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    Jake's Place

    4.1 (252 reviews)
    Closed Closed

    Jake's Place Photos

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    JAKE'S PLACE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Jake's Place

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    Brisket Platter
    Ryan P.

    Amazing can't wait to come back! Services was on point didn't have to ask for anything it was already on its way. Cozy feels just like I'm in Grandma's kitchen. All the food was great. I got potato salad, brisket hush puppies and a sausage can't complain about any of it. All of it was amazing.

    Kathleen D.

    I stopped in with my mom late morning on Strawberry Festival day, fully assuming that they'd be too busy to even park in their tiny lot, as that is what happened in 2024. Surprisingly, we were early enough to be able to park and only experienced a roughly 10-minute wait to be seated. I ordered the catfish nuggets with fries and cole slaw. They also came with hushpuppies. My plate was very fried and brown, and I suppose I'm not used to that anymore haha, so I did have to box up my leftovers. My mom had the crab cakes and added a side of beans, which she loved. She also had a slice of pie and said it was okay. Considering the day's events, service was great. I'd consider a return if in Ashland in the future.

    Mary A.

    A small restaurant off the beaten path in Ashland. A little crowded when you walk into the small reception area but the delicious smell of BBQ delights your senses. It wasn't crowded mid-week at lunch so we were seated right away. Our server was attentive and helpful with any questions. I had the Orange Crush cocktail and it was delicious. We tried the Redneck Eggrolls, cheeseburger and pulled pork sandwich. Everything was really good. We have eaten in the restaurant twice and had take-out once and each time it has been consistently good. Definitely worth a visit!!

    First time visiting. Had high hopes, maybe too high. Others we know who have been were kind of sketchy in their reviews. Seemed some things great - pimento cheese - other things not so great. Were in the neighborhood so figured lets give a lunchtime try. Parking lot was almost full, good sign. Room pretty full, another good sign. People must like this place. Was advised of a special of the day, drinks came quickly, and waitress attentive. So still looking good. Meal one - Pork sandwich. Looked good. Came with their version of fries, large wedges of potato. Crisp on outside, soft on inside. Wife said it was OK, had better had worse. The sauces on table, neither were what she would like so had sandwich without which was fine. Meal two - pork and brisket combo. Potato salad was very good. The coleslaw was fine and the soft drink was cold.......If I'm not talking first about the meat there might be an issue. So here goes. The silverware at the table had a fork and a knife, plain Jane knife style. Not going to cut a steak with that kind of knife. But for what I ordered I did not expect to have to cut anything. Tray with food came and on my tray was a steak knife. ?????? Table to our right, guy had just brisket and he too was given a steak knife. Pork first. Heavy is grease / fat on the tray. There is good pork fat and there is bad pork fat. This was more on the bad pork fat. My guess - chopped, held in warming tray with the fat renderings poured over the top to keep moist. It had some smoke flavor to the meat, but neither sauce on the table was complimenting the fat. Brisket came with a sweet sauce layered in a stream over the slices. BBQ being finger food I attempted a pull test to check the tenderness and it was overlay tight. Found that cutting it with the steak knife that was provided with the meal was the way to go. Not trying to be overly critical. My wife says I am a BBQ snob. As one who judges and critiques BBQ all over the US, I do feel I can be overly critical of BBQ. I do not try to compare restaurant quality to that we judge at contests as restaurants cannot baby every single meat as we get in a comp. A comp is a one bite challenge. Restaurants are feeding the masses. But I think BBQ should always be very good to great. I can see some flaws here and things that certainly can be fixed. Maybe it was a bad lunch day for staff. So not going to say one and done. If in the area I will probably try it again. Hoping things will be better on the next trip.

    Smoked Turkey sandwich w sweet potato fries. Baked beans  Priddy Burger Beef Brisket Sandwich with hush puppies.
    Susan B.

    Awesome Food and service ! Went on a Saturday for lunch. Prices are great , food is great and people are great. Restaurant is cute . Great atmosphere for a little smoke house. We will go back . I had the smoked turkey sandwich. Highly recommend.

    people eating and drinking at a restaurant
    Michael S.

    Finally got to Jake's Place. We are always anxious to try a barbecue joint, and there was no excuse not to stop in at one that is only 10 miles away. There were highlights and meh-lights. Let me start by saying that I am reviewing this at what I consider to be BBQ restaurant standards (since some of you who know me personally know I am a competition judge.) I am not comparing this food to competition Q, that is a whole different realm, and volume alone can drive differences in cooking in a restaurant. So looking at it as a restaurant: Setting: -- Atmosphere was family-oriented. The staff clearly knew a lot of the patrons, and treated everyone well. -- Service was friendly and attentive and accurate. We could not have asked for better treatment. Drinks were kept filled, several check-backs on anything we needed, prompt take out boxes and check when requested. Food: There were some real stars on some of the plates. For starters, the onion rings were about the best I have ever tasted anywhere. Fresh cut and dipped in a light batter and crumb coat, just once and not double dipped as some places do, made for light crunchy rings without the onion getting steamed to death inside. A real treat! Pro tip -- ask for ranch dressing instead of ketchup for these rings, it is a great combo! Also in the spotlight were the side dishes. Small side portions but good nonetheless, we enjoyed the collards, the potatoes, the hushpuppies, and the mac and cheese. The slaw was a perfect BBQ slaw, not too wet and just the right touch of seasoning (celery salt in this case I think.) The apple sauce was off-the-shelf okay, but served its purpose in breaking up the flavors of the meats I got (more on that in a minute.) Sauces: There are two sauces on the tables -- one was a vinegar based sauce that I supposed was intended to be eastern NC style, but was so thin and single note that it may as well have been Kraft Italian salad dressing. (There was no label on the bottle, so it may well have been intended not as BBQ sauce but salad dressing. hmmmm.) The other sauce, in an identical bottle but with a label, was a smoky red sauce. I was reminded of a specific commercial sauce, and was afraid the smokiness would be too strong but it paired well with the meat, and the sauce was needed. Great barbecue doesn't need sauce, and bad barbecue can't be rescued by it. But average Q sometimes needs a little help with flavor or moisture or both. Among the meats we ordered, the ribs were the star of the show. Well seasoned, cooked perfectly, The half rack we ordered went down easily and will be my order the next time I am in Jake's. The yardbird (smoked chicken half) was just on the verge of overcooked; a bit dry, but had good flavor. Red sauce ended up helping moisture after the italian sauce didn't. The pork and brisket were very dry. The brisket crumbled apart like stringy pot roast, and it needed the sauce the kitchen had topped it with as well as what I added at table to augment the fat in adding the yum factor. Not a bright spot. The pork was also dry and needed help, but the flavor of the pit was definitely there. Better than crock pot / slow cooker pork, not as good as average backyard smoker fare for tenderness or taste. So all in all, it was an average barbecue restaurant experience. I will go back and try things again, it was an acceptable meal in a friendly place. But I hope for better.

