Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q — Restaurant in Pooler

We stopped by Jim 'N Nicks about 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon. We had a plane to catch at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and wanted a decent meal before boarding. At that time of the day we had no trouble getting a seat. Very few diners were present, and we were escorted to a booth by a friendly Jim 'N Nicks staffer where paper menus awaited us on the table. Some tasty cornbread muffins were delivered to our table, our meal orders were taken, and in just a few minutes our food arrived.

This was our first visit to the Pooler location of Jim 'N Nicks. We have been to the Bluffton location several times. This time, our table ordered chicken tenders, Karl's catfish, and a Southern burger. I know...we went to a barbecue place and ordered no barbecue. But that's what we did because that's what we felt like eating this round. Besides, a restaurant needs to stand behind any item on its menu, right?

All three items were quite good. My wife enjoyed her Southern burger, my choice of Karl's catfish had a pleasant cornmeal coating, and my granddaughter's chicken tenders had a nice coating that tasted pretty close to homemade (she let me sample a piece). The sides we ordered were somewhat hit and miss. The fries were good but not anything exceptional. The collard greens were tasty and a little on the spicy side. The corn on the cob was disappointing. My wife reported that it was not as sweet as it should be, was rather mushy, and had a bad spot on it. She said that she would not serve an ear of corn like that at home.

But all in all, our food was good, and to be fair, we probably should have sent the corn back and tried with something else. However, a subpar ear of corn did not ruin our otherwise good meals.

Our service was good and a fresh glass of iced tea was delivered when my glass became empty. The iced tea was clean and crisp. And finally, the bathrooms were clean and pleasant.

So, we were overall pleased with our dinner stop before heading to the airport. If you're looking for a good meal before jumping on a plane, I would recommend Jim 'N Nicks as a strong contender. We stopped by for lunch again on a Sunday afternoon before heading to the airport. Our meals and service were outstanding! Everything was on point. Jim 'N Nick's is a great choice to get a delicious barbecue meal...

Probably the worst dining experience of my life... the only two positives to the entire meal was our server and bartender Brandi and the smoked wings. In her defense, she did say they were really short staffed.

However, the lack of service was the least of our issues...

Ordering: my son is a very picky eater and he generally doesn't order when we go to a restaurant. They had nachos on the menu and corn chips are something he will eat. We ordered a side of corn chips and was told they couldn't accommodate that but if we wanted to order queso he could have the chips.. as preposterous as that sounded I said ok but I'd like the queso in a to-go cup so that it could be eaten the next day... dip was served with rest of our meal, not in a to go cup and was BAD.... FLAVORLESS and GRAINY. we left it on the table.

Next was my daughter's chicken finger meal.. they forgot to make it...

Then, my meal. I ordered their 3 meat big meal. I paid EXTRA to have brisket, ribs and pulled pork. Flavor was great on everything but all 3 meats were stone COLD. Ribs were tough and wouldn't pull off the bone. 60% of the brisket slice I received was unrendered fat. Again, both of these items I paid extra to eat. For the first time in my life, I didn't finish my bbq meal...

Then we tried to leave... after sitting there for 10mins waiting for the bill, my wife and kids went to the car to wait. Brandi finally showed and asked if we needed anything else to which I responded no and that I wanted the kids chicken tender meal I never received removed from the bill. 10 more minutes later, Brandi returns with the bill and guess what.... it wasn't removed. I told her to get it off of there to which she responded "Oh, they never brought it out?"... staying as polite as I could I said no and to please remove it. 5 minutes goes by and no Brandi. Finally she comes back and says someone out back had to fix the bill... another 5 minutes went by she finally returns with the corrected bill. Paid and left...

Oh almost forgot. I wasn't about to dare try and send the bill back but I also got charged for a soda that was supposed to be included with my son's kid meal.

Fair warning, go at your own risk. We'll probably never be back this was again so I at least have that to...

Transparency....I went to the newest opening of Jim and Nick's off on Abercorn before I visited the Pooler location, and I've been residing in Savannah for over 3 years. With that said, The difference is that Poolers location acts like a restuarant where there are servers instead of ordering at the counter and having food brought to the table.

Our Server Nikki was by far the best server me and my wife have had the pleasure of receiving service from. I ordered a brisket plate with watermelon (as the fruit) and a salad. The brisket came out cold as indicated by my wife when I offered her the first piece. I conveyed that to Nikki along with the disgusting watermelon, that was nowhere near suite. And you can always tell by the color of watermelon, chopped up whether it's going to be slightly appetizing, appealing or dreadful. I was able to replace the watermelon with french fries being that most of the sides to choose from, either have pork in them or or items that I wouldn't necessarily want to eat. I could tell that they cooked new pieces of brisket and brought them out with fresh hot fries, which was very satisfying. My wife ordered the smokehouse wings with white sauce. The macaroni and cheese brisket bombs and onion rings, which were all delicious.

Again I say that the star of the hour was I server nikki, who did a phenomenal job offering suggestions and making the ease of accommodating.What was a lackluster presentation in the first a plate of food that was brought out, which was cold. She acted with a high level of professionalism. To which one could assume that she was an undercover boss or a manager. You don't normally see young servers of that caliber with a high level of maturity and uh, attention to detail when doing their job. So it was a breath of fresh air and a welcome site to know that there are people that are hidden gems and the food service hospitality industry.

If any manager is reading this kudos to you on your selection for this young woman who does a phenomenal job at her job, please ensure that she is recognized. I know that she would be perfect for a managerial position of any caliber...