Down from a strong 5. This place was an institution for decades. Has been slipping for years, but last night was probably my last trip. Evidently , I am not the only one that feels this way. Back in the day the wait for a table on a Friday night was hours. Now you can easily sit at the small bar  for a cocktail then take a table. The steaks are fine tho have become as expensive as any steakhouse in the Bay Area. The all you can eat mayonnaise ice berg lettuce is as amusing as ever. And yeah, saltines at the table, to make sure you knew what a nice place looked like in the 1950's. For reasons I just cannot understand they have lit up the place. It used to be pitch dark in there other than the small table lights. Very cool, and how a steakhouse should be. I'll go to Denny's if I want to see everyone in the room. Well, actually I wouldn't, but you get the idea. So the experience is not as fun, the prices are way up from a few years back. Would only go back if I was stuck in Redding.
Review Source:Dear Jacks...what have you done to your salad? I used to salivate at the thought of your blue cheese dressing, but the last 2 times I have been there, once in February and May. Â I got a lame excuse from the waitress both times "something about a change in the block of cheese?" It now tastes like a watery mayonnaisey mess. Â Please go back to your old recipe.
Everything else was awesome...big giant beefy steaks and juicy and tender scallops.
Best steak dinner you'll ever get. My family has been dining there since 1969. We have been unable to dine there in the past 7 or 8 years, but with any luck and the Grace of God, I will take my mother there for her 90th Birthday October of next year! I think it's the only thing that will get her excited enough to get dressed up and go out after dark. I know if it is half as good as it used to be it will be the best.
Review Source:Came back and topped off our Manhattan with the rest of the shaker!! Â I like it.
I had Jack's special which was the trimmings served over garlic brread with mushroom and pepper gravy. Â The cuts were nice, tender, and plentiful. Â The gravy was deliciious but the garlic bread was like an old shoe. Â Fortunately, they served fresh crisp bread with the meal.
They don't serve food at the bar. Â Not sure why, code or whatever. Â There's plenty of room.
Steak prepared to near perfection and the classic atmosphere make this a great restaurant and bar. Salad was tastey (comes tossed, so if you want less dressing ask for it on the side) and baked potato well comes with plenty of toppings to add yoruself. Garlic bread OK but nothing marvelous. Despite the very dim lighting and worn restrooms, come here for the steaks and cocktails. Its busy, be prepared to enjoy the bar, or come after the 5-7:30 rush.
Review Source:I could give this dive steak bar 5 stars for the steak and ambiance alone, but that would violate my rule that a 5-star is just right in every way. Â We waited about 40 minutes for a table, no worries, we found a seat the bar and watched Mike work like he had 8 hands tending bar. Â Very kind and efficient, we loved him immediately. Â This is a dive, it's clean, and it's hip, and just what we wanted that night. Â
The salad .... please, I beg of you, don't bother with salad if you are going to serve meat this succulently divine. Â So it was more like dressing soup, but came in fun-ketchsy-grandmother-like bowls. Â I took one bite, and nearly gagged. Â It was dark, and clearly I had not seen the cheese that permeated the dressing soaked greens, disgusting. Â But still, it's okay, I don't judge a restaurant solely on salad, since I don't go out of my way to order it. Â The meat and baked potato arrived, and I quickly forgot how craptacular the salad was. Â This is one of the finest pieces of beef I've ever had, EVER, throughout the US, big cities, small cities, farm towns, EVER. Â I had the 10 ounce filet mignon, (it clearly was larger) it was just like butta. Â Crisp, perfectly seared outer crust with the perfect season, and cooked to my perfect medium inside, I ate all but the last 3 bites. Â The baked potato was pretty average, aren't they all? Â My husband's steak was cooked perfectly and seasoned well, too. Â He couldn't finish it. Â They gave us an actual doggy bag, no box, just a bag, to put it in. Â Old-school. Â Dig it.
Decided to go to Jacks for our Anniversary and were fairly disappointed given past visits.  Service was fine as was the steak, with a few "beefs".  In ordering I asked if I could get  a side of sauteed onions as I have done in the past.  NO!! The OWNER doesn't allow it!  I asked if were could get a small plate of a few different items for appetizers since we really couldn't eat a full order.  NO!!  The OWNER doesn't allow it!  I inquired if I could get the potato cut in half and grilled crispy.  NO!! The OWNER doesn't allow it.  Finally, I asked if we could get some additional lighting on the table since it was so dark I literally had to go use the register lamp to read the menu.  NO!!
