we have ate here when jays was down and it was good but we loved the buffet at jays better nothing to complain about tho !! read more

If you like your seafood fried this is the place. Only opened Thursday thru Sat I had the deviled crab and it was good. Service was good-seat yourself. We were a party of 10 and there was plenty of seating. Family friendly. Waitresses were friendly and attentive. Food came out hot and on time. read more

if you're looking for fish fried in cornmeal this is the place. The customer service is always a delight and staff is very friendly at pickup. read more

A popular restaurant. Menu service. Seafood and ribeye is their specialty. There all you can eat flounder is the best I've ever eaten. The ribeye steak is large and you can almost cut with a fork service is spectacular. Albemarle's jewel. read more

We've been for the past two weeks and I had the fried oysters both times. They are perfect--lightly breaded and lightly fried so you can taste the oyster. My husband had the popcorn shrimp and scallops and the flounder filet. It was all so good. The place is packed but the service is great. And if that isn't perfect enough, the health score is 100! read more

Good food, great service, for a good price and the best hush puppies anywhere around. It's my go to for seafood.

Bland food, no masks, elderly clientele, packed restaurant. Should be called Jay Kevorkian's Seafood Infection it's a pandemic people

Best Seafood in town! Great prices too! I would wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant!! I know people who come every week from other counties just to eat here! read more

I've been to Jay's Downtowner many times over the years my first time was 1998 it was the best food that I had ever eaten in the small town of Albemarle. if you wanted seafood you went there for seafood over the years I've visited often but this last time and I mean it The last time I will ever go to Jay's Downtowner .because it has changed or the menu has changed or the owner has changed .because the shrimp were cooked too long they were tough and full of breading and I had never had shrimp there like that . and they claimed that they gave me extra jumbo Shrimp lol . they look like they were medium on the smaller size shrimp they didn't have a tail on them but that didn't matter you could tail they were tiny shrimp .and I was charged for extra jumbo that was so disappointing to see those small shrimp when I was thinking about jumbo shrimp!!!!!! and they were greasy and tough too much breading and overcooked . and the potato seem like a day-old potato hard and old the food was disgusting I will not go back if that's what they think is great seafood .they used to have great seafood they don't have it anymore " I don't know who owns Jay's Downtowner now but they are doing A terrible job SMH don't go unless you like to eat garbage !!!!!!! because that's basically what I did with it I threw it in the garbage it wasn't worth saving to eat later and I would never even have fed it to a dog if I had one .my daughter ordered a combination plate and she said the potato was hard enough to break a car window lol & her shrimp was tough like mine but she said the perch that she ordered was good . so they were saved by one thing my daughter like the perch" but I graded The entire meal and it was on the disgusting side an there will be no more trips to Jay's Downtowner!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This review was July 2, 2020 nope I would not recommend Jay's Downtowner to anyone they evidently have new owners that do not care what type of food they are serving. Two customers. they don't care that it is disgustingly and possibly day-old potatoes it didn't matter so our rate this restaurant is zero if I could but I had to give it one star that it did not deserve!!!!!!! read more

Food was delicious with large portions and our server Josie was AMAZING . She was working her tail off managing 5 or 6 tables. Thanks for excellent service Josie. read more

The food taste amazing. I go there a lot now after the food was so great. They have a variety of different fishes and foods for people who aren't fish eaters also. read more

Well I have been going off and on for the last 25 years. Tonight was by far the worst meal I have ever had. Had to wait for 30 minutes which I understand when your busy. Food arrived cold, overcooked fish. It is ashamed to serve this food and be in business this long. Looks like by now they would have figured it out. read more

I grew up in Badin but am living in Virginia. I went to Jays on a visit to see family. My family and I went to dine in at Jays. We had a party of 11. Upon entering the facility, we were told that we could sit anywhere and would not have to be seated. Ok, fine. No problem. We went into the front side dining area and asked one of the waitresses if she could help up put a couple of tables together, as to not disrupt their dining configurement. She said no she could not because they were not allowed. Okayyy....Immediately thereafter, a gentleman employee from the back hurried to help us. I figured maybe since she is a "lady", she couldn't do it. Once we sat down, my mom later entered with her sister. They waited for awhile for their drinks. My mom finally asked the same waitress from earlier for some water to take her medicine prior to her meal. The waitress said no. What??? Then she immediately asked another waitress who proceeded to help her. The first idiot waitress proceeded to yell at the 2nd waitress for whatever reason. Shortly thereafter, another family came in. That family was rather large also, and they were white. Did I mention we are black? You see where I am going. The waitress that wouldn't help us (and their table was right beside ours), proceeded to move tables together for them, when she told us it wasn't allowed. She was really nice to them and extremely accommodating. This was such a slap in the face and so disheartening. Is this what one of my favorite childhood restaurants has come to? The food was horrible and not fresh. Sad to say we spent over 200 dollars on food and drinks and 40.00 for a tip (the second waitress was amazing), and left feeling humiliated and disgusted. The hate was so blatant. And I am so sad to see such a landmark reduced to what it has become. read more

A Albemarle tradition, bunch of people eat there, but nasty over-fried food with small portions. Go on down the street to Blue Bay.

