Café J

Solid restaurant, but they were busy and having a hard time keeping up. Service was slow due to short staffing. Nevertheless we were able to eat, the food was pretty good, warm and flavorful, and service was not a problem. I had the chicken fried steak, along with the stuffed jalapeños appetizer. Give it a try.

We were seated right away during prime Sunday brunch time (probably an anomaly but we appreciated it). Drinks were served quickly. Food took a little long to come out but when it did, it was very good. The breakfast burrito (a special, not always on the menu) was different from a traditional breakfast burrito with almost zesty spices, and it really worked! The chicken Caesar salad had a generous amount of chicken. I would give 4.5 stars because coffee was mediocre but rounding up to 5 because of the flavors and textures of the food.

We had such high hopes for this place. We were so disappointed. I had the Stroganoff and it was inedible. Everyone at the table tasted it and spit it out. Our party also had Pork and chicken Alfredo and some sunflower seed chicken. It was all gross. No one finished it. The bread was a cross between a corn bread density and a cake like texture. Bread is my comfort food and I couldn’t eat it. We have never been so disappointed in food before. I can’t recommend this place at all. The building is also very run down.

First time eating here. W were a group of 4. Atmosphere: Tables were a little to close together for my likening. But very tasteful decor inside. Food: Two of the meals were perfect, Two not. Let's start with the good ones, * I had Stroganoff and it was the best I've ever had. The noodles were a perfect thickness and the a very good amount of meat, the sauce was absolutely delicious. ( Highly Recommend) price was only $18.00 which I felt was a bargain. * Scallops Dinner was very good the my friend said it was delicious. * Pad Thai the taste was good but they left off the peanuts and that was a little disappointing. Serving was very large. * Here is the disappointing meal, The Beef Tenderloin was very very dry, it was cooked Medium rare which was perfect but way to dry. My friend asked for horseradish he waited so long that he ate the steak and it arrived as he took the last bite. His asparagus and potato was delicious. The star of the meal; The Bloody Mary's oh my goodness they were delicious. Strange part of meal was the hard rolls, I mean hard LOL. Overall meal was good, just seems the steak had been refrigerated way too long to dry out.

I adore this place!!! A hidden gem of Lubbock, It is definitely worth checking out! They have an assortment of mixed drinks, and their menu is varied but not so vast that it's impossible to make up your mind. Our service was incredible, and we would absolutely love to return! The Stuffed Avocado is a must have 😋

I went to Cafe J with a friend for brunch on Saturday. We both ordered the chicken fried steak (me with biscuits and my friend with waffles). The food came out savory and well portioned! I give Cafe J big props on how they cook there asparagus. The price was affordable for the portion. Overall 4.5/5 stars Would recommend the restaurant

This place looks little old but still on shape. Talking about the staff. They were nice and polite. Starting with appetizer we had pork potstickers. The potstickers were nice but I felt there should have been more meat. Next thing the pork chop was dry, lack of salt and excess pepper. The rice served with dish was best thing about the dish. Moving on cajun chicken Alfredo was nice but there should have been more Cajun seasoning to enhance the flavor.

Had gotten drinks here before but never had the food. Chicken fried steak and chicken Tikka masala were fantastic. Jacob provided great service and looking forward to being back

First time eating here. W were a group of 4. Atmosphere: Tables were a little to close together for my likening. But very tasteful decor inside. Food: Two of the meals were perfect, Two not. Let's start with the good ones, * I had Stroganoff and it was the best I've ever had. The noodles were a perfect thickness and the a very good amount of meat, the sauce was absolutely delicious. ( Highly Recommend) price was only $18.00 which I felt was a bargain. * Scallops Dinner was very good the my friend said it was delicious. * Pad Thai the taste was good but they left off the peanuts and that was a little disappointing. Serving was very large. * Here is the disappointing meal, The Beef Tenderloin was very very dry, it was cooked Medium rare which was perfect but way to dry. My friend asked for horseradish he waited so long that he ate the steak and it arrived as he took the last bite. His asparagus and potato was delicious. The star of the meal; The Bloody Mary's oh my goodness they were delicious. Strange part of meal was the hard rolls, I mean hard LOL. Overall meal was good, just seems the steak had been refrigerated way too long to dry out.

Went in today for brunch. Honey pear salad and shrimp and grits were great. Service was excellent

The food, drinks, and service were outstanding. We appreciate the attention their chef's take with preparing food. I've been here a few times and never had a bad experience.