  At Jacks we were clearly mistaken to thing that the customer is king.  The owner must be the worlds biggest idiot when it comes to customer satisfaction or is entirely clueless as to how to run a restaurant.  Given the high prices, the limited menu, the dingy decor and the TOTAL lack of customer considerations we are done with this dive.  Our money will be better spent elsewhere where customer satisfaction is a priority.
The food: The steaks are really phenomenal. Â Seasoned and cooked just right. Â The salad and bread are okay. Â I got the fries which were not great. Â My wife got the baked potato which was much better. Â Salad was weird and mushy, downed in dressing, but oddly not bad. Â I think after waiting for an hour and half, any food is good? Â I put it on my cracker, which was the only reason I could figure for the crackers being there.
The service: The hostess is awful (see below). Â Our waitress was nice, attentive and fast. Â She checked on us frequently and got everything right. Â The bus-boy was awesome, kept our water full, cleared our table quickly and was really friendly. Â
A warning to first time customers: The hostess booth is in the middle of the restaurant. Â Customers who have never been to Jack's tend to walk in and stand at the front door while their eyes adjust expecting someone to welcome them. Â The welcome wagon will never show. Â The hostess will just ignore you until you figure out where she is. Â It's kind of charming and the aggravating at the same time. Â It's like being hazed into a new club. Once you figure it out, then you become a Jack's 'regular;. Â Then you get to smugly watch other first-timers squint and look lost while they figure out the lady in the middle of the restaurant, who is ignoring them, is their contact.
As I write this, I realize that while I have a lot of comments Jack's has been around for a century - they probably know what they are doing.
Positive: the best filet mignon you may ever eat!!
The bad: only comes with Fries or a baked potato. Both are so average I could do better. Disappointing. Salad is coated in dressing, way too much. Lastly, and this might be me picking but; you can't eat at the bar and they dish up your salad bowl for you. Seems like their trying to be more upscale then they are. Been twice, wont go again.
Weirdly dark restaurant, but the food is good. This place - as others have noted - gets packed. We got in shortly before 7 and the wait wasn't too bad, but right at 7 a whole crowd of groups walked in looking for tables.
After our short wait at the bar, we were seated. We got the Jack's Stack and a 10oz filet. The filet was really good, perfectly cooked as requested at medium rare. The Jack's Stack - bits of sirloin, NY strip, and filet with gravy, peppers, onions and garlic bread - sounds like the typical mess you might encounter at a dive, but it was delicious. The gravy made the dish.
Other than the darkness, the other downside is the beer selection is pretty terrible. They have nothing on tap and only Sierra Nevada in addition to the usual domestics. The wait for food was also pretty long.
Bonus: Megan Rapinoe's mom works here!
Only went once, never went back, here's why:
Cool funky old place, on the grungy side. Okay with me, no prob there.
Bartender friendly, good drinks, not skimpy, not cheap either.
New York Strip, medium rare. Decent size. Medium toughness, normal for this cut.
Flavor, mediocre, not bad, without a doubt nothing special. The salad and bread were of a low quality. Â
A short time later I had a sirloin at the Green Door that blew Jack's steak away.
Three stars is generous.
After several years this is only maybe my third (?) review; but the experience was so good that it warrants it, even though I will just mirror what you already see written by others.
I shared the 16-oz New York steak with a companion that evidently is Jack's Grill's main event and can unequivocally say that this was the BEST PIECE OF MEAT I'VE EVER EATEN -- and as a middle-aged man I've certainly had my share in many places in this world. Â The salad was excellent and potato was very good as well; but who cares about those latter two really? Â My only regret was that we could only fit in eating one meal on the trip (we drove up from the SF Bay Area for a Lucinda Williams concert). Â I SERIOUSLY considered going again after the show but it was near 10:30p or so and just would have been wrong (haha). Â It was the absolute star of my trip and is WORTH THE 220 MILES EACH WAY FOR A SEPARATE TRIP JUST FOR THAT STEAK! Â And yes, I am serious.
