Jackson 20

My friend and I walked into Jackson’s and were not greeted. I actually had to wait for her to ask how she could help us. We came without a reservation and were told that there was no seating available (though there were plenty of tables open, including outdoor seating that remained open throughout our breakfast). Instead of being offered the bar as an option, we had to ask. We sat ourselves at the bar after asking another customer if the high tables were included in the bar seating. The waitress from the bar took quite sometime to come over to us. She wasn’t at all friendly and very sparse with her replies. She proceeded to take our orders without writing them down and then we received two incorrect orders. They then brought us ONE corrected side dish for the order and tried to tell us that they don’t normally put that much in the dish, so it was for both of us. I asked her to then divide the dish accordingly at which time she put in a correction for the second order. It then took an unusual amount of time for the second corrected dish to come out. It finally did after I inquired about it. Another couple came in and were also not led to the empty high table next to us a n option. So, I signaled to them that it was open. (I later saw them escort a pair to the vacant high table. These two said they had reservations, so this leads me to believe that they don’t point out the bar as an option, because they’d prefer to use it for a reservation if possible.) Anyway, this couple without the reservation also waited for a while for the waitress and inquired about her presences. I could see a waiter tell the manager, who shrugged. (I saw this from where I sat near the kitchen.). After recounting some of the experience I had already had at this restaurant with them, they decided to leave. All of this, and the food was mediocre at best. No worries; if you have a reservation they treat you altogether differently. Or maybe there are other reasons the waitress was more chatty with some patrons than others. A finish to it all was with the waitress coming to ask if we were ready to pay, when we hadn’t yet put the money/cards on the table. She came quicker to collect the money than she did to give us water when we first arrived. Such a poor experience. I won’t be returning and will urge others not to.

Outstanding experience with great food. Hat tip to Chef Vincent Jenkins for being especially outgoing and welcoming. Definitely on the up and coming list and one to watch. The Waldorf salad with salmon, an aged ribeye, and an excellent Vesper martini convinced me to keep coming back.

Awesome meals. Worth stopping by. My family family and I had the superb meals provided by Chef Vincent today. Shrimp and Grits, Famous Fried Chicken and Build your own Mac & cheeses and apple pie. Also the service was superb from hostess, bartender and waiter Hicham.

Ate dinner there twice during our stay at the Alexandrian. Loved the BBQ Sliders and Corn and Pepper Chowder with lump crab meat. Burgers and Cornbread were also great. I wish that they had a wider variety of beers.

We had a lovely NY Eve Dinner on the 31st. We made reservations through OpenTable but for some reason, the trainee at the front could not find us in the system, until I pulled up the confirmation on my phone. Our seating was fine, but just a few moments it seemed after we were seated, the restaurant seemed to get colder and colder. We noticed it wasn't just us, as other patrons had on their jackets or kept other cold weather clothing items on. We stayed two hours, but by the time we left our hands and feet were frozen. The food was delicious. We had the lobster and steak which was amazing. Our arugula salad was lacking but still alright. The drinks and wine could've been better with the price and we had to keep grabbing a waitress for fresh water. No bread or anything brought to the table and the ambiance was pleasant and not too crazy for NY Eve. I'd like to return for brunch and experience their breakfast fare. The dinner was delicious and I'd love to return, but hope for more from some items. Jamie was a lovely waiter for us and our restaurant manager checked on us a few times as well as left us his card. Very kind. We will be back and hope to experience more of Jackson 20, when it's warmer and a little less busy. I hope the wine and drinks aren't prepared too strong and a better cab would be served.