We had the Classic Breakfast and French Toast special. The eggs were a bit undercooked but the flavor of food was good. The wait time to get coffee and food was over an hour. I think this place has the potential to be much better with additional staff - the current staff was great but not able to provide responsive service. There are some maintenance issues that also need to be addressed.

My husband and I graduated from TTU a few years ago and we used to always go to Cafe J to celebrate special events. We absolutely loved their food and drinks! However, recently we went to Cafe J for my brother in law's graduation dinner and it was extremely disappointing. They were severely understaffed (on graduation weekend!!). We waited 45 minutes for our appetizers. Our drinks took 30 minutes and they forgot some which took another 15 minutes. We were there for a total of 2 and a half hours. We had to ask about our food and drinks multiple times. When the food finally came out after almost 2 hours it was good BUT the next morning all 6 of our party got food poisoning. The only thing we all ate the same was the chicken fried steak (which is hard to understand cook so it was likely cross contamination or something else). Our grandma was so sick she nearly almost missed the graduation ceremony. Our waitress was great and super apologetic about our wait. It was not her fault at all. Super disappointed this restaurant can't hire the appropriate amount of staff and as a result the experience of their customers is severely impacted. Not to mention it wasn't a cheap meal! We use to be regular customers, but will never recommend to visitors or friends/family again.

I wish I could give this place zero stars. My group came in on a Friday night, and when we arrived, we were told it would take 45 minutes for our food once we placed our order. While it wasn't ideal, we decided to stick around and wait it out. There was also a 30-minute delay anytime anyone wanted to order a drink. Four hours later, we were still waiting for our food, and we were barely able to get drinks. I asked the manager if there was anything they could do to make up for the awful experience. Her response was that she didn't have the authority to comp any meals but suggested I call the general manager the next day. She did remove the automatic gratuity for our large group, but the last thing we wanted was to take money away from our hardworking waitress, who was the only person in the restaurant actually putting in effort. The manager was not only unhelpful but also incredibly rude and argumentative. I will never return, and I cannot recommend this place to anyone. If you want your evening ruined and a stressful experience, then by all means, give it a try. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and go elsewhere.

Went to Cafe J with the family for Easter. Service and food was divine. Definitely coming back! Thank you!

Would not recommend this place to anyone... the over weight bartender ruins this whole place. First off, asking this guy for a drink has to be the biggest pain in his ass. I love seeing bartenders that make it the world's biggest inconvenience to make you a drink, as if it wasn't their job. Demanding, rude, and snarky he made the drink. We closed our tab immediately because our party was so shocked as to why this guy was being such a d**k. Don't think the owners care either, have heard multiple people have the same complaints about this guy over the course of the past few months. I watched someone try to order a shot, they went, "hey can we get some shots?" This fat mother*uck** goes "shots?!? Shots of what?? How about you give me a fuc***g actual answer." Insane to me. DO NOT GIVE THIS PLACE YOUR MONEY. The fat man will take it and use it for McDonald's. Sorry for the hate, maybe the place is cool when served by someone else but it's so extremely blatantly obvious that this guy ruins the establishment for everyone else. Owners will probably see this and roll their eyes thinking it's not a big deal, but I promise you, this guy ruins your whole establishment. Keep losing money.

We had a reservation at this restaurant and they apparently gave someone our seat becuase we were "late." There was no hostess at the front when we showed up and accused us of showing up late. This places management needs some serious work. All the waiters were running around like chickens with their head cut off not knowing what was going on. Would not recommend to anyone trying to enjoy a nice meal with anything above mediocre service.

This event happened Friday the 13th...my brother came in for some drinks with his friends and they immediately refused service and accused him of using a fake ID even though he just turned 27 this last summer. When asked to leave on the way out the bartender threw my brother's friend against the wall and grabbed him by the throat. He turned around and shoved my brother into the entrance door and pulled down his pants and grabbed his groin very inappropriately. After that the SAME BARTENDER starts screaming racial slurs and called my brother a mayonnaise monster and a potato muncher because we're Irish. This place needs to be shut down immediately!! Worst bar in town and the ugliest female staff I've ever laid my eyes on.

