There are bar flies here... literally. Most people don't notice them because they go at night when its crowded. But I went for lunch a few times and realized how dirty the place is - and sadly, how many little flies are all over the place. If you want a college dive bar, go here on Thursday. Other than that, skip it. read more

Just Jake's is a strange, strange place to me. It's too cheesy for words (it often hosts such bands as Big Orange Cone) and the crowd is of the Abercrombie persuasion, mostly Montclair State students. However, for some odd reason, it also serves some of the best appetizers and entrees around. Try the Thin-Sliced Steak Fingers on garlic toast, the Milanaise salad, and the Pan-Seared Salmon Filet. I wish I could understand how such a tacky place can serve such great food, but it defies explanation. My suggestion? Order take-out and eat somewhere a bit more ambient. read more

Great space - very long bar with TVs galore; ideal for watching football. Also, looks like they have stage set up for live music, really good layout for that. The bartender (the fat one, sorry don't know his name), needs to get another job he doesn't hate because he's miserable. Even with an empty bar, you can't get a drink here without flagging him down and when he does, he's doing you the biggest favor of your life. read more

The hostess is very nice, song with all of the waitress. It's in a good neighborhood. It has a very funky environment. It also is kid-friendly place, with art classes, and stage. There's music playing. It has a very interesting history. In fact, it was named after the owners son, Jake, who was Jake not Jacob. They also have music, and indoor, and outdoor seating. The people are professional artists and not cons. The food was very good! Perfectly cooked read more

Just Jake's - Bars Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Lots of tv's, good beer menu, good food, fun crowd. How can you go wrong? Had the wings and sweet potato skins, both were pretty good. We paid 55 bucks for the food and 5 rounds for 3 guys. The happy hour prices are pretty good and the prices afterwards are really good too. (3 for 3$) Looks like there is soming going on every night here. I had heard a lot about Jakes before I went for the first time. Pretty solid bar. read more

Live music is always so much fun but the space and set up of the venue works really well! I wish I remembered what band I saw but they played 90s and early 2000 pop rock. Drinks are decently priced but it's a bit difficult to get service when it's crowded which is understandable. read more

Great bar, sub par nachos, unfortunately. But music and atmosphere were great! They had a live band that played at 11 through the night which was great! Specials every night at the bar. read more

Great place! I came here for the first time for my girlfriends birthday get together. We had a paintnite group there and that was awesome they had it there. The food was good. We had chicken finger, mozz sticks, and fries with gravy and mozz on it. Nice size portions and it was good bar food. The place is pretty big so it's great for big groups like I had. We were about 20 ppl and there was still plenty of room. They also have a nice little patio to sit outside when it's warmer outside. We will be back soon! read more

Omgggggg! This place has the service never before experienced in a person's life. Walked in expending just a regular Jack..but left giddy and free. Amazing food, drinks. Made with love. Seriously. Request Kenny as a bartender, if possible. read more

Food is terribly inconsistent. Fried calamari was served to us with a doughy, uncooked center. Tried to flag down our waitress who was too busy eating to be bothered. Came to see what our problem was with a full mouth. We actually had to wait for her to stop chewing for a response. They can't cook a steak right to save their lives. Order it rare and you get well. order it medium rare and you get well. The only time they get it right is when you order it well. This is just a place for drinks. read more

