The Jax

Very knowledgeable and service and staff. Bartender made a Moscow mule the right way (in a copper cup too). Salmon was super tender and delicious and full of flavor. Fried ravioli wasn’t bad and the bread was fresh and delicious.
Unfortunately this place is closed (I had the draft written at the end of 2012). I just remembered this place being really good.

Where do I begin? First of all, I’ve never waited so long for a table in all my life — it’s like nobody was working there! The door was stuck so I had to makeshift one via the window. You’d think with no other patrons we’d be seated right away, but no. Not only that, but there was no heat, no lights, no food, AND worst of all no drinks! The restroom resembled a Port-​A-​Potty, and it was outside the building… is the water turned off, too? I have time to write this because I’m still waiting for a damn table. After this brunch I’m probably never coming back. Probably.

With so many excellent places to eat in Lexington, do not waste your time or money on this overpriced, poorly run restaurant. A couple weeks ago, I dined at the Jax for the first (and only) time. I was very excited to try the menu and see what it had to offer. I was sorely disappointed.
Let’s set the stage. I dined at the Jax as part of a large party. We had made a reservation, yet with 10+ people, we were only assigned one server. As someone who has worked in the restaurant for over a decade, that’s a big no-​no. I should have known the night would be a disaster when the server spilled a glass of ice cold water down my friend’s back 10 minutes into the evening.
It continued to get worse. The food took no less than an hour to arrive at the table. During that hour, drink service was monumentally slow. We were also informed that we would be charged $ 1.99 per person (reminder, there were more than 10 of us) because we brought in our own cookie cake (it was a birthday dinner). It would be $ 2.99/person if we wanted them to cut it for us. And that’s per person at the table, regardless of whether you ate any or not.
Once the food finally came, I was starving. And, I can’t lie, my salmon was excellent. However, I was in the minority. One gentleman at our table was told that his $ 35.00 steak would arrive late at the table, because, and I quote, «it had been frozen and was still thawing out.» Hmmmmm.
Another friend took one bite of his steak, and spit it out because it didn’t taste right. He immediately summoned the server and asked if he could send it back. The server took the steak, but never asked our friend if he wanted anything else. About 15 minutes later, the manager arrived at the table and told my friend, again a direct quote, «I’m sorry sir, but I took your steak to the kitchen, both of the chefs tried it (???) and said it’s fine. So we can only give you 50% off your bill.» Bear in mind, he ate one bit of steak and that bite was sitting in a napkin on the table.
Despite our truly abysmal service, we were all charged 20% gratuity. Including the friend whose food came out so late that she had to immediately put it in a to-​go box and leave.
Again, I’ve worked in a restaurant and I know that everyone has bad nights. The kitchen can be slow, things can be spilled, and orders can be forgotten. All that is understandable, especially when the management is made aware of the mistake and compensates for it. However, the only time the manager came to our table was to inform us that, due to our poor service she would graciously reduce the cake cutting fee to a mere $.99 per person! Needless to say, by the end of the night, the last thing we cared about was cake.
Long story short, if you value your time and your money, visit one of Lexington’s actual fine dining establishments. There are plenty to choose from.

The Jax offered a lovely summer night on Limestone with a friend. The Sunday specials were awesome and the service was great. I would most certainly order the pot stickers and the pickles again. Zero parking or seating issues on a Sunday around 5:00pm.

Very poor service. Server was concerned with everything but his only two tables that he had. He also never rang in our appetizer in and then actually served it to us when he finally remembered after we had finished are salads. I do not ever complain and almost made an exception

My second visit to The Jax was just as delightful as my first. My waitress, Krista, was friendly and knowledgeable. On Krista’s recommendation I tried the Malbec Bodega Elena, it was so good I bought a bottle. A friend and I also shared the Antipasti appetizer the meats paired great with our red wines-​just ask for more flatbread if you’re sharing.

Aside from the aesthetic appearance which is awesome. I definitely would rather see the $$$ go into the food. The crab cakes were good but not unique in preparation. I was sad when I saw my husbands portion of shrimp, really not a $ 14.99 portion it was more like appetizer sized. I had read the other reviews about size portions being small… I was hoping it wasn’t true but Alas ;(boo it was… The owners could really mop up if they turned this corner bar into a true
Spanish Tapas bar!!! I would be there every weekend!

In an effort to find outside seating on one of the first spring Saturdays, I came across my bookmark for Jax, I wasn’t impressed. After parking a few blocks away, we walked up and noticed the valet podium… One star earned. When we went into request seating, the inside was smaller than what I expected. We requested outside seating and then 10 minutes later, our order was taken.
I order the salad and my husband had oysters. My salad was rather small, especially since I ordered the larger version of the side salad. I would hate to see the tiny option of a side salad.
The ambiance and prices are upscale, good if you’re trying to impress a date, just not my preference.