By the way, we arrived at Jack's at 5:20P on a Wednesday, shortly after they opened. Â Within an hour I would say all the tables were filled, but I never saw anybody waiting. Â Accordingly, the turn-over to new arrival ratio seemed perfectly workable. Â Otherwise once could just park themselves at the bar; I can't think the wait would be even as much as 15 minutes (presumably weekend dining is more heavily populated). Â The darkened (not dark) interior and old-school service amplifies the relaxing atmosphere -- you feel welcome but without any pretense on anyone's part and you'll feel perfectly comfortable going solo or with company.
The price for the spectacular quality and dining experience made this one of the best dining values I've ever had (the same steak at Harris Restaurant in SF is $4). Â If you're over 200LBS like me, go for the 16-oz, if under, the 10-oz should be completely adequate (like I said, we split the 16-oz which was enough, but I wished I'd had more, NOT because I was hungry, but because it was just so darn good). Â Also, I ordered a rye Old Fashioned and it was perfect similarly.
This place is not to be missed under any circumstances.
[UPDATE: Â Putting my mouth where my mouth is... I'm going back for another steak at Jack's Grill in October, ostensibly the purpose of the trip is to see the concert I bought tickets for...but that's just a happy and coincidental excuse! Â BTW, there are 4 daily RT flights from SFO to Redding on United express; but at $150 compared to RT in my car for $50, may as well just drive, it's SO worth it.]
Jacks is a lynchpin of dining in Redding. One of those classic places crucial to a small city. Â I've been eating there since the 70s and it hasn't changed one bit. Â Freakiest thing is the bartender does not seem to age!
It's a very simple menu with a few steaks, salads, and sides. It is all freaking good. I am partial to the filets. They have a spicy rub on them and are always, decade after decade, cooked to perfection.
I travel al over the US and eat in steak houses all over, and Jacks stays as one of my favorites.
As a tourist to the beaUtiful wilds of Redding, we heard on the street that we should not miss Jacks Grill. Â It did not dissappoint, I chose to celebrate my 50th birthday at Jacks for dinner and found it to be VERY busy, but worth waiting for... the 16 oz NY was cooked to perfection, it had a wonderful blackened crust that needed nothing other than to be consumed!
So why not 5 stars you ask? The spuds! I choose the fries which arrives warm not hot, limp not crispy. Â Veggies....some grilled veggies would have made this meal better, the salad was good, but some grilled asparagus would along with a baked potato instead of fries would have taken this to a 5 star winner.
But hey....it was great and I hear folks when they say don't fix what ain't broken....
Jacks, All the rumors are true..... Get there EARLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY if you want a table, .... go there HUNGRY because the Steaks are ENORMOUS, the Atmosphere is right out of the 50's , yeah its a DIVE, BAR Steak House, but aren't they the BEST!
My wife has been here many times, and the Same women has been standing in the same place taking your reservation for 30 years + LOL
Stop in here and you wont be disappointed......
Oh by the way, I don't drink (anymore) but i used to be a Bar Tender and I have spent more time in Bars than Most people spend at work, and this Guy that tends bar there is the best Bar Tender I have seen in many Years... old school, knows his drinks, engages the customers and keeps the cleanest Bar I have ever seen, I watched him work while waiting on our steak, he was methodical in his cleaning and is so organized and on top of the game..... THIS GUY IS WHAT A BAR TENDER IS SUPPOSED TO BE! Â Hats off to you !
Eat at JACKS !
Decided to check out Jack's after seeing all these reviews. Â This place reminded me to Moe's Tavern (of the Simpsons) with food. Â It's hella dark in there and very small! Â But since I am dining by myself, I am all for an adventure.
I must have been there at exactly the right time as I was seated in mere minutes. Â The bartender was friendly and offered me a seat and a drink as soon as I got there. Â I am glad I asked for my salad dressing on the side. Â I got a huge bowl of salad that is usually tossed. Â I was so hungry from my long drive up from San Jose, I ate the whole thing.
