Amazing food. Unlike any other seafood you will have while in Alaska. The authentic Cuban taste with fresh seafood is AMAZING.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sally Doulton
Disappointing Experience at Jazz Bistro on 4th – Not Worth the Hype
With only one evening to enjoy in Fairbanks, we chose to dine at Jazz Bistro on 4th—a decision we deeply regret. What was meant to be a relaxing, memorable night turned into a frustrating and uncomfortable experience.
We arrived promptly at 6:50 PM and placed our order for two starters—the Signature Salad and Tapas 21—by 6:55 PM. Unfortunately, our order wasn’t entered into the system until much later, only after the waitress returned to take our entrée selections. When we inquired about the starters around 7:20 PM, we were met with a surprisingly rude and dismissive response from Chef Rico, who curtly told us it had “only been 28 minutes” and that we should expect to wait at least another 10 minutes since “everything is made fresh.” We fully support fresh cooking—but what we don’t support is being talked down to. Rather than a courteous explanation, we were told, quite condescendingly, that as New Yorkers we “knew nothing about the restaurant business.” That comment alone shifted the tone of the evening from disappointing to outright disrespectful.
At that point, we considered leaving, but stayed because our entrées had already been ordered. In the meantime, still hungry, we opted to purchase a $9 bread basket, which consisted of six slices of bread for our party of four. While the bread and salted butter were admittedly delicious, it did little to offset the poor service and uncomfortable atmosphere.
To make matters worse, the owner offered no apology or accountability, instead blaming us for arriving early to our reservation—as if that somehow justified the delays and rude service. M It should never take over 35 minutes to serve a salad and a tapas dish, regardless of when guests are seated. But more than the wait, it was the lack of professionalism and respect that left a lasting impression—for all the wrong reasons.
For a city as welcoming as Fairbanks, Jazz Bistro fell far short. On a night that should have been special, we were made to feel like a burden instead of valued guests. If you're visiting Fairbanks and hoping for warm hospitality and great food, we strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Alan Doulton
on 19 August we had a bad experience in the bistro. Very poor service. Bad attitude of the owner. No respect for customer time. Behaved as he was doing the customer a favor. Food was OK but with the service and attitude the experience was one of the worst.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Lori Thorsrud
The owner and staff were very friendly and efficient. The food was excellent!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Melanie Doulton
The food may be good but took forever to be served. Then the management (Rico?) gave us major attitude - they showed us a timer when we asked why our food took so long to come, told us how it was our fault that we showed up early and that we don’t know about the restaurant business. Talk about ruining the mood. Guy Fieri may have endorsed the food but for us New Yorkers, the service was beyond appalling, which ruined the whole experience. Especially given that we paid New York prices for a diner-style experience
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Lonnie Henderson
Wow. What a hidden gem. Food was outstanding. Employees were above and beyond.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amanda Henderson
Found this little gem late at night! The food was absolutely amazing! Presentation was great but the flavor….out of this world! Service…fantastic! If you are in Fairbanks stop by and give them a try! I warn you to come hungry though because the portions are huge!! Will definitely go back!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Justin Lowe
Best Cuban restaurant I’ve ever been to. Chef/Owner def takes pride in the place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christina Kapolka
Absolutely amazing food. First time visit it did not disappoint.
We are in Anchorage as part of a land/sea cruise and decided to give this restaurant a try. One of the best meals we have in quite a while. The food was fantastic and service was excellent. Rico took great care of us and made nice recommendations for dessert. Don’t miss out on this wonderful dining experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Becky Baggett
Delicious food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cuban Sandwich, Salmon Cuban Style, Piri Piri Chicken, Pasta with Chicken
Michelle Farris
Best Cuban. It is on the menu as an appetizer but it’s huge.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
GieYara Royal
My man and I LOVE this place! It's where we go to celebrate always. Best and most freshest food in town. The atmosphere is wonderful and food is is excellent
I really wanted to like this place but was sadly disappointed. I ordered the seafood pasta. There pasta hadn't been drained well so there was water in the bottom of the bowl. The noodles were gummy and stuck together. There was no sauce and very little flavor. The scallops were rubbery. It has the feel of just being thrown together in a hurry. A girl at the table across from us ordered the same thing and was also commenting on the water on the bottom of her bowl and the lack of flavor. Since it was expensive I didn't want to waste it so I took it home and added more pasta and some Alfredo sauce which helped a lot. It took probably an hour to get our food. The service was also slow. Perhaps they were short staffed that night and struggling to keep up with orders. It was just overall disappointing.
