Benjamin L.
Yelp
Jay's did not live up to the hype, and my friend and I who are longtime locals who enjoy fine dining were quite disappointed. We went with high hopes, having been to the same space when it was Holly blue. It's still a beautiful space. There's no question about that. And on the plus side, they've turned the music down to where it still creates a fun vibe, but you can actually talk without a megaphone. We went in with high hopes to try it out for the first time, lord, in part by their very attractively priced Tomahawk Tuesday, $125 for two. Flemmings has done this and runs at year round. Flemming does it right, recognizing the Tuesdays is a slower night than most of the other six days of the week. They also recognize the people may want to try a restaurant out this way, since both of them run at least that much per person when you order off the regular menu. Flemmings gives you incredibly high-quality and very generous, full-size portions of the sides, salads, and desserts that come with this. Jay's on the other hand, serve you an airline size salad, dinky, side, portions, and desserts, and while their Tomahawk is listed as the same size and may well be, it is not good. It was tough and had a ton of fat on it. Tropical Acres steaks are better at a fraction of the price and this stake which normally goes for $200 and a sized 10 ounces larger was more the quality that you would find at an outback. In other words, edible but not prime beef and not delicious. All in all we felt like second class citizens ordering this.
From my point of view, that's a wasted opportunity for a restaurant that should recognize that this is a Tuesday in July, and that people like us, had we had the same experience as Flemings gave us, would be back with friends over and over, and ordering the various other items on the menu , probably on a weekend.
Also, no one cleared the salad plates when someone brought out the main course and sides, and no one corrected that for nearly 5 minutes. Any longer and we would've sent this whole thing back. On another note, on the regular menu, they feature prime rib served from a rather grand silver trolley , like a fine London hotel, famous for that. We inquired about it, and we're told that the big roast that we saw being carved two tables away, has no bone in it. Another missed opportunity and mistake, in this writers opinion.
All in all, this is just the latest entry in the single, most crowded field in all of upscale, dining, the steakhouse. Fort Lauderdale has a bunch of them, including Daniel's, which we have yet to try and which from a marketing standpoint seems to be going head-to-head with this place . Catch and cut, which also opened recently, was a better experience on every level than this restaurant. Chima and Fogo de Chao offer at least as nice in atmosphere, better food, and a far better value than even this attempt at a bargain.
My advice to this place, but frankly more importantly to Daniel's, is if you're gonna bother to offer a promotional menu, either treat the customers who order it as well and as generously as you would treat anyone, or expect them to assume that that's just the way the restaurant is. Which means, in short, don't bother. Because it will backfire. If you can deliver a great steak, accurately prepared with good generous sides, I guarantee you people will come back wanting more.