried again. I let this person know we would be back last night (Wednesday November 16,2016). We showed up at 5:15ish. There was an empty pizza "buffet". The server was amazing, very attentive and pleasant however, almost embarrassed by the fact the entire place was EMPTY. There were NO pizzas out on the buffet and only one container of lettuce that had started to wilt. We asked about the buffet, she confirmed it was "on" but since there was no one there no pizzas were made. She then brought us menus and told us to each pick a pizza and the kitchen would make it and we could eat that. So we did. We waited 21 minutes from the time the pizza was ordered until it was placed on the buffet. We were looking to eat quickly, hoping for food readily available. If we wanted to wait over 20 minutes for food we would have gone to another sit down. Again, the food quality was great, just like take out..but what is the point of advertising a buffet that is a joke? If I was some random person walking by I would look and see no buffet and assume the ads were a mistake. I am super disappointed that Jack's second attempt to make things better was pretty much worse than the first. Sorry Jacks, but this...