Je’s Restaurant

So sad to hear about Je’s closing. The food was amazing! On Sundays there’d be live jazz with an old school brother on a Hammond Organ (if you don’t know what I’m talking about you should definitely google it or search youtube). I’ll miss the food, the people and the atmosphere. If I wanted to impress someone with the flavor of Newark, this was my goto spot.

This restaurant has indeed closed. I miss the place very much. It is hard to find good soul food in Newark

Out of all the soul food restaurants I’ve been to (east coast, west coast, Midwest, south) this has to be the worst. I ordered the fried catfish — MISTAKE. I was served catfish sticks!!! They’re greasy and I felt hoodwinked. Ordering a catfish from a Soul Food restaurant, one expects to receive a real catfish-​not a hard concept seeing seafood is right outside the doors of Newark. Second, the Candied Yams are left to be desired for here. Lacking taste, flavor, butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and everything else required to make the side. Moving on… The collard greens taste like cardboard with no flavor! Did they cook them with an old sneaker from UsherBoard #1!!! Just DEAD collard greens. I’m totally offended by the experience here. The greens just lacked everything PLUS they were crunchy. Crunchy greens? Yes, I’m going INNNNN because it’s a shame I was lured here by these «raving» reviews. Obviously, it’s from folks not knowing any better and folks who cannot cook a better meal themselves. Again, offended. Wasted my money. I could’ve done better by going to McDonalds or KFC!
The cornbread… #dead again… flavorless. The Mac & Cheese was alright but missed the mark. Needless to say, I wasted an entire meal and didn’t eat 70% of it. The Uptown was THE BEST part of the meal and that was $ 2.00. Had I known this was the best thing I would have ordered a To-​go cup! Amen? Amen!
That was God awful.

The memories that Je’s gave me over the years. I am truly sadden about the closing. Good food, Hopefully there will be another quality Soul food restaurant to appear in the downtown area.
That said there will only be one reserved spot in my heart. Je’s Restaurant good service, good price, good atmosphere and good times.

Soul food is truly the key to my heart. (Except for indian food). But yes, it was a cold rainy day, and I had walked across town just to get to this destination in fear that I was about to get robbed. But, sure enough, my friend and I made it safely.
I was craving fried chicken, so we ordered the fried chicken with two sides.
So the actual entrée was just okay. How can you mess up fried chicken? It was good, and the sides — mac’n cheese, and collard greens were good too.
But what really made this a four star rating was the peach cobbler.
Oh mama, the first bite made my eyes shut and i imagined as if i was swimming in a sweet and peaceful bath.
Perhaps, this is too abstract for some people. But hey– I’m this passionate about the peach cobbler! Haha, I ordered it with some coffee, and boy did i want seconds and thirds and fourths. But I stopped myself.
It is dolloped with whipped cream, and the cobbler is sweet, cinnamon-​y, and soft with a little bit of a crunch. The peach is sweet, but when I mean sweet, I mean in a delicate way with a slight tender bite to it.
My friend started looking at me as if I was crazy because I didn’t even leave any for him when he came back from the bathroom. Didn’t even get to take a picture. Hope this description does the trick. Get the peach cobbler!!! Hopefully you will have the same experience as me!

Great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You will wait a little bit if you come in for breakfast on the weekend but it is worth the wait. You’ll bump into the occasional celebrity here as well.
Only nitpick is that the cornbread isn’t up to par with the rest of the menu but I still rate Je’s a 5.

Several friends and I make the trip to Je’s for delicious soul food a couple times a year, so we were in a panic when we heard the owners were going to retire. Thankfully, the business seems to be in good hands and both the staff and menu are as good as ever!
On a cold and rainy day our group was warmly greeted and, despite the lunch rush, we were seated right away. Drinks and warm corn bread soon appeared as we looked over our options. I ordered the Chopped BBQ Chicken, which was smoky, sweet, and completely delicious! My sides of Black Eyed Peas and Mashed Potatoes were definitely made with love by experienced hands.
Good food, friendly and helpful staff, and a classic atmosphere that says ‘you’re in for some great soul food.’ We all left with full tummies and big smiles, although we were so stuffed the walk home wasn’t nearly as quick as the one there!