Loved this place, the food was good, but it’s been while since I’ve been so I can’t really remember what I got. The ambiance was really nice, and perfect for a girls night out! The waiter was extremely nice and outgoing. I would definitely recommend it for a date or for a girls night out.

Disappointing when you consider the superb atmosphere… It seems to me the only praise given to this «Resturant» can be found from its Late Night Party Goers; who are either too drunk to taste the food, or too stupid to see the outrageous prices.
For a starter we asked for the Pot Stickers
— Which took 20min to be served — They were tasteless and bland. Almost the equivalent of the $ 2 dumplings I buy at the near by Asian market, except the Asian market brands have more flavor.
This was followed by the oil and bread
*Being the highlight of the meal even though it came After the appetizer*
As the main course, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan — After waiting a grand total of 45 minutes — The dish arrived looking quite appetizing… Until I started cutting… Struggling to cut through the dried piece of meat I could tell this wasn’t going to be a pleasant meal.
The first bite of cheese gave my mouth the feeling of either tasteless tar or that one piece of bubble gum that lasts a total of 5 seconds. Followed by half cooked pasta, that might as well have been plane rubber, and dried chicken that might as well have been breaded string.
Dried meat, cheese the equivalent of chewing gum, and uncooked pastas… Does that sound like something worth waiting 45 minutes for?
P. S. Bring noise canceling headphones, it’s extremely loud inside.

The food was good but not great. The wait staff is so slow it’s annoying– you will literally think they have forgotten what you asked for and when you remind them– they get annoyed. Hahaha. It’s kinda funny. My buddy told me the food was worth the long wait but we all disagreed. It’s small inside but they have a room upstairs for bigger parties if you reserve it. It’s loud and hard to hear what everyone is saying but maybe you will have a better experience.

Dined here with a party of 9 girlfriends tonight. I’ll admit I was hesitant to eat here again due to a poor first experience right after the place opened. Tonight’s experience was much better! I had the shredded pork tacos and they were very different but very good. The salsa served with the tacos was very sweet with an almost marinara taste. I don’t like any spice at all so I loved the salsa but others might be a bit surprised by the sweetness. I didn’t save room for desert but will return to try both the beignets and the plantains.

Every single time I go here, I fall more in love with the ambiance and the scenery. But I think they need more waiters. They had large parties upstairs but only had one waiter for all 3 parties.
The food is great and the drinks are great too! I just wish they would have just a little more staff on hand.

Had a nice birthday dinner here.
Some loved their meals more than others —
Fun atmosphere was a little loud and hard to hear, but will say we came on a sat evening, dinner at 7, after the uk game — at times it was so loud we had to literally shout across the table. My parents seemed annoyed.
Interesting fact there is an upstairs dining area with bar and the downstairs dining area and bar also. Upstairs seemed warmer an quieter but is sometimes used for private parties also.
Sitting next to the door we were more than a little cool when patrons entered and exited. Pax should create a more elaborate curtain system in front of the door.
Pros
4– Fun trendy décor and lights. Tables could have been comfier
4– Server and wait staff were both nice accommodating and attentive, though really busy.
Meals got mixed reviews from family
4.5 –salmon: fish cooked perfect and server hot, grilled veggies were delicious, eggplant was underdone tho. Sauce was delicious
4.5– lex pasta chicken– pasta was very fresh tasting, mom said chicken could have been warmer…
4– chicken parm– dad liked this but also said his chicken could have been Warmer. Pasta was fresh and sauce was delightful fiery /​zesty .
3.5– meatballs — bf said these could have been better, portion was small and meatballs were dry… Mashed potatoes were both delicious and overly salty. He Loved the sauerkraut tho.
4.5 — salad and bread: delicious bread with butter came before our meal
Salads could be added to an entre for 2.99, they were pretty good, loved the champagne vinaigrette (kinda mustardy). Salads were simple but very fresh.
Loved the idea of locally sourced ingredients, a little better execution would put our meal over the top.
2– Dessert was disappointing so better luck next time, they took it off our bill. No special birthday candles offered but the waiter was sweet to mention my special occasion a few times
Would be a great place for drinks and snacks and or lunch perhaps when they’re not soo busy

Wasn’t there for very long but definitely hope to go back… Most definitely the best bartenders and cocktails in town — truly couture if that’s at all possible to apply to a cocktail… Loved the whole experience at the bar. the cocktails were made with fresh, high quality ingredients, and the ambience was contemporary without being cold.
I’m looking forward to a return!

