Jolly Jacks — Restaurant in Plymouth

(Detailed review below)

Food & Drink ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ambience ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Accessibility ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Cost ⭐⭐⭐ Service ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summary ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Food & Drink 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Although there wasn't a separate lunch menu per se, there is a selection of lunch-type meals priced as such on the rear of the main menu. Well, the food was excellent with generous portions. I ordered the Croque Monsieur and Kim had the Prawn & Crayfish Sandwich. We ordered a side of cheesy chips to share - we needn't have (but they were also delicious - thick chips cooked perfectly). The Croque Monsieur takes a little longer to cook (15-20 mins) but I highly recommend it. Kim's sandwich was equally awesome I am told. They have a great drink selection including alcohol-free beer (San Miguel) and cider (Old Mout Berries).

Ambience 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

We visited on a Saturday at around 13:30 and could easily get a table, but there were a fair number of patrons in at the time also. The whole setup works and fits in the location as part of the Yacht Club scene. Good music playing covers of big hits that was at a volume whereby you could hear it without it being intrusive in the conversation. In days gone by, I could have easily sat for the afternoon polishing off a bottle of wine...

Accessibility 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The entrance and the toilets are wheelchair accessible. And everything is laid out for maximum accessibility. The only reason for me to deduct a mark is the actual accessibility to the premises at the end of the tiny, industrial Richmond Walk. It's difficult for cars to pass and parking is limited. On-site parking through a pay-barrier is free for the first 2 hours, so plenty of time for lunch.

Cost 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

The cost of the food and drinks was inline with what I would expect to pay for a bistro meal in Yachting land. A little expensive for a casual lunch for locals (~£28 total with soft drinks), but the portion sizes bring the value for money score up - assuming you can eat it all.

Service 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The service was perfectly good with friendly, knowledgeable staff. The food arrived as advised (given the extra cooking time of my order) and we felt as if we could have stayed at the table all afternoon - no rush...

Summary 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

How have I never been to Jolly Jack's before? It was an absolute delight to visit for lunch, and I will be going back - It's perfect for the occasional treat lunch/dinner. I think I may have been put off by the name, thinking it was a greasy spoon 'caff', but it is anything but. A high-end 4/5 for me!

Tip - Although the parking is free for 2 hours, keep you ticket handy to raise the barrier on...

Owner forced a seat at door on us while the restaurant section was empty justifying it by saying she was giving up her seat for dinner so that we could sit there. After the door open d and closed nuermous times and the volume of traffic became a disturbance I asked if we could move. I asked if we could live the restaraunt section but was told the tables were all booked however there was another table in thebar that we could move to providing we had finished our dinner in 1 hr 45 minutes - we accepted as this shouldn't have been a problem, however it took 40 minutes for the first course to arrive. Two of us ordered sirloin steaks- they were unseasoned and tough as old boots. The cheese board, desert wine and brandy coffee were great...however the piece de resistance was when we were moved to bar with our cheese board and drinks at 6pm - even though the restaraunt section was still empty. In the end I had to walk into the restaurant section myself and tell the staff that I was taking a seat so that we could finish our dinner. All in all it was a huge disappointment- the price of the food (£22 for the sirloin) does not match the quality of the cheffing or the customer care. Point to note - we had Sirloin at Rocksalt in Plymouth the previous evening and both the food and service were amazing - same price but in stark contrast to this venue. Finally we saw a wooden sign hanging by ththe chef station which summed up the attitude to food and non local customers here which said: "Dinner Choices : 1. Take it; 2. Leave it. Seriously don't waste your...

Very cliquey staff, manager rude no eye contact or verbal communication with customers, in fact no customer service at all.Visited for breakfast there was 5 empty tables inside yet was told they were full, okay I work in hospitality they could have bookings I understand that so one waitress said we can sit outside so that was our decision made then when ordering and said we were sat outside we got the most disgusted look from another waitress and her reply was I will have to check to see if we are serving outside she then turned to the manager who didn’t even bother to acknowledge us..it’s 10am Saturday morning the restaurant is half full...why would they not be serving outside? Why would they not want to grasp every customer WANTING to spend their money in there??!! we sat outside then the first waitress who is the only one with any customer service skills came and said a table had become available as someone had just left, yet I’d been watching and nobody had left, we stayed outside ordered 3 simple breakfast sandwiches that all came with 1 item missing, very poor...2nd attempt on a Thursday evening at 8pm went for an evening meal to be told they had stopped serving. Waitress stroked my arm whilst apologising which I do not think is Covid Safe in the current situation. Serious let down especially when you are a visitor to the marina. Will not be attempting to dine there again. Most of the good reviews have clearly come from friends and family...