J. Wilson's Restaurant — Restaurant in Lawrence

Unfortunately, it was my 1st & probably last visit. My best friend had raved about this restaurant ever since I moved back to Lawrence so I was excited to have a late lunch with her & couldn’t wait to enjoy some wine, great steak & laughter. This was not the upscale experience like I expected. The $38 bottle of Malbec was served in a carafe (not a bottle) so not quite sure what we were served. We questioned why the bottle was not presented table side & we’re told it was the house wine, which was not mentioned on the wine list. The wine was okay, but could have been Bota Box for all we know. I ordered the $36 KC strip medium (I’m serious…I came to play today & I was pre-declined)…it came out medium-well to well. My best friend had to get up & flag down a staff member to get my steak reordered. The manager took my steak, not the whole plate, so I ate luke-warm mashed potatoes & carrots. I reordered the 2nd steak rare & after 20 minutes my best friend got up again to check on my steak & was told it takes 20 minutes to cook a steak…my friend responded “Rare?”…the response was “I’ll go check!”…last time I cooked a rare steak it took 6-8 minutes. Immediately, my “lone” steak appeared & I asked them to box it up…I was finished with my experience by that point. No one ever came back to check on us after I paid the bill. I sat the entire meal with no ice in my “iced tea” & we poured our own wine the entire 1.5 hours. It’s one thing if the restaurant is packed & lined out the door, but there were only 3 occupied tables in the whole restaurant. This is not fine dining…This is not upscale…This is unacceptable for a $100 lunch! We have both worked at one time in our lives in a fine dining restaurant, so this is our jam. We appreciate a fine dining experience & always tip obscenely for great service & food. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen today. The restaurant...

This is not a typical review. This is more of a thank you to Lisa, the general manager of the J. Wilson’s in Lawrence, Kansas, and Jacob, our waiter. We had an extended family gathering for a bittersweet weekend - first a memorial service for my father-in-law, who had passed away a few months earlier, then a birthday brunch for my mother-in-law the very next day. Family from five states converged. However, when initial Sunday brunch plans were scrapped we had to scramble to find a place that would accommodate almost 30. Most places did not take reservations for Sunday morning gatherings. One manager suggested we just show up and hope for the best. We couldn’t do that because many of us were flying out after the brunch. I called J. Wilson’s, thinking it was a long shot. Turns out this long shot was a winner. Lisa cheerfully said yes to our big group. Then she proceeded to email me a limited yet varied weekender menu and even added a few extra gluten-free options. When four extra people showed up the morning of, Lisa did not waver or lose her smile. She and our waiter Jacob deftly took the late-comers in stride. While J. Wilson’s did not have a private dining room, they managed to create one for our large group. My husband and I shared three dishes - The Classic, the Garden Omelette and the French toast. Four thumbs way, way up for our dishes. Yes, the food is terrific and the prices more than reasonable, but the service from Lisa and her crew was above and beyond. Even though Sunday brunch is a busy time, she reassured us that we could visit for as long as we’d like. While the weekend started with tears at the memorial, it ended with lots of love and laughter at...

A group of us had dinner here this past weekend. Everything was good until we ordered our second round of drinks and a server dropped 8oz of red wine splattering all over the four of us, the table, all of our entrees, the seats....even the light fixture. We didn't make a fuss, it was 100% just an accident and this happens. However, the way it was handled was rough. The manager and two servers then stood at the table trying to figure out which wine was which out the of three glasses left like it was some great quantum physics equation while we wipe down ourselves, the table and the light fixture for them with the napkins the provided. Instead we think we finally figure out whos is whos and then the manager brings a two oz pour to fill up another glass that also lost some wine and says "this may be a little more than 2 oz" like this was some grand gesture. We didn't ask to be comped for anything but this is one of those situations where it is 100% expected and this is why people throw a fit in these scenarios instead of acting with a little bit of grace to make sure they are compensated for their ruined experience. We should have been offered to be moved to a dry table, there was plenty open. Our food looked like a Jackson Pollock painting with wine and should have been offered to be refired (I ended up with wine covered fish). Instead we got nothing but wine soaked clothes and being completely ignored after we paid our tab like they just wanted us to leave after dropping over $300 at the table as I had to go ask the bartender for a to-go box. Their website says "inappropriately good" but it is more like...