Man. We made reservations for Valentine's Day dinner, it was not busy. Waiter asked if we wanted bread and we said yes. We sat there a while and then he brought it apologizing saying he had forgot about us. My boyfriend ordered the beef tenderloin, then the waiter went into the entire explanation of what the tenderloin special entailed. He agreed to try it and ordered it medium rare. I ordered the beef tenderloin as is, medium rare. Never checked our glasses the entire time we were there. When the food arrived it was my plate of tenderloin and a plate of ravioli. Waiter immediately explained that he had accidentally punched in ravioli instead of the special he had promoted to us in the first place. He then asked my boyfriend if he still wanted them to fire up his meal real quick. Well I am a slow eater and I finished my meal, eating valentines dinner alone. When he finally brought out my boyfriend's plate he asked for it to go since we had already been there for an hour. He brought out the check and said he had taken half off of his meal alone, but this guy single handedly ruined our night out, my meal included since I felt guilty eating while he had nothing. To top it off, he asked the table behind us if they wanted dessert and started to list them. Dessert was never offered to us. Just really disappointed.

I've been to Cafe J several times. For brunch and celebratory evening drinks, and it's truly never consistent. Sometimes you're waiting forever on service, sometimes it's like you're the only table they have. The food is always fine on a private restaurant level, but definitely not an upscale level. I truly am a fan of their eggs Benedict- some of the best hollandaise I've had. This last time it wasn't on the menu, however a kind was available but it was chicken fried steak and gravy I believe? No hollandaise. Which is kind of the point for me. So I got the shrimp and grits. The shrimp was great, the grits were the perfect cheesy texture for me... but they threw in a chutney. The chutney was delicious on its own, don't get me wrong. But these are two completely different highways. They didn't mesh for me at all. Shrimp and grits is down-home, southern comfort, low country, savory, rich... chutney is like abrupt sugar fruity jelly gummy what the heck are you doing in this dish...it's not entirely uncommon to see people pairing some type of chutney with this dish it just comes off a little hipster-ish. My boyfriend got some kind of typical breakfast house type breakfast- in a skillet.. I had a bite and it was normal- not bad or life changing. But the gravy on those biscuits was really good. Sunday at nanas house kind of good. I was just craving eggs benny and I truly like theirs above other places.

Food great!! Service was superb!! It was quiet enough in restaurant to have a conversation with my friend!! Loved the omelette!!

The service here was amazing, our server was Ellie. The breakfast/brunch was the perfect amount and extremely tasty :-) Kudos to the wait staff especially Ellie!

It's just ok. Nothing stands out. Food is mediocre at best. Drinks are underwhelming. Service isn't impressive. Nothing there leaves you wanting to return. Tables are close together so it is very loud and you can hear everyone's conversation. More of a evening spot maybe?

We arrived here at approximately 12:10, and waited for over an hour to receive our food. (Two sandwiches and a salad.) The cafe was pretty empty; I saw only two tables seated. Eventually we got our food at around 1:15. It was pretty good. The waiter was kind and apologetic, and informed us that the chef had foot the bill. Not too sure I'd visit again, but wouldn't be too opposed if someone suggested it.

Staff was extremely rude, I was sat at a table during bar hours and a minor had a drink close to him (it belonged to the person next to him.) and a bartender approached our table and told us all to leave. When we asked why he said "shut up I'll beat the f*** out of all of y'all" and other members of the staff were saying "these f***ots were giving alcohol to minors." We had no opportunity to plead our case and were forced to leave after paying for drinks that we never even drank.

We loved the atmosphere and we had wonderful service. We tried both of the soup options that were offered at lunch. Their tomato soup was flavorful with a bit of a kick to it and the green chile was creamy reminded me of queso almost. Both were delicious. The burger was perfect. It was a good experience and we'd love to come back and try more!

My wife stopped here at Easter and loved it. However, this time our experience was very underwhelming. The portions were pretty small and the dishes pretty simple, for the prices. The avocado toast a very basic two slices of bread with an avocado spread, for 14$. With that said, the service was good and the food came out quick.

We came from out of town and were so hungry and chose this place to eat . It was one of the worst experience . We arrived at 8:20pm , the food was finally was served at 9:40 on . 2 of the plates were not done the way they were ordered , the third dish was cold (chicken fried steak) I'm giving 1 star bec they were not rude ! Otherwise I Do Not Recommend ! I cancelled my own dish bec they messed it up and I have to desire to wait any longer , and they also missed an order of soup !

Food was OK, I had the Cajun chicken Alfredo and it was not Cajun or spicy at all. Ordered a cosmo and it was subpar and warm. The biggest reason for the 2 star is the air conditioning was out and it was HOT in there...didn't even want to stay for dessert.

