Jak's Grill — Restaurant in Seattle

It pains me to write this because Jak's used to be my partner and I's favorite special occasion restaurant. But tonight we tried to go there for our anniversary and we were incredibly disappointed. Our waitress apparently was new and didn't really seem to have a good understanding of service at a nicer restaurant. When she originally came up to the table, there wasnt any mention of what we were celebrating or specials or even a warm greeting. Just a "hi, what can I get started for you." When we asked her about a couple bottles of wine we were interested in, she told us that she wasn't able to give us information about them but could bring us a taste. At this point, I'm thinking that maybe they have some bottles already open in the back since it's not usually possible to taste bottle selections. We agree and she leaves only to return a couple min later saying that she couldn't bring us tastes because those were sold as bottles only. Mind you, when I showed her these bottles, we were very clearly looking at the bottle menu. So then I asked if there was a sommelier available. She left and returned saying that the manager was "too busy to talk to us" but that she could tell us that one of our choices was more tannic than the other. Our reservation was early in the evening and the restaurant was no where near full so right off the bat, my partner and I were feeling pretty put off. I asked her to clarify if he just had to help too many other tables because my partner and I honestly didn't mind waiting a little bit. She didn't really give an explanation but left to try to get him again. He came over maybe 5 minutes later and talked to us about the bottles. After being there for 15-20 min and feeling so underwhelmed and kind of dismissed, we honestly just didn't want to stay though. So we ended up having dinner else where. Maybe it was just an off night but this experience was a complete 180 from what we're used to at this restaurant. So for anyone who has enjoyed this place over the years, beware. Maybe it's lack of training within the restaurant or bad management. But this place just doesn't seem the same....we hope...

a reservation was made, not necessarily required, for 6pm on a Friday night. If you are familiar with “the Junction”, you will wonder why that was necessary with so many casual offerings in the area.

Having last dined at Jan’s some 20 years ago, it was time to revisit, be reacquainted, and hopefully impressed enough to resume regular dining.

Jak’s is a “steakhouse”, with prices to match, however, it fails to meet its own standards.

Appetizers, calamari and (scampi) shrimp were served promptly. The calamari strips (not rings) were hearty and delicious. The shrimp was warm, with a side of mashed potatoes. The scampi declaration would suggest a hot dish, rather than bland offering.

A wedge salad was hearty with visible dressing and all of its ingredients. A spinach salad had traces of its ingredients and a VERY light dash of honey mustard dressing. Perhaps a request for additional would have helped; there was no way to know that would be necessary in advance.

A word about atmospheric, ambiance. A reservation would presume preferred seating, rather than the upper alcove with a treacherous, dark staircase. This section seemed to draw families, with children. Perhaps the lower level (main dining room) was reserved for return patrons? Again, a request may have made a difference. Who knew.

The mai courses arrived, slightly undercooked (both medium well), which may be subjective, although, this is generally pink on the center, not red throughout.

The basis for the 3 stars for food concerns the entrees and baked potatoes bro g warm, not hot.

Whether the result of alcove dining, servers navigating the stairs, or indifference on the kitchen is anyone’s guess. There was no “sizzle” heard from passing plates.

The service was adequate but not exceptional.

For the $170 for two it was not expensive but hardly worth a return visit.

Perhaps your experience will be...

My wife and I went and were met by a host who never looked up as he took our name and told us it'd be 10-15 minutes. We went to the bar and we're looked at by the bartenders for 6-8 minutes before they decided to acknowledge us. This was at a bar with 6 of 8 or so seats taken. I asked about one beer and then for a beer list, and he flat out ignored my request to see the list. At this point we were ready to walk out - which we should've done. Another host, who was super nice (younger taller M/B) said out table was ready. We watched the bartender take my card and proceed to make several other drinks for people before he decided to swipe our card. We were sat upstairs near the front of the building next to a table of about 10 bros who were loud the entire meal. The waitress, F/w with brown hair, was also super nice and apologized repeatedly for the group but said there were no other tables available (one did come open as we were midway into our dinner). The 3 other couples in the area also looked miserable. The calamari sticks were good, salad was pathetic, my sirloin was above average, and my wife's skewers were decent - she thought the filet was really good and the strip was dry and chewy. The waitress was nice enough to comp a round of drinks for us which we thought was more than generous. The two stars are for her and the second host, who should find a better restaurant to work for. It's also worth noting that once we got downstairs, we could still hear the group upstairs but it also seemed extremely loud in general, so maybe the acoustics of the building are bad. Regardless, we went for a nice steak dinner for my wife's birthday and were totally disappointed. Absolutely...