Really impressed by this homey diner in the middle of nowhere! The mushroom swiss burger was solid, with super fresh veggies and a generously sized patty. It could use a little more seasoning. The pretzel bites are a must-have. My boyfriend took them up on their special, a half-rack of ribs, which were falling off the bone as promised. This place is definitely preferable to the fast food chains when driving through the area. Service was fast and friendly. read more

Jewell Cafe - The special--half rack of ribs. Falling off the bone as promised, and has a Texan's stamp of approval. - Cafes Near Me - Defiance, Ohio

See all

My wife and I ate dinner at the Jewel Cafe wit our good friends. I had the Pasta Bowl with Alfredo and Chicken while the other three had the Prime Rib. All of our food was excellent. The pasta bowl was perfect. The three prime rib dinners were cooked to perfection. The meat was tender and juicy. We all highly recommend the Jewel Cafe based on the excellent food and wonderful service. read more

Tried this place again. Originally ate here in March, 2020, based on Yelp reviews. I like to eat and local eateries and support the local entrepreneurs whenever possible. Ordered almost the same meal I had before, fried chicken, twice baked potato, and substituted French onion soup for the salad. The soup was really good! Good start to the meal. The 4 piece chicken meal is now a 3 piece meal which was fine. Waitress explained chickens they were getting were larger than normal. Didn't bother me. Good taste to the fried chicken, but still a bit overcooked for me. Twice baked potato was OK. Would probably try something different if I return, which I likely will. read more

I needed to show my family the real small town Ohio kinda food and friendliness I grew up with. The Jewell cafe was perfect. Such friendly hometown service, and lots of home style cooking. Everyone was satisfied and left feeling like they were part of the family. read more

My wife and I came through Jewell on a road trip and as I searched for food on our route, I found this gem. We were the only ones there, as I think it was just after opening. I had the rueben and I think my wife had the burger (it's been a little while since we were there). But I do remember my wife had the french onion soup and loved it. My rueben is the best I've had in Ohio and it is probably the 2nd best I've ever had in my life (the best is still at Shorts Brewery Pub in Bellaire, MI). To end our meal, we had some pie. We both opted for a coconut cream pie. The pies are small, but at least those coconut cream ones they, you can get just one and share it. We took the other one home, which you know, that isn't a bad idea either. I look forward to the next road trip that takes us that way, as we will be stopping and trying something else on their menu and also trying out one of their many other pies. read more

A hidden gem. Salads are excellent. Perch was delicious. They make homemade individual pies that are to die for! We had coconut cream this trip and they were divine. The wait staff was very pleasant and very attentive. Menu prices are very reasonable for the amount you get. We highly recommended giving this little hide away a visit. You won't be disappointed read more

Jewell Cafe - $3.00 mini homemade yummy pieces of heaven. So many flavors it's hard to decide! - Cafes Near Me - Defiance, Ohio

We enjoyed a yummy dinner at the Jewell Cafe. The food was wonderful and the service was top notch!! My husband ordered the FatBoy sandwich with onion rings and coleslaw. The onion rings were delicious!! I ordered the Walleye dinner with a side salad and vegetables. The fish was cooked well and very flaky. My son ordered the grilled cheese and French fries kid's meal. He said it was good. We topped it all off with an individual peanut butter pie which was to die for!! We will go back for sure!! read more

See all

I would technically only give this place 2.5 stars if I could. Staff was VERY friendly but service was crazy slow and the food was really mediocre and not that cheap. My husband got a Prime Rib salad and all the lettuce was iceberg. My sons grilled cheese was very average-I definitely make better at home. I love a local dive that's why we checked it out tonight but unfortunately we won't be coming back here. read more

See all

We both had prime rib tonight. We had to send it back because it was cold. They heated it up for us. My husband's prime rib had veins or arteries in it and both were so tough we could hardly cut it let alone chew it easily. Very disappointing for the price we paid. read more

This place has the best food and Kelly's staff is always kind and quick! I love going there.

Met up with friends and ate a delicious ribeye and salad great service and my local go to dinner place

This place is the gemiest of hidden gems! It looks like an old road house outside but inside is delightful. The staff is incredible. The wine list is surprisingly sophisticated and their frozen drinks are the best around. The food is the real star though. Everything is fresh and full of flavor. The simple presentation doesn't do the food quality justice but, in fairness, a NYC Sous Chef couldn't do a presentation to honor steaks this delicious. The prime rib is the best I have ever had and if you ever get the chance, get the salad topped with prime rib. It is out of this world. I'm not sure what ranch dressing brand they use but I am pretty certain it's ambrosia of the gods. We try to hit this place everytime we come to the Napoleon/Defiance/Bryan area. I'm glad it's so out of the way. Getting a table is easier because of that. read more

