Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar

Reviews 4

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Nichole Lambert

If I could give more than 5 stars I would. I took my boyfriend here to celebrate his birthday and we left very full and very happy. Id been here once before and had remembered it is a popular spot so decided to make a reservation online. The formatting was quick and simple to leave a specific date and time and comment and I appreciated how pragmatic it was. An hour before the time of my scheduled reservation I received a text to remind me and give me the option to either confirm or cancel. Already I felt valued and wasnt even inside Jax yet. We arrived 10 minutes early to our reservation and the host greeted us kindly and took us strait away to a reserved booth (which I had previously requested). The restaurant was clean and full of people enjoying their Sunday evenings. The decor was fun yet sleek and even though it was a row of booths, each one felt private. The bar was especially fun to admire as the centerpiece of the restaurant. First impressions were glowing. Our server, Christopher, came a minute after we had time to settle in, take in our surroundings, and glance at the menus. He was welcoming and very knowledgeable of the menu. He helped guide us with some choice decisions from both the beverage and food menus. We started with two appetizers; the calamari and steak tartar. Both were beautifully presented promptly (but separately which we liked because we felt we were able to truly appreciate each individual selection in its entirety without being rushed). Christopher even asked in what order we would like to receive our food and the timeliness of it. The calamari was perfectly cooked and served with two delicious sauces. The steak tartar was a fun combination of culinary prowess that quickly become one of my own personal favorite dishes to have ever tasted. We each ordered a drink and though one of the ingredients to create my requested drink had run out, the bartender was able to substitute the ingredient to make a delicious beverage. Next we ordered a selection of oysters. Again, Christopher helped guide us through the selection. I only remember the name of one off the top of my head, their specialty oysters; the Emerson. Those and the other two types were the epitome of fresh and delicious. Each had a very unique taste from the other! For our main course I ordered the crab carbonara and my boyfriend ordered the whole fish. He was so happy with his mouthwatering meal. Somebody in the kitchen however was a bit too excited with the pepper shaker for my carbonara and it made me unable to enjoy the rest of the plate. Christopher graciously offered comp it and to take it away and have anything else prepared. I felt bad sending it back but was very appreciative of Christophers eagerness to make sure our experience was great. After all that they suprised my boyfriend with a yummy birthday dessert! Again, I had mentioned we were celebrating his birthday in the comment section of the online reservations and I was so happy to see they everyone really paid attention and cared to make our experience a good one. Also, throughout our dining experience our glasses were never empty and every staff member there was helpful with one another and kind. Its obvious this location is run well by management. And the chefs created a stellar menu which I cannot wait to sample more of in the future. Big shout-out to our server, Christopher. Thank you for helping create a perfect evening for us!

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Seth Tucker

We have been to the Jax in Boulder often and have always loved them and loved what they do. Ive had some of my best meals there. So when we decided to try the Jax downtown, it was with some excitement. Clearly from our rating, there wasnt much to be excited about--our first indication should have been with the bartender: seemed pissed that we were there (it was 7pm on a busy sunday), then insulted my wife when she mentioned she liked his tie. Actually mocked her for being kind. Our server came in with big promises, then promptly disappeared. Everything was slow, and we could see his section wasnt overfilled--in other words, we have been in the service industry for years, and he wasnt in the weeds. He simply just forgot about us for most of the night--our waters were empty almost the whole night, our drinks sat empty in front of us, our appetizers plates pooling oil and useless as we sat and sat. We ordered three things that were favorites of his, an then sat, and sat. When the food came out, they made a big display to show us how hot everything was, but my octopus was tepid, the cast iron plate cool to the touch, my wifes monkfish osso bucco actually cold. Not warm, not room temperature: cold. Our friend had the whole fish, and it was cut in such a way that no one could figure out how to debone it (and we make whole fish at home). Honestly, we wanted to like this place. Actually, we wanted to love it--most of the time, that gets you halfway there in life, and we are people who never complain. But this was awful. They did do one nice thing (after our plates were cleared, with no drinks in front of us, we waited 20 more minutes for our check): they took off one of our entrees. Thats the only reason we gave them two stars. Jax has great owners--we know this. But this was service and food from a different place. It had to be...

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A Private User

The lighting and music gave it a lounge like feel. The food tasted well considering Denver is land locked and the price felt appropriate. I can’t complain about the taste. The staff seemed to work well together, which is rare when you not only have servers, but also food runners, kitchen staff etc. The food was not overpriced and I would gladly pay again. We split a salad, much to our misfortune they did not split it for us they simply gave us another plate. We made do, my man split it for us, but i couldn’t help but think how “un-Lady Like” it would have been if I had split it with another female. It would have been better if they had somewhere for me to place the shells of my lobster legs as well. Instead I was forced to put them back on the plate, where my not yet eaten legs were located. Bibs were given us which is common in some seafood restaurants, but it’s unusual for ones of this high standard. Personally I find it difficult to classify a woman as elegant if she is wearing a bib, but please bear in mind this is a personal opinion. It also would have been nice for them to bring out our towels a little bit quicker, my fingertips had a thick layer of butter for a while and I wiped them on my napkin. Overall the service was good. I strongly suggest trying their dessert menu, everything was delicious. The sorbet selection was fun and unique. Our server helped us select our wine, pairing it with our entree perfectly. I would give this restaurant a strong recommendation to any man, and a weak one to any female. Small improvements could greatly increase their clientele.

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Alan R

This was NOT a good dining experience for my family and I. My wife and I visited Denver over the weekend, and my daughter and her husband took us here for my wifes birthday because she LOVES lobster rolls and they have them. Where do I start. Two rolls were ordered at our table. Two completely different sized pieces of lobster. Thats screwing up the basics. Yes ... they tasted good ... but cmon already. AND ... my daughter ordered the crab cake ... and it was half the size what she has received at a different Jax in Denver. Inconsistent much? And, for an appetizer ... we had mussels ... the tiniest mussels we have EVER had ... and weve had them across the country in dives and 5 stars. (at least our 3 year old granddaughter enjoyed them, just the perfect size for her!) Our waiter was incompetent ... inattentive ... in other words ... a bozo. I will never return. I am giving this 2 stars because the food TASTED good (wife liked the lobster roll ... I enjoyed the scallop plate) but bad service ALWAYS trumps good food.