Jake & Al's Chophouse

Excellent service. Food was good. Crab toast, Crab dip, and Coconut shrimp appetizers were perfect. NY Strip steak cooked perfectly. Hymie the owner/ Chef even came to the table to check on us. Compliments all around!

Thank goodness the food here is decent.

My boyfriend and I have been to Jake and Al's many times and have had an enjoyable experience, but this past week we went out for my birthday and definitely had a different experience. There was one server for the entire restaurant, and that was expressed to us when we sat down (saying that there would be a 10 minute wait or so until our order was taken, which was fine), but once our orders were taken, an hour passed before the server came back to let us know that they were out of fish tacos. Oddly enough, I had wondered why an hour after we ordered, the cook had either just then taken a look at the order itself, or the server hadn't been told of what menu items were unavailable that evening. Either way, we ordered something else, and about an hour and a half after we sat down we were able to eat.

Now, I'm sympathetic to the fact that they had only one server, but it was a Tuesday night...you don't have anyone else you can call to help out? It's not as if the restaurant was packed. Additionally, we understood the fact that the restaurant was understaffed, but the waitress tended to be sharp and rude as she was taking down our orders, and even pointed out that she was unprepared for the rush because she was wearing bedroom slippers!

I'm not sure if we will be going back to Jake and Al's after this experience. I like the fact that it's a locally-owned spot, but we really felt like we were putting the entire staff out simply by BEING there, and it put a sour note on what was otherwise a great birthday. There are other places that will gladly accept our business, and for the prices, I think we expected a little bit more care to be taken of the patrons, regardless of staffing issues.

Great bar atmosphere, decent food and above average bar cuisine.  It's a little pricy so expect a slighly expensive bill.