Jackie's Cafe — Restaurant in Milwaukee

For my daughter’s birthday, I decided to order from Jackie’s cafe as we’ve eaten here in the past before COVID and really enjoyed it. Plus, I love supporting Hmong businesses.

My mom went to go pick up my food order on my behalf and ran maybe half an hour late (pick up was supposed to be 11:30 but I think my mom got there a little before noon). I let the owner know that my mom would be there soon. I was busy running around doing party prep so I was unable to be there to pick it up. Anyway, when my mom got back with the food…my two trays of Chinese broccoli and pork belly were only HALFWAY full! I messaged the owner right away and asked her why each tray was only halfway full, and her response was simply “because the pick up was late and it was really hot, the veggies for the stir fry wilted.” 🤯🤯🤯 ARE YOU SERIOUS? Vegetables are SUPPOSED to wilt when you stir fry them so I wasn’t understanding why she kept saying it was on us because we picked up the food late. The trays should be full all the way!! If anything, picking up late just means that the food gets cold (which I could deal with) but not that I would get a HALF EMPTY tray. We had to combine both trays to get one full tray (see photos). I paid $90 each for a LARGE tray as is advertised on their menu. I even showed her the photos!! Cannot believe she blamed me and my mom for the wilted veggies simply because we picked up late. We were being cheated either way with the amount we received.

After the party, I requested a refund for one of the trays, and the owner responded a few days later (yesterday) as I’ve screen recorded below in the comments. To summarize her points, basically it’s my fault that I had my mom pick up the food and they have a “filled by volume” policy (that I never knew existed) so it’s not her fault that the veggies wilted because when she first put the food in the tray, it filled up the entire space. Again….veggies wilt so I still don’t completely understand the validity of her argument. It’s incredibly sneaky and dishonest to fill the tray by volume knowing that vegetables will wilt by the time they’re actually served. To put it in perspective, if we picked up on time at 11:30, by the time our event started at 12pm or later (due to driving to the event and set up) the veggies would’ve wilted anyway so….yeah I’m not understanding her veggies wilting argument. VEGGIES WILT WHEN YOU COOK THEM!!! Furthermore, no where on their menu does it say that trays are measured by weight and volume. Very misleading. And after the fact when I had a complaint, she wanted to suddenly make me aware of their “polices” and appear to show me grace by offering me a $90 credit for my next order because I’m a “new customer” who wasn’t aware of their policies. Umm….what policies exactly?? Did you show me any? I wasn’t even made aware of any policies to begin with. No contract. No info but the menu and invoice. Nothing. I knew this was sus and should’ve followed my gut, but I trusted in good faith that this would be a fair and friendly transaction and was wrong. My mistake.

I am so disappointed and will never be ordering from here again. There is absolutely NO transparency.

Aside from this, the food was honestly subpar at best. The pepper sauce wasn’t spicy. The beef pad Thai was very plain. Idk how the Chinese broccoli and pork tasted because the dish ran out before I could even try it! As I’m reading thru reviews, I’m seeing now that there’s been a change of ownership which makes complete sense because this is not how I remembered Jackie’s to be when I dined in the past. Sad to say that I will never be returning nor ever recommending Jackie’s Cafe to anyone. Please think twice before ordering from here. Honestly, poor quality of food and even poorer customer service. I’m still working on getting my $90 back (and NOT credited like she offered) but I’m sure it’s a lost cause because the owner has left me on read and no longer responding. Please save yourself the headache and don’t do business with Jackie’s. Unprofessional and lack of...

This place had been on my mind for a while since I saw their posts on Facebook so when I was in town, I had to definitely make the trip out. It sits in a small and short strip alongside a laundromat and parking is a little limited. We went on a Saturday dinner trip and found some parking.

Once we entered, it was kind of awkward. No one said hi and we just stood around wondering if we sat ourselves or if we had to wait on someone. After a couple of minutes, a nice older woman came and got us seated and got our drink orders. We went to the buffet and I was ecstatic! I got some fried rice, fried noodle and their curry noodle soup. They have a limited variety of food but I was more for quality then quantity. They also had Hmong sausage, pork belly and other Hmong food items. There are also other items such as pho and steam rolls that you have to order off the buffet and it is included in the buffet price, so don't miss out on that!

Fried rice: It has become hard and stale from sitting out too long and it was an overwhelming taste of soy sauce. I didn't like it. Fried noodles: My word, it was delicious. Definitely one of my favorite food items from the buffet. Curry Noodle Soup: It was good, I liked it. Tri-color dessert: It was a little watered down but I enjoyed it. Pho: It came in a small bowl, I was grateful for that, the broth wasn't bland but didn't have too much spices either, it was okay.

I liked this place, don't know if it's enough to bring me back in or not but I wouldn't mind coming back. For 4 people, it was $60, definitely a good price. I liked...

Place was kind of hard to find so I decided to post a Google Maps of it (formerly used to be Pick n Pay Food Mart). Hands down best pho I've had in the city for a while. I've tried Pho Cali, Pho Viet, Thai Kitchen, and Vientanne on 35th but the Oxtail pho at Jackie's Cafe is simply amazing. It's a new establishment so they are still working out the kinks so you'll see that the store looks a little disorganized. While the place might not look the best right now the food is really great. Portions were good for the price I paid.

Ordered Oxtail Pho and Hmong Sausage. Both came out in a reasonable amount of time. Got the chicken wings to go (8 for 5.99). Only downside about this place is it's location. The parking lot is shared with three other business and it's a hassle to find a good place to park.

Definitely worth it though! Great job! Can't wait to see how it does in the future!

EDIT: I've been here a few times since and the food is still very good. They have added a buffet, and while the food from the buffet is still tasty, your money is better spent on just their...