Jay's Crab Boil & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Violet Township

I would give this place 2-1/2 stars if I could, only because of the location and building. The waiter did not describe to my wife that there would be substantial extra charge for what she ordered. That's unacceptable. A waiters job is to make sure the customer understands what the charges are, if it's going to be extra. She ordered ribeye and salmon w/mashed potatoes and broccoli. The steak was supposed to be 10oz med/mrare. It may have been 6oz max and was cooked med/well. The salmon was supposed to be 6oz and was maybe 4oz of second quality and overcooked. The potatoes and broccoli were good. But the cost was a few cents shy of $40. It would have been cheaper with lobster. When the waiter was asked about it, he left the table to check if the charge was right. He came back and stated that it was. I ordered what was presented as a 10oz New York Strip med/rare w/grilled shrimp, red potatoes and asparagus. The steak was the thinnest steak I've had since my days of Ponderosa, was maybe 6oz and was cooked med. My potatoes were served on my wife's plate and we had to figure out how to transfer them to my plate, with no offer of help from the waiter. I hate to complain, but for$100 meal, I expect something that I can compliment. The forks were as bad as at a cheap Mexican cantina. The steak knives were a quality one would expect to buy at a dollar store. The napkins were less that the quality of McDonalds or Wendy's, and the dinner plates were so small that it was impossible to eat without food falling onto the table. And not because there was that much food. The plates were really small. There were at least 2 walls of tvs with no sound, just the same picture on all. At one point, I asked a waitress about a picture on their website, because I couldn't tell what it was. She had no idea, and stated they didn't have any such dish. She had worked there for a year and a half. And to further add insult to injury, the menu states they have Stella on draft. Wouldn't you know that it was just my luck, they were out. Take my advice, you've...

It was our first time eating at Jay's and it was a disappointment. My wife started with shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were very dry as if they had been prepared well in advance then refrigerated without being covered. She ordered the salmon and shrimp special and I got the one-pound head-off shrimp dinner. The spices were tasty, but everything was cooked way too long. The salmon was dry and the shrimp were rubbery. In fairness, I did choose the Jay's sauce that had no butter, but you shouldn't have to rely on butter to redeem poorly cooked food. If you were to shave the corn from the cob, it would look like the over-cooked withered type you would expect from a school cafeteria. The only things that were cooked properly were the potatoes and sausage. For the same price or less, I could have prepared a much better seafood dinner with ingredients from Costco. I don't mind paying for quality, but this was not quality. The very best part of the evening was the waiter, Jeremy G. He was friendly, knowledgeable, attentive, and amusing. You couldn't ask for better service. We are unlikely to give Jay's a second chance, but we will probably stop in to invite Jeremy to our next social gathering! Without Jeremy, this would have been a two-star...

Let me start by saying, I would give it 5 stars if they had a bartender on the spot who wasn’t also acting as the manager.

When we walked in, the place was almost empty, with only one other table occupied. The first thing I noticed was a person at the far side of the bar, on the phone and eating. She got up, said goodbye to whoever was on the phone, and walked over to seat us. A few minutes later, our server, Teri, came by to take our drink order, and all was fine.

After about 5 minutes, we got our drinks and ordered crab cakes, a dozen oysters, soup, and the main entrée. About 20 minutes later, the crab cakes arrived. They looked burned on the outside but actually tasted good. Shortly after, the oysters came out, followed by the soup and then the entrée.

However, things went downhill when we ordered another drink. We waited 15 minutes for it and they never asked my husband if he wanted another beer or anything else. Teri did a good job with the service she could provide, but having only two servers for eight tables, especially when there’s a big party, is insane.

Overall, the food was decent and Teri did her best, but the service could have been much better with more staff. Thank you Teri we enjoyed...