It's always a hopeful sign when vegan (V) and gluten free (GF) are clearly identified. That's the reason I chose Jacks at the Portola Hotel in Old Monterey. There were more than one item I can order. We selected a salad, The Sesame Ginger Bowl without the hoisin sauce, a side of fried tofu for protein, and the Turkey Pot Pie. Both items were delicious. The server forgot about the fried tofu, but when it finally came, it was oil soaked and not very enjoyable. The salad was enjoyable. The Turkey Pot Pie came with a spoon because it was kind of soupy inside, but enough turkey and very delicious. The hotel interior was nicely designed by the ambience at our table was not as nice because it felt like a low end sports bar. If we came back to Monterey or Pacific Grove again, we would definitely dine here.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Clemente Aquino
Hostess didn't say hi, she saw us and she was on the phone trying to sokve a hotel issue Server took too long to take my order, he only checked once to see how we were doing, I consider myself a regular customer but this time I was very disappointed,
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Sandwich
NaomiV
everything was amazing, the short rib ravioli was great, (our waitress recommended but said it's seasonal) the shrimp scampi was great, and so was the salmon. it was a nice lighter option. our favorite was the sourdough bread, as an app! get it! the only downside was drinks, was not a fan of the cucumber martini and usually i love those. 100% recommend for the food.
Asher Mitchell
our server, jesus, was very welcoming and patient with us as we took a decent amount of time to figure out what we wanted to eat and drink. he was very kind when we asked to switch our drinks for another and was very quick with our order. he left us satisfied and with a smile. thank you :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
I wish the food and service were equal to the beautiful space and the steep price but it wasn't. Not even close. Not the server's fault - clearly over worked and doing her best.
Zachary Johnson
Nice place conveniently close to the hotel/conference I'm attending. Atmosphere is very welcoming, calm and classy but still casual. The bar area has TVs, a sitting area with a very fire place to enjoy some chats and eats/drinks. The atrium area gives you an outdoor feel while being indoors.They had a good selection of spirits and beer on tap as well as a fun looking cocktail list. I enjoyed the salmon plate, good all around taste, very satisfying. They otherwise had a wide variety of appetizers, salads, meat plates, pizzas and desserts.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
M SWANSON
Enjoyed a nice brunch on Sunday here. Service was very friendly and prompt. Food was better than average but unfortunately my Bloody Mary was sub par at best (kind of a big deal at Sunday Brunch). The bar/lounge area with a large gas fireplace seems like a perfect spot for pre or after dinner cocktails, very inviting and cozy. Not a bad choice for Sunday brunch, just avoid the Bloody Mary..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Tim Haynes
Mediocre cocktails, slow service. They should simply remove the sazarac from the menu since they do not make it properly. They use an "absinthe rinse" which is just a sprayed absinthe scent. The result is pretty terrible. The Manhattan was just okay, and to be fair, the prices are not too high. But if you are wanting high quality mixology you'll do best to walk up the street. Also the service was slow. 20 minutes to get attention of bartender. They weren't super busy. But only 1 bartender, so she was simply overwhelmed.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 2
Adrien Pierre
We waited for half an hour after we ordered before asking about the status. They came back ten minutes later saying they lost the order. We still waited twenty minutes until we got our food. They don't have a system to track orders and the wait time for those fortunate enough to not have their orders lost was still about 30 minutes.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Ivy Tao
We never got out food after an hour of waiting at the table. Apparently the kitchen lost our order, and took another 30 minutes "trying" to make it, but failed? Seriously, worst customer service ever.
