J. Alexander's Restaurant — Restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens

This was one of our favorite restaurants in town, but today I have to sadly say...that its not as good as it used to be. Service was "mediocre" to be nice. Let's start when we sat to eat...our server came with a paper that we had to scan a code to download a digital menu (understandable considering the time we live) BUT the code didn't work we had so much problem trying to get the menu that couple of min later when server came back to ask about what we wanted for drink we told her about the menu issue, she went to get us a paper one she came back 10 min later with the printed manus (seriously?) By then we already had figured out the menu in their website, order our food. Food came, my husband order some prime rib that it was 80%pure fat and just 20%meat so he paid extra for fat that obviously nobody will eat and a small piece of meat that apparently was the biggest size on the menu (????)... I ordered fish of the day, it came undercook I send it back with another sever because ours was no where to be found (did I mentioned how much she disappeared) almost 10 min later our server finally came back and I ask her for my fish, finally got it in the table.

What was really fast to come to the table was the bill over a $100 for 2 mediocre dinners and the appetizer (we always order grill artichokes) but today they were super small. By the way our server never offer us bread while we were waiting, nope that is probably something from the past....but wait....the table next to us got bread when they sat, (I starting to think they may got a better server).

Well, in the time we are living now to keep your business in shape you should to be consistent in two things....Number one quality food and number two great service. Today we did not...

I've been a huge fan of the J. Alexander's in Fort Lauderdale for years, and I was pretty excited to check out the one in Palm Beach location. The place looks good, nice vibe but service and food were a total disaster. This spot seriously needs to get its act together with some staff training.

Our waitress brought our drinks and then just… vanished. We waited forever just to put in our food order. When we finally did, we decided to split the lunch special salad, and it was a complete mess. The lettuce tasted like it had been chilling in the fridge overnight, and the chicken was definitely not fresh. The best part? They charged us another $8 to split it, which meant we paid $29 for a super gross appetizer. I know the split charge is on the menu, but paying that much for that kind of quality is just insane.

Then came the main event, the prime rib. This was honestly one of the worst cuts of meat I've ever had. It was so full of gristle. I was paying $41 for half a steak. The little bit of edible meat that was left actually tasted decent, but it was hard to care. When I mentioned the gristle to the server, she just gave me a look and asked, “What do you want to do about it?” Like, seriously? Of course I wanted to do something about it, why else would I say anything?

And the cherry on top? When I went to the restroom, I noticed vomit in the sink. It made me wonder if maybe someone else had the lunch special salad, but their portion had been in the fridge for two days instead of just one.

All in all, it was a seriously bad experience. I'm definitely not going back for food, though the place does look nice enough to grab a drink. This location just doesn't measure up to the one in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton or...

J. Alexander's has been a pretty solid Palm Beach Gardens staple for me for a long time. The food is American, which means I don't really have to think about it that much.

I've had a variety of dishes here over the years. Their vegetables are always really delicious -- seasoned just perfectly. Their couscous is out of this world.

In appetizers, some solid choices are the spinach dip and the queso. I've also gotten the onion rings and the artichokes. The artichokes aren't really meaty but are seasoned really well so they have a lot of flavor.

The onion rings are quite possibly some of the largest I have ever seen in person so be prepared if you order them. It's not a Burger King-sized portion.

On a recent trip to J. Alexander's, I decided to branch out and try the ahi tuna steak. The seasonal vegetable was a red cabbage and the meal also came with some tomatoes.

I have to admit, I was pretty surprised by the quality of the steak and the sides. They were all actually very good! The wasabi mayo was perfect with the rare tuna and the red cabbage was to die for. Seriously, I'm still thinking about it a few days later.

One thing I will note about the meat is that it does tend to be a little tough if you order a steak. This doesn't seem to be a problem with the French dip sandwich, though.

Service can really be a hit or miss. The last time I was there our server basically rushed us through everything. She asked if we wanted appetizers way too quickly IMO -- literally as we sat down and before we even really had a chance to look at the menu.

Definitely some consistent food and a good choice if you're looking for something a little bit more upscale but...