Wow... what a great find. We drove up from Charlotte to look at a new car in the area. We happened upon Jay's and what a great find. Our server Cortland (sp) was exceptional, anticipated each and every need before being asked, and extremely friendly. The portions were HUGE, with both my wife and I bringing home to go boxes. The fried shrimp was perfectly fried and so hot you could barely eat it, the oysters were some of the best I have had in years, scallops and side items were on the money as well. The only issue that I had with any of the experience is the flounder was far from baby flounder and was overcooked, not a significant issue on a platter but would have been a bit of a bummer had I only ordered just flounder. Everyone in the building was super friendly and welcoming. Once again, Cortland made the experience one to look forward to repeating. read more

Jay's Downtowner is one of Stanly County's best places to eat! Their prices are great and their food is even better. Seafood is all wonderful, however they have a large variety of items for those who dislike seafood. Best steak in town! read more

Excellent home made food and great service. Cash only does not take credit cards.

Totally disagree with Charles! Excellent food, casual atmosphere, great prices, plenty of great seafood and one of best steaks in town! Fried shrimp is best I've had anywhere..even at the beach! Same family runs the down towner and jays seafood on stony gap rd. Great buffet at stony gap location especially on Sunday's. Something for everyone...good service too! Make sure to visit if your in the mood for casual dining, great food, and a family friendly atmosphere. FYI they do not take cards-cash or check only. The stony gap location does have an ATM available tho. read more

We enjoy eating at Jay's Downtowner! The shrimp is especially good, (fried or grilled), and we usually eat too many of their hushpuppies. We have arranged for a group of friends from Salisbury, Charlotte, Lincolnton, Laurinburg and Richfield to eat dinner together at Jay's Downtowner on several occasions, and everyone has enjoyed the meal...They keep driving back to Albemarle to meet and eat again at Jay's! read more

For great seafood and steaks, Jay' s Downtowner can't be beaten. They serve the hot from the fryer hushpuppies that are the best that I have ever eaten. Their salads are always fresh and crisp. The best food on the menu is their rib eye steaks. They are grilled to perfection at your desired order. They come with your choice of potato, and that's been a difficult task to decide, because they are all great. I usually order a baked potato and salad for my sides. Of course, since they have the best boneless fried flounder around, with those delicious hushpuppies, and French fries, you may have to eat there twice on a weekend, so that you can eat steak one night and seafood the next night. I must say that their broiled menu is always cooked just right! The service is always excellent with friendly and helpful people. The only problem is that they are only open 3 nights weekly, Thursday through Saturday from 4:00 pm until 9:30. read more

I have been eating at both Jay's locations in Stanly County for over thirty years. Jay's Downtowner on East Main Street in Albemarle has huge seafood portions if you order the large plates instead of regular or if you order the seafood platter. Only people with very large appetites should order a large plate there. The flounder is thick and they can fry it traditional Stanly County style or salt and pepper style. The mini-shrimp is great but i like the jumbo fried shrimp better. The fried oysters and fried scallops are the best I ever had anywhere and I have no idea how they get the baked potatoes so hot! Everyone loves Jay's hushpuppies and they will serve honey butter with them on request. The Jay's seafood platter is the most seafood I have ever seen served on one plate between here and Calabash and Calabash and South Beach. For most people the regular plates can be totally satisfying. In fact splitting a large Jay's plate on a to-go order for two people is done by some couples. Jay's also offers a spaghetti plate which comes with fries, hushpuppies, garlic bread and slaw. It is a huge amount of food and again totally enough for two reasonable servings. The hamburger steak and ribeye are both among the best steaks in Albemarle. To correct the Yelp page on Jay's Downtowner, they do NOT take credit/debit cards but they do take personal checks. They have a drive through window and sometimes on Friday night the line for the drive through window is backed up all the way to E Main Street while the parking lot is completely packed and that is how you know that locals love it! The atmosphere at Jay's Downtowner is "shabby and dated family seafood joint," meaning not very romantic at all, but it is clean. Blue Bay up the street has much better atmosphere but the food at Jay's Downtowner is better to me. If I was going out for a first date the decor at Blue Bay is snazzier, but their food is not as good or as plentiful as at Jay's Downtowner. Truth is when I go to the beach or Calabash to eat seafood Jay's Downtowner is the standard of comparison and seldom have I found a place with seafood that I like better. I also like Rocky River Springs Fish House, but it is at the opposite end of the county and I very seldom go to Rocky River. Jay's Downtowner, Jay's on Stony Gap Rd and Rocky River Springs are the three best seafood places in Stanly County. Blue Bay is a distant fourth. Jay's Downtowner is one of the best things about living in Albemarle! Updating the decor and adding debit cards would be two improvements that would push them closer to 5 stars. The menu is not huge but what they offer is all good! read more