We arrived for our brunch reservation at 10:30 and the first thing we noticed was the sewer smell. It was throughout the restaurant. After we leveled the table the waiter offered us wedges if we needed to adjust it more. What?! So very strange. We called The Funky Door and got a table there instead. Something very offsetting with Cafe J. It used to be "the place for brunch". Either new ownership or they just don't care. Either way, never again.

Stopped in for brunch on Sunday at 10am and We're seated immediately. Nice ambience and excellent service. Their mammoth-sized cinnamon roll tasted great and was enough to feed three or four people.. The salmon spinach salad was enjoyable and had a nice orange flavored vinaigrette dressing. Worth a stop...

I ate the beef stroganoff and it had a off taste, my waitress had no clue what was going on and got information wrong more then once I won't be going back

For the price I cannot recommend this restaurant. Tho I was quickly seated and my order was taken and served quickly at 50+ for one person I should get what I ordered. The steak was okay,, no great shakes, but mashed for fries and green beans smothered in a gravy that belonged on the mashed that were served instead. Bread came after I requested it but it was kind of like hardtack. While service was friendly enough it was by committee with no continuity.

Good drinks, good eats. The salmon salad is great. The service is questionable but overall we enjoyed our food. It's good to make a reservation prior to coming to ensure you'll be seated quickly. I've also came without a reservation and the wait wasn't too long.

Holy smokes the chicken fried steak Benedict was soooo good that it not only hit the spot it hung around for the funk. Outstanding in every respect. I would have provided a picture but it was gone too fast. My wife had the shrimp and grits an would give it a solid 3.5 as the carmelized onions were a bit too sweet for her liking. The young man who served us was very good and his recommendations were spot on. Lastly the green chili gravy was the bomb . We will be back for brunch again.

This was truly one of the most ridiculous experiences I've had at a restaurant, and a waiter once spilled salsa down my back so that's saying a lot. We were sat at 12 pm and we waited about 10-15 min for our waiter to come around. We ordered 3 carafes and then waited 45 minutes to get them... it's two ingredients, you pour the champagne and then add a splash of juice... that should be the easiest drink you make all day. No way that should take 45 minutes. We're facing the bar and have been watching the bartender move slowly, not seeming to care, employees standing around talking to each other, etc. Every employee in this restaurant is walking around like they just took horse tranquilizers. There is no sense of urgency at all. I've worked in the service industry before and you should always be hustling. Our waiter didn't check on us a single time in the 45 minutes we were waiting for our drinks. We had to walk up to the bar to see what was going on.... Then the icing on the cake was they brought out TWO plates of our food.. out of the 14 we ordered. The two plates showed up ONE minute after our drinks. Normally you'd want your drink before your meal, right? And I guess we don't get to enjoy our meal together. It's now been over an hour since we ordered. I know we are a big party, but come on. If ADHD were a restaurant it would be Cafe J. I wouldn't recommend this place unless you have an entire day to kill because that's how long it will take to get your drinks and food. Happy 21st birthday Jackie! Edited to add: we ordered another round of carafes, had to cancel them bc it took too long. Asked for our tickets twice and have now been waiting 30 min for them. It's 2:15 and we are still waiting. Hoping we will be out of here by 3!

loved this place for brunch. very reasonably sized riced and always a good time. also a fun place to go out

This is the perfect restaurant for a celebratory dinner - ours was my son's graduation from TTU. We didn't have a reservation and were lucky to get a table because it is quite popular. I suggest you call in advance and reserve! The ambiance is lovely. Apparently the building has a lot of history and used to be a hospital years ago. Today it's filled with original artwork that looks like it's created by local artists and available to buy. Our server was attentive and Texas friendly - something we've always loved about Lubbock. She guessed that my son was celebrating his graduation and brought him a complimentary glass of champagne. Now for the best part... the food was divine! I got a salmon dish that was prepared to perfection. I paired it with a local Texas High Plains delightful wine. Hubby and both sons said that their meals were also delicious. We still have one kid left at Tech, so we will be back!

Unfortunately, Cafe J is as outdated as the chunky texture on the walls. The salmon was over done, dry and flavorless, the bread was also dry and wasn't fresh. I had the Padd Thai... not sure why I ordered it, but there are not any Thai Restaurants that need to worry about Cafe J cutting into market share. Service was slow, had to ask hostess for napkins. All together, very average and Lubbock has much better to offer.

