JJ's Cafe — Restaurant in Rockport

I usually only post good reviews but for this place, expectations need to be managed. We expected better based on the ratings so here you go. We put our name on the list at about 9:30 am before we arrived (Memorial Day weekend) so we only waited about 15 minutes to be seated but we should have known the management was not on the ball right then because of their difficulty figuring out the table seating which was not hard for the 6 of us. We waited about half an hour for our food, again, not bad BUT they only brought half our food. The rest of our party’s order did not come for another 45 minutes or so! The first half of us had way finished eating! The shrimp and grits is really good but greasy. The omelette was excellent. The mediocre sausage gravy was lukewarm at best and so were the biscuits. Some stuff was downright cold and the pancakes were very bad - kind of burned on the outside and underdone inside. We finally got out of there at almost 10 after 12. The waitress was nice but she wrote the missing half order on the back of the ticket which it seems may have at least contributed to the problem however, management is ultimately where the severe lack is because they should have been taking care of this and made sure it was corrected in the right way. As it was, management never came and apologized or anything and only because we asked did we get any kind of discount. They should have comped the price of the food they forgot and apologized. As it is, it was sub par and they only gave us about $10 off. We will not be going back. There are surely better places in Rockport. We recommend you choose a different one. We hope they can do better for others...

Arrived July 9, 2020 after the lunch rush at about 1:00 p.m. and we were promptly seated. I ordered the one egg breakfast with hash browns and bacon. My wife ordered the Patty Melt. She commented that the PM was excellent. By the way our waitress, no name, was great! I was served my plate and the over easy egg looked strange but it was done to my request. The hash browns were a bit too crispy! And were cold! The biscuit, as usual, was piping hot and was very good! The bacon! Well, it was burnt! I tried to eat it but could not bring myself to take more than a few bites. I flagged down the waitress and asked her, “check out my bacon”! She commented OMG, it’s burnt! She quickly departed and stated she would be right back. She returned with a good side of bacon. Well!!!!! All I can say is that “Even the best Quarterback has an off day”! My qualifications as an Expert and Experienced Food and Service Critic; I have a BS in Management and have been trained in two Culinary Schools, to include on the job training at other venues. I’ve managed full service as well as fast food restaurants and have had my own successful Catering business. As a Culinary Trainer, I have trained personnel on how to provide superb cuisine and expert customer service. At the age of 73, I am now retired and enjoy being on the other side...

We came in on Sunday about 12:30 pm. The place was slammed with large groups and there was a wait. We waited about 30 minutes to get a table. After the large groups left the place seemed to calm down a bit. The wait staff was in constant motion while we were there. We ordered immediately upon getting seated. I ordered the Sunday special, a fried pork chop. My sides were fried okra and onion straws. My wife ordered the chicken fried chicken but they brought her a fred pork chop as well. She tasted it and decided to keep it. Her sides were mashed potatoes and cream gravy and onion straws. The pork chops were moist and flavorful as well as tender. Kitchen was short handed so it took a little time to prepare and serve the meal. Once things slowed down, our server was very friendly and explained the situation to us. She indicated that Sunday is one of their busiest days and today they had some large groups which impacted the kitchen getting things plated. My wife and both loved the pork chops and the onion strings seem to be pretty popular as well. A lot of patrons were eating breakfast during our visit. We look forward to eating...