Jakes Bar and Grill

We love Jake’s! The food is amazing and the bar is well-​lit and clean. Laurie is the best bartender and a wonderful lady. Went on my first date with my boyfriend here and we are there at least a few times a month. The owner really cares about his business and the patrons receiving excellent service. Go eat at Jake’s and you’ll have a new favorite spot :)

Steak. It’s what for dinner. Jake’s serves up the best steak in the valley that I have had in almost ten years. An eighteen ounce ribeye with garlic butter and cottage fries for less then $ 25. If you like pool, it’s one of the best pool halls in town.

If it weren’t for the main bartender, Jenny, I would give this place a one star review. They’ve got a younger, female bartender who is just about the rudest thing I’ve ever experienced, and wholly the reason I won’t be spending any more time at Jake’s. Which is unfortunate, since the nights that it is only Jenny running bar, I enjoy myself immensely. A business should keep a close eye on its staff, if only to ensure they aren’t chasing off clientele.

This evening I stopped in at Jake’s for the infamous cheeseburger. It was delicious and it came out of the kitchen looking like a photo from a magazine. This place is one of Salem’s hidden treasures!

After hearing all the reviews and listening to people talk about this place I decided to check it out on my way home. I was mildly surprised, the building does not betray what it looks like on the inside.
With a full-​service bar, billiards and an excellent atmosphere I found the place to be very friendly, the menu was excellent with quite a variety of different food, I ordered a taco wrap and what I received was great and more food than I had expected.
The service was excellent and I recommend this place to anyone looking for something new.

Yes, I stand by my previous reviews that this is a nice place, very clean great place, food is probably the some best.

Once again the perfect rib eye. I’ve had 15 and only one that was just OK. $ 20 for 18oz with steak fries and a salad.
I’ve yet to be disappointed and even though it’s s pool bar, there are no dick drunks. It’s well run.
Thanks!

Jakes is place that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It’s a bar. It has pool. That said, their food is a good bet — the meatloaf, the wraps, the burgers-​all good. There are a number of pool tables — and they host pool tournaments regularly. The servers keep up with the customers very well. All in all, a good place to have a drink, play pool, and have a bite.

Well lit, nice staff and full menu. I had the New York steak. Lets just say it didn’t need any steak sauce, it tasted exactly how it should.

