Jack & Lois

Not good! We went there for dinner on Friday night the service was awful it took half an hour to get drinks and well over an hour to get our food we only ordered two burgers and they weren’t very good. I will not be going back to Jack and Lois

Came in here at 6:30pm on a Friday night and it wasn’t that busy. We got a sweet spot near the front window. They have old kitchen tables here to go with the 70s décor, but they are kind of too big. Our waitress was friendly and gave us the rundown of the different burgers and sides. I had the John Candy Burger with cheddar and Canadian bacon. It was fantastic! Everything was cooked perfectly. I had the coleslaw with the Thai sauce which I didn’t care for that much. The washroom was nice to use, with a classic typewriter in it!

Excellent service. Delicious beer. No complaints. People who complain about this place should stay home and eat their microwave popcorn while they watch dancing with the Stars.

I don’t use the word «phenomenal» lightly but this place was !!! great food are service but did I mention great food ! we stopped in on our way home from Toronto on a whim, thanks for a great breakfast !

Awesome staff. Great breakfast. Classic greasy spoon. Saw the episode of «you gotta eat here» and had to try it out. Good caesars.

Unfortunately had a poor dinner experience on a saturday night. Despite calling ahead and being assured we wouldn’t need reservations for dinner at 6, the place was packed and we needed to wait.
Service: The wait for the food was long (~40 min) and other tables seated after us received their meals first. Service seemed a bit unfriendly and we never got an extra plate after asking for one.
Food wise: The thai coleslaw was inedible — we couldn’t finish it after taking a few bites. The restaurant kindly took this off the bill for us. The cheeseburger was dry and their Hummingbird breakfast was lacklustre.
I enjoyed the restaurant’s environment and novel décor; this place has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, we will not be returning given the food and service we experienced tonight.

Great amount of selections on burgers. I suggest you come visit this place if you want a good burger.

I got their ‘hummingbird’ a traditional breakfast. everything was great. the idea of a nice warm toasted grilled cheese is wonderful. especially their stuffed angels is a wonderful vegetarian alternative. can you say YUM? I can. however. I got my eggs poached. they continued to serve my eggs in a ramekin filled with the tart poached water it was cooked in. I asked for a cup so I could pour the cloudy liquid into and dispose off. the waitress must have assumed that poached eggs like this must be the norm.

Heard great things about this place, but sadly it wasn’t that great.
I got the Shane-​Me chicken sandwich, it was all bun, super chintzy for $ 16 and that’s only the sandwich. You get no side & no fries for the $ 16, I wouldn’t have minded the price for a great sandwich but the food wasn’t great, the kettle chips we got as complimentary to start were cold, soggy and over cooked… not the best.
Kinda sad though, thought this place would amazing but there are way better restaurant to check out instead of this place in Hamilton.

Pretty disappointing tbh, I ordered the black Benny and their black bean patty was somewhat flavorless.

I really really loved my trip to Jack & Lois!*
*I was hungover and it’s greasy breakfast — that might make this review a bit biased, BUT if you’re in the same situation, definitely go here!
Walking into Jack & Lois is just about the greatest thing a hungover person can do. It’s the cutest little place — I’m loving the mismatched tables and chairs, the cheesy art and the overall relaxed vibe.
The menu is extensive, and I definitely had trouble deciding. Phase one, do you want breakfast or lunch? Phase two, how are you ever going to decide on just one meal?!?
I ended up trying the Molly Baby and it did not fail to disappoint! It’s loaded with Canadian bacon, avocado, cheese and fried eggs. While I felt a little bit like I could have a heartattack after, it was in the best possible way. Definitely a special occasion (read: hungover) meal, but they have lots of less heavy options if you’re going there on a regular day.
The service was quick, the price was right, and I really have no complaints! If you’re in Hamilton, check them out!

We enjoyed our meal, I had ‘The Strip Club’ with fries whereas my partner had the Mushroom Soup. After getting our drinks we were supplied house made potatoe chips. These were truly enjoyed while waiting for the order which arrived quickly enough.
Clever way of presenting the sandwich and chips on 8 mm film tin halves. The sandwich toasting will butter your hands up so be prepared to use a bunch of napkins. The choices of cheese used were yummy when combined with what often would be a club sandwich but only with top and bottom bread slices (thank goodness otherwise it would be to much for me.)
The soup was presented in what should be described as a small tureen with the toasted bread slices surrounding the bowl upon the plate.
The inside décor is eclectic using a spun up version of a 1950s era home kitchen as tables and chairs. In warmer weather the front opens up. From the tips below I note that there is a patio accessed from another area, we were there in cool weather and a somewhat quieter day, although some other clients were not so quiet.
All in, a recommended venue.

