JB’s Cafe and Cocktails — Restaurant in Rice Lake

The food is standard pub stuff and, for the most part, it's done well. However, I very much got the feeling that they favor locals. We went as a group (10 people), and we made a reservation for 7p the day prior. We arrived at 6:55p, and checked in. The server who I told of our reservation looked incredulous that we were there before our reservation time. The ten of us stood in the middle of the small dining area, next to the dirty ten-top while we waited. They didn't start bussing and cleaning our table until after 7.

The server who helped us was as responsive as I would have expected for a busy Friday night, but she was largely focused elsewhere. We were seated, and she didn't return for approximately five minutes to get drink orders. When she did return, she asked if we wanted to order food and drinks at the same time. Not a big deal, but it definitely felt as though she was trying to turn the table quickly. We all ordered drinks, food, and a couple appetizers. It's important to note, of the ten of us, five ordered chicken fingers and fries, three ordered fish, and only two ordered sandwiches. Of the fish, two ordered for sides of red potatoes.

When she returned with the drinks, she struggled with remembering who ordered which drinks. The appetizers came about ten minutes later. This would be the last time she would interact with our table for the next hour. When she did return, it was to inform us that they didn't have any red potatoes, and to ask what we would prefer for substitutions. During that hour, we watched others arrive, order, and eat while we waited. It was very clear most, if not all, of them were locals/regulars.

As stated above, the food was good, and nobody in the group had any complaints other than the substitutions. However, the kitchen is either too small/understaffed, they didn't know how to handle a large group, or they prioritize their regular customers. I would be willing to try again in a small group, but probably not on a...

I spent 20+ years of my life working in the restaurant business, in every position from dishwasher to management. Never have I witnessed such an egregious failure of all levels of the business as I did last night at JBs in Rice Lake, WI. Seated within minutes of our arrival, we waited at the table almost 20 minutes just to have a waitress come to the table. The place was jammed, few people were eating.

When the server did finally get to our table, we ordered immediately… then waited for almost another 40 minutes before we requested to just make the order a take-out, as we were tired of waiting. We were told that would not speed the process. Although I did understand that part, NO orders had come out of the kitchen in all that time, although more diners were continually seated. JBs was staffed with only 2 servers; there were 2 employees working in the smallish kitchen and 1 bartender.

More than another half-hour passed –after we had paid the bill – before we decided to leave due to food not having been delivered. Inadequate, at best.

The final straw was my wife slipping and falling near the server pick-up station on an uncleaned spill on the floor. NO ONE bothered to help her or offer an apology, or anything else. My message to JBs? If you can’t properly and efficiently run a restaurant, get out of the business! We will NOT return, for any meal, for any reason.

And, by the way, WHERE is the customer notified that they will be charged for the privilege of using a credit card? It is certainly not on the door. And not on the menu. It’s your legal right to do that, but it is ALSO your legal responsibility to notify the customer BEFORE they are billed, NOT after! ...

Hubby & I ain’t from around here but we came as quick as we could❤️ to visit his niece who married a local from Rice Lake & THEY brought us here for the famous “Friday Fish Fry!” And mam o man, it did not disappoint The fish was perfectly cooked both fried and broiled- the fried fish had a great tasting, light batter that didn’t hide the beautiful cod and the broiled fish was light and flaky with this wonderful butter sauce!!! ❤️ The cole slaw was delicious and flavorful and more than just a side - i would go eat it all by itself! I’m a bit of a cole slaw connoisseur (self proclaimed😂) and then there was the baked potato - loaded- outstanding!!! Don’t forget the cheese curds- my eyes rolled back in my head and then I looked over and saw a Bloody Mary on the next table and the lady said, “ They are really good here!” So I ordered one and she was corrrrect!! It came with usual condiments but they added 2 chunks of WI cheese & a piece of summer sausage🙈😘so I was in heaven! The staff was outstanding, just what you’d expect from a local place, the bartender even came out to ask about the Bloody Mary which I have to say was delish because whatever BM mix they use was really light & didn’t taste like that heavy, thick stuff you usually get! I was so excited about this place- I’d honestly come back just for the fish💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼❤️and cole slaw! P.S. The prices were great also!! Oh, they’ll be closed this Saturday because the bartender and one of the waitresses were getting married💋🎉💐how cute is that! Thank you, JB’s for a...