Original Joe's San Jose — Restaurant in San Jose

For those of us who remember Original Joe's from the last 50 years, it is really hard to recognize today. Sure, it's still on the corner of 1st and San Carlos and they still serve prime rib and American Italian food. But once you walk through the door, uncertainty awaits. As the only people waiting for a table, we were told three times that someone would be right with us. After a couple of minutes, a hostess came to seat us; she had no interaction with us except to ask how many. I reached in to grab her attention and start conversation but she could only utter a couple words. This review is already too long, so just let me say that the sauce no longer has depth, the ravioli is overcooked, the prices too high, and the service seems frazzled. Our waiter is one that will educate you on how busy he is, and all I did was smile as he walked by. There was something rare the old staff had, they gave excellent service no matter how busy and they were always busy! They didn't make excuses or educate you on how expensive bread is nowadays and that's why we charge for it now. What! Okay, if you are going to be slow in service, give the people bread, they'll be less hangry. Charge for a second basket if you must. And please, if you really want a good tip, treat me like I know what I'm doing. I've managed food and beverage in hotels and was in the food and hospitality industry. I may not order a cocktail or wine because I don't drink anymore, but I still enjoy the experience of having a great and long meal fueled by good conversations. Laugh with us, make suggestions from the menu and you might wind up with 100% tip...

Solid 3 Stars. First time at Original Joe's and I have mixed feelings. The food was tasty but lacked creativity. My Steak Sandwich was too rare and served on a toasted bread roll. That's it, just meat and bread. Flavorful but dull. Accompanied by steak fries. I actually used ketchup as a condiment for my sandwich. I know a lot of people would probably kill me if they saw this but I had to work with what they gave me. Our appetizer was Fried Calamari, no complaints. The other entrées were Chicken Parm and Pasta Marinara with a giant Meatball. Simple and tasty but lacking presentation. Our server was David and he did a great job. His knowledge of the menu was substandard and he showed genuine concern and professionalism. We appreciate David and that's why we tip our waiters 25%. We arrived around 7pm on a Saturday evening. Plenty of parking options in the area. No wait to be seated even though it was very busy in the Resto. Original Joe's has an attached bar called The Hideout. Full bar with flat screens to enjoy the game. We may return to try it someday. So to reiterate, our first visit at Joe's was good. Food lacked pizzazz, but is decent. My dull Steak Sandwich and fries set me back $35. Maybe some veggies and condiments to accompany it would be a good idea? The Pasta Marinara was flavorful not too salty and great portion size. Chicken Parm was simple yet tasty. Our Tiramisu was unfortunately inedible. Something was bitter and off putting in it so we sent it back. Oh well, no biggie. I look forward to...

We went on a Sunday afternoon with a large group, about 30 of us. It wasn't busy & we were seated fairly quickly. We were promptly greeted by our waiter who I'll simply call Super Douche because he never introduced himself or even said, "Hello." No, his first words were, "OK, this is how it's going to work. There's no split checks & there will be an 18% gratuity added because of the size of the group. You OK with that?" And it went down hill from there. In hindsight we should have gotten up & left right there or asked for management, but I am trying to be more gracious & attempted to try to get him to loosen up. I failed.

The food was actually not bad but nothing special. But Super Douche continued his attitude throughout the meal. After we paid I did finally speak with a manager & the best she could do was offer to comp three of us a meal if we came back. Why would we ever want to come back?

So, my conclusion is that they've been in business for 50+ years & are obviously resting on their laurels. They don't care anymore just like the manager of the day had no care about what happened. At the end of the day, they will not notice nor will they even care that Super Douche eliminated 30 potential return customers & all the others they know who will never try the place after hearing about how they were treated. They'll ignore these bad reviews & won't respond to any of them. They will keep offering their mediocre food with bad service because others continue to pay them for it. We just won't be...