Jack Bistro

ambiance	100.0% positive	“casual atmosphere, very affordable, attentive & friendly waitstaff, menu has enough variation to please most” “Warm, yet elegant decor?” “Beautiful, romantic decor.” “went here to get brunch with my friend, and was a bit disappointed, despite the cute decor, nice setting, and friendly waitress.”
dessert	100.0% positive	“My Eggs Benedict could have been decent, but the hollandaise was more like a cream sauce that I imagine you would get out of a jar.” “I'd also really recommend the mussels, the hamburger, and the chocolate fondue!”
drinks	87.5% positive	“cute place with great wine, mussels, and French specialties.” “They have a nice wine list and good cocktails.” “The look and feel are nice though so just visiting the bar probably wouldn't be too bad.” “The service is friendly, the food is decent, and the cocktails are primo.”
food quality	93.99999618530273% positive	“highly recommend the hangar steak with frites, the scallop salad and the Cod.” “love the food” “The food is good bistro fare but it is sometimes a bit inconsistent.” “Looks like an undecorated diner, but the food wood be better at a diner.” “decent food, nasty waitress” “The sauces were so good, I never wanted the meal to end.” “The sandwiches and burgers we had were delicious, service was fast and incredibly friendly.” “Their fries are amazing, sooo crispy and yummy.” “recommend their french fries -- very crisp and fresh.” “I'd also really recommend the mussels, the hamburger, and the chocolate fondue!” “The bartender is friendly and the food is good.” “Great food.” “Reasonably priced to for such a good quality meal.” “The service is friendly, the food is decent, and the cocktails are primo.” “Short ribs, mussels, seafood over orzo in a creamy sauce was really yummy.” “The descriptions are great but the food is really disappointing.” “The sauce was so good too.” “Nice local place with excellent food at reasonable prices” “Loved the food.” “Delicious food at reasonable prices?” “We had a decent meal.” “My Eggs Benedict could have been decent, but the hollandaise was more like a cream sauce that I imagine you would get out of a jar.” “Great food, great value” “The top notch food and friendly service makes Jack a wonderful place to take your lunch break or enjoy a relaxing dinner.” “The food is very good value; there's a prix fixe for $24.”
menu variety	100.0% positive	“We sat inside and the waitress guided us through what she thought were the best selections.” “casual atmosphere, very affordable, attentive & friendly waitstaff, menu has enough variation to please most” “Jack could have been such place, with an inviting menu and reasonable prices.”
overall	100.0% positive	“There are plenty of good eateries in the NYU/Union Sq. area, but it is hard to find a relatively inexpensive and yet good place.” “It is a nice place for Sunday brunch” “Really nice relaxed, comfrotable restaurant environment.”
service	90.62999725341797% positive	“went here to get brunch with my friend, and was a bit disappointed, despite the cute decor, nice setting, and friendly waitress.” “The top notch food and friendly service makes Jack a wonderful place to take your lunch break or enjoy a relaxing dinner.” “This would be a good restaurant for people looking for a diner in the area, as long as they sit up front.” “The server was very friendly and attentive.” “We sat inside and the waitress guided us through what she thought were the best selections.” “decent food, nasty waitress” “Service is attentive and warm.” “Our waitress was good and efficient, however the rest of the staff.” “Excellent service, interesting people, incredible halibut” “Consider it a friendly warning.” “Staff is always friendly.” “We had been seated by the server's station and the staff was boisterous and not very busy, so they were loudly making rude comments at each other to pass the time.” “The bartender is friendly and the food is good.” “The service is friendly, the food is decent, and the cocktails are primo.” “casual atmosphere, very affordable, attentive & friendly waitstaff, menu has enough variation to please most” “The sandwiches and burgers we had were delicious, service was fast and incredibly friendly.”
value	100.0% positive	“Nice local place with excellent food at reasonable prices” “casual atmosphere, very affordable, attentive & friendly waitstaff, menu has enough variation to please most” “The food is very good value; there's a prix fixe for $24.” “Delicious food at reasonable prices?” “There are plenty of good eateries in the NYU/Union Sq. area, but it is hard to find a relatively inexpensive and yet good place.” “Great food, great value” “Jack could have been such place, with an inviting menu and reasonable prices.” “And they recently lowered some of the prices which is very inviting, given the perilous economic times we're in.”
wait time	100.0% positive	“This would be a good restaurant for people looking for a diner in the area, as long as they sit up front.”

04/04/12

Horrifying Service

by nycityfoodie

Horrifying Service:

I met my boyfriend for an after-work dinner at Jack's Bistro, having been there several times for pretty decent lunches. We sat outside to enjoy the cool evening weather.

Everything was fine through our appetizers, which were decent. Then the server brought out our entrees, but my boyfriend's was not the pork chop that he had ordered, but brook trout instead. The server had an Eastern European accent, so brook trout and pork chop confusion seemed a simple enough mistake. She took his entree back. These things happen - no big deal.

What happened next is where things went terribly wrong. While he had watched me eat most of my entree, the server never came out to say, well, anything. "Sorry about that, I'll have your pork chop right out for you", might have been nice. But since that didn't happen, we asked another server to send out the manager (his name is Ilia, or something like that). When he came out, I asked him if he could check on or expedite the replacement. Immediately, his attitude was TERRIBLE. "There's nothing we can do now", he said. "It will be out when it's ready". No apology. He then just walked away. After I had finished my entree, his pork chop finally arrived. It had clearly been hurried (though it took a WHILE) because it was not seasoned at all. We figured we would have the opportunity to let someone know about that when the server and/or manager came to check to see if everything was okay. That never happened. No one came to check on us at all and our finished plates sat there for some time before we had to ask for the server to get the check.

My boyfriend was very upset, not by the simple mistake, but by the absolutely horrible customer service that followed. As we paid the check, we asked to see the manager again, asking him for the name of the General Manager. He said, "I'm the manager; there is no General Manager". We explained to him that we felt that the service we received was just terrible, rude in fact. He said " I don't understand why you think I am rude because quite frankly, no one has ever said I'm rude before in my life " - patently untrue if you read some of the reviews on here. And besides, calling his management style rude is an understatement. He started arguing with my boyfriend and escalated his voice until everyone else outside had a ring-side seat. Just deplorable. Finally, once again just walked away. That seems to be his default reaction to customer concerns.

This experience definitely ranks high amongst the worst service I've ever received at a restaurant, or anywhere else for that matter. I would strongly encourage others to avoid this kind of abuse and steer far clear of this otherwise mediocre restaurant.

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