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Uncle Jack's Steakhouse
Rating Details »
Category: Steakhouses [Edit]
Neighborhood: Midtown East44 W 56th St
(between 5th Ave & Avenue Of The Americas)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 245-1550
- Nearest Transit:
-
57th St-6th Ave (F)
5th Ave-53rd St (E, V)
57th St-7th Ave (N, Q, R, W)
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
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17 reviews for Uncle Jack's Steakhouse
The 3 stars are for the food. Only the food, and nothing but the food.
We went here because it was one block from our hotel (Parker Meridien) and we were in the mood for some meat. First red flag was that we walked in without a reservation on a Friday night at 8 o'clock...
Our hostess walked us upstairs and put us in the back corner. Did I smell or something? Was my handbag not designer enough? After asking her to seat us at the empty 4-top in the middle of the restaurant, her 21-year-old eyes batted at me and said "Well, it's the only 4-top we have left."
10 minutes later she sat another couple there.
20 minutes later they took our wine order.
30 minutes later the "other couple" was served their first course.
45 minutes later they took our food order.
Then, an hour and a half later, the food came. This was the ONLY thing good about our night here. The nicely-portioned salad and perfectly cooked porterhouse for 2 got the bitter taste of the lousy service out of my mouth.
As we walked out I looked up and painted above the bar is "Customer is King."
The irony....
Went to Uncle Jack's for my b-day, on a Sunday night. First of all, the place is beautiful, but the 2nd floor, which is really the main section, was closed! (How do you explain that?) So we were seated all the way in the back. It was still very beautiful. Second, we waited for menus for about 15 minutes after being seated. And that's a party of 5. Very strange.
Finally, and most importantly, the steak was good. (notice - not wonderful but better than OK) Got 2 porterhouse specials and Chicken Masala, and 3 sides. Porterhouse portions seemed smaller than I'd imagine - that's for 2 people each, and the meat was chewier than in other steakhouses. The Chicken Masala was hidden under a pile of mushrooms, tasty, but a little surprising.
Usually I get crème-brule after my steak. However, the vibe of the place seemed off, maybe due the fact it was a Sunday night. I just wanted to get out and didn't really enjoy the ambiance.
The crab cakes were good, but not as mind-blowingly-incredible as I'd expected after the waiter's prolonged speech about their virtues.
Sides of asparagus and sweet potato fries were excellent.
The meat. Hmm. Many of the cuts were available in USDA Prime or Kobe. I opted for a 16oz USDA Prime New York Strip, medium rare. It came sliced (I'm not a steak fiend -- is that normal?), and was slightly overdone, but still incredibly tender and flavorful. My companions had the 10oz Kobe Filet, medium, which came out rarer than my medium-rare, and was tougher.
A Kobe Filet, tougher than a USDA Prime Strip?
We pondered, and figured the only explanation was that our waiter had mixed up the combination of cuts, temperatures, & meats. Thus, I ate a very impressive (for a medium) Kobe Strip, and my companions ate a mediocre medium-rare Prime Filet.
Service was a little creepy and over-enthusiastic. The waiter insisted on shaking our hands while we waited for our check. Bizzare.
Definitely not as good as the 9th Ave location. And the pork chop is just awful. I am still trying to get it down. That is all.
Pretty good, but not my favorite. Our waiter was nice, but didn't pay much attention to us since we weren't old business professionals like everyone else that was there that night. The steaks were prepared good, but I think that for the high prices they should be. The problems that I experienced while there was the long wait for everything from getting a drink to getting my food. Once we got our appetizer (just mozz and tomato salad) we had to wait another 25 minutes to get someone to bring us our vinegar that it was suppose to be topped with, but they forgot. I think it was a bit uptight for my style.
Amazing!! Loved the porterhouse. Got it med and it was like butter so good! Will definitely be back soon!
Love this place. Great ambiance, killer steaks, terrific service. What more can you ask for?
I ordered a Kobe steak that look like dinosaur meat. It was that huge. Great cream spinach, garlic mashers, and sauteed mushrooms. The service was very professional and friendly. My glass never reached the half empty stage. I was very impressed with my meal and the restaurant itself. I'd definitely go back.
