J.Theodore Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Frisco

Bonnie Ruth’s. I want to say that Sloth from The Goonies doesn’t come to mind at all but the name here has a two syllable first word that starts with a B and is followed by Ruth. Now that this connection has been made (if you have not seen The Goonies I highly recommend it, keep in mind I was a child when I watched it at least 4 times) the first thing that comes to mind is the cheesy potatoes that came with my “Duck Two Ways”. It kind of makes me think of Sloth’s face. Not in a disgusting sort of way, only in that he had so much bland flesh exposed. I say this because the cheesy potatoes (they are actually called “potato leek gratin”) were extremely bland, nothing special, just some cheesy potatoes all fancied up. Having gotten that out of my system, the cheesy taters were the worst thing about the meal. I started off with the Pomegranate Martini. I’m not a martini drinker. In fact, thinking of drinking them makes me want to gag. This thing was so good that I ordered 2! Next up I had the Lamb Lollipops as an appetizer. It was better than expected. The lamb wasn’t overcooked. The lamb wasn’t dry. I bet Mary was distraught when Bonnie Ruth’s supplier’s butcher murdered her lamb but that’s nothing to worry about when you’re eating it! We also had the Onion Soup Cratinee. I want to let you know that I have no idea what Cratinee is and I’m not taking the time to Google it but this was by far the best onion soup I have ever had. Now that I’ve elevated your expectations I’m going to tell you about the Calamari appetizer. The calamari tasted like average ol’calamari and the 2 sauces that came with it were bland. If you think the same as I do about calamari (its bland) then I want you to find some calamari mixed up with some buffalo sauce and feta served with a side of ranch. Our appetizers came out and we had enough time to finish them before our main course showed up. I will also say that they did a very good job keeping our drinks filed without being obtrusive. They were also very friendly with us. My meal came out less than 5 minutes after everyone else’s but they gave me a free drink, that 2nd pomegranate martini. I had the “Duck Two Ways”. While this sounds like some freakish porn you can only participate in if you visit Denmark, I assure you it is not. The glaze of the duck confit was great but I wanted more. I wound up smearing the duck’s thigh tissue around in the arugula’s dressing, which was also quite good. The duck breast was a little fattier than I’m used to but its glaze made up for it. This was a difficult dish to judge but in the end I was a little underwhelmed. One of my dining partners had the Seafood Crepes. I’ve never had Seafood Crepes but she said she loves Seafood Crepes and she raved about how great Bonnie Ruth’s were as she savored every bite. Another partner had the Prime Rib Sandwiche (Yes, its spelled that way on the menu because its French damnit! Its almost like when I noticed the menu at Mandarin Taste in Tulsa, OK said “Roodles” instead of Noodles on several of its entries). She ate half of one side’s guts and left all of the bread and the other half alone. I tried it, the meat tasted like roast beef and overpowered everything else in the sandwiche. I wonder how that is supposed to be pronounced. For dessert I had Crème Brulee. This was cold yet still rather runny. I believe it is better at room temperature. We also had some white cake that I am unsure of the name and the cake was bland; however, I ate all of the lemon frosting and cranberry preserve off and out of it. The establishment was clean, cleaner than average for sure, and not cluttered. The bathrooms did not smell bad. The seats do not have cushioning on them which is expected. Again, the people were very friendly. For 1 appetizer, 1 desert, 1 alcoholic beverage, and 1 “Plats Principaux” my bill came to 62.50 before tax. So, the price was as expected, which is good. For my fellow veterans, they DO OFFER a "Public Servant" discount that includes both active and retired....

We love J Theodore, but here's why they only get 4 stars instead of 5: We made reservations back in December on Open Table for our anniversary Friday night (Jan 27). Nowhere on the Open Table site does it say that reservations are "First Come First Serve" tables (meaning on a busy night in the middle of winter, Open Table reservations are made for the patio and you only get a table inside if you call the restaurant and request a table inside specifically).

