So disappointing. We were early fans of Jam & Toast when it opened a few years ago and were very happy that it survived through the pandemic. Service was always amazing (every team member stopping to smile, asking to assist, and engaged in your experience). Server was always ready to suggest and assist with menu selections. A manager always stopped by to check on us and our experience. Food was amazing. It was an experience that we always looked forward to going go.
New ownership was evident (we asked a server and our suspicions were confirmed). When we arrived at 8am, the restaurant was barely 1/4 full, yet seemed short-staffed (a mainstay of current COVID-19 spread). By 'seemed', I mean that it appeared that way because everyone there was not engaged with the guest. It took 5-10m to get our server at our table (a hostess stopped by and got us coffee and apologized), yet we saw multiple servers standing on the line staring at us. Our one server had so many tables that we rarely saw her (she was pleasant when we did, mind you!) We got one offer of a coffee refill, from our server, despite other team members walking past us with coffee pots in hand. No one pre-bussed our plateware (my wife makes a point to put her napkin on it) and it sat there for 10-15m, despite restaurant staff walking by us with empty hands.
Food was.. okay. Avocado toast was supposed to be seasoned (it wasn't) and was supposed to have lemon juice (it didn't). Crepes were.. fine. I shouldn't malign the food, simply because it didn't end up being the focal point of our visit.. and it should have been. Though we think we spotted the manager, he was far from engaging with guests. He stood at the front, talked to the hostess, and walked through the dining room aimlessly with car keys hanging out of his pocket. It was the LEAST inviting that an individual that represented the restaurant could be.
Long and short of it -- we will not be back. I'm sad, actually, because we don't like taking restaurants off of our list, and we LOVED this place. New owners, if you're reading this - the magic has been lost. I hope you're able to find it again. If the original owners had run it this way, they never would've made it to...
Read moreJAM & TOAST: A TRULY WELL-MANAGED SPOT FOR BRUNCH My wife and I are always on the lookout for a place for Sunday Brunch; we like to celebrate the new week after attending church. Lately, we’ve found the Jam & Toast location just east of the corner of I-35 and Belt Line Road in north Irving. This place is truly a gem and is a demonstration of an exceptionally well-managed restaurant.
The teamwork of the floor staff is particularly impressive; it is apparent that the waitstaff, the table cleaners and the greeting personnel are well treated and thus exude cheerfulness to the customers. This is a tribute to the floor manager.
The serving team is exceptional. There are five (5) servers on Sundays, and we’ve been fortunate to have been served by all of them. They are uniformly courteous, experienced and expeditious. They go out of their way to ensure that customers’ needs are met. In several cases, I’ve seen them go to areas other than those for which they are responsible to do what was necessary to ensure customer satisfaction and compliance.
The two table arrangers/cleaners are possibly the two hardest working people in the western hemisphere. They are on the spot, removing used dishes from tables, making tables available for the next customer when previous occupants leave, with the tables clean and properly set up.
The seating personnel are quick to seat customers when tables become available and ensure that the table is handed off to a server.
The floor manager is always on the floor, overseeing and chipping in when necessary.
The kitchen staff is equally competent; food is delivered more quickly than any other breakfast/lunch/brunch location of my experience, and the food is both quite tasty and exactly as it was ordered. Whoever they have cooking their egg dishes is masterful; scrambled eggs are light, fluffy and creamy while still being sufficiently cooked, and the eggs over easy/medium/hard are delivered as requested. The menu offerings are varied and pleasing.
These days it is easy to find an adequate restaurant; finding delicious, however, is devilishly difficult. Jam & Toast happily delivers delicious, along with a side of efficient,...
Read moreReally deserve 0 stars. I placed an Uber Eats pick up order at 8:21 am. I realized that I had placed it to the wrong location, and contacted the store at 8:36 am. I spoke to the manager, Amber, told her what had happened, and asked her if they had started making the order. She said that they had NOT started making the order, and she would ensure it was not made. I asked if she was able to cancel it on her end, and she said she was not able to. I would have to call Uber Eats. I contacted Uber Eats, and while I was on the phone waiting for customer service I saw a cancellation from the store. So, apparently Amber was indeed able to cancel the order on her side. I finally got someone from Uber Eats on the line, but when the representative contacted Amber for confirmation that I called, she told them that the food was almost ready when I contacted them. This is of course, impossible. When I called back, Amber then told me that she did tell me the order was not started, but when she went into the kitchen it was almost finished. I told her that would have been impossible in the 5 minute time frame. Then she said she never told me that the they had not started the order, despite another person who heard the conversation confirming that she did, and her admission at the beginning of our conversation that she was not aware until later that it had been started. She contradicted herself on the call. I would have sent someone to pick up the order if Amber had been honest when I first called, or told Uber Eats what she actually said to me. Terrible, disgusting customer service,...
Read more