Passing through town for work and saw this place in Yelp with 5 stars in the middle of no where so of course I had to try it. I was not disappointed! The staff and customers were incredibly friendly. A man there even paid for my meal! I ordered the perch special and it was the best flavor I've ever had. read more

Jewell Cafe - Perch special was amazing!! - Cafes Near Me - Defiance, Ohio

I occasionally like to drive from Toledo to bordering rural towns for a meal or coffee and one such town is Defiance. This time we opted to check out the Jewell Cafe. I wasn't disappointed! Great home cooking. And great service too from Ali, as she carried the feeling of being right at home! Get the mac and cheese! Wow! Oh, and Kelly, the owner, whipped me up a fresh coconut cream pie and it was by far one of the best I've ever tasted. Definitely worth the trip! read more

Absolutely fabulous! The breakfast was great. Big omelettes and the Bloody Mary was fantastic. The service was great, very friendly. My friend Patrick says the prime rib is the best. The atmosphere was very homey and friendly. Every time we drive 24 we will be stopping by. Took some pie home that Abbi's mom makes on Tuesday and Thursday. Mike and Abbi were great. read more

Jewell Cafe - First time here. Looks tasty! - Cafes Near Me - Defiance, Ohio

Quaint homey place to have a great, tasty salad and has a friendly staff and fast service

Let me just start out by saying that I was more than a bit apprehensive when Google maps directed me to this place. It is literally out in the middle of nowhere. But the reviews were good, so I took a chance and went inside. Boy am I glad I did! Everything was homemade and excellent! I started out with the onion rings. Hand battered HUGE and cooked perfectly to a golden brown. I ordered Prime Rib. It was EXCELLENT! Seasoned perfectly, cooked exactly how I like it. It came with a salad (homemade honey mustard dressing YUM) and some of the best damn homemade Mac and cheese I've ever tasted. I knew I wanted to save room for a mini pie, so I only ate about half of my meal. I was hoping they had peanut butter pie (my favorite). When my server informed me they were out. I told her how Peanut butter was my fave. She told me to wait one second. She came back and said that the owner was going to whip up one specially for me. How awesome is that?? It was well worth the extra wait. Creamy filling, in a homemade crust, with whipped cream on top. The perfect ending to the perfect meal! Folks, I'm telling you....DO NOT let the out of the way location throw you off. This place is clearly the best kept secret in Ohio. I will DEFINITELY be back! read more

Small hometown cafe that when you walk in you feel tje hometown atmosphere. Great food and service!!!

my son was working for Kelly, he worked a 30 hour week and was only paid 18 hrs of that 30. she said she had no proof of him working mind you, the employees said they remembered him being there. but to her she said they told her they couldn remember. so I told her to check her cameras to prove he was there, she told me for some reason her cameras were down that week! she still refuses to pay him what he worked. with that being said if you work for Kelly make sure you keep proof of all your shifts worked bc she will not pay u! a few employees have told me their checks don't adad up sometimes but nobody is willong to confront her read more

Don't know why the $$. Just had cheeseburger with coleslaw and french fries, taco salad, broccoli cheese soup and 2 beverages with bill under $20. Food was excellent. They really know how to make sweet tea. Fries were cooked in fresh grease. Overall excellent service and food. read more

This is a Jewell of a cafe !! We were brought here with a local from Paulding, Ohio. I had the salmon -- it was a nice size portion for $10 and was quite good! One person in our party wanted the peanut butter pie that was on the pie board, so he ordered a smaller dinner portion and made it known that he wanted the pie. At dinners end it turned out that they didn't have peanut butter! The waitress apologized and asked if he cared for another kind, but the answer was no. She brought the check and then announced that if we waited just a few minutes longer they were making pie! Sure enough in a few minutes a mini peanut butter pie in a to go box appeared with a fork. Happy customer! read more

Having seen all the 5 star ratings, I had to give it a try. Was a little off the beaten path from my hotel, and when I saw the location I have to admit I double checked my gps to be sure I had the right spot. Very cozy and friendly. I gave 4 Stars only because the prime rib was quite over-cooked having ordered med-rare. And the lone server appeared to be a bit flustered and spread thin even though there were only 4-5 tables seated. I being solo, was one of them. The portion was very large and in fairness to them I suppose I could have sent it back. Unfortunately not a practice that I'm comfortable with. That said, I would definitely give them another try. Probably wouldn't do the Prime Rib but they did have a large offering with many interesting choices. BTW their Margaritas were spot on. Cheers! read more

Took 1 1/2 hours to receive order for 2. Table of 5 orders at same time and received their order 40 minutes before us. Nothing special ordered, prime rib and a steak. No adjustment to bill also. read more