I ordered the 10 ounce NY steak and it was perfectly cooked medium rare. Â It looked like a huge thick slab of meat. Â There was little gristle and it was pretty juicy. Â The baked potato (ask for butter, sour cream on the side) as they are generous. Â It also came with several pieces of crispy garlic bread. Â I enjoyed my meal and my servers were friendly and attentive. Â I liked this very casual place and I can see how it has been in business since 1938. Â My dinner was priced very, very reasonable and came out to less than $16.00. Â I even think my Company (who paid for this meal) is happy also. :)
It was also nice watching the ballgame on a flatscreen to occupy while I was dining alone.
Cue the record player skip-screech for when you walk in here if you aren't a local! Â No biggie though. Â Walked in with several tables open, but were told to sit at the bar and wait til she (the hostess) came and got us. Â No problem, can do! Â The beers were so so so cold! and the bartender very friendly and sociable. Â Got one beer down before we were ushered to a table that was open when we walked in. Â
It's not as dark in here as people are saying it is...hell, I've been to several Chinese restaurants that were much darker! Â The little candles on each table make for a nice glow and the spartan menu is easily readable. Â
The main event here is the beef. Â The quality and aging of the beef they use here is front and center. Â The meat is plainly seasoned and perfectly, evenly (mysteriously so) cooked. Â And its real damn good. Â The rest of it is fairly forgettable. Â It is a STEAKHOUSE. Â
The waitress was ok, but pretty MIA. Â Good thing we didn't need anything.
The flashlight to read your bill, while unnecessary to most, is pretty cute!
If you can appreciate a good steak, this place should be on your radar.
Pleasantly surprised how nice it was inside.
The outside of the building was very crummy.
My girlfriend and i both got the jumbo scallops.
They where soggy and bland.
Food was overpriced, low quality and was trying too hard to be a high class place.
My Opinion is check out other places, this place isn't worth your time trust me.
First off - most of the places I read about on this Yelp thing are horrible, even though the reviews are good. So that tells me that either people are idiots and do not know what the hell they are doing or the owner's of the restaurant are writing about themselves.
FOUR STARS !!!!! Â Laughable, bad bad bad. Â Service, salad, steak, etc. Â Looks like it might have been good 30+ years ago and ignorant people are still thinking it is good. Â This place was a joke and a waste of money. Â Embarassing for the 8 people I brought there after reading how good it was.
Travelled up from the big city of Redding to do some work in town and got stuck overnight. Â Turned a negative into a positive by coming here for dinner. Â WOW.
Talk about old school steakhouse. Â Stereotypical. Â It has been around for 50 years. Â I think the hostess has been here since the first day it ever opened.
the place was packed at 530, an hour for a table. Â Well worth the wait but since the bar is small (and the restaurant at that) we went next door and had a beer.
The decor is not very elegant and its very dark. Â You can barely see your menu and when you get your bill they give you a flashlight.
The menu is very basic. Â All red meat with one pasta and one seafood dish. Â You better like red meat.
The steak was awesome and so was the service.
If you live in Redding or stay here for the night, definetely come here for a steak (I had the Ny Strip).
THERE ARE BULLET HOLES IN THE WALL!!!! (ask the bartender, great story about a drunk who thought the painting of a sheriff looked like the local sheriff and felt he needed a slug in him!)
You read it here folks. Born and raised in Redding Ca and was in Jacks before I could walk. Truth. It is the last of what will never be again. If you are looking for a great steak in a very interesting setting....this is your place. Be patient and say hello to someone you don't know. This place represents what Redding used to be when I was a kid....a great little town! One thing I miss about Redding is Jacks!
What a queer place. We rolled in hear around 10 on a Monday evening in much need of a good meal. It turned out to be the most dimly lit restaurant I have ever been to, which I think is a flattering light for me, but made seeing the food difficult.
The salad was pretty poor, featuring only canned green beans and lettuce drenched in dressing. However, the steak was huge and good, the baked potato was excellent, and the prices very reasonable.
A fellow traveler recommended this place, so I Yelped it and I am SO GLAD I DID! Â
Completely unassuming, modestly furnished, kinda cheap looking and dark as hell inside. Â Family business,
Friendly, prompt service and AMAZING food. Â Try the Jack's Stack - choice cuts of steak, onions and peppers smothered in delicious gravy, served over garlic toast. Â A sizeable salad comes with it. Â I highly recommend the blue cheese dressing, probably home made. Â
SUPER GREAT!
