Jacksons

We had dinner here Friday June 3^rd. Again, Jackson’s doesn’t disappoint. I had the Red Snapper, the other had the Grouper. Both very good, cooked perfectly. Server was excellent, engaged and knew the menu. We always come here for dinner when visiting the area. Now that we can drive to visit, will enjoy Jackson’s more often.

The Occasion: My parents came to visit and We went there last night to celebrate Mother’s Day (a few days late) and it also happened to be my moms birthday. I don’t get to see my parents often, and I hadn’t seen my mom on these special occasions for the last few years, so I wanted everything to be perfect. I was originally considering the Fish House, but a good number of reviews said the service is lacking, and I didn’t want to take any chances on this night with my family. After reading the reviews, I chose Jacksons, and have no regrets.
The Food: There is a bread basket with an assortment of breads, served with butter. My mom asked for a dish of olive oil, and our server went above by offering to prepare it with herbs that had been recently picked, garlic, and pepper. It tasted great and I appreciated him suggesting it.
My parents had the Jackson’s salad for an appetizer — I didn’t pay too close attention but it had melons, cheese, etc. Our server recommended it and said he could split it onto two plates for them, stating it was a good size for them to share. My parents said it was very good. For our main courses, my dad had the seafood fry, which came with fish, fried oysters, and hush puppies. Fried oysters are always hit or miss, but the oysters were perfect, as was the fried fish. I don’t even like hush puppies but I thought these were great!
My mom and boyfriend each had the Maine lobster with crab cakes, scallops and shrimp. When we lived in the DC area, we had easy access to Maryland crab cakes and my mom would frequently go to Maine just for lobster, so I wasn’t sure how impressed she would be, but she loved it! My boyfriend is a picky eater and I’ve almost never seen him finish a meal, but he ate the whole thing and said the portion was just right.
I had the Moroccan duck breasts which was perfect, and came with couscous, greens, and this fantastic sweet chili sauce.
We also had asparagus, which is wood-​grilled, and mushrooms and onions.
For desserts, we ordered the blueberry cheesecake (which isn’t like traditional cheesecake as others point out), apple cobbler, and the bread pudding per Thomas’ recommendation. We all shared bites of each other’s food and every single thing was delicious. I think my favorite was the cheesecake, but my mom took the first bite and literally scooped out the whole middle where the blueberries were, so nobody else got to try any berries. We’re told they’re delicious.
The service: Thomas waited on us and he is awesome! Let me tell you, it was beyond him just doing his job well. It was like he’s good at his job AND his mother raised him right. I have spent some time in the service industry, and like to think I provided great service, so my expectations are high when I am a customer. He was knowledgable about the menu, had suggestions that were spot-​on, was very courteous, and joked with us just a little, lifting everyone’s already-​good mood. A lot of servers don’t do this, but I was impressed that Thomas always took care of my mom first, then myself, my dad, and then my boyfriend. This may not mean much to everyone, but to my family this shows good manners in addition to good service. He also brought out a little candle with moms dessert, which was a nice acknowledgement. Also, who I assume was the manager came to check on us, and we told him everything was great. He didn’t have that sparkly personality that Thomas had, and I sensed that he was just making the rounds out of obligation (I say this because he didn’t say his name or who he was, and he looked like he didn’t want to interrupt and was quiet and quickly moved on to the next table), but he was kind and it’s not his job to be chipper. Clearly he does his actual job very well as everything was running smoothly.
The scene: Everything was splotless, shiny, and perfect. We sat by a window and as I looked at the room, I noticed the other patrons looked very happy and I saw the other servers doing their job well. I also noticed that the staff works well together, contributing to the overall satisfaction of everyone. There was only one child in the restaurant, a boy about 9ish, very well mannered, well dressed, and fitting right in.
We have gone out for dinner for three nights in a row now, but my parents are still raving about how much they enjoyed this restaurant, and I intend on becoming a regular at Jacksons.

Great food! Great service! A manager came by due to the fact that my boyfriend did not like his steak, he took care of it however, and was really nice about it. It was our first time, and we had a great time, plus it was Wine Down Wednesday

We were there last week. I had the new foi gras appetizer and my husband had the shrimp and grits. Both appetizers were excellent! The largest piece of foi gras I have ever seen! Both were done to perfection and had a wonderful presentation. The service was, and always is, outstanding, including the cheerful host with his bow tie, the bartender, and the server! Great wine list! Can’t wait to go back!