Great food, good vibes, and the owner’s amazing. Definitely give this place a chance and they are open late!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork Boricua, Salmon Cuban Style, Halibut Cuban Style
Amazing food. Unlike any other seafood you will have while in Alaska. The authentic Cuban taste with fresh seafood is AMAZING.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Disappointing Experience at Jazz Bistro on 4th – Not Worth the Hype
With only one evening to enjoy in Fairbanks, we chose to dine at Jazz Bistro on 4th—a decision we deeply regret. What was meant to be a relaxing, memorable night turned into a frustrating and uncomfortable experience.
We arrived promptly at 6:50 PM and placed our order for two starters—the Signature Salad and Tapas 21—by 6:55 PM. Unfortunately, our order wasn’t entered into the system until much later, only after the waitress returned to take our entrée selections. When we inquired about the starters around 7:20 PM, we were met with a surprisingly rude and dismissive response from Chef Rico, who curtly told us it had “only been 28 minutes” and that we should expect to wait at least another 10 minutes since “everything is made fresh.”
We fully support fresh cooking—but what we don’t support is being talked down to. Rather than a courteous explanation, we were told, quite condescendingly, that as New Yorkers we “knew nothing about the restaurant business.” That comment alone shifted the tone of the evening from disappointing to outright disrespectful.
At that point, we considered leaving, but stayed because our entrées had already been ordered. In the meantime, still hungry, we opted to purchase a $9 bread basket, which consisted of six slices of bread for our party of four. While the bread and salted butter were admittedly delicious, it did little to offset the poor service and uncomfortable atmosphere.
To make matters worse, the owner offered no apology or accountability, instead blaming us for arriving early to our reservation—as if that somehow justified the delays and rude service.
M
It should never take over 35 minutes to serve a salad and a tapas dish, regardless of when guests are seated. But more than the wait, it was the lack of professionalism and respect that left a lasting impression—for all the wrong reasons.
For a city as welcoming as Fairbanks, Jazz Bistro fell far short. On a night that should have been special, we were made to feel like a burden instead of valued guests. If you're visiting Fairbanks and hoping for warm hospitality and great food, we strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
on 19 August we had a bad experience in the bistro. Very poor service. Bad attitude of the owner. No respect for customer time. Behaved as he was doing the customer a favor. Food was OK but with the service and attitude the experience was one of the worst.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The owner and staff were very friendly and efficient. The food was excellent!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food may be good but took forever to be served. Then the management (Rico?) gave us major attitude - they showed us a timer when we asked why our food took so long to come, told us how it was our fault that we showed up early and that we don’t know about the restaurant business. Talk about ruining the mood. Guy Fieri may have endorsed the food but for us New Yorkers, the service was beyond appalling, which ruined the whole experience. Especially given that we paid New York prices for a diner-style experience
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Wow. What a hidden gem. Food was outstanding. Employees were above and beyond.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Found this little gem late at night! The food was absolutely amazing! Presentation was great but the flavor….out of this world! Service…fantastic! If you are in Fairbanks stop by and give them a try! I warn you to come hungry though because the portions are huge!! Will definitely go back!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best Cuban restaurant I’ve ever been to. Chef/Owner def takes pride in the place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely amazing food. First time visit it did not disappoint.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We are in Anchorage as part of a land/sea cruise and decided to give this restaurant a try. One of the best meals we have in quite a while. The food was fantastic and service was excellent. Rico took great care of us and made nice recommendations for dessert. Don’t miss out on this wonderful dining experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cuban Sandwich, Salmon Cuban Style, Piri Piri Chicken, Pasta with Chicken
Best Cuban. It is on the menu as an appetizer but it’s huge.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My man and I LOVE this place! It's where we go to celebrate always. Best and most freshest food in town. The atmosphere is wonderful and food is is excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Cocktail, Salmon Cuban Style
I really wanted to like this place but was sadly disappointed. I ordered the seafood pasta. There pasta hadn't been drained well so there was water in the bottom of the bowl. The noodles were gummy and stuck together. There was no sauce and very little flavor. The scallops were rubbery. It has the feel of just being thrown together in a hurry. A girl at the table across from us ordered the same thing and was also commenting on the water on the bottom of her bowl and the lack of flavor. Since it was expensive I didn't want to waste it so I took it home and added more pasta and some Alfredo sauce which helped a lot. It took probably an hour to get our food. The service was also slow. Perhaps they were short staffed that night and struggling to keep up with orders. It was just overall disappointing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
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