Jack's Grill looks like a dive bar from the outside (almost walked right past it). Inside is a dark dining room with a bar on one side. The bartender was very nice and kept the drinks coming as we waited close to 45 minutes for our table (Wed night). Our order took 30-45 minutes to come out... the server seemed to be avoiding us during the wait (not sure why it took so long as we all ordered our steaks medium). Luckily the wait didn't matter because I was surrounded by great people and great conversation. Â The steak and the sides were pretty good... but not great.
All in all, I will definitely head back to Jack's next time I'm in Redding.
Old school steakhouse. Unpretentious quality. A living legend.
It doesn't look like much from the outside. Hasn't changed in over 70 years. Ironically, it's my first time here. I lived in this town for 12 years.
It got pretty crowded for 5pm last Saturday night, although it WAS happy hour, and a good band was due to start playing at a bar on the next block. We stood for a good 40 minutes nursing our beers. Longtime friends, we had lots of catching up to do.
The three of us all ordered the small filet with salad and baked potato. They have other things, but c'mon, it's a steakhouse! The salad comes famiiy style in a big bowl that gets passed around. I like that.
But the steak! Ohhhhhh .... Â MMmmmnuhm.... for years I'd heard about Jack's and at long last, finally, I see....
Authentic old style steakhouse that exudes total coolness - everything on menu is outstanding and those who rate this less than five stars need to stay in major metro areas and enjoy their Ruth Chris / Morton's chains. Jack's is staffed by total pros and they treat everyone well for a helluva low price. Historic chabby chic is hard to find these days.
If you want a fancy meal with field greens salad go to Chez Panisse or French Laundry. If you want a couple beers/cocktails, a killer steak with an old school salad and potato - Jack's is a must when in Redding. Ask Mike to make you a grasshopper after dinner and you will be transported back to a time in America when life was truly good.
Growing up in Redding, this was THE place to go, beside Doc Cleary's or Tubby and Ann's (The latter two went by the wayside long ago). Â It was (and is) Â the place to go because the STEAK is unbelievable! Period. Â There is a certain charm about the Naugahyde wall covering above the bar, the old, mid-century modern plastic lamps that grace the tables, Â and even the dim lighting. Â But it is kind of a bummer that the wait is always so long (the place is tiny and doesn't seat very many people). However, a bonus for the hubby and me: Â A couple weeks ago, we decided to head to Jack's on a WEDNESDAY evening around 7:30 pm. Â It was far from slow, but we were immediately seated ( an almost-never), and served very promptly. Â
As always, the steak was unforgettable!
For a Thurs/Fri/Sat night, plan to get there around 4:30 or 5:00 and be among the first in the door. Â Or, eat a snack at home, and plan to drink at their crowded bar while you wait. Â The place is loud, fun, vibrant, and worth the wait at least once in your life.
I am wary of places found in a guidebook -- usually a place where people line up outside for hours ends up being a disappointment. At first glance, Jack's Grill is nothing to write home about. Dark and dingy with at least 3 clocks on the wall, plenty of ivy, and various eclectic pieces that span 8+ decades.
I had similar doubts when the salad arrived -- Iceberg lettuce with canned green beans, mixed up and doused withe blue cheese served warm and limp, like something an old lady would make, and that you politely eat so as not to hurt her feelings.
When the steak came out, my heart dropped a little -- on a large plate were 2 items, and 2 items only: large baked potato, and a slab of meat. No garnishes. No extras. No additional sides. Simply meat and potatoes plopped onto a plate. *Gulp*
But dear lord, how I still remember that first bite of steak, cooked to crispy, perfectly seasoned perfection, melting in my mouth like butter. In a matter of seconds, the dark, dingy decor became at once 'charming" and "full of character", as I happily welcomed my entrance into steak nirvana.
This place is just ridonkulous!
First off...you will be nearly blind in there because it's so dark and window-less (and hence the need for mini flashlights when they bring you the bill)
Secondly...the portions?!?! Seriously, they give you enough food to induce a heart attack right then and there. I ordered the good ol' southern fried chicken and I think they gave me 2 chickens. Deep fried. In a thick batter of crunchiness. But not only did I get 2 chickens, I got 2 biscuits & honey, garlic bread, and the salad appetizer. All for $15.99 or so.
