Hal & Mal's — Restaurant in Jackson

Going through Jackson heading back to New Orleans from Arkansas and wanted to try a restaurant we had never been to. My wife saw this one on google maps. When we walked in nobody greeted us. A waitress walked right by us. Went to the next room and saw a guy walking with plates and asked do we sit ourselves and he said yes. We sat and an older guy that was cleaning tables took our drink order! Later the waiter came and took our order! I had hamburger steak, greens, mash potatoes, & carrots! My wife had a fish poboy with fried okra. Food came and I had no greens but I got green beans. The waiter took care of it. My wife’s poboy wasn’t very good. Tasted like it was watered down. My hamburger steak tasted funny and halfway through eating it I noticed it wasn’t cooked all the way through. The greens had lots of big stems and were hard. The cornbread didn’t taste like cornbread. The green beans tasted funny. The carrots was the only thing I liked!! We weren’t very happy with the meal, so I found the waiter, who never checked on us after we started eating and asked for the check so we could leave and get back on the road. I will never stop in Jackson...

My fiance and I came to Hal and Mals for the first time this past Monday to celebrate my birthday. We both love live music, especially blues, so when we learned of this place, we had to come check it out. What we were impressed with the most was our waiter Robert. He was VERY attentive yet real. Very genuine! He aimed to please with a superb personality. This establishment needs to make sure they keep this young man on board as you dont run across waiters like him too often. The food was great! We shared several appetizers but just know that a few if them were a tad spicy. Its fantastic if you like a kick but unfortunately I only like a little kick so I ordered the catfish. WOW! The catfish was DELICIOUS, perfectly cooked. The live blues in the back was the perfect end to our night. Great musicians, great acoustics, and just all out FUN! OH YEAH, they also have wine which is not on the menu AND the key lime pie, MUAH!!!!! EXCELLENT!!!!!! Also not on the menu! But again, Robert, our waiter impressed us the most. Sooooo, ya hear this Hal and Mals! Please keep him on! Five star...

Truly enjoyed my visit to this local spot. They had a bar, table seating, and a live band on this day. It was so nice. The decor is nostalgic. I learned this place used to be a train station. The bartender was so nice and helpful. She made menu suggestions and also made really good drinks. We tried the Ouster and bones, raspberry, plantain, and Brie empanada, and the bbq shrimp and grits. Everything tasted amazing. It was all flavorful. Nothing we ate was overly seasoned. We were stuffed by the time we ended our night there. The oysters and bones were probably my favorite although the shrimp and grits were a close second. Those grits were cooked to perfection under that heap of shrimp. The prices were in line with current market rates. Appetizers were a little under $20. If you are in Jackson, MS please go by here do a meal. You will be glad you did. There is a lot of free parking in front of...