Wow, my first time at Jakes Bar and Grill was tonight! I was in the mood for a good steak. I’am a very picky «steak person»!!!
I got there at around 5:30 on a Monday and at first glance I wasn’t at all impressed with my surroundings. I knew that pool was their thing, but was a little Leary about trying the food. The place was clean enough & I ordered the ribeye with salad & mashed potatoes w/​gravy.
The salad was fresh, crisp and came with a few extras like some cheese, beets, olives and a roll with butter. Very tasty.
When my steak arrived, I was surprised at how huge it was! It was a «bone in cut» which you don’t see much of anymore & I always have thought is a shame as the bone usually = more flavor.
I waited a few minutes before I cut into my steak to allow for any carryover cooking. & then tasted it! It was amazing!!! HOT, butter knife tender with tons of flavor!!! You can tell it was cooked on a really well seasoned grill or skillet. I was in shock that I actually had a great steak In this city. And for only $ 17.95!!!
I have been to many «fine dining» places like Ruth Chris, Morton’s and Lawry’s and on and on. They don’t come close as far as the steak is concerned & after all isn’t that why you go in the first place? To eat?
Only Ringside in Portland and Musso & Franks are better in my opinion. Give it a try and you will be amazed at the quality of their steak! If you want quiet and romance with more menu choices, this definitely is not the place to go. but I love steak! And I’am very pleased with this find.
UPDATED BELOW!!!
I tried «jakes’s» a second time four days later and had the same great luck with my steak (maybe not quite as hot as the first time). But still fantastic.
It was the third visit two weeks to the day of my first that made me wish that I would have quit while I was ahead. Not such a great experience to say the least. I went with a friend if mine. I ordered (for a third time the ribeye & my friend ordered a Reuben and something to take home), the food arrived & I noticed right off the bat that my steak looked a little «shriveled» and uneven. I tried it with a positive attitude and my heart sunk!
My steak was overlooked and gristly. Nothing could have saved this piece of shoe leather!
I told our server, who was the same great server that I had the first time. I just said I wanted to go somewhere else. She said she had to call the owner to see if he would comp the meal. Because my guest and I would have to go somewhere else anyway & wanted to eat at the same time. The owner said no way, he couldn’t comp the meal. I was already regretting getting to excited over this place too quickly.
The server suggested that I try a new steak so I that’s what I did,(still trying to have a positive attitude) after all the cook was the same as the first two times, perhaps and most likely it was just a bad piece of meat. still something just seemed ruined. The cook almost seemed ticked off by it all. My new steak arrived. (meanwhile my guest had mostly finished his meal and the rest of it was cold) Not the way it should of been. He should have been offered a new hot meal. But this I’am sure had been instilled in the wait staff by the owner to conserve.
My new steak was much worse than the first!!! It was unbelievably tough and over cooked in some places and undercooked and almost cold in others. I told the server. With apologies she comped my steak and we left. The server was very friendly. But the owner, who was not actually there obviously doesn’t care about his customers. He would have saved more money if he had let us try it a different night. And would have made more money because I would have tried it again.
This experience was such a 180 from the first two that I probably won’t return. It seems the owner only looks at the small picture. I was willing to return if he had been the least bit concerned about the incident that was not my fault to begin with.
I guess at least «Ruth Chris» and «Morton’s» take care of their customers when they have a problem. You might be thinking because «Jakes’s» is so small that they can’t afford to «comp» a meal if it’s not edible. It’s quite the opposite. «Jakes’s» can’t afford NOT to take care of their customers. I’am really sad to say, don’t waste your money here!!! The person who owns place should not be in the business of serving the public.

This review is for the two things they do very well– their steak special and their burgers. We very rarely order anything else, so your experience may vary on the other items.
Jakes burgers and steak are the best in town, even above restaurants that charge a lot more. I don’t know how they offer a cut of steak at that price, but it’s great. Fries are your basic steak fries, nothing exceptional but always done well: crispy on the outside and nice in the middle. Onion rings are also great here.
My carb-​eating co reviewer would also give high marks to their mozzarella sticks, but wishes he could get marinara sauce for them like at other restaurants. he’s a big fan of their burgers!

Visited on a Sunday to take part in the free pool until 4:30pm thing. Despite the fact that the three of us only ordered minimal non-​alcoholic drinks and that we totally took advantage of them by playing free pool for hours, they were still very nice and polite. I will be back and will probably spend a few bucks on a meal at some point. :-)

Went out with a few friends to shoot some pool and have some spirits. They recommended Jakes so off we went! Well, when we walked in it was definitely NOT your typical bar scene. The place was packed with league pool players.
We sat down at the bar and ordered a slice of strawberry cheesecake and drinks. He had a «rich mans version» of Baileys and Coffee. I had a nice glass of wine. The lady that served us was very polite and friendly. Hubby gave her an extra big tip.
There were no open tables but so what! My hubby and I didn’t care because we thoroughly enjoyed watching these pool sharks in action! Dang they were good! I’d love to come back just to watch the sharks in action again! =)

Talk about rude. I’ve been in this place twice, but only actually approached the bar once. The reason for this is that the first time I set foot in here I was shocked by how freakin’ bright the place is and quickly high-​tailed it out.
The second time I stopped in with a friend just after the no smoking ban went into effect. Because they had a smoking area where we could take our dinks, I thought I’d be happy.
Well, the male bartender was anything but pleasant, despite our attempts to be friendly and have a conversation with him. My friend I just looked at each other in disbelief. Needless to say, he received no tip. We finished our one drink and left.