Jack Flat BBQ — Restaurant in Laval (administrative region)

I would like to preface that this review of Jack Flat is a re-run. I originally attended the restaurant about a week ago, and long story short we had a bit of a pickle, i felt a little saddened by the experience at the time and left a… stern… review. However it was brought to my attention that our poor experience stemmed from a major incident the Jack Flat staff faced (which i probably should’ve noticed myself with all the staff running around as if there was an actual live fire) So once the owners of jack flat had heard of my experience, they reached out and had a conversation, opening me to giving them a second try. Man am i glad i did. See i’m not a restauranteur, so i’m not exactly sure how stuff works in restaurant POS systems, but my theory is their system bugged and lost track of our order, and we ended up getting our order much later than when it was actually ready. But the team was cordial, professional, and honestly who offers this kind of service this day and age?

HOWEVER, this mishap was NOT a good representation of what jack flat has to offer. Let me break it down.

French Fries 🍟 Unfortunately, i’m sort of a “judge-a-book-by-its-cover” kind of person, however that doesn’t always work. The fries have the look of a classic poutine fry, you know the dark brown and kind of soft fry. In my opinion that kind of fry is amazing on poutine, but i borderline hate it in every other context. Normally, i love the golden, crispy kind. However, these were DECEIVING! What an in between! They had the poutine look, but a texture and flavour that was perfectly in between a golden fry and a poutine fry, well seasoned, nice and salty. A really great texture to dip in their choice of sauces! At a glance i was not excited, but i ended up liking these a lot!

Four Cheese Mac & Cheese 🧀 This one was really interesting, definitely not the kind of mac and cheese i was expecting, and to me didn’t really taste like a typical mac and cheese, it had more of a “saucey” vibe to it, but the flavour packed and a punch and the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. Not exactly sure it’s my cup of tea, but absolutely no complaints here!

Smash Cheese Burger🍔 Whatever you do, DO NOT SLEEP ON THE CHEESE BURGER! Seriously! I didn’t expect it, but yes, this BBQ restaurant in Centropolis makes one of the best smash burgers i’ve had in a LONG time. How soft and toasty the buns were, the cheese and sauce ratio, the simple but well-picked toppings. And that smashed patty, smashed so hard the edges are like beef chips 🤤🤤🤤 it was INCREDIBLE. If you’re not a fan of smokey-bbq type food, just shut up and order like 3 of these. And the price?12$ for a smash burger like this? That means with fries, 18$? My god loud a burger combo at A&W is like 16$, for the driest, saddest excuse of a burger known to man. I think i’m adding jack flat to my list of burger spots, even though this is not a burger spot. Seriously i might come here eat 3 burgers and be on my way. Damn!!🤤

Smoked Brisket 💨 Ok the smoked brisket really shined. I know that smokehouse restaurants are really hit or miss, so take my review with a pinch of salt, at most places, sometimes the brisket will be perfect, then you’ll come back the day after and itll be dry as sand. But, the day we went, the brisket was simply INCREDIBLE. I’ve never had brisket in Texas, closest I’ve gotten has been Colorado, so i can’t truuuuly speak on authenticity. But man! Soft, tender, nice and juicy on the fat cap side, slightly more meaty & smokey on the other. A delicious flavour throughout and man that peppery crust was to die for! Combine a bit of brisket with their slightly sweet pickled onions, their tangy pickles and a dollop of theMustard-y BBQ sauce , take all of that and smush it onto the piece of loaf served with the brisket, and i felt like i was back in Colorado Springs! Truly to die for.

Overall i’m not one for name-drops , but in comparison to the competition, Jack Flat just may come out on top in the American BBQ field of the Greater Montreal Area. Again, DONT SLEEP ON...

Can't get enough of jack flat bbq. This time, I tried another hidden menu item. Smash burger poutine. It's literally what it says. Take a smash burger without the bread and put it on a poutine. It was good! I don't like mayo (or that type of sauce) in a poutine though so because of that I didn't like it as much as the Mac tex poutine but it was still good.

As always, I always overeat when I come here because I want to try everything (and I never succeed to try everything cause there's just so much to try). Buffalo chicken wings are very good and the pop corn Nashville chicken pair so good with them.

And the smash burger double cheese bacon. I would says it's one, if not the best burger I ever eat. It seems small, but it's filling. I'm a burger person, I do judge a place by there burger. Rare I go somewhere that serve burger and don't take it (specially on my first go). And jack flat is just in another category. Now don't get me wrong, it's not gourmet style burger (and I hate gourmet burger anyway, I don't want a fancy burger that cost 50$ because the chef drizzle gold on it, I want a burger that taste wonderful). This is a true backyard bbq burger that is perfectly season, perfectly cooked, perrectly smokes, perfect all the way. Just enough fat so it's tasty like it should.

I ate in the past the poutine Mac tex. This is my normal go to. It's a Mac tex Mac and cheese on top of a poutine with brisket. It's just amazing.