After reviewing past reviews, I have to say things must have changed since then. My wife and I had a great evening. Cocktails were spot on and we had three appetizers. Originally we were going to have entrees after but after the shareables we were stuffed! They were amazing! Service was very attentive, I'll give you an example. Our server asked how my whisky sour was and actually said the bartender Evelyn had made it more on the sour side. I said I enjoy a little less sour and my next drink was perfect! STFD!

They don't accept vertical ID's, we offered to have a cop verify our ids. I guess they don't want all 6 of our business, which explains why it's so empty's. Celebrating our friends 22nd birthday, what a bust:( won't be coming back to Cafe J. Thank goodness there's so many better options around campus.

If you are here August-May then call to get a reservation. I ordered the Beef Tenderloin; the portion was smaller than I was expecting; but it was so god damn good. Get it with potatoes and okra. Expect to spend $35-50 here.

Cafe J has a really comfortable and elegant ambience. We came in a bit early before dinner hour started which is 5:30pm so we had to wait and went to a shop next door to kill the time. When we came back around 6 it was already buzzing inside. I'm from out of town but my family who lives here this was their first time here as well. There's some interesting artwork displayed. I had my 1 year old son with me and I almost felt guilty to being a child in here and while they where accommodating towards him and had a high chair perhaps lunch hour would be more appropriate at dinner I noticed most others there where on a date. But the waiter (Conner) was incredibly nice to us and my baby took a real liking him. Two of us had sea bass and one lamb chops. Everything was really good, one of the nicest dinners I've had and surely one of the best restaurants in Lubbock! We might return later this week to visit the bar their cocktail list looked very interesting! We all three and half, enjoyed the meal and service here!

This used to be upscale..... all of our entrees were terrible. Overcooked meat to the extremes, didn't even attempt to send it back - everything was bad anyway. The salads were great. Service lacking, no drink refills- and it was just tea, lemons nope, water nope, bread nope. Never going back! No recommendations either. Sad, I used to love that place.

The staff was kind but really lacked on providing good service. Drinks were filled once the entire trip and we were there nearly 2 hours. We were there for brunch and were 1 of 2 tables. Getting our food still took an hour and a half.

Went for lunch and loved it! First time going and was surprised by the swanky atmosphere. Great place to wine and dine a client or nice date. Ordered the spinach salad and added salmon, it was absolutely DELICIOUS! Filling but not stuffed. Salad was fresh and flavorful and salmon was cooked perfect and juicy but not raw tasting. Also got the stuffed jalapeños for an appetizer, very good as well! Service was perfect. Will be returning.

My first review was removed for sharing how I REALLY felt. Now I'll extrapolate. Absolutely terrible service. I went on new years eve and was seated in the lounge area. I spent an exhorbitant amount on a four course meal for myself and my date. In the process of our meal a band set up to play, which I didn't think much of at the time as live music is a typical part of many restaurants. When the band was beginning to start, our waitress came to our table attempting to collect a 20 dollar cover from each of us which was never stated before we were seated. We refused and said we would leave when we finished our drinks. Then the manager came over to us and told us we had to leave. Really pretty nasty after shelling out over 200 dollars for food and drinks. I gave them a second chance and upon walking in and standing directly in front of the hostess both for roughly five minutes unattended, the hostess then proceeded to take another 5 minute phone call. The place was dead. Hummus plate was mediocre after finally being seated. Still hate you, Cafe J. Step up your game.

From the Dallas area, and came to Lubbock for a weekend getaway with my family. Went to Cafe J's, new addition Art Bar, HORRIBLE! No social distancing AT ALL!!! College kids all over, not wearing masks, AT ALL! People getting wasted, with absolutely no room to move, my guests and I, wore masks, due to COVID, and were all astonished that NO door person, no bartender, NO ONE, cared about masks being worn! Selfish! This bar, and the people should be ashamed, to not at least be some what proactive, to keep establishments open, but I guess that they don't care about other service industry people. Way to go!

Lunch was awful. Had the margarita pizza. It was almost pizza soup. It was so soggy and SMALL for the price. The site is clean,and the staff are very nice. The food is just below average. Not my first below par meal there.

We used to Love Cafe J but no more. The staff cannot handle busy Friday or Saturday crowds. Saturday evening we waited for over 30 minutes (even with a reservation) for 4 people. Then our waiter rushed us through the meal, picking up our plates while we still had our fork in our hand eating! Don't ask for any change from the menu- a plate of cut up vegetables to eat with the queso in addition to the chips was denied. We were told all vegetables are cooked. Really? You serve cucumbers on your salads! The scallops were a rubbery consistency & I could not finish eating them. I have always ordered the scallops but the quality of all the food has diminished. Cafe J seems to be more interested in serving drinks & "bar food" quality then the upscale restaurant it USED to be. Won't be going back!

