Totally ended up in Lakeport on a whim ("I wonder what Lakeport is like. I've never been there before," said I, as we whizzed past the sign on the highway. And one hard left turn later, my sweet FH and I were on our way over the hills.) We were both a little peckish after an afternoon of wine tasting, so I checked Yelp to see what was around the area.
I wasn't expecting much from TJ's based on the exterior, but once inside, we were warmly greeted and seated. Service was extremely friendly and efficient, and the variety of dishes wasn't what I'd expected from someplace so bar-centric.
My ribeye with gorgonzola was perfectly cooked and really quite amazing. Best steak I've had in a while. The garlic mashed potatoes didn't have a lot of discernible garlic flavor, but they were still good. Obligatory side of veggies was good.
FH's cedar plank salmon was pretty good, but I kind of hated his green beans. They were cooked with an Asian black bean sauce, and anyone who's ever eaten one of those beans will tell you that they're extremely salty on their own. This was no exception, and if they'd been on my plate, I would've found them nearly inedible. He didn't complain though, and said he loved the way they were cooked, so it was still a win.
We'll go back if we're ever in the area again.
TJ's is a hidden gem. Do not let the average exterior deter you from this place, as the interior is one of the cleanest and nicest sports bars I have seen. And the food is phenomenal, not your typical bar food. I had seared ahi tuna and my girlfriend had the chicken marsala, both of which were amazing, at very fair prices. The service was very good with friendly, personable staff. I am definitely glad I gave this place a shot.
Review Source:Five stars! At least for Lakeport...no offense meant but its not the same as a five star rating in SF or Seattle, but its by far the best place I've been to in Lakeport.
Great, friendly service (though admittedly I've been during off-peak hours/days) and a nice atmosphere and interior. Â Food is fresh and surprisingly creative for a bar. Â
NorCal salad is nicely put together and substantial...no skimping on the cheese or walnuts or cranberries. Â The cedar planked Salmon was excellent. Â The sauce was too sweet/strong, but the fish was cooked perfectly and a generous portion. Black bean string beans falls into the "surprised to find in a bar category and while not as crisp as you might find in SF, they were nicely cooked and not overly salty or oily.
The bread with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and occasionally mashed garlic they provide for free is outstanding!
A much better choice than Roy's, Perko's or Renee's.
Bar food? Not really....
The interior of the restaurant is actually a bit nicer looking than the exterior. There is a bar in the middle of the room, booths along the walls, a stage for music, and wine glasses on the tables.
The food was just amazingly delicious. Each table comes with free garlic bread and a  balsamic, honey mustard, and olive oil dip. I'm definitely trying this at home.  The bread's unlimited!
For dinner, Â I ordered the gumbo, which was their special that night ( huge pieces of shrimp, sausages, and chicken for $11!). My bf ordered the 12 oz steak and it came with a soup/salad, veggies, potatoes ( mashed, baked, or with fries). This dish was $25. My boyfriend enjoyed it a lot.
Happy Hour 4pm to 6pm and 9pm to 10pm: Â $2 off apps (except for the calamari) and $3 house wine and some beer.
Service: One guy was managing everything that night-- from host to bartender, to waiter, and to busboy. He was service about 4 booths and a group of friends at a bar. He was calm and collected. Great service.
What can I say? Â The clam chowder is divine, the salads huge, the service wonderful, and the food reminds me of being San Francisco the city I love. Â TJ's has a great bar and it is right in the middle of town. Â You can go there for a quick lunch, a nice dinner or a group function in the back. Â There is a stage and a dance floor for rocking or salsa. Â We have had our anniversary social there three years in a row for Sons of Italy Nice and it gets better everytime! Â Thanks for the great service and hanging in there with this crazy economy.
Review Source:I was only in town for the night and we were looking for somewhere great to eat. It was delicious! Great service and tasty beer! My dinner was taking awhile to get out, the waitress came and told me that they had to do something with the bread. Not sure exactly, but it came out fresh and tasted great. Will definitely go back when I make it back to Lakeport!
