Neighborhood JAM — Restaurant in Tulsa

The manager at this restaurant this morning was rude and passive aggressive. I came here today to treat my husband to brunch on his 40th birthday. We were put on the waitlist, as it was crowded, and then made our way behind the restaurant to wait until a table was ready. It's chilly today, so the back patio was completely empty. We sat down at one of the tables with our family and my husband began opening one of his birthday presents. A server came out and asked if he had been seated there and were waiting to be served, or just waiting for a table. I told her we were on the waitlist for a table, and just passing the time until it was out turn. She said, "Great, I just wanted to be sure you weren't waiting for a server." Less than five minutes later, the manager comes out, as my husband is still opening his present, and asks me the same question. I tell her also, we are on the waitlist, waiting for a table. She then demands that I tell her who my host is. I say, "I don't know the name of any host, we are just waiting for a table." She then asks me to "describe" my host. I repeat that, we do not have a host, we are on the waitlist for a table, and are simply waiting in the back for our turn to be seated inside, because all the other waiting areas were full. She then asks for the name on the waitlist, and I give her my name. Less than two minutes later, she returns, again interrupting my husband as he opens his gift, and asks if we are waiting for an outside table or to be seated inside. Now, mind you, at this point, it is still not our turn to be seated, we are still expecting at least another 15min wait. I've already told her we are waiting to be seated inside. She can clearly see we are celebrating a birthday and that she keeps interrupting us, and I've already answered her questions. From the beginning, she was flat, rude, no welcoming demeanor of any kind, no smile, she didn't introduce herself-just immediate questioning, repeatedly bothering us. The encounter bordered on harassment and ultimately, I went inside and told her to take me of her waitlist because we would be going elsewhere. She responded to that with absolutely no hint of customer service-No question as to why we were leaving, no asking if there was something she could do, or anything other than the same rude countenance. It was so abundantly clear that we were not wanted there, and I will never eat there again, despite the fact that I have gone there by myself several times without this treatment, so it makes me wonder what it was about my particular family that warranted this kind of service. I've been on this earth long enough to know good service from bad. At no point was this person welcoming or hospitable. Her repeated questioning and demands to describe my host were a subtle implication that I was lying, or that we shouldn't be here, the flat tone. You know when you're not being...

As a Tulsa native, I remember when this restaurant first opened (around 2015/2016 I think). It was immediately hailed as a Tulsa favorite, filling the entire parking lot every weekend and 1hr+ long waitlist. I’m happy that it’s a lot more accessible now.

I’ve visited Neighborhood Jam around 10 times (more or less) since they opened, about once/twice per year and I haven't been dissatisfied any of the times. Most recently was May 14th, 2024 and before that August 10th, 2023.

I’ve been going with a friend or two recently but I used to arrive solo and eat/drink at the bar. The interior isn’t the most awe-inspiring but it’s quite spacious, not as tight as many other Tulsa breakfast diners. I haven’t had a bad experience with service ever – not with the host, not with a server, not with the bartender. When the seating is available, I’m offered a choice of table, bar, booth or patio. I’ve had both their smoothies and cocktails before and, even though you can get each for less elsewhere, they each were decent. The servers I’ve had are always knowledgeable about the menu which is amazing because it’s so vast with a variety of quirky items on it. The list of items available is overwhelming for sure – from smoothies, omelets, breakfast sandwiches, mimosas, you name it – but there’s also nothing to be missed. At this point, I’ve had most of their offerings. Recently I had “The Heap” and the “Breakfast Cuban.” Once again, great choices. Almost as if anything you order is going to at least be good. Just always ask for some of the jams/jellies! Why not? They’re often a nice touch to any bread, or even a savory, order. Given the service, consistency, amount of space, and variety of the options, I’d say that the prices are rather appropriate.

All in all, Neighborhood Jam is a well-established brunch diner that consistently delivers. As mentioned, the parking and waiting list are usually the least favorite elements for visiting but that’s usually only an issue in the mornings on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Worth a spin for...

Edit: wanted to take the hubby this morning to try out Neighborhood Jam. Called in to reserve a spot and was promptly told there was no waiting and it usually picks up 8:30. So we left the house and arrived at the restaurant at 8:39 where we checked in to find 31 reservations ahead of us and a minimum of 1.5 hour wait. The young woman at the podium was very rude and was not a very agreeable person, but we went ahead and got on the waitlist and waited about 20 minutes before deciding to go to a different restaurant. We ended up at Cafe Ole on Peoria where we were seated immediately, order taken, ate our food, left and was at Home Depot before we received the message that our table was ready. So 8:39 to 10:33 we would have waited for a table. The experience this morning was completely opposite of my last visit. I believe the person who answered the phone was oblivious to the actual situation involving the waitlist and gave us incorrect information and had we be told the actual number of people already waiting we would have avoided going there at all.

Very popular and although it was quite busy my family of five only waited about 10 minutes before we were seated for breakfast. After being seated we were quickly greeted at the table, given our menus, and our drink order taken. Minutes later we had coffee and ice water and our waitress was there ready to take our order. The kids menu was simple with just a few choices for breakfast and lunch and the regular menu had a wide selection of dishes available. Ended up with “The Heap” which was a large serving of hash browns topped with eggs, bacon, and assorted cheeses. Pretty sure I tasted some goat cheese. Not the normal blah breakfast combinations which was a pleasant surprise. Prices were a little more than other restaurants, but easily explained with the complexity of dishes prepared. Will...