Jakers Bar & Grill

Great place for a late night snack. Always happy hour, and their happy hour menu is really good ( except maybe the oddly pre shaped calamari ). Good drinks, great salad bar, and a very upscale decor. Dinner menu is good also.

The Gorgonzola fries are fantastic! Would order then again in a heartbeat. Nice atmosphere and the staff was great!

This place seems to have an identity crisis. The presence of TV's showing ESPN around the entire restaurant doesn't gel with the swankier decor. Is Jakers supposed to be fine dining or a sports bar? By trying to do both, you get neither to me.

Our server Phil was fantastic. I chatted with my dinner date for a long time before we ended up ordering, but we were never pushed or hurried despite the restaurant being packed. He had a keener eye than most on when he should and shouldn't approach our table. Funny, gracious-- this was some of the best service I've had in Boise.

Unfortunately my food was overpriced mediocrity, and that's an automatic two stars from me. The proprietor from one of my favorite places to eat at in Boise says Jakers is in his top 3 in the valley, so I went based on his recommendation. He told me you can't go wrong with the beef or salmon there. But Jakers was pushing a Lobster Fest that week, and I got sucked into that. I opted for lobster ravioli with some lobster bisque. The bisque had a nice chunk of lobster in it but the soup was unremarkable. The lobster filling in the ravioli was lacking, and the dense cream sauce that accompanied it overpowered what little of the lobster I could actually taste. The asparagus that came with it were small and mushy like they had come from out of a can. Even if they didn't, they weren't prepared well. Definitely not worth the $19 I was charged.

Shoulda gone with the beef. It's conceivable I may come back for it unless the Double R Ranch beef they use can be found somewhere over-the-counter in town.
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Response to owner's comments below: Your response is appreciated (sadly not too many owners take the time to respond). However the proprietor that I mentioned above no longer recommends your establishment after having a couple subpar experiences there with the beef after I had posted my review. Given the prices of the entrees, returning to Jakers is a risk I'm no longer willing to take. Give Phil a raise though.