Jack’s Restaurant

Good Italian food. Attentive service. They have vegan/​vegetarian options. With an average entrée price around $ 25, it’s not cheap, but it is good. Reservations recommended on weekends but early in the week it’s pretty quiet. Be sure to ask about non– printed specials. The cannoli dessert is quite good.

We were looking for a nice restaurant to take the dads for Father’s Day that was between Huntington Beach and Carlsbad so no one had to drive too far. Jack’s location and menu looked perfect. We started with a reservation for 10, but changed it to 6. The on– line reservation function was fine with that and the hostess was very understanding when we called that we were running a little late. Jack’s is a warm, unassuming place with nice employees and delicious food. The art on the walls is beautiful. Our server was Adrian and he was friendly, knowledgable and patient. He was willing to adjust dressings and sauces to our requests. We had a variety of meals including the Halibut, Filet, Lamb, Orange Roughy, and Spaghetti Alfredo. A good sized salad was included with each entrée. (delicious croutons) We had a nice bottle of wine to go with the meal and the whole dinner service was prompt and attentive. Our meals were all delicious and we topped off dinner with a Brownie a la mode (I think we got extra ice cream.), Crème Brûlée and coffee. We value our time with our family and this was a wonderful, delicious experience.

Great place, even a vegan menu. Everything top notch from quality of food & drinks to décor.
Jack is friendly, accommodating and a great host. check it out if your in DP!

Great menu and great staff. Prices are little high in my opinion. But it’s a cool restaurant. Parking can be a little annoying sometimes. But overall, it’s a great place for any situation; work or personal. Cool bar too.

We had dinner with friends here last night. Drinks were generous, calamari was excellent. We had the lemon sole which is our favorite here. Get the whole fish rather than the filets. The whole fish requires more work but is definitely worth it. We will definitely come back and have never been disappointed in our meal at Jack’s.

The food was ok! Not great! Service was a little slow and it took awhile to get our bill. I will go back, but not right away.

Best restaurant in Dana Point. Raw and vegetarian options. Grass fed beef. Great service. Gluten free pizza is excellent. Also gluten free pasta available!

What a wonderful dinner we had last week at Jack’s Restaurant. Jack’s is our local «Cheers Bar and Restaurant.» My husband and I go to Jack’s with great frequency since we are Dana Point residents.
On this particular occasion, we were holding a «Farewell» to our Marines deploying to the Middle East. Our Marines were over-​the-​moon with the great «chow» and hospitality for the evening. Jack is a Patriotic supporter and pays close attention to detail for his guests. That is why he has such a high rate of repeat customers and is Dana Point’s Business of the Year.
The food at Jacks is always consistently delicious and a beautiful presentation. The service is always impeccable.
We had a fine dining experience and have many treasured memories!

Aight. Here’s the dealio with my visit. I ordered the Chilean Seabass and a Moscow Mule to seal the deal. Seabass was cooked to perfection. My problem was with the side dishes… WTF with mashed taters and fish? Would be so much better over rice or some other starch, but not taters. On to the Donkey Mojito. Yeah, pass. Tasted like it was licked by a Pack Mule. My upgraded rating is based on my partners meal happiness. For a meaty goodness type restaurant, their Vegan menu is pretty dope.

My husband and I have dined here a few times and always have a wonderful dining experience. You are always greeted upon entering, staff is very professional and friendly, food is absolutely delightful. It’s a fantastic restaurant full of charm and sophistication all wrapped into one. Highly recommend!

Jack’s is a favorite local restaurant of ours. Food is always fresh and delicious. Service is excellent and you feel appreciated as a customer.
Would recommend to anyone looking for healthy sustainable food that is reasonably priced.

I had my wedding reception at Jack’s two weeks ago. The service and food was so outstanding. Working with Jack was so easy. The waiter took my drink order and food order before I even sat down. Jack’s staff truly made this the happiest day of my life. My wife and family really enjoyed the food. I differently will recommend Jack’s to anyone who appreciates fresh food and excellent service.

Great food and service is so consistent here.
And we love it is family owned

Jack’s is a staple of Dana Point and South Orange County. The restaurant, and it’s owner (Jack, of course), have upgraded, developed, and cultivated themselves in a manner that has kept customers returning and new ones joining the crowd. His emphasis on non-​GMO, organic ingredients has created a clientele who specify those culinary requirements. His raw and gluten-​free menu options continue to expand his customer base. Beyond that, though, Jack has continued to deliver high-​quality, authentic Italian & Mediterranean food. Customers come again and again — and for good reason.

The ambiance of this place was quiet, nice and charming.
I came here with my uncle. He comes in every Thursday and sometimes he can be quite a handful. However, they welcome him with his spot ready to go. It was very sweet.
We all ordered the filet. It was very delicious. It came with a ceasar salad (amazing, but I suggest getting the dressing on the side as it was too much for me) red mashed potatoes, and the best carrots I’ve had in a while.
Their Moscow mules were tasty as well.
I’m sure I’ll be back with my uncle next time!