Jacksons food is amazing!!! We had a bunch of different apps to share and brought our own wine one Saturday. The corkage fee is $ 20 which I thought was a little high, but split between 6 people and not having to purchase more wine still saved us in the long run.
I had the Mac n cheese and a Caesar salad. (I know, classy right) But they were on point. For apps we had grouper cheeks (amazing!), a cheese plate (kinda small) and a few other small dishes. Food is really good here.
The service was a little off. But I think he was new. He forgot a few things but brought them out very quickly.
It’s very dark and romantic in there. Great date place. But $$$. So be prepared to stay a while and spend some dough.
They kept asking us if there was a special event. We replied with a yes as it was my sisters bachelorette weekend. But they never really followed through with anything which just seemed kind of weird. Why ask?
I hear this is the best place for dinner in Pensacola. It was very good. Definitely worth a try for a nice romantic dinner.

I thought my first visit to Jackson’s was amazing but tonight’s trip was even better somehow. The tuna with mango slaw and lumpia was the best thing i have ever eaten. Our waiter Tom earned every penny of his tip from his demeanor to making sure my tuna just looked at the grill long enough to be scared into cooking itself perfectly rare.
What we ate: cheese plate with local honey, tomato joe salad, wagyu strip and yellowfin entrees. AMAZING barely covers it. 6 stars if I could.

I’ve only been to Jackson’s for their Tuesday $ 20 Prime Rib which is amazing and something everyone who goes through Pensacola should experience. When I first came to P-​cola I thought that it was small enough of a city that you never need reservations anywhere, but this is one of those places you do need some (among the few). It’s a classy joint so it doesn’t hurt to dress up a little. I mean, you can come in shorts, but just keep it classy as possible. I don’t think they enforce a dress code so it’s more of a courtesy thing. I had a few of the appetizers too which were great. The cocktails were expensive and small – maybe just grab a bottle of wine to go with your delicious prime rib drizzled with some tasty horseradish sauce. Be sure to make a reservation for Tuesdays if you want to eat at a decent dinner time (like 6:00PM).

First time in Pensacola and hit the right place for sure. Had French onion soup which was just so full of taste and then it was prime rib Tuesday’s and I had the best steak for just $ 19 it was fab. Brandon was working the bar and very friendly and welcoming.

Been coming here for many years. Highly recommend if you enjoy fine food with superior, yet unpretentious, service.
If you can go between 5:30 — 6:00, ask for the prelude menu.

Never disappoints. Had my wedding rehearsal there in June and everything was amazing! Pretty sure every time I go, I have to have a bite (or 2) of my family’s dishes just because everything is so good you can’t order it all yourself. Sorry, fam! Can’t resist!
Of course steaks are great, but so are the seafood dishes. Very romantic, quiet, nice restaurant.

Impeccable service. One of my favorite restaurant experiences this year. Food was prepared to perfection. They do everything right.

If you want a steak! A great one DEFINETLY come here. Appetizers weren’t the best but their salad of the day was fresh and good. We had a blueberry cheesecake dessert and it didn’t see very cooked it was more like raw blueberry cobbler. :(

A special dinner with old friends. Great food and excellent service. Loved our yellow grits.

Dirty silverware, filthy bathroom, took over an hour to get our order when the restaurant wasn’t even busy. Food was simply okay. Will not be back.

Steakhouse downtown Pensacola LOL. Seemed like a nice place to have a ribeye or bison steak. It’s a small quaint somewhat dated but nice. I could tell our server was new and nervous. I was prepared to order a beer but after she took all the wine glasses away without asking what we wanted to drink I decided to get a glass of wine. More on that later. 10min later the bar brought us out drinks. Another 5 minutes passed before she came back to take our order. Very scripted presentation so I asked a question about the ribeye which took her off script. Awkward. Explaining the menu she leaned over took my menu and waived her hand over it using colorful adjectives to describe fruit and dressing. Huh? Felt like a Price is Right moment. Okay so we know the salad is beautiful now. We ordered the grass fed beef ribeye and 14oz Delmonico. I didn’t want to chance the Elk or Bison here. Side order of whip mashed potatoes, bacon Mac n cheese and asparagus. The server came back with the bread basket then thanked us for having family date night here… that it hurts her soul to see kids in the restaurant playing on iPads. Another awkward moment. So I turned to the kids and told them to put their iPads away (the look on her face). The kids didn’t have their iPads at dinner but still her soul? Server came buy asked if I wanted more wine with my entrée. I said no the glass I have will do fine. The entrees finally came (no starters) almost an hour into dinner. Food looked okay quite small for a 14oz steak but what got me was the sauce on the steak. I didn’t ask for any sauce! I’m old school, a good steak doesn’t need sauce. Both steaks were cooked to temp. She comes back with another glass of wine. I still have my current glass still half full. WTF! And the wine was a Oberon Cab not the best I’ve had. In fact the wine selection look like it came off the liquor store down the street. Nothing good to pair with a steak or fish. Get a beer instead. Typically I would’ve just taken the glass and rack it up as miscommunication but she was trying my patience. I asked her to talk the glass back. She apologized and took the glass away AND she took my original glass that I wasn’t finished drinking. Another WTF moment. I always order dessert just to try things but I couldn’t wait to leave this place. Three stars for the food, two for the service. #pensacola #jacksons

