Went here after an event at the beach. The waitress was a bully! The food was just so-so. Possibly they favor their regulars, which we certainly won't become! They don't really want you in here if you're not from the immediate few-mile radius. (note: started this review a year ago but just found it in drafts and had to share since this was truly the worst experience I've had at the Monmouth County shore area - hopefully things have improved but with so many other options, we won't be finding out!) read more

Jack's Tavern has an old school feel. The waitresses are a friendly bunch. The food is very good. I ordered the hot roast beef sandwich with French fries. My wife ordered a pastrami sandwich. Both were delicious! Big portions and not expensive. We were there for lunch but there seemed to be a good sized crowd at the bar (ala Cheers), locals all laughing and having a good time. They advertise a 'fresh-squeezed' screwdriver which I'll have to try next time. If you are down the Shore, and are hungry, I suggest you stop by Jack's Tavern! read more

We waited and waited and the server threw menus on our table. We went to tell our order and he barked as he threw his hands up....."Give me at least 10 minutes." I realize he had a 10 top , and 2 deuces however it is the summer time. Servers cost $ 2.13 an hour and while waiting , we witnessed a family of 5 leave and a group of 4 also leave. I was so upset ~ I love eating outside and supporting our local mom/ pop businesses. It was a Wednesday nite so why? why? We waited our 10 min and were never greeted again So we too left :( read more

one hit, one miss. I liked the dinner, It was what I expected and we had choices from fish to steak. I mistakenly went there for lunch and ordered a sandwich. I was charged $7 for wonderbread and kraft singles. Don't order the cold sandwiches. read more

This place sucks! It's ugly as hell inside. It's like walking into your weird friends step dads house. It looks dirty. The decor is tacky and meaningless. The bar looks like it's been there, grime, and all for the last 50 years without a nice cleaning. The main waitress is a rude, miserable and can care less. Your order will probably come out all disorganized and wrong, she will give you an attitude and maybe fix the order, but not without some non customer friendly comments. The bar area is tight and the bands generally suck. With all that being said. Don't go to this waste of space. The less people want to go here, the better it is for me who thinks it's a hidden gem and off the radar to your average bar fly. The food is always good, the vibe is positive (for the most part :) the bartenders keep the drinks going, your likely to have a few random conversations with people coming and going and might just get a drink chip out of it. But seriously don't go here! Unless you want to leave your ego and the door and have a good time. read more

Cozy local joint with American fare....seafood...Italian food and fresh draft beer. The onion rings are really good. I like to sit outside in the summer. read more

Food is good, waitress (owners sister?) was not so good. Had a very rude attitude when asked for something and always walked away from us before we were even done ordering! Waitress threw the food down on table also (sorry you don't like your job). Atmosphere is loud, can't really tell if it's clean very dark inside & just a weird vibe. Definitely needs brighter lights and updated decor. May or may not go back. read more

Nice little local joint with good food. No non-locals please!!!

good price, excellent flounder or chicken franchise, great side salads. can have a drink and a smoke on outside patio. TV's, games, music.....a good ole timers bar with great food! the good one's are disappearing these days. read more

Chill dive bar which I like ... Mussels were half cold half hot.. Shark bites were good but we are leaving to eat somewhere else nearby

The food is absolutely superb. For the life of me I cannot remember the waitress's name from my last visit but she was pretty slow and seemed very unhappy. Over the years I have eaten here several times and generally my experiences are good ones. I would definitely recommend the chicken francese! read more

Not just regular bar fare. The menu looks like it but the flavors are so much better. Had the deep fried mozzarella breaded app. Fantastic. Eggplant and spinach Rollantini . Fantastic. Just good all around. read more

Can't believe this place doesn't have more reviews, food is fresh, service was quick and courteous. Will definitely be stopping in again.

Kind of a divey bar atmosphere, menu reasonably priced. Escargot suprisingly excellent and cheap. Calamari was tender but no flavor. Our dinners were decent....if you want some drinks and a quick binge not a bad option. read more

Food was average. My Caesar salad had more red cabbage in it than lettuce (not to mention I've NEVER had a Caesar salad with cabbage in it). No cheese. Caesar dressing tasted like straight mayo. Rest of the meals were ok. Service was HORRIBLE. Waitress was so slow, rude, and talked back. When we realized refills weren't free (!???? Who does that) she said "food prices haven't raised in 21 years"..... well those must have been pricey meals 21 years ago. It was average pricing nothing spectacular about the price. Waitress kept offering snarky remarks when we expressed displeasure. I have been a waitress for years, I would have gotten a manager and offered a discount right away. She just continued to be rude. Never will I come here again. read more