My husband and I went to Just Jake's this past Saturday night. Some new friends invited us there and we were pretty surprised that we'd never heard of Just Jake's even though we've been going regularly to Montclair for the restaurants, movie theater, shopping and social life for about six years. We're only 31 years old and are into the cool spots around Montclair, of which there are many. I now know why I've never heard of Just Jake's: It's JUST TERRIBLE. In essence, this is a dive bar for the frat boy/college crew type. The place is dirty and looks like the aftermath of a frat house party. Hosts at the door are very rude. As far as I'm concerned, Just Jake's exists for one reason: to gift its overgrown frat boy patrons and local slutty girls a place to cohabit. The place has absolutely no class whatsoever. If you are over the age of 25, I absolutely implore that you steer clear. You need not read further, but if you're interested,I can give you a few details of our own experience so you can judge for yourself. Our first impression of this place was the outside, of course, where we had to witness a fat girl in a very short sequin dress hugging one guy and making out with another. Nice (rolling my eyes). Going passed them, we walked up the front entrance, which was lined on either side with astroturf. Real classy. Once at the front entrance, we were told there was a $7 cover charge. When my husband and I looked at each other in hesitation, the young male host began pressuring us to pay. "It's just 7 dollars!" he said, showing us a disgusted face. "Sorry," I said, fishing through my purse. "We don't usually go to places that charge a cover." "Really? Name one place you've been to that doesn't charge a cover. Name just one. Go ahead." "Uhh....I don't know," stammered my husband. We were surprised to find ourselves in this impromptu competition. Is he really heckling us at the door?? I try to explain, now reaching into my wallet. "We live in Kearny, so we usually go to the bars around there and they don't have a cover." A female hostess butts into the conversation. "I live in Kearny and there are NO cover bands there." She says this with just about the snottiest face on that one can imagine. "......OK", I say. Geez, sorry. The male employee attempts to make a deal with us. He says we can pay the cover charge to get in, but if we come out before the band goes on in half an hour, we can have our money back. I worry about this "deal" because there's obviously no guarantee that it'll happen nor that he'll even be here when we come out again so I ask him his name. "WHY?" he says, putting on the disgusted face again. OK, whatever. We just hand over the money and go in. Once inside, we find our friends. I notice immediately that there is absolutely no place to sit down. There were only a few tables by the bar and the rest was empty, presumably to make room for a dance floor for the cover band soon to come on stage. The few tables left were crowded around the bar area and it was totally packed. So, we stood around for a bit trying to chat to our new friends but I could not hear what they were saying because the music was so loud. Eventually, out of frustration, I decided to go to the bathroom. There I discovered pee on the seats and toilet paper all over the floor. When I came back to the table, I was finally fed up with this trashy place. It was clear that there was no way I was going to have a good time at this place since it was dirty and there wasn't any way to talk or hear anything. My husband and I apologized to our friends and immediately walked back out to the rude hosts to ask for our money back. "Did you even GET a drink?" barked the female host from before. "NOPE!" I nearly yelled. She handed us our money back and we hightailed it out of there as fast we could. P. S. - That fat girl in the short sequin dress was STILL out there hugging some guy! As you can see, this place is not for anyone who desires any sort of nice treatment or class. It services young 20-somethings who don't know any better. With so many awesome places to choose from, I don't know why people even go here. I honestly think they only have business because of the really cheap drink specials. If you're into drinking cheap beer with rude service and crappy surroundings, then go. If not, pick ANY OTHER place and I guarantee you'll have a better time. read more

Really enjoy this bar! Typically go there to see a band in which a good friend plays and it gives us a good reason to meet with a bunch of friends, have some great drinks (super chocolate martinis), good food and great atmosphere. We are in our 50's.....and then a daughter and friends go there later on to hear other bands. Appeals to all age groups in my opinion!!!! read more

Great service. Lauren is the best!! Will definitely come here again!!!!! Had the ckn club. Was awesome!!

The food is okay, in my opinion it's better for a causal drink or a get together with a few friends. You don't have to dress up, there's a pool table, bar, tables, and high tops. I really want to go there in the spring/summer when their outside seating is open. read more

This place is pretty lame except for the drink specials. Why do all of the bars in Montclair end up being exactly the same? Mediocre all the way around. read more

Live Music, great drink specials, great staff, a ton of tv to watch sport games. Outdoor patio with TV is a plus and very nice.

Came here for the first time the other day. First impressions - total dive bar that probably caters to the college crowd (not a bad thing). When I stopped in, they had some live music and plenty of TV's with the football games on. Live music is obviously a pretty big thing here as they have a stage set up. Overall, the place wasn't the cleanest but this is definitely a night spot. We didn't order any food but the food I saw looked good. The wings and the buffalo chicken wraps looked good (yes, I am a fan of anything buffalo). As far as the drinks go, good, cold beer on tap. You can't beat that. I was also pretty impressed by some of the drink specials they had here. I think on Wednesdays they have dollar beers - almost impossible to find that now. read more

Excellent service! Great staff! Tremendous beer menu! (Brought both pups) they got their own water bowls... Happy everyone

The place is convenient with a public lot nearby. I want to love it, but the service is just awful.

Cool place to grab a drink, and usually really lively on Fridays and Saturdays. They tend to have a live band (usually cover bands) but the thing is, it's really hit or miss. Sometimes the bands are great, other times, they're garbage. That's why I rated it a 3-5... Decent place to drink, but you have a chance of walking into a crap band performance and have to pay cover before even hearing what they sound like read more

We came here for our friend's Fundraiser. When the band plays it is very noisy and difficult to hear, but the music was great. The waitress was nice but the manager had horrible customer service skills. We ordered the chicken quesadillas (no good) and yam fries. When we told the waitress that we didn't like them and wanted to send them back the manager told our waitress to close our tabs because all we do is complain. We were charged for food that never arrived. An overall terrible experience for what was supposed to be a great event. I won't be returning to this establishment. read more

I love Just Jakes. I usually am only here to play with my band but it is always a good time because the people here come to see live music. If I'm ever there not working the staff is always friendly and the prices for drinks (especially on Thursday nights) are pretty good. I have never tried the food but from what my friends say it is always pretty good. read more

Great happy hour. Outside seating. We enjoyed our nachos. Not the best ever, but great with beer.

