Jake's Roadhouse — Restaurant in Monrovia

I came, I saw and I'll never be coming back...I am so disappointed.

Inside, the place looked great; beautiful space with gorgeous wood panel walls and a very clean "collector" decorated aesthetic that had a level of coziness to it. Felt like I was in the right spot.

Then started feeling that a little less after looking at the menu. From experience in the Mid-west and South, BBQ owners who know what people want and want to show off their mastery generally offer a range or variety of combination plates to highlight their expert cooks and hook the customer into having at least one favorite...this place doesn't seem to either know that or have a mastery of BBQ because they don't even have brisket, pulled pork or pulled chicken and what is offered is lacking in variety for a decent price. You want 2 meats you say that aren't the cheapest cuts? Here it's $40 and up...tisk tisk. As I am not a restauranteur, it's hard to speculate why BBQ is so expensive and in California, it seems to be the universal truth and this place is no different. The cheapest combo they offer is $25 which is chicken and a link...what a shame what a shame.

As a first time customer and forever weary of a place that looks good but doesn't smell like smoke, eased in with a "Big D's" combo which consisted of half a smoked chicken and smoked sausage link in spicy sauce with Mac and cheese and steamed vegetables. Full DISAPPOINTMENT! Chicken was dry in some parts and under cooked in others. Although the sauce was good, it was the only thing that contained smoked and with the chicken having no char or gristle, there wasn't any evidence this thing saw a grill, flame or any heat...dare I say it was microwaved. Everything else was so lackluster, it's a waste of time to even describe. The chicken was so awful I only ate a quarter of it and sadly, had to throw it away which is something I can never bear to do when it comes to an animal losing their life to be just a full waste.

All in all, a huge let down and bummed to find yet again, another whack and overinflated BBQ joint that has no problem charging a high price for...

Arrived 5:35pm on Sunday 19 DEC and it was moderately busy inside. staff were all masked and other than taking orders and delivering meals maintained their distance from others.

I was seated promptly (table for 1) and the lady immediately took my drink order before she left the table. Moments later another gentleman asked if he could get me a drink and I indicated the lady took my request for water just moments ago but could I also have a Passion Tea. Sure enough it was on the table in minutes.

My server came a minute or so after that and took my order, paying close attention to my requests and repeated my order back to me to be certain…spot on my friend…(1/2 rack baby backs w/sauce on the side and a baked potato w/butter & bacon bits if they had them, and some coleslaw, please and thank you).

Dinner was on the table, exactly as ordered in 11 mins from ordering!

Dinner was delicious! Ribs done just right; easy enough to get them off the bone and full of good charred flavour. A touch of sauce on the side and they were perfect. The “bacon bits” that went on my baked potato was nothing shy of 2 thick cut strips of bacon…no complaints here! Coleslaw was tangy and creamy…if I have to eat coleslaw this is the way I like it!

Service was incredibly attentive throughout my stay with water/tea refills being offered frequently and regular trips past the table had various servers and other staff asking if everything was good. A+ for attentiveness to the customer.

Meal was moderately priced (quite reasonable for what I received) and I’m glad I ventured away from a typical chain restaurant for dinner. My fist time in Monrovia and my first dinner out in this area…definitely did not disappoint.

Well done Jake’s Roadhouse … I’ll definitely be returning. Thank you and merry Christmas /...

PEANUT ALLERGY WARNING: Every table comes with a complimentary bucket of peanuts in shells. The peanuts are eaten with the shells being tossed onto the floor afterward.

I find that really unsanitary. Mixed with the peanut shells is old food that's fallen on the floor because they're not sweeping up those shells. I don't know how often the restaurant gets swept because we show up pretty much when the place opens and there are always shells all over the floor.

A full stack of pancakes also cost me $11.45. Four pancakes. That's it. It didn't include any sides or proteins; there was nothing wow about it. At that price, I expected to be impressed by it. I wasn't.

I'm talking about the Lemon Raspberry Pancakes. It was topped with a little bit of butter (which looked like it had some blended up raspberries in it), powdered sugar, a small handful of fresh raspberries and some raspberry syrup on the side. It seems like a popular dish and it wasn't bad, however it wasn't "$11.45 for four pancakes great" either. I only ate one and took the rest home. I tried their Egg White Omelette as well and that was very underwhelming in flavor.

The ambience feels very welcoming and service is topnotch. Everyone there is super friendly and very attentive. I don't know if it's because we only go for early breakfast and it isn't busy or what but they're really on top of refills and asking you how things are tasting, if you need anything, etc. It's super kitschy and really casual. It has a real neighborhood bar and restaurant feel and is very family friendly.

I'll have to come back and give...