My family and I dined here and while I am giving it 5 stars, I still would like to share my experience and provide feedback. Upon arrival, it was apparent that it was a busy evening. The desk was empty and a few minutes later, the hostess shouts from another side of the restaurant that she’ll be right with us (long line forming at this point). She was obviously very flustered. When she made it to the desk, there was not any greeting but she made eye contact, so I approached her and asked how she was and I received a “overwhelmed!”. Asked for a table for 4, and was told she needed to ask the servers. Then she came back and asked us to pick from a booth or table. We picked the table and when handing us a menu, told us that the servers were extremely overwhelmed and we needed to be patient with them. My husband comes from a background in this line of work and was extremely annoyed by this and her approach about it. I’m not sure if she might not have been in this role for long but her doing this almost ruined our dinner and gave us a bad first impression of the restaurant. We contemplated if we should leave at that point for faster service, as we had our small children with us. We were anticipating a longer than usual wait, but surprising we were greeted by our server Izabella within 10 mins. We had waters, lemonade, and our food about 10 minutes after that. Izabella was very polite and prompt and went out of her way to find crayons and a kids menu that the hostess had passed out to every child but ours (I say this because I watched her pass them out after restocking them. They were all out when customers were being seated). Izabella went above and beyond and was very friendly and professional. She is definitely the reason this review became 5 stars. Other than the super weird experience with the hostess (which is the first impression of every restaurant), the food was great as well as the dessert and we really enjoyed it. Food came out promptly and was hot and fresh. Lots of flavor and great presentation. Kids menu was a plus and had good options for the littles. The ambiance was great and would love to return but hope we don’t get the same hostess.Kid-friendliness: Good food options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Prawn Scampi
Aaron Martinez
First off, the staff, our sever in the lounge area, was fantastic. But these drinks, Lemon Drop Martini and a Jack Mule, totaling $32, at 4:30pm at happy hour...was so disappointing. Flat, not a twist of lemon, a twist of lime, just something that I could have gotten at an in-laws or co-workers party. Be better Jack...be better.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 5
Thisguyrighthere
Didn't realize it was a hotel restaurant with seating literally in the lobby. Lots of through traffic, lots of kids, loud. The sourdough bread was amazing. The pot pie was underseasoned. The salmon was good but not $40 good.
Rae Eyer
Best Prawn Scampi ever! Recommended by waitress and it was incredible!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
GarethG
This hotel do a great job of food and beverage! This lobby restaurant and bar has a simple but great menu that packs flavor at a slightly high but not obnoxious price. Although wine by the glass is expensive at $16 for a small glass of wine even if they are top tier blends. This was a relaxing environment with great food and attentive service. I would stay at this hotel and eat here again for sure.
It's always a hopeful sign when vegan (V) and gluten free (GF) are clearly identified. That's the reason I chose Jacks at the Portola Hotel in Old Monterey. There were more than one item I can order. We selected a salad, The Sesame Ginger Bowl without the hoisin sauce, a side of fried tofu for protein, and the Turkey Pot Pie. Both items were delicious. The server forgot about the fried tofu, but when it finally came, it was oil soaked and not very enjoyable. The salad was enjoyable. The Turkey Pot Pie came with a spoon because it was kind of soupy inside, but enough turkey and very delicious. The hotel interior was nicely designed by the ambience at our table was not as nice because it felt like a low end sports bar. If we came back to Monterey or Pacific Grove again, we would definitely dine here.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Hostess didn't say hi, she saw us and she was on the phone trying to sokve a hotel issue Server took too long to take my order, he only checked once to see how we were doing, I consider myself a regular customer but this time I was very disappointed,
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Sandwich
everything was amazing, the short rib ravioli was great, (our waitress recommended but said it's seasonal) the shrimp scampi was great, and so was the salmon. it was a nice lighter option. our favorite was the sourdough bread, as an app! get it! the only downside was drinks, was not a fan of the cucumber martini and usually i love those. 100% recommend for the food.
our server, jesus, was very welcoming and patient with us as we took a decent amount of time to figure out what we wanted to eat and drink. he was very kind when we asked to switch our drinks for another and was very quick with our order. he left us satisfied and with a smile. thank you :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
I wish the food and service were equal to the beautiful space and the steep price but it wasn't. Not even close. Not the server's fault - clearly over worked and doing her best.