Awesome!

First time My family and I ate from Je’s in all the years that we have heard of all the wonderful tasteful food. I have to say that we were not impressed. The food had little flavor and was very bland. don’t think we would be turning.

WHAT HAPPENED?!! We have been eating here for years and normally the food is finger licking good. Everything from the turkey wings, fried chicken, collard greens, pork chops … I had never been disappointed until now.
Picked up takeout from here in January 2013 and the fried chicken, mac n cheese were inedible. I was so disappointed that I have been afraid to eat here again. Its funny how one bad experience can ruin all the previous good experiences. But to be fair I will try it again.
There was some talk of the restaurant closing and I don’t know if this had something to do with the bad food we had that night.

My husband took me here for dinner. He raved about the food and sweared up and down this was the best soul food ever. We entered the place and it was packed. No one greeted us at the door to seat us. We waited about 20 mins before the busboy told us we would need a booth because we had our son in his carsest and therefore would need
More space. So we finally sat down and our waitress took our order. I ordered the Mac n cheese, fried chicken wings, and potato salad. The Mac and cheese was great, the potato salad was good and the chicken was lightly seasoned and moist. I also ordered half and half to drink it was good! Overall the food was good but not the «best» soul food I have ever eatened.

I don’t get what all the hubbub is about. It’s Southern food. Not done all that well done either. I had the Salmon Cakes and French Toast. The French Toast was passable, but the Salmon Cakes were waaay too salty.
My guy had the Meatloaf, Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, and the Cornbread. I tasted his meatloaf and the first thought that came to mind was «Yuck». The mac & cheese was again… passable, and I can’t comment on the greens or cornbread because I was over the whole meal at that point. Can you believe that? I was so unimpressed that I didn’t even try 2 of the items on our table?! Ludicrous I tell ya!
The service was okay, nothing special. Nothing special going on here at all. Is this really the best soul food that Newark has to offer? Wait… no, don’t tell me it is. I think I just might cry for the city of Newark if this is the best they can do.

I spent so much of last summer relaxing in here while enjoying some of the best soul food you can buy. If you don’t have a grandmother cooking Sunday dinner for you then Je’s is a great substitute.
They serve up your order rather quickly, give generous portions and the staff are always pleasant.
Good for people watching, too.
You can tell the patrons have been coming here for years. Get the older waitress, she’s a doll and will take good care of you.

I’m a homesick Southern girl living in Newark, so when I heard there was a good soul food place only 6 blocks from my house, I had to check it out. And I am so glad I did. I knew I had the right place when the waitress told me that yes, they did have sweet iced tea. I ended up getting a veggie plate and some banana pudding, along with the tea to wash it down. My boyfriend got smothered pork chops (we’ll make a Southerner out of him yet). Everything was just right. I could have been back in Atlanta. The prices are a little higher than I’m used to, but cheaper than a bus ticket back home.
The only thing to complain about is the service– it’s slow and a little spacy. We only ordered one tea and they brought (and charged us for) two, the bf ordered black-​eyed peas as a side and got mac and cheese instead. And one waitress had a bit of attitude. But everyone was good-​natured and friendly, and with food this heavy, slow service is kind of a relief. I’ll definitely be coming back anytime I feel a bit homesick. Or just hungry.

Okay, so I admit that I haven’t previously eaten soul food at many places before here. But now that I have, it can be done so much better. It’s just one of those cuisines that’s always good even if you’re half heartedly making it.
Je’s might be the best soul food in Newark but Jersey City’s Soul Flavors blew me away with their food. Their sides are made with such attention and they all look amazing there. Here. the food kind of looks like slop in a way. (And yes, I know soul food is supposed to look homey but this had a prison-​esque type of feel to it). The «spicy corn» is just boiled corn (yes the frozen kind, it wasn’t even sweet) and the candied yams should be called yam slop. Mushy, watery, and overly sweet. I think they can have much better food if they put the effort into it. And the fried chicken? Don’t even get me started on the fried chicken. It was the driest thing I’ve eaten in a while. Their mac and cheese should be called mac and cream. It felt like they made a roux, poured the mac in and called it a day. Where was the yummy cheese? Their corn bread was still really good though. And from what I remember, their desserts were out of this world but I didn’t have it this time. And honestly, the service wasn’t so great this time. Me and my date were treated … differently than everyone else if you know what I mean. I miss the sweetheart working at night. She was so friendly to everyone. Emphasis on the «everyone».