Lousy overpriced food, awful service and no free refills on soda? You gotta be kidding!!! We spent $14 on soda alone!! The outside patio is right on the busy street with buses and motorcycles drowning-out any conversation. Steer clear of this place! read more

We ate here in July 6th for a late lunch/early dinner. The service was extremely slow even though there were only about 4 more tables. We could smell the mussels before they got to the table. Absolutely repulsive! The meals were below average and the beers were warm. The place was dirty and had a funky smell. Jon Taffer needs to do a bar rescue at this place!! read more

I ate lunch at Jack's on a Sunday afternoon. The philly cheese steak was very good and cheap. The bartender was fast, friendly, and attentive. Overall, it's a great place to grab a quick bite while waiting for the train. read more

I went to Jack's Tavern for the first time recently. I sat outside and just wanted to unwind, have a few cocktails and dinner. While the food and drinks were satisfactory I have to say I will never visit the place again. A man and woman came in and sat down at the table along side of us. The woman proceeded to pull her legs up on the chair and totally exposed her crotch to us; she then proceeded to pick her toenails. We got up and went to speak to the hostess and she said ok, thanks for telling me. In addition, the waitress said oh that's disgusting. I asked to speak to the manager and he said the same thing, gross. I paid the bill and sat in my car watching this continue; no staff approached and said anything to the couple during the whole time they were there. Never again... read more

I have been going to Jack's tavern for years and have enjoyed their food and fare and recommenced the rest. to everyone the owner Mike is along time friend and great person, however I had the misfortune of going the Jack's for brunch and was served my worst most crank and unprofessional waitress in my life so bad that i will never eat their again if this waitress is serving, this kind of service is bad for business and Mike is to good of a person to not be told about it. read more

Very disappointed. I am a new local to Belmar and finally decided to check this out. While the menu choices and food is pretty good, the horrendous service is enough to stay away. As more people were seated, the waitress seemed to get more annoyed and I heard her cursing and complaining. The food took awhile and when it finally came, we asked for more bread, which never came. In addition, my drink was never refilled because she seemed too busy to come back to the table. Working in a restaurant before, I know it can get chaotic, but she seemed so annoyed and bothered, that it was just an unpleasant experience. There was an extra beer added on the check. We could not get the waitress's attention so we called over another server. He said he could do nothing to help us and didn't bother to tell the other waitress that we needed her attention. When she came over, She then proceeded to argue with my bf that he ordered that beer. While walking away, she said loudly under her breath, "Yeah you did." While she eventually took off the extra charge, she continued to argue that we ordered the beer and didn't remember. There was no way another beer was ordered as she basically forgot about our table halfway through and bossed around one of the teenagers working there to fill everyone's drinks. Well, I won't be going there again. I can understand feeling annoyed and overwhelmed in a restaurant setting, but taking it out on the customers is not cool. read more

This place is a family tradition in my family it's been from generation to generation to generation the jalapeno poppers are excellent and the fresh-squeezed orange juice is great in the screwdrivers local place local people great place read more

Did not enjoy our visit. Under staffed and received minimal service. Granted it was busy but 3 of our 4 meals were served cold. The steak and burger were also overlooked. I said something to the waitress and the manager came over and offered a drink or a dessert which we declined. They did not take anything off our check for the cold overcooked meals. Then I had to walk my credit card over to the waitress because she was too busy to get it from us. read more

stopped in July 5th with my wife and 3 kids for lunch after a day at beach. Where to begin? The service was terrible, many menu items were not available. some beers not available. The mussels were bad and smelled terrible, we sent them back along with a neighboring table. the beer was warm. The unfriendly waitress messed up the bill at the neighboring table twice. the rest of the food was below average. they don't even seem to be trying to attract or retain customers. we won't be back read more

An absolute horrible experience!!. My wife has special dietary need, and there are certain food she needs to avoid. The waitress was short and annoyed with her questions. Our food was not so good. She came around and asked if we need another drink and we order one and she brought out two. At the point, we were obligated to pay for it to avoid any more confrontation. We will never ever return. read more

Recently had our first and last experience at Jack's Tavern. The service was horrible on an evening that was not busy. The waitress seemed nice enough, but we had to ask for our salads and bread after all the other tables around us received theirs. We didn't see her at all after our meal was delivered (no refills) until we flagged her down for our check. The check was charged incorrectly and my daughter's meal was taken away while she was still holding food in her hands and had more than half of her meal left on the plate. I was looking over the incorrect charge and didn't notice her plate was gone until it was too late. My husband and I ordered two separate seafood dishes and barely ate because it was poorly prepared. read more

