Shakey Jakes Cafe

Had the mild wings, really good like a slightly sweet buffalo sauce. Buffalo chicken wrap was very good and was a large portion for 8 dollars. Only reason I gave it four stars and not five was because we went at mid afternoon and there was just one bartender to serve and wait the whole place. Overall very good would definitely go again.

Close to home, down to earth and real, good, honest people. Relax, have a cold one, and enjoy the homestyle cookin’. Oh, and Chuck’s playlilst is fantastic!
Love this place.

After years of going to this place I finally had the food. The wings and clams are awesome.

My favorite place to go for food or drinks! Amazing staff and owners! The food is phenomenal! Amazing daily specials. Fun atmosphere and great prices! Definetly the place to go in the area!

Was skeptical walking in, but pleasantly surprised. The wait staff was right on top of everything and the drinks were perfect. Food was good, would go back again for sure.

My favorite place to go for drinks, great food, and the best service!

Went in for the first time got ignored by two servers. Ended up walking out. Will never go back there again!

Unilocal comes through yet again. The last time we were in the area we pulled a Unilocal search for a fun local spot with good food. We ended not coming here on that trip but bookmarked Jake’s for the next time we were in the area. We’re sure glad we did.
Jake’s is a great local spot, with great food, a fun and kinda divey feel. Our server made us feel welcomed and brought drinks and menus right away.
The husband was craving wings, so we got the wing special, they were good, sweet, but not spicy. The husband also had the ribs which were fall off the bone excellent. I ordered some kind of watermelon vodka drink and a cheese steak. Very good cheese steak!
The bill was a little bit more than we anticipated, but this is a solid spot with good food and a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere.

My favorite Friday night place! I haven’t had a better burger anywhere in NJ, and the menu has plenty of other tasty choices.

The food is absolutely fantastic! Small, hole in the wall, neighborhood bar with friendly staff and food to write home about

Great bar food. Had the cuban sandwich that was large and filled with delicious ham and pork with a great sauce. My daughter had the burger wrap and really enjoyed it. Fries came with both dishes. They were a dissapointment.

Walked in with three other friends who are all over 21. My designated driver had a license that wasn’t turned sideways so the woman denied us without even looking at the birth date with the nastiest attitude. Horrible experience, would not recommend to anyone.

So far have been here 4 times and have not left disappointed. .good beer selection and the food is great from the HUGE rack of ribs to the oh so succulent wings…

I asked for a dive bar. Shakey Jakes delivered.
A few friends and I were looking for a place to get a few drinks on a Saturday night. We were staying near Hope, NJ. Fat chance finding anything there. So yet again, Unilocal saved the day! When we pulled into the parking lot, I was a little intimidated. There’s a sign on the door asking bikers to check colors at the door, and it felt a little rougher than I expected. So I took a deep breath and we strolled inside. Nancy, the bartender, greeted us with a warm smile and cold drinks. They didn’t have any great specials, and strongbow was $ 5.50. But, this was our best chance at drinks, so we sucked it up, and my friends ordered a pitcher of one of the cheaper light beers. After talking to Nacy a few times she told us that she owns it with her husband and told us a little about the place. She was very very friendly!
Now, let’s talk about the bathroom. Dive/​biker bars never have great bathrooms, and I plan on holding my breath or not going at all. But! Shakey Jakes has just raised the bar — they’ve got murals on their stalls! I was so tickled by this pretty little dive bar bathroom that I took pictures. Haha. I will definitely be back here next time I’m in town. If you are looking for the dive/​biker bar feel, this is it.

When my fiancé is in town, Shakey Jakes is one of the places we go to for wings. We are known there by face so when we walk in, the bartender knows exactly what our order is. We were there Friday night, enjoying a cigar, drinks and wings on the outside patio. We even mingled with the table next to us, as they too, were cigar smokers. The owner, Nancy came out, we said hello, and I proceeded to tell her how much we enjoyed the wings there. She was quite standoffish and really didn’t care what we had to say. This was the first time she treated us this way.
We returned there on Saturday and while my fiancé was taking a seat on the patio, Nancy walked out and pulled me aside. She asked that we leave her establishment right away, because we were offending the other customers. I was so taken aback, I was at a loss for words. We left. A few hours went by and I turned to my fiancé and asked that he take me back there so that I can have a word with her. As I entered the bar area, she was standing there. I asked if I can speak to her. The bartender, Heather, followed. I asked, «In what way did we offend others customers?» She didn’t have an explanation, instead her response was, «I have the right to refuse service to anyone I please!!!» I asked if it due to the color of our skin? Myself being olive toned, (half Afro American) and my fiancé, a «VERTERAN» of African American decent. (He is an «active» LT COL in the U.S. Army working on his 3^rd Master’s Degree) The bartender quickly responded, «We have „Black“ friends.» I didn’t say anything about being «Black,» I simply asked if it was due to the color of our skin.
What a disgusting case of «DISCRIMINATION!» SHAME ON THIS ESTABLSHMENT. AND SHAME ON BOTH NANCY, OWNER, AND THE BARTENDER, HEATHER. I feel sorry for you. What a slap in the face to a man of such statue, a man who protects and defends our freedom.
Rest assured that I will do everything in my power to make sure people know that this place discriminates against People of Color.
In the meantime, I’ll pray for you.