My friends and I frequent Cafe J's on Sundays, not only for the amazing brunch food, but also to visit our favorite bartender, Clint! He is so friendly and always remembers us, and our drink orders, when we come in. I usually get The Hangover- Coyote Ugly Style, but also enjoy the Red River Relleno! Their "What Came First" (chicken and waffles) is great, but i'm not a fan of their syrup, the consistency is too watery for me.

Such an extraordinary, eclectic building with a vast history of previously being the Central Lubbock Hospital when nurses still wore white & donned the nursing cap. The feel of the establishment is warm & comforting with just lovely conglomeration of local art work. The Patio is stunning as it is half covered with pergola, bi-level & tables with expansive umbrellas to protect the fairest of lily skin. Seating is comfortable & accommodating for all sizes of parties. Let's get to the crux of the matter; the beverage & food section! Wine list is awesome, diverse & not limited to Texas only vino. The food is just not a marry with the environment, the art or the price. I have tried many different dishes but, each felt below par of my expectation. I find myself perpetually seasoning to enliven each dish & look for that innovative flair & well in reference to my grilled cheese, it fell a slice of smoked Gouda & peppered bacon short. Staff is nice, just want sumptuous, defined flavor & oh the bread on the grilled cheese... I had hoped for artisan & it ended up as a honey wheat as I would methodically pick up from United. I just need them to step it up a notch on the culinary sect to garner a loyal following for something aside from cocktails.

The service was awful, this is not high class dining. Food was brought out at all different times, and a friend of mine never even got her food! It was an appetizer too. Never came out after having to ask MULTIPLE times where it is. When it finally did, it came out wrong. Still charged her for it too, even after I had to ask for it to be changed. Ridiculous place. 1 star, I will not be coming back.

Chelsea was our waitress and the service was attentive and quick! The brunch menu was fantastic, I had the French toast with strawberry syrup and pineapple mimosas with a shot of white rum. There are a couple places for Sunday brunch in Lubbock but this is one of the top choices. They also had a good selection of vegetarian dishes

Slow/poor service. Over an hour and a half for lunch with no crowd. Food was not good. Got the beef pork burger. Strange consistency and hard packed. Seasoning was way salty. Chicken fried steak was ok but nothing great. Overall a bad experience and over priced.

I've been coming to Cafe J for years and it's always been ok but this last time was far from even ok. Food: Menu changes to more casual fair might've been ok except they were poorly executed. Caprese salad (when it finally came out) had almost no balsamic on it. Pasta Bolognese was super stingy on the sauce. Found myself trying to spread it out to make it last. Crime Brûlée was WAY overcooked. Tasted like a mouth full of weird egg. Ordered an espresso with desert and they were unable to provide anything other than plain coffee. The coffee was watered down. I ruined it putting in my normal amount of cream (not much really) and it tasted like water. My husband had a similar experience. He ordered this new strawberry carrot cheesecake which had a very strange sort of whipped and gritty texture. Not very appetizing at all. He also ruined his coffee with the cream. Service: When you spend over $100 on dinner some basics should come with it. My salad was wrong but husbands was right. Backwait took mine back presumably to correct but disappeared never to return. No offer of cracked pepper for husband's Caesar salad either. My husband sat and kindly waited for my salad to arrive to eat. Finally, our waitress who was too hands off appeared and asked where my salad was as if I would know. (Trying not to sound a snob. I used to wait tables. I get it. But it wasn't very busy and this is basics people.) Finally she brings out my salad 15 minutes after my husband got his. Then, five minutes into my salad, our food arrived. To her credit, I didn't complain about anything but she'd noticed that I hadn't taken more than 2 bites of my crime brûlée and she noticed how overdone it was. She voluntarily took it off the bill. The whole dinner seemed awkward, ill-timed, and generally poorly executed overall. If La Sirena or La Diosa hadn't been booked, I'd rather have gone there. Cafe J has just lost what little they had. Seems that they are largely relying on legacy diners who seem to be drifting away. A slow evening on a Valentines Day weekend at prime dinner time is a bad sign.

Went again today after swearing Cafe J off a year ago. I still don't like the food or the art on the walls. But particularly don't like the food.