Vanessa was our server and I would be proud if she worked for me, professional, friendly and attentive. She explained the menu well and the cooking techniques without being too eager and never interrupted us. Starter breads were great, rosemary focaccia, crostini’s and another slice of something soft and fluffy. House salad, perfectly dressed, husbands Cesar was great. You can taste the quality in the veggies and greens, homemade dressings were perfectly balanced.
I had the lemon chicken piccata with linguini and veggies– fantastic. Chicken lightly floured and pan-​fried, pasta had a pan-​fried butter taste to it, the sauce was perfectly seasoned with capers (I didn’t taste any additional salt) and I appreciate that so much!
Husband had the Orange-​burre blanc sauce– crab crusted– orange ruffi and it was perfect. The veggies were unexpected, the carrots tastes as if they were blanched, broiled then flash-​fried for an unbelievable taste and texture.
Dinner was finished with the apple-​bread pudding ala mode and the whiskey-​caramel sauce… We literally drank it.
Being a chef for 10 years I expect mediocre food in restaurants nowadays. However, with Jack’s it’s refreshing to see that everyone cares; from the Chef & his cooks to the back waiter and servers, no detail is over looked. Basic staples executed to perfection is a sign of excellence, and you sir Jack have a gem. (Forgot to mention it was perfectly priced)

Props to this place for having raw/​vegan/​gluten free options, but do NOT get their vegan pizza. It’s literally flatbread with chopped up tomatoes and olives on it. So boring and bland and not really a pizza at all. At least put pesto on it or vegan cheese or something. I did not pay $ 13 for dry flatbread and a tomato chopped up.
My family enjoyed their food, but from my experience this place gets two stars.

Service was good, I had a coconut mojito that was very good. Calamari was good (can’t really mess that up). Was not impressed by the veal saltimbocca or veal parm. The saltimbocca should be cooked in a lemon and white wine sauce, marinara was too acidic and needed sugar to balance the tomatoes. The veal was very tough and not worth $ 25 a pop.

Where am I ??
My date brought me here as a surprise. Blast from the past or blast to the future ??
Felt like the only youngin’ here. So this is where all the cool elderly folks hang out ???
First impression: Dark/​dim — that usually doesn’t appeal to me, but this seemed to go well with the clientele. It’s old school. Like ooooold schoooool !
Outdated interior in my opinion with dark wooden furniture. Restrooms weren’t the nicest, but hey it’s a hole in the wall type place and it’s a bit run down so what do you expect ?? If you’re not a local then you’d probably be a little put-​off, but don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
I was hoping there would be a positive to this experience.
Upon entering we were greeted by Jack (I assumed was the owner) and my date quickly asked him if they had vegan options. Jack happily said they did and even had a separate ‘Raw, Vegan and Gluten Free’ menu !!! He briefly explained the dishes as well. How cool is that ?? Perhaps Dana Point is also for the health conscious so I appreciated this so much !
We were seated immediately in the back room passing the bar which seemed to be the focal point of the restaurant.
Complimentary bread as a starter. Usually these are just fillers so I don’t really devour this. Date did though. He likes anything free. :)
I also ordered hot tea which took awhile to get. Waitress even forget the hot water and only gave me tea bags ?? uhh really ?
I browsed the vegan section of the menu and opted for the ‘Raw Spaghetti’ — Raw zucchini pasta, raw yellow squash, tomato, raisins, pine nuts, sundried tomato, cold pressed olive oil and Kung Fu Tonic (optional). Waiter asked me if I wanted this ‘special’ tonic to add onto my dish ! WHY OF COURSE !!! He busted out with a vial dropper (kind of sketchy) out of his pocket and applied a few drops of this magical tonic onto my plate. haha
Weird, but I rolled with it !! How often do you get that kind of service ?? Special tonic at a non-​exclusive vegan joint FTW !!
The dish was nicely plated, but I didn’t think the portion was enough (see pic). I mean dang it’s just spiralized zucchini? I make that at home. Put a ton of that in ! It’s not that expensive and this girl can EAT ! But overall, it was flavorful and unsure if that special ‘Kung Fu Tonic’ made a world of a difference. I thought I’d be doing back flips or karate chops after. Sadly no.
They even had raw vegan pizza ! Awesomeness.
Date ordered a seafood dish. I believe it was ‘Wild Caught Lemon Sole’ with lemon buerre blanc sauce and sautéed spinach and red mashed potato. He raved about the quality of the fish. For $ 27.95 it better be FRESH. He was happy.
We ended the night with some white wine. Cheers !
Overall, the customer service was good. No complaints there except the tea mishap and the food came in a timely manner. Although I appreciate the vegan options, it just didn’t WOW me ! Not so much that I would drive up here from San Diego. It is a good alternative for those wanting something healthier and plant-​based. For that and cool Jack, I’m giving them 3 stars.

Jack took care of us last night!
The food was excellent and so was the service. We will definitely come back!
Update: The Calamari and Steak is excellent. The glaze on the medallions was better than my wife’s mignon. my opinion…