Jacks Cafe

Jacks is good but not great, but it’s cheap so I keep going back.
Firstly breakfast — it’s cheap… but that’s it. It’s really not good. Boring bread (no fancy sourdough here!) with the usual trimmings but the builder’s breakfast on weekdays is extremely good value.
I’ve had mixed experiences here at lunch & dinner. The nachos are basic but good. The burger is nicely presented but small and not great. The fries are surprisingly good though! Last time we were there my husband and dad both ordered the half chicken and chips and we’re both really satisfied… massive servings and very tender!!!
The most disappointing thing for me about this place is the coffee. The bottomless coffee has a nice flavour but is really not bottomless. You have to constantly ask for refills and the the milk must be heat treated because it is left out on the tables with the condiments… That’s kinda gross if you ask me! Don’t bother with lattes, cappuccinos or any other milky coffees… terrible burnt taste and too hot to drink!
All in all I’ll go back for the odd cheap cocktail & nachos, or milkshake and fries — if you stick to the basics and don’t expect 5 star service then you’ll probably feel like your experience was value for money.

I pass by the Jack’s Café at lest twice day and today I finally ate here for the first time. They offer a big variety of sandwiches and since the girl from the staff saw me struggling to choose one, she offered me their new «english muffin» which was a delicious chicken sandwich with olives and egg. It tasted really good and I was so hungry that I wanted to eat at lest two more things from their menu.
The interior isn’t that big, but it does the job and the staff, like I said, are very welcoming. It may have been my first time here, but it won’t be the last one for sure.

I’ve only used this place as a takeaway, so I can’t really give an opinion on the service. This review is more about the food.
What to try: english muffin — toasted and filled with cheddar, egg & bacon. Any of their sandwiches actually are a must-​try! There is a new one, chicken continental, stuffed with chicken, red peppers, olive oil, black pepper, olives, dijon and red onion. It is delicious, hot, greasy and with the ingredients dripping before you get them to your mouth.
Apart from sandwiches, they also have burgers, hot dogs, nachos, salads and many more things on the menu. You may want to check the takeaway list on their site, but if you are hungry and in a rush, I’d always recommend JACK’S super club and a smoothie on the go.

‘Are you, like, new here?’ This was what was going through my head the entire time we ate at Jack’s.
As a previous reviewer mentioned, this place is a great idea but the execution of it is just terrible. My American and I were really excited by the menu here and showed up for breakfast expecting good things. What a fail. First, they only had seats outside (it was raining), I had to get menus myself and then we waited an eternity to order.
I was super excited by the mention of bottomless coffee. Yes, proper diner style! Nope. We had to ask for refills and the waiter, despite having the coffee pot IN his hand, looked so confused and walked off without pouring any. He came back again with the same pot and refilled one cup. He said ‘one coffee, yes?’. Um, no, we’d both like if you filled BOTH our empty cups with the bottomless coffee you are holding. New to working here? I hope so.
Then the food. I had ordered the Double breakfast with a side of peanut butter. Which I had to ask for as it never came. Breakfasts come with either fries or hashbrowns. As the place styles itself on ‘American diner’, so I expected actual hashbrowns, not those frozen potato triangles you get in the freezer section of Tescos soaked in grease. Ewww.
My boyfriend ordered the brioche french toast, but they ran out of brioche so just brought regular french toast. The waitress said ‘yeah, I was looking for you to ask if this was okay but I couldn’t find you’. Um… seriously? Are you also new? The regular french toast plate was so sad and small in comparison to my breakfast. They really should have asked him if he wanted to order something else instead of just bringing it and not giving him a choice.
More coffee woes later when we had to chase down refills again.
As breakfast places go, it was fine. I’d probably come again as it’s not hugely expensive but the place does seem shabbily run. A few changes to the service style and it could be great.

I like the idea of Jacks, and it looks great, but there are a few niggles for me. These include:
— they don’t use Heinz ketchup but fill up old Heinz bottles with cheapo watered-​down version. Unnecessarily mean
— really slow service, our toast arrived well after the meal
— orders always taken down wrong
It’s a shame.

Just had a good burger with fries. The surroundings a bit disturbing while eating. The two waitresses started cleaning the floors and pulled all the tables out around me while I’m trying to enjoy the burger. Very disturbing and not eating friendly while customers are in the café. Wait at least to you close up for night!

It’s very rare to find a business where the owner is so hands on. I’ve been coming to Jack’s since it opened and felt compelled to write a review after such a great experience today.
The portion sizes are great, bottomless coffee and a great Diner kind of feel with Jack and his staff always happy to go that extra mile.
It’s great in the summer — with its outside seating — and when rainy and grey — like today — its a great place for a delicious meal.
5 stars!

