Jake's Downtown — Restaurant in Billings

For those who don’t want to read the details, I’ll sum it up: steaks good, prime rib hit and miss; if you get a bad drink, don’t try to fix it – have them make it again from scratch; if you’re celebrating a special occasion or just want things to be really nice, choose a different restaurant – Jake’s is completely uninterested in ensuring that things go well.

I made an advance reservation online and sent a note that I ordered flowers for our table: “I ordered flowers from (name of florist) for my mother (mother’s name). The reservation is under my name at 6:15.” Alex, the GM, responded “Thanks Dawn. We will make sure to get them to the table when they arrive!”

When we arrived, I asked about the missing flowers. The manager told me that they arrived around 4:00, but that they didn’t know which table they went to, so they sent the florist away. Aside from the GM apparently failing to relay the info, why would they not keep the flowers and wait for someone to come in and ask about them? The manager implied that it was my fault because the name on the flowers and the reservation didn’t match, said “sorry” and walked away. It would have been nice if he’d shown any interest by offering to call the florist, or even buying my mother’s cocktail or a dessert. Jake’s messed up a simple surprise and couldn’t care less.

I ordered a Manhattan with “just a little bit of extra cherry juice. To me, “a little extra” means about a quarter teaspoon. To the bartender, it meant about a tablespoon. The drink was cloyingly sweet and undrinkable. I added some ice to dilute it, but it didn’t help. I told the server it was way too sweet and asked for some extra bourbon to cut it. When I got the bill, I saw that they charged me $12 for the original undrinkable drink, and an additional $9 for extra bourbon. I paid $21 for a lousy drink!

The Dungeness crab and shrimp wonton appetizers were good. My cousin and I each had a ribeye – they were cooked nicely and had a good flavor. My cousin said that when he ordered the prime rib two weeks before it was overcooked and flavorless, but my parents both decided to give it a try. The doneness and flavor were good, but they both had a huge pile of fat they cut off heaped on the side of the plate. They only offered two choices for dessert, and the coffee was lukewarm. Not impressive for the price.

If you just want to go out for a steak and don’t care about having a nice evening, give Jake’s Downtown a try. Just keep in mind that they aren’t remotely interested (as demonstrated by the manager on duty and the GM’s failure to acknowledge my subsequent email) in whether you enjoy it, and they won’t move an inch to ensure that you do.

Those laurels they’re resting on are...

Hubby and I had noticed this restaurant several times on our recent stays in Billings. I, however, always persuaded our dining choices elsewhere due to how elegant the dining room appeared. It just felt way out of my comfort zone. Today I bit my tongue, and agreed to go because the menu looked fantastic.

We walked in and we were greeted by the friendliest hostess who advised us that the dining room wasn't open yet, but the saloon was, and served the SAME MENU as the dining room! Frick'n YAY for me!!!! That's what I'm talking about!!

Seating in the Saloon included about 8 to ten smaller tables and ample bar seating. The bar tender was friendly, prompt and attentive the entire time. The atmosphere was very nice without feeling too stuffy.

Our meal was good. Some items were great, while others were just good. All in all we were happy with our Jakes experience. I will review our meal in detail further. ($140 w/tip for 2 - included 4 cocktails, appetizer, 2 meals, and a soup.)

Bourbon Street Muscles - Fantastic! A lot of muscles served on a bed of pasta, sauced flavorfully and very well cooked.

Beartooth Burger - Very good burger! Be Advised My husband ordered medium rare and it came out more on the rare side. That was fine by him, but if you're particular about very pink beef, best to order more well done than you'd do normally.

Jakes Chicken Oscar - AMAZING!!! Hand breaded fried chicken breast. Super juicy and tender with a perfectly crispy coating. Bechamel was the perfect consistency with large quarters of artichoke hearts. ( They were jarred marinated artichokes but, that's great I love them!) Finally topped with SO MUCH lump crab. Again AMAZING!!!

Our only slight disappointment was the seasonal vegetable side. We both chose this option which, on this day, was sauteed brussel sprouts, mushrooms, onions, and bacon pieces. They were just OK. The Brussels weren't as tender as we were expecting and definitely needed salt and pepper.

French onion soup was great! Not overly salty like some.

All in all we would...

So we are having to make a trip from the west coast to chicago and we decided to stop in Billing’s. So we looked for a good steak. So we found Jake’s Downtown. So this place is right on a corner in the small downtown and when you walk in it is nice. As you walk up you will see one of the bars they have which was very busy on Thursday at 5pm. We checked in the the host and then took a seat at the bar and had a glass of wine. Happy hour we believe was 4 to 6:30 which was nice. We then went back to host and was going to take our table but gave it away to a older couple that wanted to not sit in the bar area. So we took a high top there and we were happy we did. We had this lady as our server . We forgot her name but she was not one of the young ones and had about shoulder length dirty brown hair. She was so pleasant and happy. We started with the pork potstickers and the chicken wings. Wow were the chicken wings great. We could have just had a few orders of those. The pot stickers were good as well but not as in the same level as the wings. Next we both had a salad. My wife had a house salad nothing special but was fresh. I had the wedge and they give you more then enough toppings on this wedge. I also had the French Onion soup. Great flavors but not the best out of a 5 I would give it a 3. Needs work. Next my wife had the Ribs which had a great BBQ sauce that they make in house. Unfortunately that was the best part of the ribs. They were very dry. So sad. I had the rib eye which was amazing and we also had the elk medallions and well a little over cooked. They were supposed to be medium rare but were more medium. They all came with sides. We choose garlic mashed potatoes and the broccoli. Both were amazing. Next was a dessert which was great. So we would love to go back and try some other stuff but we would only if we could have the same...