Review Source:Great wait staff. Â Matt, at the bar took my order. Â Great guy! He made sure my dining experience was good. Â The two trips there I had filet mignon...wow...awesome! Â This is a bar and restaurant so you have the option for just coming in for drinks. Â Was surprised to have such high quality food here. Â Go and enjoy! Â Very cool place!
Review Source:Not your run-of-the-mill bar food here, even though the location itself does give every appearance of being the local pub/bar. Â Comfortable, good service, spacious.
The menu in a nutshell -
Plenty of traditional pub style appetizers you would expect. Â Even though we didn't try it, but the appetizers included an unpredictable stir fried green bean with black bean sauce. Â A curious and creative Asian spin.
Clam chowder every day. Â While the chowder is a thinner milkier version, it has an amazingly buttery, delicate but herbal flavor, with the ultimate tender clams. Â That makes it 5 stars in my book! Â I would gladly make a whole meal off that chowder alone. Â
High end entrees that included steaks, prime rib (on Friday and Saturday), lamb, cedar planked salmon, and lemon herbed roasted chicken. Â Mr. B's prime rib could have been more tender. Â Good sides- nicely cooked fresh vegetables and a baked potato. Â The lemon roasted chicken with lemon infused potatoes, wonderful.
Their varied menu tells me the chef is obviously thinking outside the box. Â
The end results of our meal, very good. Â We would return to try more on the menu.
I would recommend TJ's Downtown Bar and Grill. Â We went in there twice last week after fishing a tournament. Â Charming staff, friendly. Clean interior. Â Food was very good at decent price. Â Friday and Saturday are prime rib nights and ithe prime rib was very good. Â I had fish and chips on Thursday, but I think the oil wasnt thoroughtly heated yet because it was oily inside the batter. Â Aside from that, everything was good! Â The staff worked hard.
Review Source:We ate at TJ's last night and were extremely pleased with the food. Â We had the the Kahlua pork and it was soooo tender and tasty. Â The Kahlua based sauce was excellent. Â Also had the Planked Salmon which was excellent. Â Ordered the sauce for the salmon on the side as had been suggested by another review. Â That way you can decide just how much flavor you want to add to the delicious salmon. Â We tried the cucumber water, but it had a little aftertaste. Â We did not try the fried pickles. Â Presentation was very good. Â We would recommend this restaurant without any qualms....Gail
Review Source:First off, this place has awesome potential. It has all of the latest sports games playing at every angle you'd want to see it from, there is wonderful seating, a lot of room, great lighting, and allover nice staff. As far as a food service standpoint, I've had better. When I arrived, I was greeted and seated in a timely matter- I love that. But when it came to getting drinks, that was a different story. It seemed to be a really slow night for them and I was getting impatient when it took over 10 minutes to receive a glass of water. The appetizers came out slow also, but they were worth the wait, hot and delicious, and not to mention the great portions. The Main course however...... well, lets just say they could use some help. My allover experience leads me to believe that this is an awesome place for drinks/appetizers and a place to watch "the game".
Review Source:Consistently good food and good service. The best Prime Rib since the Thompson House closed. The deep fried pickles were a surprising and delicious item. The cedar plank salmon is fantastic, but tends to be over sauced - order the sauce on the side and portion it to taste to keep the sweet sauce from overwhelming the excellent fish. An excellent choice for a large group, or a scheduled event. The back room can easily be converted to host a large party. Obviously, call ahead and arrange any large party.
Review Source:Oh My god!!!!! Â We loved this place! Â Great for the vegan, great for the omnivore! Â Not to mention great service with a smile and hometown welcome =)
Where do I start!!?! Â So the only thing it lacks is a huge sign to let you know it's there - Â We actually didn't see it and were parked across the street at the chinese restaurant looking for a place...and still didn't see it, but if you are spending anytime in this city, this place is a MUST!!!