The food is pretty good and decently priced, the wait staff however are horrible. My friend had to ask twice to get a soda refill while other tables, with the same waitress were served immediately. Horrid horrid customer service!! Not to mention our waitress followed my friend outside the restaurant to ask why she didn't get a tip, I'm all for tipping waitresses, and I usually OVER tip my waitresses, but the service just was horrible. read more

I am a long-time customer of Jack's Tavern and my family and I love eating there at least once a week. One problem though, there is a waitress (I was told by another waitress when I complained that it was the owner's sister). This woman is an absolute beast and goes out of her way to be rude to customers!! Last time we were there this nasty waitress told us to go to Burger King if all we were going to order was burgers!! Owners of Jack's: Great food, great place but get rid of that waitress- family or not, she's got to go!!! read more

Just terrible. Not enough staff on a beautiful evening to sit outdoors, ordered pot roast from the menu and was advised it is not available in the Summer. Ordered London broil and it was lousy. Won't be back. read more

The soups were very good. It went downhill from there. The caesar salad looked like their everyday salad mix. Who puts red cabbage in a caesar? The dressing tasted like bad mayonaise. Nothing like any caesar dressing I ever had elsewhere. Clams casino were a cheap imitation, topped with sauteed onions and pepper but barely a hint of bacon and no parmesan. My fish sandwich came with a piece of sole so thin the breading was thicker than the fish. And the topper -- full charge for refills on iced tea? WTF? Who does that? At $2.50 for a glass of iced tea? Worse yet, the waitress, who was slower than slow, discourteous, and inattentive (despite there being just one other table seated in the dining room), tried to justify the no refills policy by telling us they had not raised prices in 21 years. I am old enough to remember that iced tea didn't cost $2.50 21 years ago, and a cup of soup back then didn't cost $4.75. I don't re,member the other prices, but trust me, the menu did not look like 1997 prices -- not even if it was the most expensive place in town back then. I felt like she was treating us like rubes from out of town. She did not know that we just helped our daughter move to Belmar and will likely be dining out there a lot when we visit her. Suffice to say we will not be dining at Jack's on those visits. read more

Hi my name Is Shawn Murtha I was in the Belmar area last Thursday injoying the Beach when me and a friend went to Jacks for lunch and had a drink a beer and sandwich .Later that night when I got home my stomach was in so much pain for days I dont know if It was the tap beer or the food I never had that problem before when I was there I dont think I will be back SORRY read more

Jack's was a favorite hang-out back in the mid-late 80's, when it was still a fun local bar, with a pool table, later replaced by a restaurant/tables area. Still, went there to eat, and service was very good, well into the early 2000's. But after reading some of these bad reviews, I'm not going to take a risk in going there ever again - just for ol' times sake. Patrons spend a lot of money to receive good food & service for their money, and should not have to expect the opposite. Such a shame, as Jack's has always been a landmark of Belmar and the Jersey Shore. read more

Brunch includes a complimentary drink, we were never offered one. Instead they charged us for coffee and we never were offered a refill. Service was slow and we were never checked in on if we needed anything else. The home fries were partially burnt and tasted like the grill hadn't been cleaned off in a long time. Do not recommend! read more

the food was ok not bad. The time it took to get it was another thing. The service was VERY Slow and poor no manager to be found and she never told us the sodas are not free refills. Nobody even cared when i complained not eaven the bartender who was THE Boss for the night. I will never go back and i will tell alot of people the same. With all the resturants in belmar i give them a few more years then they will be gone. Its a shame they were a very good place at one time. read more

My mother and I sat here around 4 on a Monday. Our server was busy tending bar but still made sure our service was on point, outside. We were very happy with the fried oysters. I most definitely recommend the crab cakes- delicious and full of thick crab meat. Our server really made our dining experience enjoyable. I was not having the best day and she really turned my night around. Thanks for lightning our mood, Tracey! read more

Worst customer service ever! We were a party of 12 on a Saturday evening. We were one of the only tables in the whole restaurant. The waitresses wouldn't accommodate seating us, when they finally sat us after 10 minutes of back and forth we asked for water for all of us along with our alcoholic beverages. She only gave half the table waters. When asked for more waters, the waitress gave us only two more. When asked later in the evening for the last of the waters, the waitress told us no and we couldn't have more water because their wasn't enough glasses for us. An order of our chicken wings were extremely undercooked, and when we told the waitress her response was she couldn't take them back. Our dinners came out staggered. Out of three cheeseburger only two came out n 15 minutes of each other, the last did not come out until everyone was done eating and was not even medium well, it came out medium rare. The rest of the meat was not cooked to how anyone ordered it. All four prime rib orders were cooked medium. Avoid coming here at all cost! read more