The service is pretty lousy because it gets so busy, but the food’s great. Try their breakfast, their homefries are especially delicious. The patio out back is AWESOME, by the way. Half the time I come here for that over the food. Great atmosphere.

Here for dinner with the girls. Was not as impressed as last time I was here. Food looked great but burger was dry and fries were rock hard. Coleslaw had great flavour but was way over dressed. CFMU was broadcasting from here and the music on the patio was loud and unwelcoming. This has been one of my favourite places. Sad that it really disappointed today.

Came here on a frigid and busy Friday night. Nothing special about this place; just another average burger joint. The service was super slow since there was only one waitress. The food was blah and boring but the free chips was nice.

Since I LOVED their burgers so much last time I was in, so I decided to go back and try their brunch/​breakfast menu.
Most selections on the breakfast menu are quite carb heavy, so I decided to go with the Black Mamba, which is also recommended by the server as her personal favourite. Honestly saying, this was the first time I ever had a black bean burger, I was hugely impressed with the flavour! However, the burger patty simply can’t hold its shape and keep squishing out the bun as I work my way through it. I had to keep rotating my burger to make sure piece of black bean patty doesn’t fall off, which is why I only rated 3 starts this time.
Also, as a coffee addict, I judge every breakfast place by its coffee: p and the coffee at Jack & Lois could use some bold, flavourful kicks.

Went back a second time and it wasn’t nearly as good as the first time! Still decent, but come on, no double doors? It’s really cold in the winter when the door opens.
Service was less friendly than the first time. But, I must give kudos for serving our food before people that arrived after us, even though they put in their order just before us. It was noticed and appreciated!
The sandwiches were delicious, but honestly, the kettle chips and the onion rings were drenched in oil. Like, the oil’s not hot enough or something.

Went here with friends for a girls night. The menu was pretty fun and interesting. We started with angel wontons which were dipped in a hot sauce and were really good. I had the thai soup which was good but with my grilled cheese was too much to eat so I packed it to go. Wish I had chosen the slaw as it would have been a bit lighter and complemented my grilled cheese. I tried the buck 69 which was fun and really good. It was Mac and cheese, cheddar cheese, avocado, breaded pickle and hickory sticks. It was deadly amazing. Would go back but would try something different next time. The patio was great an really comfortable.

I had strong reservations about going back to Jack & Lois. Yes this was second attempt at reviewing this Hamilton based restaurant. I popped in August 2012 for breakfast. It was the second worst breakfast experience I’ve ever had. Six months after my experience, the owner reached out to me to pop into the restaurant and have a look. He was unaware at the time of my poor experience and I relayed what happened. He explained the restaurant was between cooks at the time and my experience would be different. A little research between various review sites confirmed his assertion they were going through a rough patch. I put my return on the back burner until now.
Grilled Cheese — $ 7
My biggest draw to order was the Calabrese it was purported to come on. Unfortunately they were out and we settled for Whole Wheat Toast. Jack & Lois uses Aged Cheddar, American, and Asiago Cheese in their Grilled Cheese. This was fine but nothing special. I was really hoping to see how the Calabrese would go down. I may just make it myself.
The Great One — $ 9
This was one of the specials for the day. A very thick Veal Cutlet with Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Greens, and Mango Aioli on a Garlic Cake & Loaf Bun. The Veal was seasoned well and wasn’t over-​breaded. The greens were crisp and fresh. I was leery of Mango Aioli but it complimented the greens perfectly. I didn’t care for the Red Peppers as I thought them overcooked and limp. Neither of us were fans of the Cake & Loaf (BUY LOCAL!) Garlic Bun. It was left on the flat top too long and burned. I didn’t care for the consistency of the bread either. Our server let us know that the bun can be subbed out for something else if available. I’d definitely look into that route.
The John Candy — $ 11
Let’s get the gripe out of the way. The bun didn’t work for me at all as it was burned. I’m completely willing to disregard it though because this burger was a BEAST! The 8oz Burger was thick, juicy and cooked to Medium Well. It was topped with Aged Cheddar, crispy Bacon and two thick cut slices of Peameal. Yeah that’s right, Bacon on Bacon action. I could not have been happier with this choice and would order it again in a second.
While my impression last year was disappointing, this time around was far more positive. The burgers, burned buns aside, were both huge in size and taste. There’s still a few items on the menu that I’d like to check out and after that quality lunch, I know I’ll be back at Jack & Lois.

Absolutely I love with this restaurant the moment I walked in the door
What a perfect example of a Hamilton style burger joint with great food and great beer
And the kettle chips… Oh kettle chips!