Jake's

I honestly think our waiter was high or something. My sisters and mother just went for mother's day brunch. The food was good, not excellent or highly creative, but good. Since it was mother's day it seemed hectic. Everyone but our waiter, Christopher was hustling and moving at a fast speed and we saw them about a hundred times. He strolled over to our table with this cocky and nonchalant demeanor and it continued throughout the entire meal. Just kinda strolling along even though everyone at our table but my sister got her first course (which was cold gazpacho by the way, no need for labor intensive preparing, really just scoop it out and there you go) and she had to wait like 5-10 minutes, and so did the rest of the table because we didn't want to eat in front of her. Then he was like ""Oh, you're missing a plate."" Really dude? No way! And he went missing for a little bit. Not reallly sure where he could have went but we were right next to the kitchen and he didn't even walk into the kitchen for another 15 minutes. It was bizarre. The only times he came over was to see if we wanted to order more $13 bloody Mary's (yeah, that's right) and to drop the check. Convenient. Then we gave him a credit card and he gave us cash back and no credit card. I know mistakes happen but I just needed to mention that also. Bizarre experience. Also, I called to confirm my reservation a few days before and the guy was like, ""Are you sure you are going to come?"" Honestly, why would I call and say ""I am calling to confirm"" when I had no intentions of coming. I have worked in very nice restaurants for over 10 years and actually find it humorous at how unprofessional this place was. Cons: Service more

This & his new restaurant Coopers are awful, because of the owner Bruce Cooper. He is a Rude, Disrespectful, Pompous Creep to his customers. We had an issue with our food, which tasted awful. We were very polite about it & Bruce had his man/boy who handles the front asked us to leave for sending it back. While we were trying to get a bill to pay Bruce?s man/boy threaten to call the Police if we didn't leave. Now in our mind not paying the bill would have been a BIG reason to call the Police, not for disliking the food. This is not how customers deserve to be treated. We ended up going to Derek's who as always from start to finish treat their clientele with respect. Bruce needs to realize there is NO business without the customer. Treating people with common human decency is what should happen. My thought is he needs to go to obedience school and maybe be whacked in the snout for bad behavior a few times or have his face rubbed in it to humble him a bit. Pros: Bartender was nice Cons: Owner & man/boy who handles things are disrespectful to customers more

We just moved from Center City to the NW and tried this place for a birthday dinner on a Saturday evening. The place is cramped and noisy which although deter from the ambiance, would not be so bad, but the servers were all more suited for a burger joint. - young and nice, but clueless as to fine dining. There were crumbs on the seat, cork in the wine and we waited for 15 minutes before someone came over to take our order. Servers were banging dishes at the wait station right next to patrons and running around like lost puppies. Bus boys would loudly and rudely interrupt. The valet stored everyone's keys in a big cardboard box in his car and had trouble locating whose was whose. It was so ridiculous we were waiting for the cameras to come out. The acoustics are not great and you are on top of one another so aside from the food actually tasting great, it is not a place to which we would return. Not sure what the current Zagat's rating is, but the one I saw had it as one of the top restaurants in the city. If this is what their Saturday night service is like, they are not even in the same universe as Capital Grille, Buddakan and the like. Really hope it improves - what a shame. Pros: Food Cons: Everything else more

I am dissatisfied that my first post as a member of this site must subvert the opinions of previous reviewers. However, my experience with Jake's was not as welcoming or comfortable as the reviews or decor would intend one to believe. Don't expect the servers to know much about the menu items for they have a limited knowledge of basic food items and preparation. Managers should also not be expected to be sympathetic to the needs of younger patrons. They have a ridiculous policy that restricts one from ordering menu items from the separate ""bar"" type menu in the dining room. Henceforth, the manager refused to serve my brother the item he desired. When all was said and done, the food was delicious and appropriately portioned. My only compliment would go to the chef, as he seems to be the only professional in the facility. If you are living in Center City I find it difficult to justify the trip to Manyunk for a restaurant that falls short on all aspects of service. Pros: Tasty fine dining entrees Cons: Service. more

Very good food in an elegant setting. The best are the crab cakes. Very tasty and meaty, with just enough filler. Also good are the very thinly sliced fried yam fries. The cornmeal encrusted calamari salad was a bit disappointing, though, as it had too much raddichio and not enough calamari. Desserts feature a very good warm chocolate cake pudding and a rich chocolate truffle cake. more

It was over the summer that I was there, but I can still remember how much I loved the food. You are on Main Street, so there is a certain amount of noise, but I could still hear the Mmm's and Ahh's over the hum of cars. I brought my mom down from New York to hang out for a week. We went several places, and this was one of her favorites. more

Great food, great service and a terrific decor make this one of our favorite places In Philly. Pros: ambiance, filt mignon and desserts more

Love the food here. The prices could be more reasonable and with virtually no parking anywhere it would behove them to include parking with their meals. After a disastrous experience across the street at the salon/spa this is what we needed to relax and enjoy. more

I went with a group of 8, which is rather large for the small dining area. The service was great, and the food was spectacular. Overall, the only knock you can give is that it is too small, but then again that provides a coziness feeling for those looking for a romantic dinner. Pros: Food, Service, Ambience Cons: Small more

Went to Jake's the other night and loved every second of it. Promptly sat, though it was a little snug. Loved the sweet and sour shrimp and tuna sampler appetizer. The filet of beef was perfectly cooked while my wifes venison was full of flavor. The desserts were alright, but on the whole the night was wonderful. Pros: Food, wine list Cons: small dining room more

Having dined at Jake's in the past, we had high expectations. But, we knew when we walked into the sea of Cosmopolitans & not a bottle of wine in site, that things had changed on the food front. Tough filet mignon? Half cooked halibut? 2 small veal medallions? The restaurant has changed to accomodate the trendmonger not the foodie. Overpriced (and overrated) at half the price. more

Jake's always has wonderful variety on their brunch menu. Manayunk is a great town to spend a Sunday afternoon and Jake's bar is a great place ot have mimosas and people watch! Pros: Food, Brunch, Charlie more