Our reservation was for 7:30 pm. We arrived around 6:15 pm and checked in with the hostess. At no point during our conversation did the hostess mention that our table was reserved on the patio in 30 degree, VERY WINDY weather. We found a couple of bar stools at the bar to enjoy pre-dinner drinks and an appetizer. We also got on the wait for Rare Books Bar (their speak easy) because I wanted to show my husband the vibe in there. The table in the speakeasy came up about 15 minutes before our reservation, so I checked again with the hostess stand that we'd have a table in 15 minutes and she told me we would (again, never mentioning that our table would be on the patio), so we let go of the speakeasy table and closed out our tab at the bar. We then got up from the bar, gave our chairs to a couple that was waiting for us to leave and went up to the hostess stand to be seated for our anniversary dinner. It was THEN that she told us that our table would be on the patio and that Open Table doesn't reserve tables in the restaurant if tables are open on the patio (which may be fine in April or October in Texas but not as a cold front is blowing in at the end of January). I was so upset. She told us that our best bet would be to either get on the wait in the speakeasy or wait for a couple of barstools to open up at the bar. I responded, "You mean like the table in the speakeasy you saw me give up and the two barstools at the bar you watched me give to that couple right there? You didn't think to mention at either of those times I checked in with you before that our table would be on the patio?" And she simply said, "No," and acted as if I was being unreasonable for wanting to be told we'd be on the patio from the beginning.

J Theodore management, if you read these reviews, I highly recommend you work with your hostess staff on how they should handle guests who check in early for their table. This issue could have been completely avoided if the hostess staff let us know when we arrived that we'd be sitting outside in 30 degree weather for our anniversary dinner. We could have salvaged our date by taking the speakeasy table or kept the barstools for dinner, but instead, we were left high-and-dry by your hostess staff with no acceptable option.

The reason this review gets 4 stars instead of 1 star is because the speakeasy hostess made a miracle happen. She recognized us from giving up the earlier table and was horrified by our story of what happened in the main restaurant and bumped us to the top of the wait and got us a table within 5 minutes. Had she not been able to do that, I know my husband would have left and vowed never to come back. But, we were able to have a lovely anniversary dinner thanks to the quick thinking of the speakeasy hostess staff. Once we were seated, our food, drinks, and server were all phenomenal. The music and ambiance of the speakeasy were also top notch. We will definitely be back to sit in the speakeasy. I doubt we'll ever attempt to eat in the main restaurant...

Upon appearance, J. Theodore is an eatery centrally located in a plaza with a serene water fountain in front. Plenty of outdoor seating (which is winter equipped with a fireplace), however, this is Texas, and it's July. Need I say more?

A birthday celebration brought me and several guests to J. Theodore. It was my first time at this establishment & as a guest , my party was already seated and had appetizers. I was told that that the food was good 👍🏽 so I thought ok, let's see - the Korean tacos were my election. The waiter Nick seemed nice & prompt. He took my order and the tacos came out and were extremely salty. I asked the other guest at the table to sample them, and the other 3 individuals said definitely "heavily salted." This was my second selection. The devil eggs & bacon was my first selection. Unfortunately they lacked flavor, so I returned them. Being that I had an issue with my first dish, I declined to send the tacos back because I didn't want to be difficult on someone's birthday occasion. About an hour and a half passed, the hostess came to our table and reminded the guest of honor that "our time was up and we needed to prepare to leave the restaurant " ....I was shocked and saddened as were the other guest. I've never known an establishment to come to any table on a Saturday afternoon ( in a relatively empty place) and ask guests whose table spent no less than 400.00 to leave. There wasn't anything disrespectful going on - just conversation and pleasantries being exchanged.

I personally would NEVER visit J. Theodore again. I'm sure that this was racism at its finest. What I can say with absolute certainty is that 2 couples sat in our same booth... and we're not given any notice that they needed to leave. The guest of honor lost her car keys in the booth. We were told by the staff (who did not assist with helping to retrieve the car keys) that we could wait at the bar until the new guest left the booth. (YT, of course, but nice, they found the car keys!!!!!) When the guest of honor said, "Well....were they informed of the 2 hour (vacate) window ...like you gave us?" The hostess looked blankly at her with " no response." Not saying anything... says EVERYTHING!!!!!!

GOT IT___ NOTED .. we will not return to this establishment.

Pros: The location is great!!!

Cons: Overall service is horrible Food is too salty/ bland, and salmon had a fishy smell (in edible) it literally stunk...