This was a nice place for breakfast/​brunch. Their «single» breakfast is plenty big, and the «double» is gigantic. My kids had pancakes, which were good but probably too expensive for their size. Bottomless cups of coffee are rare in Europe, so that was appreciated even if it’s not quite as good as some of the espresso-​based coffees.

I’m torn on Jacks. They do some things amazingly well, and some things just fall short of the hurdle.
All-​Day Breakfasts: to be honest probably the best thing about Jacks. I’m a fan of the Yankee Doodle Dandy (pancakes or French toast, poached or fried eggs, maple syrup) and the bottomless filter coffee. You can get a wide selection of breakfasts from the meaty to the healthy. Price £8.50+
Sandwiches: Take Away sandwiches and baguettes are a good deal– Chicken Breast one starts at £3.80.
Lunch: salads are decent but nothing to write home about. My friends had the Avocado and Haloumi & Roast Chicken Salads; good but not mind blowing. Dressing is served on the side but the balsamic and mustard doesn’t cut the proverbial.
My gripe (about the basics) is the burgers, specifically the Chicken Burger and Steak Chips (£8.75). Chicken Burger comes with coleslaw and gherkins on the side; coleslaw just doesn’t do it as a dressing. The chips were thin and soggy, not crispy. I mean, chips are literally the basics and weren’t pleasant to eat.
Milkshakes: Tasty as heck, love the Malted PJ and Banana. But for £5.25 eating in you should get more than a 60% full container. It’s hard to justify value for money here. A good hangover cure though!
Overall: it’s unlikely the prices will decrease, so the quality has to. Small things will easily make it 4stats. That said, Eating outside in the sun makes it all worthwhile.

I love this place! I’m almost tempted to not write a glowing review so I can keep this secret to myself. It’s a great neighbourhood café with great food. It’s a casual place with a relaxed vibe. I’ve only had breakfast both times and Have been quite happy both times. The American pancakes are big, fluffy, slightly sweetened and oh so delicious. I also really enjoyed the royale (English muffin, smoked salmon, poached egg and sauce — not quite convinced its hollandaise!). Oh and it’s very reasonably priced.
I had a slice of cake recently and that was also really good!

Oh Jack’s… What happened. 3 years ago it served some of the finest breakfasts then it started scrimping on ingredients and even tried to pass off 49p concentrated orange juice as freshly squeezed. Then the random evening menus.

I’ve been going to Jacks for all day brunch longer than most of your grans have been eating battenberg, but after moving away from the area I hadn’t been for a year or so. So, as Queen’s Park has continued to develop, I wondered whether Jacks would have kept its mojo, or whether it’d had done the usual thing of charging ‘more’ for ‘less’ and generally losing its way as it’s native area grows in popularity and affluence.
Post-​reunion, I am (mostly?) pleased to report that everything Jacks was known for before, is exactly what it should be know for now. Good quality, all day brunches at a reasonable price, with a small chance of a celeb spot. And, totally slack service. I had the Yanky Doodle Dandy all day breakfast, which is pretty epic in scale for £10, and really enjoyed all of the sausage, bacon, pancakes and eggs. Whenever we needed something from the staff (like water, more tea/​coffee, our plates to be taken away after we were done eating), things started to fall apart, but I can live with that. As a Brit, I’ve been living with bad service all my life anyway.
I’m going to give Jacks four stars because I think this reflects the overall good deal you get — it’s not the Ritz, but you will walk away completely full on decent food for not much money. Sorting out the service levels to at least consistently take your plates away after eating would admit Jacks into fivestarsville.
P. s. A tip — go on a Sunday between 10−2ish so you can pick up some gourmet dinner from the Madame Gautier stall at the Farmers Market on the way back. It’s 25 metres to the left of Jacks in the school, located at the back. It’s one of my fave places for good, hearty French food, that you can easily heat up on the hob after a long day at work (instead of going to the takeaway!).

This place is very American — a big menu with lots of different choices, breakfast all day, ice in your drinks. They’ve also set up flat screens outside to watch the World Cup… really nice atmosphere on a sunny day!
I’d like to try the breakfasts, as I’ve only had the warm chicken salad — which was pretty good — satisfying for what I needed at the moment.

Great breakfasts and big hearty great value lunches (salads, burgers, etc), makes this an excellent casual brunch place. Despite recently extending the dining area it’s always rammed with parents and push chairs at the weekend so get there early and take advantage of the endless coffee.

This is basically a sophisticated looking greasy spoon. For some reason I am completely addicted to there chicken mayo sandwiches. It has a pleasant black and white themed décor with fairy lights here and there to make it a bit more fun. Does huge fry ups on giant white plates for about £6 or fruit salads and muesli combos if your feeling healthy.