    Outside entrance
    Leslie T.

    You can't go to a Randolph Macon game and not stop here for some bbq. The bbq was selling food at the game and we had to go check out the location for ourselves and see the full menu. It is a rather small place but there is additional seating outside in back. One fun feature is the tables themselves- old sewing table bases. Everything we tried was delicious the pulled pork, brisket, ribs, Cuban sandwich- fries and hush puppies. I personally loved the Cuban sandwich and ask to add pull pork to the grilled cheese- not on menu but they did it for us and it was good. Staff were attentive even though it was getting busy. They have a Jake's peach ale that isn't bad and refreshing with your food. They had desserts but I will have to try them next time when we come back to Ashland.

    Appetizer  redneck egg rolls

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    4 years ago

    Love their Fried Green Tomatoes and Fried Catfish. My family and I are frequent visitors.

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    4 years ago

    This was a spur of the moment find but i highly recommend. Great service and great food

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    Ask the Community - Jake's Place

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    Homemades by Suzanne - Ashland

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    Service was nice and friendly I got the hickory bbq sandwich with macaroni salad. I thought the…read moresandwhich was a letdown it was pretty bland tasting didn't have much flavor the roll was nice and soft and tasted good. We also got chocolate chess pie. It was nice and rich with great flavor. Nice dark chocolate flavor mixed with buttery crust. My view on this place has pretty tiny portions too.

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    Chicken Salad on Wheat Roll with a side of Succotash Salad along with Sweet Pickles
    Chicken Salad on Wheat Roll with a side of Succotash Salad along with Sweet Pickles
    Homemades was 2nd in the top five of BEST County Ham in the nation in a contest ran by US News
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    Suzanne's has deliscious desserts!

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    Kregger's Tap and Table

    Kregger's Tap and Table

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    We decided to treat ourselves to a Sunday brunch at Kreggers! They have a nice sized brunch menu,…read moregreat food concepts, great service and a fun atmosphere. Unfortunately, they miss big on depth of flavor. We ordered a few different items on the menu and almost all of them feel short when it came to the flavor profile. The star of the show was the maple potato wedges . They were cooked perfectly and coated with a sugary season blend.

    I stopped here for lunch with my mom after a nearby festival this summer. The restaurant, housed in…read morea strip mall, has plenty of space indoors and a nice patio too. We opted to sit indoors but near the patio, so there was a nice cross breeze. I ordered the popcorn to start and my mom ordered pretzel bites. Both were very good, and I was impressed with the amount of popcorn that arrived. So much! My mom ordered the wake n bacon and I ordered the rancher omelet. My mom raved about her meal, but I could barely stomach the omelet. It was SO bland. I immediately let our server know, and she let me swap for something else. I asked for the muffalletta, but they were out of stock, so instead I ordered the wake n bacon. I wouldn't rave about it like my mom did, but it was much better than the omelet. If I'm in Ashland, I'd consider a return trip sometime to try more of their menu. Prices were reasonable and service was friendly.

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    Bowl of goodness with brisket
    Bowl of goodness with brisket
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    The Spot Sports Bar and Grill

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    I'm giving 3 stars but I would come back here because the food we ordered was delicious. I would…read morejust be sure to be very clear about the costs of everything and double check the bill and any takeout I get. My sister and I visited with my niece (my sister's daughter) and it's a cute local place. They were having a daddy daughter event for Valentines Day on one side of the restaurant and it was adorable to watch. We ordered the garlic knots to share and they were really good. I got the Italian sub with onion rings and my sister got the pesto tortellini with shrimp. The menu is weird because there aren't any prices on it. Due to that fact, my sister asked the waitress before ordering the cost of her dish. She was told $13. She was surprised to get such a low cost with the shrimp on the dish but went ahead and ordered it cause it seemed like a good deal. When we got the bill, it was about $21 plus we believe the waitress didn't properly split the cost of the garlic knots but we didn't realize it till after we had gone home and double checked our bills. Finally, I ordered a chicken parm sandwich to go for my husband to eat before he headed to work. The bag I was given was taped shut so I didn't check but when we got home, we didn't get the onion rings we ordered for him. The attention to detail seems to be lacking at this place even if it did have overall good food.

    They have some work to do, great location though. Only have 2 small TV's, very small bar area- like…read more5 bar stools. Food was awful, even pizza. Need a simple menu of a few things they do well. Hopefully they'll figure it out.

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    The Spot Sports Bar and Grill
    The Spot Sports Bar and Grill
    Garden salad with ranch dressing

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    Garden salad with ranch dressing

    Jake's Place - southern - Updated July 2026

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