Jefferson Social

Even though they ever advertise «craft cocktails» they say they have no specialty cocktails at the bar. Bullshit. Go across the street to Ruth’s Chris steakhouse for high quality, potent cocktails and superior service.

Decent restaurant for The Banks, but nothing special. They have some good taco selections on the menu, but the waitstaff always seems to want to rush us out of there. Not your traditional Mexican restaurant, but will work for a quick bite to eat.

Arrived at 3:30 on a Tuesday afternoon. There were literally 5 people there eating, two servers and 1 bartender. I walked over from work & came alone, as I was waiting a friend to meet me there. Both servers walked past me atleast 6 times between the two of them within my first 20 minutes before retreating to talk to each other near the bar. At that point I just decided to walk up and order from the bar. The bartender is the only reason I’m giving any stars at all. He was kind, courteous, and quickly tended to my friend and I. For my first time here, I’m overall disappointed with wait staff.
We stayed about an hour after getting our food and drinks (which we brought outside to the patio) & NOT ONCE did a waitress stop to rectify the situation. But the good news is they were super quick to bring out some water for the two dogs that joined us on the patio.

Jefferson social has a great vibe. Located at The Banks, it isn’t the ultra-​trendy, stuffy spot you’d expect. It has a cool dive bar mixed with cantina feel. I’ve been here a few times now and have always enjoyed myself. My last visit was the first time we ordered any food and I was really impressed.
My friend and I decided to split two tacos and an order of their street corn. I was obsessed with this corn. It was amazing! It is covered in chili lime mayo, cilantro and cheese. Holy crap was this delicious.
We also tried the blackened shrimp taco, which be warned actually packs some pretty decent heat and the taconey taco. This is one of those things you just HAVE to try once. It’s like a taco and a cheese coney morphed into one super weird, but super good snack.
Overall, I enjoy this place and will likely return.

Was here on a Saturday afternoon at 2:30. seating was immediately available outside. service was fast and friendly. and to top it off the food was great.

Stopped by here while in town to see Rihanna concert. March madness going on & packed like nuts but good food! Worth it! Got the burrito bowl & chips and salsa. The burrito bowl is spicy if you like spicy foods. The sangria is a nice cool off beverage.

This review is only for the bar area. I came down last Friday to meet some friends for a fund raiser. The bar staff was very good. They were always attentive and I never had to wait more than a minute or two for a drink. I will update my review when I try the food.

This is a typical bar/​dive place.
I don’t get the hype.
Mostly I hear about this place is people having sex in the bathrooms all the time.
Not really where I want to spend my time.
Might need to work on the bar odor, the place has a distinct aroma when you enter it, opening or closing.

We stopped in for a drink and appetizer on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. I struggled a little bit with understanding this restaurant’s identity… cool décor, but it doesn’t really seem to tell any kind of story. The seating was nice — plenty of tables, a long bar, and the patio. I’m sure it gets jammed after dark, but around 4 pm, we didn’t feel crowded at all, and there were seats at the bar and several empty tables from which to choose.
We ordered the queso with chorizo and a couple of beers. Now I’m not really complaining about this, but we got a beer (Hi Rez) that comes in 10 oz glasses everywhere else — Jefferson Social served them in pint glasses, so about 6 extra ounces. Fine for me, but probably not as much for their bottom line. The queso was really great. Bit the tortilla chips… I almost sent them back. More than half of them were so oil soaked that they didn’t actually break; they bent when biting into them. Not good.
The atmosphere has potential, but despite the fact that it was a pretty calm afternoon crowd, many of the servers were running around frantically. One even said to someone, «Welcome to hell» before dashing back to the kitchen. Not sure why, because it really was nowhere near that busy! That being said, our server was very nice and friendly and food came out quickly.
I’m sure they do great business and have a following, given the amazing location and solid drink menu, but I just didn’t find it a very distinctive or high quality place. Way more options along the Banks to settle for mediocrity.

I came here with a few friends who are from out of town. I like the environment and décor of the restaurant. I ordered the barbacoa tacos and they were fabulous. They were nicely displayed and very simple, they reminded me of authentic tacos you could get in Mexico. My friends ordered other food off the menu other than tacos, and they weren’t extremely impressed. (Like her side salad only contained lettuce and cheese and the burrito bowl was very bland). Other than that it was a positive experience, and the waitress was friendly.

I’ve been to Jefferson Social a couple of times just for drinks and appetizers. All three times that I have checked in, the service has been excellent! I drink mostly craft beers on tap, which they had a great selection. The only appetizers I’ve tried are the soft pretzel sticks and Chorizo Corn Dog Pops (a must try) — it’s a Mexican chorizo served with garlic ketchup and chili spiced yellow mustard! Yum!!! The next time I return, I really want to try their specialty tacos! Besides beers, they do have wines and classic cocktails. This is my go to bar always before Red’s or Bengal’s game.
Love it here!