The only thing better than an amazing meal is a free amazing meal. My employer offered and I partook in a meal to lay down and play dead for and I mean it.
I had the Goose Island Honkers Ale to go with the chopped salad and Gulf Grouper. OMFG. Talk about curl your toes good. Yes, there are words for moments when you’re speechless and this was one of them.
If you want the best gourmet meal in Pensacola then do try Jacksons.

Located downtown, easy to find parking. When I called to make a reservation, last name was requested. Atmosphere is high end with a southern «homey» twist. My date wore black and was given a black napkin (attention to detail). The menu is straight forward, and the server was able to answer all my questions. Jackson’s had specials that night, but nothing confusing. Steaks were cooked as requested. Some of the items on the menu are choice cuts; opted for the prime — but it’s nice to have the option if you want to «save» money. Skipped the desert because nothing hit the spot at the time.
Overall, excellent service, food, and atmosphere. Best traditional dining option in Pensacola. However, you will pay for it, albeit not as much as you would at a comparable restaurant in a larger metropolitan area.

Food was amazing. Bread & butter — beyond god. I had filet with grilled shrimp and chose creamed corn (best I’ve ever had), scalloped potatoes (average at best), and bacon mac & cheese (a little above average) as sides.
Wine list needs work, but great find — casual dress is OK which was nice.
Service was good, but so cheesy how they stand over you and drop all plates at the same time and say «dinner is served» — blech for cheesiness on that!

Probably the classiest place in Pensacola.
I’ve never been disappointed by the food, wine, or service.
A great place for a romantic dinner.

Five star service, yes and beyond. But the food is two star.
Having been to Jackson’s before, I feel that I can write about the issues that befell me. Jackson’s service though is well above par.
But, if you were to read a homicide crime report it would read like this.
On 16 April 2014, at 1237 Hrs, the victim Andy D. Entered the Business known as Jackson steakhouse. The victim readily met the witness Alex. Alex identified himself as the bartender and readily celebrated a tremendous ability and knowledge of spirits. Alex established himself as a very professional bartender and waitstaff. The victim felt very comfortable to order food that Alex advise was absolutely stellar and delicious. Victim ordered the beef bourgeon as to which Alex the bartender advised.
The victim noted that the wine was delicious, the service was stellar, and when the food arrived it was in impeccable served. The victim was so impressed by the beauty of the dish he photographed said dish. However, the beauty was deceiving and the dish was like a leather shoe. The chefs at Jackson’s had cooked up a deadly weapon. This beef bourgeon was inedible. The beef was so bad you could use it as a hockey puck.
The victim informed Alex has to the in edibility of this dish. Alex acted appropriately and informed the manager Aaron, who went into DEF-​con 4. He recognized the problem immediately as the piece piece of beef jumped out of like a rattlesnake. It should also be noted that the entire dish was scrubbed from Jackson’s menu. Because the beef was so friggin bad. However, the service was so impressive that the victim stayed, to get a bowl of soup. Soup was delicious to be noted. If only the chefs could catch up to the serviceability at Jackson’s this would be a great restaurant, sadly the chefs make this stay lack luster. The beef bourgeon was the special of the day, there was nothing special about it and it was amateurishly made.
Alex and Aaron get five stars for saving the day. However, I filled my need by going to a food truck to get something to eat. As Jackson’s was just not up to par. It will be hard to go back although service was so stellar but, do you go somewhere for service, or do you go somewhere for the food. Although they did the right thing and recognized the fact that the food was unsuitable, is it worth it? As I rated, no it’s not worth it. The service was absolutely fantastic, but the food was… well I had better.