JT's Cafe — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

My wife and I have visited JT’s Cafe (and his other former restaurants) many times in the past. We have typically enjoyed our experience at all of his venues (JT’s Cafe is his last property) - the food is always very good to excellent. However we have seen a significant decline in service at JT’s Cafe over the last several visits.

We visited today for brunch. We arrived shortly after noon and there were several vacant tables. The hostess sat us immediately. Our server greeted us after about 5 minutes and asked for our drink orders (a mixed drink for my wife; coffee and seltzer for me). We told the server we were ready to order at the time she took our drink orders. My wife ordered the Waldorf Chicken Salad. I ordered a stack of pancakes with blackberries and a side of turkey bacon.

Our drinks came quickly. My wife loved her drink. The coffee had clearly been sitting for quite some time as it was bitter and dark (even after three creamers). It was also delivered without a spoon to stir the cup. I drank the cup and hoped for a better cup on the refill but our server didn’t come back until after our food was delivered to check on us.

When our food arrived, my pancakes had blueberries on top and there was no turkey bacon. The runner took my pancakes to the kitchen and returned them with blackberries on top but still no bacon. I started to eat the pancakes but the filling was blueberries, not blackberries. At this point I wasn’t going to return them a second time. Almost 10 minutes passed and still no bacon. There was no sign of our server so we flagged down one of the hostesses who went to check on the order for me. I also asked her for a coffee refill. After a couple of minutes she returned with the bacon but by this point my pancakes were cold. I ate them because waiting for them to be replaced meant my wife would have either eaten alone or had to wait for my order to be recooked.

Our server finally checked in on us but by that time we were nearly finished eating. When the time came for the check, still no sign of her. We flagged down the other hostess who went looking and found our bill sitting on the bar. She delivered it and I paid the bill. Our server brought the receipt back to the table for me to sign.

This visit is consistent with several of our other recent visits. The food is good but the service experience lacking. Also, if there was a manager there that i could have spoken with about the experience, it would be impossible to identify them. We saw the two hostesses, three servers and the kitchen runner that delivered our food.. nobody else.

I’m torn between giving them another try, or not, but based on our recent experiences it will be some time before we’re...

The menu was obviously contrived by starting with prices then working backwards. Then it was decided to take simple food items and to add one or two things like kiwifruit, hollandaise sauce, peanut butter or a banana (dishes you can easily prepare at home) to make it mysteriously complex and justify the price. It is nothing but deception to create value.

Once you taste the dish you ordered, it is hard not to look at the price you are paying. You try to make excuses for why you are not liking your dining experience and why having an egg dish with coffee and orange juice will ring up at $19 per person plus tax and tip. Ninety dollars for a family of four plus spotty service. Well, it is a bar plus food so I would not bring children here anyway.

YOUR OPTIONS:

Cooking at home: Buy crab cakes from Sam's Club or fresh seafood from a local vendor. Bake or sautee your meal so it won't taste like JT's. Then add a strawberry on top of your yogurt and charge yourself two dollars extra for that fruit addition.

The tourist option: Go to IHOP in Port Jefferson for brunch because you know what you are getting or a South Shore option with several ferries between nearby Patchogue and Bay Shore. Take the wife and kids on a ferry ride if you are from the Heartland and have never seen a bay or ocean. Find a nice restaurant listed by Fodors or Zagat or some other reputable guide. Yes, you may use this forum as a guide, but I check with professional reviewers as well. There are dozens of choices.

For the hardworking family man: Take the wife and kids to Oconnee Diner in Islip with it's very good food quality, large portions, and slightly elevated prices...but you leave satisfied because of the food, but also the way the place is always decorated in a different theme. They offer SUPERIOR customer service. Also, the leftover food you can't possibly finish can be taken home. I have done this several times. There is no shame in asking for a to-go box.

I usually lightly mention another restaurant in a review for comparison in value. Without comparison, a review is meaningless, but you may need a place replacement option in case you enjoyed it as much as I did.

A star is deducted for each flaw. Hence, this is a...

Placed an order this morning over the phone for pickup. Simple stuffed french toast, eggs benedict, and side of corned beef hash. No tricks and no changes, easy order. Was told 15-20 min on the phone. Showed up after 15 min. Was told order was still in kitchen. After watching these kids start to frantically lose control and overhearing them say that they gave my order to someone else, now 35 min total had gone by and my wife had been standing there for 20 min. My wife asked for her money back. Still, no manager or any attempt to help the situation by anyone. Just a bunch kids running around like chickens with their heads cut off. After another 15 min (50 total and 35 min of standing and waiting) my wife was finally refunded. No manager, no please take this for next time cause we appreciate your business, no anything at all to ease the situation. Just a heres your money back and sorry. I've worked at restaurants my entire life and managed restaurants. 50 minutes is enough time to put this order together 5 times. I called and spoke with a "manager" who told me he personally spoke with my wife and apologized to her. This did not happen. My wife has no reason to tell me otherwise. So not only did no one try to make this situation better or do right by the customer, but then the "manager" i spoke with, lied to me about talking to my wife and essentially called my wife a liar. This is an absolute shame. We have ordered here many times and the food is good, but because of this experience, they will never have our business again. Even tho our time was wasted this morning, i will happily waste more time in sending this review out over multiple platforms, because this was handled so poorly and people...