I stopped in Defiance to check on a job site. All i could see around us were chains. Thanks to yelp we found this place just out of town and Kelly and her crew put together a nice spread. Good food and not bad on the prices. Thanks. read more

There's a menu choice for everyone, food is excellent! The owner and staff are outstanding! ANY time of day is a great time to eat at Jewell Cafe. read more

This is definitely a hole in the wall kind of place. It was out of our way to travel here, But I trusted the reviews. The inside is kind of dark and quirky But our server was friendly and the food was good. We had sandwiches and Pies. Both of which I would get again if we are ever in that part of Ohio again. read more

Jewell Cafe - Cherry pie - Cafes Near Me - Defiance, Ohio

See all

Unexpectedly great food, don't be fooled by the location! Very affordable too. The dinner menu is a little more extensive than the lunch menu, but both have tasty options. read more

As good as promised. We read about Jewell Café on Yelp and stopped on our way from Fort Wayne to Ann Arbor. Immediately met friendly locals who were all regulars. Excellent food prepared by people who care along with a welcoming atmosphere made this a great find. We will be back! read more

Stopped here because we saw it had 5 stars on yelp. We were certainly not disappointed - I had the special of the day which was hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes- it was delicious. My husband got a bacon cheeseburger with fries which he said was great! I had chicken noodle soup for appetizer and my husband had French onion soup both were very good. I would recommend when you're in the area to stop in and enjoy the food and atmosphere- very friendly people! read more

We love going to The Jewell Cafe. We've experienced great service and their Prime Rib is simply OUTSTANDING. Portions are tasty and plentiful. The only I can ever have dessert is if I ask for a "to go box," before ordering dessert. I HIGHLY recommend The Jewell Cafe for family celebrations or a quiet evening with someone special. read more

Wonderful hole in the wall place. I took a chance and ordered the salmon (blackened) and it arrived on my plate and went above my expectations. The customer servufe was great. All of the waitresses were checking on us at one point or the other. I guess they could tell that we were not locals. Overall really fantastic food and experience. read more

I cannot believe that this restaurant has never been reviewed before It was recommended by my hotel clerk in Napoleon Ohio and the distance to this restaurant in Jewell, Ohio was about 10 miles but I would've gone four times that distance for the meal that I had it. Their special on this Saturday night was prime rib unfortunately I had had prime rib on Friday evening so I chose their chicken You get a four piece chicken dinner with a vegetable and a salad. The outside appearance of the café was deceiving I was almost ready to leave but once inside the servers and the kitchen staff and the food more than made up for the exterior appearance. The salad which arrived so quickly I had hardly had time to settle in my seat was a mixed green salad with a sliced egg, they recommended their house special a raspberry vinaigrette. The four pieces of chicken were small but cooked to perfection the white meat was still moist and the dark meat was excellent the light breading complemented the chicken. The pies it almost seemed or probably were home baked. They were whole miniature pies. I took a coconut cream and an apple to go with me. My server Jean was outstanding and she was training a new server at the same time that she was waiting on all of her tables. When I mentioned that I had had an older menu from the HIX that had recommended the Cafe she gave me a new stack of menus to take back to the Holiday Inn a lot of business sense. I would and plan to return every time I am in this area. read more

Jewell Cafe - This is the outside appearance - Cafes Near Me - Defiance, Ohio

See all

Amazing. Thank you Jewell Cafe for an absolutely outstanding food experience. I ordered the large prime rib. I have never had better. It was ridiculously huge. Even the salad was exceptional. Small town atmosphere with the best food you have ever had. Staff was very courteous. The price was very, very reasonable. I expected to pay at least 3x more than what the bill came to, and would have gladly. The portions are extreme as well as the taste. I live well over an hour away, but I plan on making the trip there at least once a month. Jewell Cafe is a diamond to find and I cant say enough good about it. My sincere appreciation. read more

This was a great stop off the highway for lunch. Everything you hope for in an old-school, small town cafe. Great food, great service. Individual pies for dessert were a real treat. read more

Good selection of foods & drinks as well as good service. I got a Delmonico steak that was cooked the way I like, but the quality of the meat and the flavor was less than expected for the cost. read more

This is a jewel of a restaurant. Prime ribs done to perfection, onion rings are huge in size and taste, The Fat Boy burger is out of site good and juicy. Prices are good on the old pocket book. You have got to try this little restaurant. You will not be disappointed! read more

If you come here, you must get the Prime Rib! And, be prepared to take home left overs because their portions are ginormous! Also very modestly priced. read more

Awesome food awesome fun great people.love the prices .will definitely be back again.

I went in there with my class. I had the Chicken Sandwich and it was like eating Wendy's. I recommend this place to Ohio.

Nice menu with surprising options. Full bar. Fast, friendly service. Highly recommended in Defiance.