Try the Banana Pudding. Honestly, this may be the best thing I have eaten. Like ever. I ordered the cobbler to go and they gave me this instead. Wasn’t paying much attention so I put a spoon ful in my mouth expecting peaches and I had creamy banana goodness. It was a surprise but SO GOOD. Get the Banana Pudding. Do it.

Good eating at Je’s. I asked a couple of ladies in the office where to go for soul food in Newark and they both said, without consulting each other, «Je’s.» It’s not far from Federal Square right off Broad Street, so easily walkable on a nice day.
The staff here is very friendly and are sweet enough, like the iced tea, to put you in a diabetic coma. There were plenty of people in here, even after the usual lunch hour crowd — we came in around 1:45pm. Lots of people seem to get take-​out too. I got the pork ribs with collard greens and black-​eyed peas. The cornbread was hot and tasty. Music playing in the background was Evelyn «Champagne» King and probably some Ashford and Simpson. Next time I’ll try either the fried chicken or the meat loaf with mac and cheese. Everything was excellent, but remember you can’t eat this stuff every day because it will put you in a coffin.

I went here craving good Fried Chicken. Based on the reviews it seemed everyone loved the chicken so I gave it a shot. It was OK, not great, not bad, but just OK. I was expecting more. The chicken was moist but lacked flavor. The sides were good — mashed potatoes (very good) and the collard greens (good). Cornbread was very good. I saw the catfish go by and I’m going to get that next time. The person who I was with had the pot roast and it looked good and he said it was very good. Pot roast was basically slices of tender beef in a brown gravy. The iced tea was very very sweet but good. I cut it with some water and that made it better.
The hot sauce was as described in another review — vinegary and a little spicy. Very tasty!
Portions are very generous. My meal cost $ 9.50 and I was stuffed afterwords. The peach cobbler looked great but I had no room for it!
I would have given 4 stars but the fried chicken just wasn’t that great. From this kind of place I expect great fried chicken. Next time I’ll try something else and update the review.

This is not health food. If you’re a vegetarian, do not come here.
BUT, if you’re into stuff that’s fried and delicious, Je’s is the place for you. It’s an oasis in a part of Newark that mostly features restaurants that make you want to call the health department when you walk in.
Not Je’s, though. It’s great food, great service, a clean environment, and won’t bust your wallet — most meals are around $ 10, and make sure you get the cobbler for dessert; that’ll set you back another $ 2 or so.
Soups are also great. Actually, everything’s great. Just come here. I promise, you’ll leave stuffed and happy.

If I had to choose two words to sum up the food and experience at Je’s, they’d be: «Girl, Bye!»
I am pretty confident that all the rave reviews that pertain to the food here are from people who have not ever eaten or have had very little experience with authentic, down home soul food, and have not actually eaten it «down south». Or maybe their Nanas and Great-​Grandmas can’t cook like mine. Perhaps.
Does Je’s serve all the requisite soul food dishes? Wwwwwweeeellllllll, yeah. I guess that counts for something, right?
The big bucket of fail that plagues this joint is that the food just passable. Not horrible, but certainly not worth all the hoopla that led me to Je’s in the first place. If you ask me, this is the Newark, NJ version of the Paula Deen establishment Lady & Sons in Savannah, GA. I’d even go as far to say that L&S deserves more praise though.
DONT BE RAISING YOUR EYEBROWS AT ME, IT’S TRUE!
The two other things that Je’s suffers from is ho-​hum service, and sometimes the «we don’t have so-​and-​so today» syndrome. I don’t wanna hear that $hit after I had my mouth set for some (lackluster, even) so-​and so! At least inform me before I get comfy in my seat, and get real busy with my drink, dang!
So yeah. Play at your own risk.