Ehhh. very inconsistent kitchen. the wings must be grade 0 — they are terrifying. burger is the only edible item on the menu.

Been to 3 dives around the Sussex/​Morris area in the past year or so and this one is right smack in the middle. Not the best but not the worst. To address some of the things that have been brought up
— It can be a little intimidating for first timers (especially the sign for bikers to check colors at the door) and it does cater to the local crowd. With that said the waitress couldn’t have been nicer. Crowd is blue collar but not rude or unfriendly.
— Food is nothing spectacular (hardly inedible though) but wings are above average which is huge for me. You get a good amount for $ 7.50 too. As for the person that said it was «over priced». Scanning the menu nothing seemed outrageously priced. It’s priced appropriately for an upper middle class area and you’ll end up paying less than the more high-​brow establishments nearby.
— It is as other have said– a dive bar in the truest sense. And at least it’s not a place that has an overinflated opinion of itself like Salt and the Stanhope House. I think it knows what it is and it isn’t. If these types of places aren’t your cup of tea nothing wrong with that. But don’t go in expecting a type of experience not associated with dives. It’s a place I hit now when I want someplace simple and close.
Other pet peeves of mine– on a football Sunday only one person working the bar and running food. Poor guy was working his butt off but falling behind. Setup is a bit weird where it feels like a long-​way from outside dining to inside. Could have some better drink specials.
All in all though it’s just what Unilocal describes as 3 stars. «A-​OK». And to quote Seinfeld…“not that there’s anything wrong with that”.

For those who love dive bars, this is your place. I was here on business and the reaction from a couple of locals was the same: dive bar in every sense of the word. With that being said, I loved this place. We went on a wednesday night around 11 and it was pretty dead but we got drinks fast and they wee pretty good.
They have one of those buck hunting arcade games and a touch screen juke box on the wall along with knick-​knacks and silly stuff all over the place. The bartender was friendly and the people in the bar were pretty chill.

Horrible and unfriendly. I generally don’t trash local businesses and always try to support them but in this case I’ll make an exception.
This place is nothing more than a glorified Gin Mill and local dive bar that caters to a local crowd.
The food is pretentious, inedible and over priced, the beer selection is minimum and packaged goods are outrageously priced.
Avoid at all cost, there are 4 local bar restaurants within walking distance, you’d be better off spending your time and hard earned cash at anyone of them.

Shakey Jake’s: A real-​world «Dalton’s» [see Dalton’s Columbia Inn review for joke]
Preparing for the loss of being so close to such a wonderful establishment (Dalton’s Columbia Inn), I felt it necessary to recapture the general feeling of Dalton’s, in the town I’ll be living in, with another Unilocaler, my WTB (wife-​to-​be for those who’ve not read any of my previous reviews– AND YOU SHOULD). While waiting for her to arrive from where she works, I made my way over to SJ’s.
I’ve read all the other reviews, hers included. But I was there a few hours prior to her, and took more time to take things in.
What I really like about the place is that, though divey (and yes, the lavs are… well…) it’s quiet, cleanish, and not too far removed from Dalton’s. And yes, I’ll make more comparisons, and will do so fairly.
Their menu is simple and small. Their cajun clams are very tasty and the bread they supply is 100% necessary to suck up every last drop of the broth left behind in the bowl in which the clams are served. The pub menu looked tasty, and I may work my way through every item, one night at a time.
Nancy could easily fit in with the staff in Columbia. Attentive, friendly, helpful in finding you a good beer and making food recs. Sadly, it would be quite confusing, as a Nancy already works at Dalton’s.
Tap choices were ordinary, and included Stella, which I appreciated seeing. I wager there are better things in bottles in the cooler, but I did not ask, as I wanted to test the draught lines first. She let me sample something, to see if I actually liked it. I did not (Mich Amber). However, I saw plaques touting Chimay and Sam Smith, so I figured it’s under there somewhere.
The buffalo burger (meat– not style) came out «medium» even though I asked for «still screaming from slaughterhouse» rare. I ate it nonetheless, I was hungry. I’ll know not to order that again. fries were coated, hot, and tasty.
As for music and sights– classic rock piped in (or should I say beamed in) through XM station. And yes, there is a dart board, and odd arcade machines boasting golf and big-​game hunting. Odd combination if you ask me… though you didn’t. Plenty of HD tv screens set to sports channels. I bet I can convince them to change one to Jeopardy on a slow night.
I passed on dessert– nothing thrilled me. I almost tried their tiramisu, but thought for a minute. I asked Nancy, and she admitted it’s frozen. Even though one of the regulars put hand to a stack of bibles about how good it is, I passed. I’m spoiled, know what good tiramisu should be like, or both.
And yes, we’ll be back. It’s close to my future home, and I know I can rely on Nancy to get me a cold beer and a decent meal. The real fun will start when we’re considered regulars… anyone know if there’s an application process?