Smokin’ Jakes

Overpriced food and they added extra charges to our tab. I ordered a loaded baked potato, –bacon. The toppings came with the meal, yet they charged us an extra $ 5 for them. Waitress was nice, décor very bar homey, but for 4 meals it will cost you $ 60+.

Good bbq I love the pulled pork their chicken strips are pretty good too. We’ve eaten here several times and service has always been pretty fast.

Yep, 20 minutes before bar time. 10 grown adults that would like a beer and bbq as they wait for a ride. Eric the bar manager says no! Not an option because he is angry. Toooo bad for Jakes. Had friends in town and wanted to show them a cool place. Unfortunately due to there horrible bartender lost out on a party of 10.

Food was OK but for the price 10.99 for a BBQ pork wrap that was pretty skimpy (a regular sized flour tortilla with a bit of cubed pork and lettuce and cheese). Kids meals 6.99 for a few fries and frozen chicken strips and mini BBQ sandwich. Drink was ice tea when it was refilled was half Sprite. Wouldn’t recommend it.

The food is pretty okay, pizza great & drummets eh, but it is the beer specials bring us back. The service is poor though, takes a while for them to come and longer to check on refills.

Went there hoping for ribs but was told that is on the dinner menu and not available for lunch. Ordered the BBQ pork sandwich. No flavor even with sauce and hot sauce. Disappointed.

I came here for dinner with my mother and ordered the chicken wrap with mac n cheese as my side dish. The wrap was flavorless, the mac n cheese was made from a cheap box version with the powdered, salty, bright orange, «cheese». I ate half my wrap and 2 bites of the mac n cheese. I took home the rest with no intention of eating it. I cannot fathom how this restaurant stays in business unless you have no taste buds or like being punished. Our waitress was unable to smile but I think she tried at least once. All this is unfortunate as they are located in a prime area across from The Emporium on Broadway.

Perhaps the worst dining experience I’ve ever had in my life, wish I could give zero stars. BEWARE !!! this is NOT a Bar-​B-​Q restaurant as they advertise. As many of the other reviewers have already noted, the service is TERRIBLE and can even be borderline rude. Requested water (on a 90 degree day) and it took over 10 minutes to arrive. I ordered Bar-​B-​Q brisket dinner and basically received fatty pot roast. No Bar-​B-​Q sauce to be seen anywhere on the plate. Son ordered Bar-​B-​Q sampler platter and again no sauce anywhere on the turkey, pork or beef. Only thing remotely similar to a bar-​b-​q restaurant was the skimpy order of baked beans that came with the meal. Costs me $ 45 bucks for two meal platters and a large beer, terribly overpriced for the food quality and rude service… find somewhere else to eat.

I would give this place the 4 stars because they have great food, good service, and wonderful décor. I do think the tables are too close together and, the tables and chairs don’t give you enough leg room or room to keep things on the table. It’s right by the central emporium and close to Arnold’s park. They should update the kids menus because it says ten and under but the waitress said around ten. I would recommend if you get ribs that you ask them to specify the sizes, never assume the adult sized ribs are the same as children’s size. Great food, good service, wonderful décor.

Great food but the service was awful. Had to ask for silverware, refills, and ranch twice. She also forgot our order and had to come back and take it again. Would recommend looking else where for BBQ. Food of the same quality with better service must exist some where else in Okoboji.

Parents beware! Kids meals ONLY come with fries and kids drinks are pricey! This place must survive selling late night cheap beer. Stick with Bob’s across the street in Arnold’s Park.

Average bar food. Good prices, nice people. Working here.
A decent experience. Interior could use a bit of an upgrade

We were in town for the Winter Games, which clearly spikes the attendance in this summer resort town. We waited for about 10 minutes while waitresses and other employees walked by going to their tables until someone finally told us that we could sit anywhere. While we were waiting, I heard the waitress tell her table about their 4 – 5 food and drink specials for the day. So when our waitress came, I asked about the specials. «We don’t have any.» «But I heard the other waitress talking about specials» «Nope». Well then.
I got the bbq pork sandwich, which was good. It’s sliced pork, not pulled, which was different but still good. The problem was that at nearly $ 10 when it’s all said and done, The sandwich is tiny, and comes on a hot dog bun with a small plate of fries. The food might be good, but it’s always bad when you leave a place and feel like you didn’t get what you paid for.

Great BBQ ribs!
I’ve always gotten great service, but I know it can get busy, so like all places, when it gets busy it’s hard for the staff to keep up. I always try to stop in when I’m passing through. I’ve probably been there a dozen times in the last 20 years. I’m always greeted with a big smile and a hug!
My motto: Always make friends with people (and leave a good tip) you’ll always be treated well in return!

The food was decent. Most of us ordered barbecue and everyone seemed pleased with their meals. However, the service was horrible. When we asked the waitress to describe one of the soup specials, she simply repeated the name of the soup incredulously like we were the biggest idiots in the world for not knowing what that was. When we asked her if it had a creamy base or a broth base, she said, «I don’t KNOW, I am not the COOK.» That was a bad start and it just got worse. She rolled her eyes when we ordered sides, and yelled at one of us for referring to one of the sandwiches by the wrong name when she delivered the food. It was to the point where we were scared to ask any questions for fear of being berated. I will never go back. I am told that the owners are nice people, I hope they read this and realize why their restaurant was almost empty at lunchtime.
There are many better places to eat in this town — you might need to ask around instead of using Unilocal just this once because it doesn’t seem Unilocal has complete listings for Okoboji.

Generally disappointing. Food took a while and wasn’t great. We had ribs, which were cold, and the roast sampler, which seemed to be equal parts fat and meat. The waitress also offered fruit salad as one of the side options, which was watery and disgusting. Don’t bother.

Another one I want to give 3.5 stars to. The food actually wasn’t bad. If you visit this establishment, don’t wast your time with anything but the ribs.
We went here with a group of 12, so I’m not sure if it is really fair to judge how poor the service was. It was pretty bad, although my sister was pain in the arse. I just don’t think they handle large groups well.
Everyone who ordered ribs was happy with their meals, kids and adults. If they didn’t order ribs, not the same expience.
They weren’t fall-​off-​the-​bone good, but were meaty and smokey, better than I was expecting.
Tap beers left much to be desired, but they had 1919 on tap, a fun order for the kids.