Set the scene: Arrive downtown with only 35 minutes before the start of the Reds game. Yard house will take WAY too long. See sign for Craft Beers, Classic Cocktails and Fine Food. Commit and read Unilocal reviews once seated (which happened immediately with a group of 5).
Earning some starts early with a local draft from a damn good brewery, Rhinegeist. I had a couple pints of the Rhinegeist Truth. Prices were a bit salty, but not as salty as the chips (more on that later).
My better half went with one veggie taco and street corn. I got the Carnitas bowl (that’s not on the menu, but its the same price as the steak if you ask for it– stars for letting me do that). I also got a side of chips and salsa. As countless others have mentioned, the chips and salsa are a letdown. The chips are way too over salted and the salsa is pretty bland. However, that does mean that they make both, or it would all taste like the standard commercial garbage you can buy at the grocery store. The tacos, carnitas bowl, and street corn were a much bigger hit and I would stick to those menu staples if ordering here again.
Overall, we had pretty good service, a friendly waiter who didn’t mess up the bill and could see we were in a hurry, and the food was decent. Maybe I’m feeling generous here, but I’m going to round up to 4 stars from 3.5. Give the same circomstances again in the future, I’d go back.

After enjoying a walk around Smale Park, we decided to get lunch nearby. Maybe it’s the Unilocaler in me, but I always want to try someplace where I’ve never been before. Right on a corner in front of us we saw Jefferson Social and gave it a try. They have the type of huge windows which can be raised up on a garage door type system which was very nice on a pleasant day like today with a gentle breeze wafting through.
Their tagline is: Craft Beers, Classic Cocktails and Fine Food. Really? They call what they are offering on one-​side of page menu fine? C’mon, it’s bar food. And to put themselves out there for their Classic Cocktails — they only offered 6! Neither of us could finish our side of Saratoga Chips as they were the saltiest chips ever! My thinking is that it’s a place you go when the line at Yard House is too long or you hit it for a beer before a Reds Game. Too limited for me. We won’t be back.

Stepped it up during All Star w/​GReAT service, good drinks– Sangria: yes please! And awesome DJ.
Had been before and it’s always a more chill spot compared to holy grail & tin roof which i like for pre-​drinks. If they keep bringing as good of DJ, I’d just party there. Havent tried any food, hence the 4 stars…

I don’t frequent The Banks like ever. There’s too many logistics involved especially if there is an event or game and a trip here means I’m probably spending more money than I want.
This being said, my friends and I needed a place to eat before the All-​Star game concert and with YardHouse having a ridiculous wait, we walked over to Jefferson Social.
It was a seat yourself situation which meant you had to wait until a group decided to get up from their table. Luckily, a lady came over feeling bad for my pregnant friend, and let us know they were finishing up so we didn’t have to wait very long.
Upon being seated the table was cleared and waters were brought out quickly. We decided to start with queso with chorizo and I ordered the nachos with blackened shrimp.
All of the food that came out looked absolutely delicious and that was about it. The queso barely had any chorizo but lots and lots of the grease from it sat on top. The chips were overly salted which completely took away from the flavor as well.
My nachos looked wonderful but had absolutely NO flavor. I mean the shrimp was not seasoned whatsoever, the salsa had a horrible bland taste, and this was all on top of those same over-​salted chips. My friend, who ordered a taco salad with chicken, also agreed her food was not very tasty and her chicken was dry and unseasoned. My other friend’s tacos were cold.
Nothing I had there was worth the ridiculous price. Maybe it was because they were busy, I don’t know. But I do know I will not be back here, not even for a drink!

I freaking love this place. My favorite item is definitely the taconey aka a Skyline cheese coney in taco form. All the food I have had here has been fantastic and fairly priced.
Great service, friendly and fast. Good place for a quick drink, lunch, or a late night stop. Also an excellent patio for people watching. Sangria was decent but they have a nice beer selection and a good specialty drinks.

Food is ok, outside seating is fantastic though!
I got the burrito bowl, chips and guacamole and street corn. The street corn could have used more of the toppings and ingredients as only about two bites had any of the flavor. The chips were nice and salty with the guac, but the guac was not beat up enough and very chunky. Burrito bowl had good flavor, but kind of soupy.
Overall, I like the atmosphere, but the food was just ok. I didn’t try any tacos though

I’ve never had a bad time at Jefferson Social. The atmosphere is pretty fun, they always have a great mix of music (classic and contemporary) and it’s the kind of place where you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get a decent meal or drink. It’s quite casual; which totally works since it’s located in between the two game stadiums.
As far as food goes, I highly recommend their tacos! During lunch, they’re $ 3 a piece! You can’t beat that! My favorite would be their fish tacos which are served with coleslaw and a light sauce inside.

Amazing! Two of us had lunch on a weekday and it was 65% filled with customers.
The service was really good. I gave the server a confusing order and she was very gracious when it came out incorrect.
The food was amazing. I was hesitant about the Social Supreme Tacos because they have hard shells but they were delicious. The taco beef was well-​seasoned, the cheddar was very fresh, and the onions gave a little kick. The Social Burger was also really good. The bun was soft but not fragile. The hamburger beef was good quality. Even the Chips & Guacamole were really good.
The food was delivered about 30 minutes after we ordered. It was worth the wait but could’ve been faster.
I would recommend Jefferson Social to my friends.

Great pre game stop for a few drinks and some food before a game.
We sat at the bar and enjoyed a nice variety of beers! Along with the chorizo queso and salsa, and barbacoa tacos they were tastey. Reasonable prices.
The bartenders poured a great cocktail and the service was very good on a game night.
I like the open air restaurants because it allows maximum people watching.
Solid pre game stop!