Situated within the trendy Centropolis, Jack Astor's is ready to stake its claim in Laval.
Did it?
Sadly not.
DECOR :
You can't help but notice how huge this place is when you walk in. This restaurant has two floors to discreetly seat and forget about their clients. There are large comfortable booths available in the middle that will make you more visible to them. The bar is huge as well and the staff very vibrant. The decor is warm and modern with lots of space around you so that you never feel crowded.
An interesting concept this chain of restaurant has is that they allow you to write on their table with crayons made available at each table. I tried to write "SOS, hungry!" but it didn't help me get my food any quicker. Every table is covered with a disposable carton paper cover that serve as a temporary drawing board instead of the traditional cloth covers most restaurants have. This concept was quite useful for us during our visit to pass the time.
FOOD :
After some contemplating I ordered the Holy Smokes BBQ Burger while my wife ordered the Mediterranean Chicken Focaccia. My burger ended up being quite fantastic and well selected by my part with the meat being incredibly moist and savory and the crispy fried onions did their magic to my palette. Every bite got better and tears formed in my eyes as the burger quickly evaporated from my greasy fingers.
I don't know what else is on the menu but I'd go back simply to eat this burger over and over again.
My wife's selection however was mightily disappointing and she left half of it untouched on her plate while she watched her husband destroy a defenseless burger barely a foot away from her. She offered me a bite of her sandwich to make me understand why she didn't enjoy her meal and I had to agree, it was pretty disgusting. I had to immediately wash down that horrible taste with another bite of my Holy Smokes BBQ Burger.
She contented herself with her fries.
My side order consisted of onion rings and I generously offered them to my starving wife, as they were done... "just right" with a hint of crispy while still retaining the moistness inside the onion.
She was appreciative.
Lastly on the subject of food.... kudos to the store providing an excellent dining experience by still allowing their patrons to order sodas not normally offered elsewhere. Vanilla coke?
Yes, please!
SERVICE :
This is where things complicated. The service was very disappointing. This is putting it mildly.
Initially, we were served quickly. We were seated down, asked for what drinks we wanted, she wrote it down and then she took off.
We did not see her again for 15 minutes.
We initially spent the time chatting about things, then playing with our iPhones as we waited.. and when she came back, she did so without our drinks. She corrected this by bringing our drinks within 2 minutes in a fluster. We then ordered our food.
... and then we waited one hour for our food.
This is unacceptable. This type or service, no matter how busy you are, should never be allowed if you don't want to earn the reputation they have been earning in previous reviews. This service sucked. An hour for a burger? Seriously?
We spend the majority of our time drawing on the table to eventually playing tic-tac-toe and hangman and making fun of the service with other tables who were in the same situation.
No excuses were made by the staff, no arrangements. The ignored us completely. Just terrible service all together.
When the food was served, I quickly asked for the bill as I didn't intend to wait 30 minutes for the bill when I finished eating.
I only had to wait 20 minutes.
Seriously?
I should be thankful my plates were warm.
PRICE :
It's hard to justify 15$+ for a burger but the burger was well worth it. Expect to pay 60$ for two people. It's not cheap, nor is it expensive. It depends how much you're willing to pay. The value is about right for a fancy restaurant of this kind.
BOTTOM LINE :
I give Jack Astor's 2 stars. The only reason was because the burger was so excellent that I cannot in good conscience give this restaurant 1 star after eating such a delight.
If the service were great, or even average, I would have given this restaurant 4 stars even despite my wife's poor meal.
The service was abysmal. Terrible. Unacceptably bad.
But the burger was so good that it could have ended wars, I'm sure of it.
Try this place, preferably when the staff can do their job adequately. read more