Jacksons - Southpointe — Restaurant in Cecil Township

Our family was excited to go to dinner here from all the positive experiences and reviews. Unfortunately, our service was not like others. It took us almost 45 minutes to get our beverages (including water that comes automatically). The fire alarms started going off and kept going on until the fire department got there close to 45 minutes to an hour later to shut them off. It was so smoky in the restaurant that my uncle (who has COPD) had to go outside because he couldn't breathe. Not once did a manager stop by either and ask us how we were or apologize for the disruption. We ordered 2 bottles of wine, received one with 1 glass only because the others were currently being washed (we received them close to 25 minutes after we ordered and we also ordered a coke that never came). The other bottle was a glass of wine and when we told our server we wanted a bottle it seemed like it was an inconvenience to her and that we didn't originally ask for one. When the bottle was finally brought to our table, my cousins drank it without realizing she brought us the wrong bottle of wine. They were already halfway done with it and just finished it off without saying anything. We then asked for my uncles coke again and the server acted like it was the first time we ordered a coke. When she brought it back, it was a diet coke so to get the correct one took more time again. Thankfully the apps we ordered arrived and were very good. Calamari was great and the salad had homemade croutons which were amazing. We finally received our food after 2 hours of being sat. The special (crab stuffed salmon) was very good. The mushroom side was overcooked, the sirloin had this weird butter on it that made it taste a little funky, the crab cakes were really good, the frites were undercooked in the middle and overcooked in the ends. My cousin ordered a side of brussel sprouts and brought it up to the server when the food was delivered. The waitress brought it out 10 minutes later and she said "on the fly sprouts" so not sure if it was ever rung in. They were not seasoned at all so not sure if they just hurried up to get it done or not. We were done with our food and it took awhile for the waitress to get us our checks and then they were split incorrectly. My cousin originally ordered the special but we ordered 2 for the table and they only had 1 so she had to order something else but was charged for the special. When it was mentioned to the server she stated it was cheaper so she just left it on, but it was not cheaper. The special was $36 and the chicken they ended up with was $28 so she was overcharged $8 for her entree and lied to about it. Our family is full of seasoned restaurant managers and servers so we really try to understand the difficulties that may take place or how many tables one may have but the service was not great and the server acted like it was our fault she forgot something. My card was ran for the meal but wasn't dropped back to the table until almost 20 minutes after she swiped it and at this point most of the restaurant was empty. It wasn't just our table having issues either. The table next to us sat down not much after we did and ended up getting their food to go because it was taking so long and the table behind us got their food rather late as well. The food I am hoping was just a fluke due to the smoking and fire alarm and fire department coming in but overall this experience was...

I came here for Mother's Day Brunch and they had set us up in a ballroom at the hotel. Everything was a good enough quality, but nothing was great. Considering the price of $55 per person, I'm certain it could have been better. I'll walk you through each "station" that they had setup for the brunch.

Salad and Soup: I tried the Caesar and the Pear Gazpacho. The salad was fine, but the croutons in the salad were soggy. My wife compared the gazpacho to pear apple sauce, which wasn't too far off from true, my son loved it.

Desert: They had assorted cookies, cakes, cheeses, and fresh fruits. I tried the macaroons and they didn't have the proper mouth feel of a quality French macaroon. Also I was annoyed because they had a tub of butter on the table with the "assorted cheeses". I thought it must be Marscapone or some other soft cheese. Imagine my surprise...

Chicken and Waffles: The chicken seemed to be frozen chicken tenders, the waffles were soggy, I doubt the maple syrup was real.

Carving (Ham, Lamb, and Prime Rib): The ham was just terrible. Dry, overcooked, and no seasoning. Lamb is one of my favorite meats, but the lamb that they had out was clearly overcooked. I asked if they could find me a medium piece, and they tried. I would say it was more medium well than medium, but it was serviceable. Unfortunately it was under seasoned and there was no sauce to accompany it. Also the slices were comically thin.

Frittata: My wife ordered an omelette from this station and it was perhaps the best thing that we ate.

Other: There was a table in the middle that had Green Beans, Sausage, Bacon, Potatoes, Salmon, and Chicken. I found the bacon to be highly disappointing, it was super thin and quite overcooked. The chicken at this station was better than the chicken and waffles chicken, but not by much. My wife liked the salmon but I found it to be dry.

Aside from the food, our service was lackluster as well. We were not met by anyone when we were seated at our table. After a few minutes, we decided to start helping ourselves to food items. Only after we finished our first plates and retrieved our drinks were we greeted by our server. She apologized for not coming to our table sooner and offered us refills on our drinks.

We were a party of 3 and our table was uncomfortably small to be used for buffet service. We could not find a place to put our empty plates. The table cloth was too large for the table and we were stepping on it throughout the meal. In addition, whenever we would stand up from the table we would pull on the table cloth and spill our drinks all over the place because the table wasn't...

Updated review: I still stand true to my previous review, but have become a more frequent visitor, going at least 2 times a month now. Seasonal menu items keep me retiring and lunch pizzas are fantastic. Pumpkin Bread Pudding is still my ultimate desire when I go, but alas it is also seasonal. Berkshire Porkchop is so tender and juicy, and large enough to feed 4 people with small appetites, 2 people with regular appetites, out someone who's just really hungry. The trout specials are always perfectly cooked and run out fast, and finally my 2 favorites; Honey Garlic Chicken and the Field Greens salad. You can't go won't with either. Want to gift your salad some heft? Request the addition of chicken!

The new renovations are fantastic! Much more inviting and cozy. Doesn't feel like you HAVE TO dress up to go anymore. And the new menu items are unique and delicious. For starters; the bread is delicious and well made (wasn't a fan of the mixed butters bc I don't like olives, but my mom loved them), the filet tips app is large enough to share or eat as your meal (so tender you can cut them with a butter knife...and we did), the crab cake app was okay (the corn and potato relish that sits underneath the crab cake is the star, and while the crab cake was full of large jumbo lumps of crab it still tasted quite bread-y), the chocolate decadence is incredibly indulgent, the Caesar side salad comes with sardines and is bland (I ordered it sans sardines, and while the CROUTONS ARE TO DIE FOR the dressing flavor was none existent), the red skin potatoes are amazing (get them!!!!), and the STAR OF THE SHOW was the Pumpkin Banana Bread (which is more like a bread pudding, but so freaking fantastic. Ooey gooey, full of flavor, perfect crust on top, and soaking in a cream sauce. YUM)!! Can't...