Our server was Wes and he was so incredibly nice, personable and gracious! Â So helpful and had right on recommendations - Â I hear their chef is from San Fran and made amazing dishes! Â I had the vegan mushroom soup and vegan mushroom fettuccine and a cup of green tea which all came out delectable! Â Gerry had the clam chowder and the salmon with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans - All delicious! Â
We loved this spot since it is open till 10pm on the weeknights, it has big warm wooden booths, has delicious food, great service and the prices were great! Â They had imports and micro-brews and all sorts of drafts for good prices -
We will certainly return!!! Â Thank you for a great experience!
I'm not much of a drinker but maybe you have to be to like this place. But being sober I have no patience for the bad service and the half hour wait just to get the appetizers. Burger was soggy, so bad I couldn't eat the bun. The waitress was doing everything but servicing her tables. We had to flag her down to even pay. I only recommend drinks at the bar with some friends not lunch or dinner.
Review Source:So a bunch of us were boating in Clear Lake for a bachelor party. After an awesome day, we decided to stay local to eat dinner. We decided to check out TJ's and were super surprised.
From the outside, its not much. The shades ere closed (probably to keep out the setting sun), and the building matched the styles of buildings around it. We had a couple of friends scope it out before we got there, and they actually were thinking of leaving after taking a peak in. Looked like your typical Bar & Grill. We decided to stay.. best decision of the night.
The beer prices were great (the flute sampler is a great deal, and the pitchers were pretty cheap for the beers that we had). The waiter paid a lot of attention to us, granted it wasn't too busy at the time. But the 5-stars is for the food.
Friday and Saturday night they have the Prime Rib dinner special. I was blown away. Maybe it was because I expected the typical bar-quality food, but this Prime Rib was tender and juicy and rivals the Prime Ribs I've had at classy places. I had  a rib from another plate, and that was delicious as well. The meat just fell off the bone. What perfectly topped it off was the Tiramisu. I wanted to smother my face in it.
Definitely check this place out if you're in the area!
We were very pleasantly surprised by running across TJ's.
The menu selection and quality of preparation were far above what we expected. Â The staff was friendly and attentive. Â We tried the lamb chops, cedar plank salmon and assorted starters and sides, including the mac n' cheese. Â On the veggie end, the green beans in black bean sauce were particularly tasty.
The wine list was largely local, but nicely assembled and very reasonably priced.
Only suggestion to the kitchen might be to watch the seasoning levels. Â Nothing major, but a little less salt would be ok.
Would definitely return.
Okay, first of all leave room for dessert. Either share something or just take some home, but trust me on this one. The desserts are wonderful.
The bad thing about this place is that I tried the Kahlua pork plate. Not that it was bad at all. It is created from pork tenderloin which has been soaked in the namesake beverage and then is served with pot stickers and a sauce that you want to drink out of the plate. It's a huge amount of food that is absolutely terrific.
The reason it's bad is that it's so good that I haven't tried anything else yet, except dessert. Â Oh, sure, I've seen other people get food there but I was so fixated on that pork dish that they could have gotten gold plated dog biscuits and I wouldn't have noticed. Friends have talked about their steaks and other stuff but I remained oblivious.
So my advice is try other things before you try that pork dish.
While you wait they've got a nice selection of beers including some terrific local microbrews. There are sports jerseys all over the place with signatures on 'em - I couldn't tell you who these people are but I guess they're famous.
We were very delighted to fine this great place to eat in the middle of a town with very few places to eat. We were met at the door by a very friendly hostess and  taken to our table without any wait. The food was really good, all the way from our crab cakes to our Fillet Mingon and to top it off our real yummy flourless chocolate cake with fresh straberries....... I was very impressed by every aspect of this new addition to Lakeport. Good work guys.. We will be back..
Review Source:TJ's just recently opened, but they're already impressing me with a tasty menu and friendly service. Quality, unique menu items (the chicken grinder is awesome) and a very nice atmosphere that works for a family, but also works for a late night hangout.
Big HD TV's abound--this is a great place to eat after church on Sunday, because you get to watch football!
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