Jack's Surf & Turf - Seafood & Steak — Restaurant in Montclair

Dinner at Jacks!

Was really excited to try this place for I have heard and passed by many times. Often times in Montclair you have trouble making your reservation because of parking but this is not a problem here at Jacks! They have ample parking which was a good warm up to my long awaited dinner.

Went with a group of people and we tried EVERYTHING. The staff was so friendly and knowledgeable and helped us make great decisions. We started with raw fresh oysters and clams then went in to a handful of appetizers such as the seafood combo platter (an entree but is served great as an appetizer), the birria tacos, birria grilled cheese, lobster Mac and cheese bites, and shrimp cocktail.

We wanted to try a bit of everything so for entrees we ordered lobster gnocchi which was delicious, Maine and Connecticut lobster rolls, lobster bomb with bisque and the truffle lobster Mac and cheese. Please listen to me when I tell you EVERYTHING was delicious. We were so full and happy by the end of the night after all this delicious food however we weren’t done.

When I said we wanted to try everything we meant everything! For dessert we had delicious homemade cheesecake, mud pie, amaretto rice pudding and key lime! Some of the desserts were made in house and the other are from the famous little pie company in NY, now I don’t have to go far for that famous pie I can just go to Montclair!

We also had such friendly conversation with the owner Greg! He is so knowledgeable and passionate about his business and is very hands on with his business and that is so important to me. Great ambiance, awesome people, INCREDIBLE food. Will be becoming a regular...

When do the other day with my best friend and I am Spanish and he is black who's the only people in the restaurant and then a white couple came in and then the white family came in unfortunately we were the last ones to get our food and we're the first ones to order waiting an hour for our food never asked if we were okay never asked if we needed extra drinks anything like that at the end they took are drinks off bill 5 dollars wow Forks napkins very disappointing and the bill was $140 unfortunately I will be going here first time I went it was a great experience but there is a waitress there and she is very weird kept looking at me and my friend the whole time if I don't ask you to bring ketchup or hot sauce to the table don't bring it car races especially that were the only people of color in there and you didn't do it to nobody else how do you know that we want hot sauce and ketchup don't ever do that again unless you ask for it did the difference was on the table but it wasn't and once again it was only three people in there very slow the little Caucasian girl the very standoffish you can't be a waitress and be like that you judge people because of what they look at look like I came to buy food that was it. the little Mexican guy awesome make sure we are okay because he saw that we were uncomfortable and I appreciate you for that that's why he got a tip.. now let's talk about the filet mignon how do you guys mess that up it's not but...

I'll start off by saying the dinner choices that were made were absolutely fantastic!!!

Sautéed Broccoli in Garlic Crispy Calamari Short Rib Empanadas Crab Cake Short Rib Tacos(Birria) Homemade Potato Chips

At first glance, I wasn't impressed by the menu as it seemed like another run of the mill surf and turf joint with a cool ambiance. I was so wrong for judging based on past experiences!

The dinner service began with our wonderful server, Shree or Sheree(I hope I'm spelling her name correctly). She was an absolute delight! She was very kind and extremely courteous! Although all that was ordered was from the starters section, it was more than enough to excite the taste buds and portioned enough to satisfy the appetite!

I can honestly say that I've never had Sautéed Broccoli as exquisite good as they have on the menu here! 10/10

I don't eat cheese, but the Short Rib Empanadas were absolutely fantastic!!! 10/10

Crispy Calamari was crispy and seasoned to perfection!!!! 10/10

Crab Cake was also made great and packed full of flavor!!!! 9/10

The Short Rib tacos were a bit of a miss for me,but everything else definitely made up for were those lacked. 4/10

The Homemade Potato Chips weren't a knockout but would be ordered again due to the authentic taste and needed crunch without being soggy and full of oil. 7/10

All in all I was thoroughly pleased with the experience! I will most certainly be going back to give the rest of the...