It is delish when you're eating it, but the next day, your stomach will bring on the wrath of fury for eating so much fried goodness! :D
Jack's is so funky-cool! Â
It's the best place to eat when you're looking like a hag or if your face is broke out! Â What I'm talking about is the lighting...there barely isn't any. Â So if you have a few blemishes or are having a bad hair day, who cares---EAT AT JACK'S, no one will notice! And because of the lack of lighting be prepared to get temporarily blinded when someone opens the front door and the light comes streaming through!
If you're a steak eater this is the place for you! Â Since I'm not I get the scallops, scrape the batter off, and enjoy. Â I left kind of a huge mess when I did that but I didn't care because you couldn't seee it because of the darkness.
Awesome cocktails! Â I ordered a negroni and the bartender didn't say "huh, what's in that now?". Â
The restroom! Â You'll be wondering what the heck are you doing here! Â But that's ok, it was clean.
So if you want a "twilight zone" dining experience, go to Jack's, it's one of kind (i think, well at least it was for me).
I like this place.....if you can't see very well I'd suggest bringing one of those cute micro flashlights so you can read their cool little retro menu.
OH, squeak, they even have the doggy bags with the picture of a doggy it, remember those? Awwww
I used to love Jack's when I would have a few cocktails while waiting for the 1-2 hours. We would head across the street for a drink. Â So the time would pass nicely.
We took some young friends from Germany here, and they asked why was there a noise machine behind the bar! Very noisy, my steak was RAW, even after sending it back, AND we got stuck at the table near the door and people kept sticking their asses at us during their swagger from the bar and knocking into the table! You better be drunk if you get these seats..............not much class here.
Jacks was pretty darn good really!! The wait was very long though but we had fun and walked around downtown for awhile to kill sometime.The wait staff and the people dinning were very friendly!!
I would recommend Jacks but plan to wait for quite awhile and be careful drinking while waiting cause you want to remember your perfectly cooked, yummy steaks!! The prices were reasonable. We will go back. The steaks were pretty BIG too!!
First let me say this. I'm a ribeye guy. This is my favorite cut of meat and I don't care who knows it. I love it.
For this reason, and this reason alone, this is one of my favorite restaurants in America. I ordered my ribeye medium rare and it came to me perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. It was thick and it was juicy, just like I like my ladies.
Now, I've unfortunately been born with a small stomach and can't eat as much as, say, a 10th grade cheerleader (It's my gift and my curse, kind of like Batman). Yet I still managed to completely pummel my entire steak. I also enjoyed a good beer, I believe it was Sierra Nevada.
The restaurant itself was small, dark, and underwhelming. It was also very early in the night (around 8) and there were quite a few 50 somethings who were absolutely plastered. I think one of the older gentlemen (with an empty bottle of wine next to him) got booted by the bartender. This guy is my hero.
To me, this place is worth the trip. I'll definitely be back if I'm even close to Redding.
The NY Times said the following: Â "As much a phenomenon as a grill, this hole-in-the-wall restaurant still has its original tin ceiling from 1938, a 1944 cash register, iceberg lettuce salads with green beans drowned in dressing and a kitchen too small to serve dessert.."
Don't go hungry. Â You'll have plenty ot time to develop an appetite due to the no reservation policy, and the fact that everyone in a 25 mile radius descends upon the place. We were told an hour 20 minutes, it was actually two hours before we sat down, and the waitress forgot the mushrooms that I ordered with my steak.
However, I can be very forgiving when there's a bargain to be found.  Even more so when it involves a steak.  The only choices to be made at Jacks involve which of the 5 cuts of steak, three  kinds of salad dressing, and mashed or fries.  The red lighting is crazy-I think I'd go blind if I worked there. Good meal.
When I was in 7th grade I wrote a report on historic buildings in Redding, and was shocked and delighted to learn that Jack's Grill was once a brothel. Â
Once you get inside the place, it's not really a huge surprise. Â Everything is dark (very dark). Â In fact, I'm not sure there are any windows. Â It reminds me of something out of the Sopranos. Â You expect large Italian men to be roaming around.
Also, don't go to Jacks unless you eat meat. Â I'm not sure they serve anything besides steak or chicken with a side potato and salad. Â If you do eat steak, Jacks is fantastic.