Nice place conveniently close to the hotel/conference I'm attending. Atmosphere is very welcoming, calm and classy but still casual. The bar area has TVs, a sitting area with a very fire place to enjoy some chats and eats/drinks. The atrium area gives you an outdoor feel while being indoors.They had a good selection of spirits and beer on tap as well as a fun looking cocktail list. I enjoyed the salmon plate, good all around taste, very satisfying. They otherwise had a wide variety of appetizers, salads, meat plates, pizzas and desserts.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Enjoyed a nice brunch on Sunday here. Service was very friendly and prompt. Food was better than average but unfortunately my Bloody Mary was sub par at best (kind of a big deal at Sunday Brunch). The bar/lounge area with a large gas fireplace seems like a perfect spot for pre or after dinner cocktails, very inviting and cozy. Not a bad choice for Sunday brunch, just avoid the Bloody Mary..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Mediocre cocktails, slow service. They should simply remove the sazarac from the menu since they do not make it properly. They use an "absinthe rinse" which is just a sprayed absinthe scent. The result is pretty terrible. The Manhattan was just okay, and to be fair, the prices are not too high. But if you are wanting high quality mixology you'll do best to walk up the street. Also the service was slow. 20 minutes to get attention of bartender. They weren't super busy. But only 1 bartender, so she was simply overwhelmed.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 2
We waited for half an hour after we ordered before asking about the status. They came back ten minutes later saying they lost the order. We still waited twenty minutes until we got our food. They don't have a system to track orders and the wait time for those fortunate enough to not have their orders lost was still about 30 minutes.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
We never got out food after an hour of waiting at the table. Apparently the kitchen lost our order, and took another 30 minutes "trying" to make it, but failed? Seriously, worst customer service ever.
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
My family and I dined here and while I am giving it 5 stars, I still would like to share my experience and provide feedback. Upon arrival, it was apparent that it was a busy evening. The desk was empty and a few minutes later, the hostess shouts from another side of the restaurant that she’ll be right with us (long line forming at this point). She was obviously very flustered. When she made it to the desk, there was not any greeting but she made eye contact, so I approached her and asked how she was and I received a “overwhelmed!”. Asked for a table for 4, and was told she needed to ask the servers. Then she came back and asked us to pick from a booth or table. We picked the table and when handing us a menu, told us that the servers were extremely overwhelmed and we needed to be patient with them. My husband comes from a background in this line of work and was extremely annoyed by this and her approach about it. I’m not sure if she might not have been in this role for long but her doing this almost ruined our dinner and gave us a bad first impression of the restaurant. We contemplated if we should leave at that point for faster service, as we had our small children with us. We were anticipating a longer than usual wait, but surprising we were greeted by our server Izabella within 10 mins. We had waters, lemonade, and our food about 10 minutes after that. Izabella was very polite and prompt and went out of her way to find crayons and a kids menu that the hostess had passed out to every child but ours (I say this because I watched her pass them out after restocking them. They were all out when customers were being seated). Izabella went above and beyond and was very friendly and professional. She is definitely the reason this review became 5 stars. Other than the super weird experience with the hostess (which is the first impression of every restaurant), the food was great as well as the dessert and we really enjoyed it. Food came out promptly and was hot and fresh. Lots of flavor and great presentation. Kids menu was a plus and had good options for the littles. The ambiance was great and would love to return but hope we don’t get the same hostess.Kid-friendliness: Good food options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Prawn Scampi
First off, the staff, our sever in the lounge area, was fantastic. But these drinks, Lemon Drop Martini and a Jack Mule, totaling $32, at 4:30pm at happy hour...was so disappointing. Flat, not a twist of lemon, a twist of lime, just something that I could have gotten at an in-laws or co-workers party. Be better Jack...be better.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 5
Didn't realize it was a hotel restaurant with seating literally in the lobby. Lots of through traffic, lots of kids, loud. The sourdough bread was amazing. The pot pie was underseasoned. The salmon was good but not $40 good.
Best Prawn Scampi ever! Recommended by waitress and it was incredible!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This hotel do a great job of food and beverage! This lobby restaurant and bar has a simple but great menu that packs flavor at a slightly high but not obnoxious price. Although wine by the glass is expensive at $16 for a small glass of wine even if they are top tier blends. This was a relaxing environment with great food and attentive service. I would stay at this hotel and eat here again for sure.