Paid a cover, sat down, ordered a drink, and then we were asked to move from the table... Smelled in there..

Great college atmosphere and live music.

Great sports bar and great spot to watch NFL games on Sunday. They display every game and they have great sunday specials on food and drinks for football. They also have great cover bands at night on the weekends. Always a good spot to check out but sometimes it is hit or miss with the crowd, but their food and drinks are always consistent! One of the few spots in Montclair with a liquor license. read more

Good bar food, decent drink specials. Haven't been there for live music, which i hear is worth checking out, but I did go to watch a football game on a monday night, and it was packed. Loud, fun, and great atmosphere. People of all ages were really enjoying themselves. College kids, locals, and older crowds. Will be returning soon to see live music because if a game night was this much fun, I can only imagine how a night with a live band will be. read more

Just Jake's serves its purpose as a neighborhood bar just fine. It was very crowded on the Thursday I was there (possibly due to being the first meet and greet for zog sports of the season), but it reminds me of a lot of Rutgers bars. It's not quite a dive bar but still old with a mix of young and old crowd. Definitely some good drink specials every night of the week ranging from $3 drafts to 3 for $5 domestic bottles read more

It wasn't that busy when I went but definitely had potential to be a great place. The staff was friendly and the drinks were decent prices. They had an outdoor patio that is great when the weather was nice. It rained slightly when we arrived but the table had umbrellas so we were shaded. The only complaint I had was that the yager bombs that we ordered we very small. read more

Great food and drink. Wide variety of beer on tap and awesome happy hour deals. A couple blocks away from the Wellmont Theater making it a perfect spot before a show. read more

Even though this place makes me feel old(er), it has surprisingly decent food and decent service. Nice to sit outside in good weather. Seems like a college crew on a Thursday (MSU?). Pool tables and an area for a band that is tool small and wipes out table seating. Uneven bartending. read more

$4 domestic pints and bottles, $4.50 premiums like blue moon. The only reason this place is getting 3 stars is because the band was awesome (Nine Deeez Nite). It's a typical mid-20's to young 30's night club. Standing room only once the band comes on...which makes it very difficult to get drinks at the bar. They seemed a little under-staffed behind the bar, sometimes it took up to 15-20min to get a drink. I didn't realize this would be a night club type place since there were tables when we got there. If the night club place is your scene....you'll like it, if not, steer clear. read more

Jake's is a typical neighborhood hangout. We used to go to Jakes every week for dinner. It's a very warm and friendly place. The food is good but the comfortable feeling of this place is the main reason we love coming here. They also have a really good dessert menu. They have a nice outdoor eating area for the warm weather months. The bar area is also very lay back with a couple of pool tables. read more

Just Jake's drink specials are amazing, and almost too good to be true unless they take a loss on some of them. Its set up is one you would expect to find down the Jersey shore right off of a beach. It features a fairly spacious interior with pool tables and plenty of bar tables and stools, as well as an outdoor area with a good amount of tables with umbrellas. Great for recent college grads desperately trying to keep their party-hard momentum going strong. read more

3 beers for $5 great deal!!! Loud place, good for watching games on tv and meet with friends o.ver a few drinks

Awesome bands play on the weekend, the dance floor is always packed. Most of the time the $7 cover is worth it. Also surprisingly good food.

Seriously, I'm drinking and eating with a colleague. We order 2 grand marniers. No one knows what this is. Then they charge us 12 bucks for each half snifter. Manager stands there like he's clueless. Never again. read more

Can't speak on the food, as I haven't tried yet. But saw one of the best cover bands I've seen play there, New Power Soul. Absolutely incredible. Great, big space. Very attentive bartenders and a little satellite bar closer to the stage (which is brilliant). Also a great outdoor patio. Overall great, no frills bar/venue. read more

Love to come here for happy hour for a few drinks and food with friends after a hard day at work. I love the wings and their fries. I ordered a burger and chicken sandwich too and they were both great. Pretty cheap during happy hour. Can get packed but a seat happens to always be available. read more

Came here on a Friday night and sat on the patio. Unfortunately they were out of hot wings which is what I really wanted but I settled for buffalo chicken fingers. They weren't the best tasted like they were recently frozen. The drinks were good and the server was pleasant. There was an $8 cover to get inside and they had a really good band with some nice 90s at covers. All in all a good spot for a Friday night. read more