Possibly my new favorite spot in Lexington! Awesome atmosphere, great food, and refreshing to have a place like this in town. My new regular spot!
Kristina is awesome as well, she convince me to come check it out weeks ago, best recommendation ever.

We recently went to The Jax to celebrate a birthday. The environment is very contemporary and aesthetically pleasing. While not completely crowded, most of the tables were filled with diners. Always a good sign.
Let’s get the negative out of the way first: our visit to The Jax coincided with Lexington’s Restaurant Week. Restaurant Week is when local restaurants roll out a special, prix-​fixe menu and for $ 25 per person, you get your choice of salad, entrée and dessert. This is marketed as an opportunity for patrons to try new restaurants at a great value. Sounded like a plan to me. However, of the three entrees that were offered, two of those you would come out ahead by ordering straight off the regular menu. In other words, it would cost more money to order off the Restaurant Week menu than to simply order the same exact items off the every day menu. Fortunately I can add and we ordered in a way that made the most sense for us economically, but it was a little disappointing to think we were going to be able to take advantage of a deal and it was clearly not a deal at all.
On to the more positive aspects of the experience: the coconut chicken curry that I ordered was served over black rice and could not have been better. It was not served with the cashews that it was supposed to be served with, but the cilantro and scallions brightened up the dish and it was really superb.
The sage almonds we ordered for an appetizer were delicious and the Jax has happy hour prices on several of their appetizers until 7:00 PM. The almonds were salty and slightly spicy and a good start to the meal without being overly heavy.
We shared the beignets for dessert and they were piping hot, fresh and delicious. I liked the chocolate dipping sauce better than the lemon-​honey one, and it was a sweet note to end the meal on.
My companion had the drunken noodles for her entrée and she didn’t really care for her dish, but I tasted it and thought it was fine, although not nearly as fantastic as my coconut curry chicken.
Service was good and mostly attentive, although I did find it a bit odd that we had to wait for about 10 minutes upon arrival because as the hostess told us after seating us, «your server just showed up … it will be a few minutes.» Maybe we should have been seated in a section that already had a server who was ready to go.
All things considered, I liked the Jax and would probably go back. I love supporting local restaurants and there was nothing about the visit that would prevent me from returning although I do think there are a few key areas that they could improve upon. This little corner of Short and Lime has seen at least four different establishments come and go in the last eight years or so, and I would really like to see The Jax survive and advance. With some fine-​tuning, I think they can.

I have been here multiple times and the Chicken Curry is amazing. I did one have bad experience but the ownership reached out and went above and beyond to get my business back. If only more business owners took care of things this way.
They’ve earned a life long customer. Two thumbs up!

Jax has quickly become one of my favorite Lexington spots. After a handful if opening issues, The Jax finally has it down! My husband and I had the owner reach out to us after we made our issues about The Jax known and she was so incredible generous in trying to fix of view of the Jax.
The food here is amazing. I’d recommend the following: potstickers, Tacos, Lexington Pasta and Steak and fries (everything is good but those are my favs)…Chicken Parm is also good if it’s on special. The servers here are always friendly, attentive, and remember us and what we like to drink. Don’t hesitate on your choice to eat here. You will not be disappointed!
Original review in March 2012:
I was hoping for so much more from Jax. Food was just ok and the service was just ok. You can read my full review on my blog but there are better locations downtown. That being said… this makes me sad because I was really excited for a new downtown Lex spot and want something to last in this location.
I think if Jax can get their server’s up to par (I sat with one tiny glass of empty water for a good 10 minutes) and dial in on the menu (lots of things on it to choose from… but that could be their downfall too as I’m still not sure what their identity is) then they might make it. It wasn’t horrible but it could be so much better.

Stumbled across this place downtown when looking to try something new. From the moment of walking in, my friend and I knew this restaurant was going to be good. They have a huge bell up front to ring in case there’s no one there. The décor was very nice, pleasant, inviting, but giving the illusion of privacy.
We were seated near the middle of the restaurant, but the two walls facing the streets made me feel like we were sitting near the window. My friend and I ordered a cocktail, and they were perfect. We shared the pretzel & cheese as well as the three sliders. The sliders were absolutely perfect, wonderfully flavorful. The entrée came with truffle fries with a homemade ketchup. The fries were good enough by themselves, but the ketchup was smooth and had a different flavor. It wasn’t to my friend’s taste, but I could appreciate it. The Jax does it’s best to have even the common things done impressively.
Overall, a good dining experience. Definitely worth a try. Give it a chance! Today, tomorrow, or both!