I took also the cheddar saucage as a starter plate. It's per serving so the price is for 1 saucage. It was very good.

Oh and did I talked about the two homemade bbq sauce that's available directly at the table next to the ketchup and red-hot? These things are marvelous. Paired with any meat, you can't go wrong. I had people with me that never put any sauce just going back for more. If these sauce were available in grocery store, it would always be sold out.

The place is crowded, specially on Friday and Saturday but I don't think there's a night that this place is not jammed packed. I've tried various day and it'd always very busy, and it's not for nothing, you want to come back. Friday and Saturday, you can make reservation for less than 4 if you call but places do go fast. You can try walk in but be prepare for a wait. I already waited 2h30 for a table on a Saturday night. I was prepare to wait, I wanted to eat here, I didn't made a reservation so I knew that walking at 7pm was a mistake. But it was worth the wait.

The service is phenomenal. They will guide you, help you, be very friendly, it's just good to be there.

Oh, you can also request a tour of the smoker, it's free and very nice to see, smell and learned how the amazing food is done.

There is special food each night which can be smoke meat, tomahawk, ribs, etc.

And the ambiance is just a fresh different VS all other place. It's not a sports bar, it's not a pub, it's like a retro country club with a small arcade on top. The music is all country / cowboy style, often music I never heard before but just very good.

There's tv if you want to look at sport event. They will put stuff like NHL games, NFL, etc. But mainly it played the video clip of the playing soundtrack.

Wait, there's more. More? Yes! Nearly each night, there's an event. Karaoke? Country dance? Dance classes? Name it!

Highly suggest going on their Facebook page and Instagram cause this is where they announce every event and also, every hidden item.

Hidden item? Yes, there's many offering that aren't on the menu like the popcorn Nashville chicken, the wings, smash burger poutine (looks like my tonight order!) and more.

You're craving meat? Smoked meat? Bbq meat? Burger? Chicken? Poutine? Anything related to that? Like some company would say just do it, it's jack...

Just wanted to post an update - After dining here in July and several other times in restaurant or for take out, now in January of 2025 I can confidently say the food is awesome - delicious in every way. Good portions and great quality. Decor is also out of this world particularly during the Xmas period. Love it! -

Heard a lot about this place on social media and being a huge fan of BBQ I'm really glad to have tried it. Our group of 5 dined here on Satuday July 6th around 4:30 PM. We made a reservation online. This was a bit earlier than we wanted but figured it would be more ideal to ensure they do not run out of the specialty meats served on this day. Saturday's special is the smoked beef ribs- the menu emphasizes they are first come first serve "until we run out".

We were seated on a large communal style wooden pic nic table in the middle of the restaurant. There is a mix of booth seating, individual chairs and these pic nic tables. I wish I had an actual chair with a back rest as sitting on the bench without back support for a while can get quite uncomfortable. Despite being early for supper, the restaurant was already pretty full by 5PM. We noticed at least 2 birthday groups and a bachelor party going on. This is a great place for birthdays and events - there is a second floor where they can accomodate large groups. The atmosphere is loud country fun - great decorations, country music playing the whole time and tv screens featuring rodeo or music videos.

There are even certain times during the week where they have line dancing - I've seen many videos of patrons dancing on the tables - this is the vibe I was a bit afraid of. It's rowdy so I suggest coming earlier or a weekday if you want something more peaceful.

Our group each opted for the "ranch experience" platter. This is $59 a person. You get about pound and a half of meat per person, a sampling of all options on the menu. Brisket, pork belly, porc ribs and smoked turkey. Every one also gets a smashburger. We paid extra to have beef ribs as well ($80). There are sides to share, coleslaw, fries, mac and cheese (amazing!!), fried popcorn chicken.

This experience platter is a great option to taste several things on the menu - if you have a big appetite or just like seing lots of food, highly recommend. Honestly some of the best BBQ I've ever. I've tried all the major spots in and around Montreal and often travel to the USA, I've been eating BBQ for some time and also cook it at home, so have an idea what to expect - Jack Flat really sets the bar high. The brisket and beef ribs are so flavorful and tender, the chicken, turkey, just about everything was juicy.

Even the sides - the double fried brown french fries are amazing, the mac and cheese is so goocey and creamy, not dry or overcooked like many other places.

I love that each table gets bottles of their homemade sauces and there is a big roll of paper towels for you.

I wish I tasted some other appetizers or options - the menu can be hard to figure out as there are little descriptions and no pictures. For example they have a "Texas Twinkie", I thought this was deep fried twinkie cakes at first but is a jalapeno popper wrapped in bacon. Make sure to study the menu well and ask questions if you're not sure.

If you enjoy real american bbq you won't be disappointed. Just taking a star away for the very loud atmosphere and some uncomfortable seating in some cases. Pricing is also on the high end. Main meal options on the menu do not generally come with sides - everything is an extra so the bill...