This is any good steakhouse like your typical Morton's or Ruth's Chris. However, we came here to try out a Kobe steak.
Their Kobe steak is a $100, and serves two people. We had a group of six and we ordered two of them. Let's just say we had high expectations of Kobe steak being as soft as butter and highly flavorful due to how the cows were treated at the farms. However, the steak that came out was good, but not great. It tasted like your typical ribeye steak that you would pay $30 or $40 for at any steakhouse. Thus we felt like we were ripped off.
The waiter overheard our disappointment with the steak, and further tried to clarify that the Kobe steak that Uncle Jack's serves is not the REAL Kobe steak from Japan, but basically an American knockoff version, a domestic Kobe steak. He said that if we were to have the real Kobe steak, it would've been at least $800 for the piece we were served.
Overall, the feelings we felt about the whole situation was between being either duped or being misinformed. Overall, would we come back again? Definitely not. Any other steakhouse would've been fine.
So please be informed about which Kobe steak you are gonna get before you order one!
Still damn good.
I have to say, I am never disappointed at this location. everything is always fresh and the bar keepers are always right there when you need them.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/19/2008
Steaks in NYC.
Nice place to meet friends after work. The place is gorgeous to look at with a very… Read more »
If you're in the mood for steak, as I usually am...Uncle Jack's can satisfy you're craving in a big way - Literally. You can get a 16 oz rib eye all to yourself! Talk about a gut bomb. If you aren't feeling quite that carnivorous, the smaller fillet was extremely tender and delicious. Generally, it seems like this place caters to an older crowd, but seeing as I went with my parents, we fit right in.
The martinis were enormous too - in size and in price. But there was no guff given when I asked for extra olives. (when I say extra olives, I expect more than one extra - this bartender gave me 4!!! - A+ for the olive test.
Take your time for a leisurely, long dinner. If you're tired and nauseous, it feels like the longest dinner in France. My co-workers all had steaks and they all liked it. I had the chilean sea bass. Very fresh and tasty in a caper/tomato sauce. Creamed spinach was great and so was the mashed sweet potatoes. Attentive staff but they kept pouring sparkling water into the the plain water glass. When the busboy messed up, he just apologized and walked away and did not offer to change glasses, hoping that the waiter wouldn't find out. Come on, of course we asked the waiter to switch glasses.
I hate to say it, because the place was nice and the servers very friendly, but I was underwhelmed by Uncle Jack's. The kobe beef in particular was disappointing - it was good, don't get me wrong, but it didn't live up to the all the hyperbole about it being so tender we wouldn't need a knife or even teeth. In reality, it wasn't much different from any other cow you'd get at a decent mid- to high-end steakhouse.
Perhaps if we'd ordered one of the more traditional, USDA cuts, our expectations wouldn't have been so elevated and we'd have enjoyed ourselves a little more...
Was in NYC on business and met up with a co-worker at Uncle Jack's Steakhouse on the Upper East Side/Midtown (06/25/08). Being from Chicago, I'm pretty used to the "steakhouse" mentality and that this wasn't going to be an inexpensive night out.
I'm not sure though about the service. Although I guess I knew what I was in for, I just wasn't in for that almost smarmy, "you are a rube and no nothing about steak, and so I'm going to tell you" type of service that we got. I KNOW it's what happens and I KNEW it was coming, but my co-worker is from England and I think he really couldn't get a handle on what was transpiring.
All this said, the food is farking amazing. We both started off with an appetizer of New Zealand Lamb Chops (lollipop chops) that were panko breadcrumb encrusted with mustard, medium rare. Just bone-suckin' good!!
For dinner, I had the 16 oz. Filet Mignon, Medium Rare and a side Baked Potato. Alex had the grilled Salmon and a salad of tomatoes, , string beans, and asparagus.
All were delivered at the perfect temperature and were fantastic.
Sure it was a $200 dinner for us, but who the hell cared? We feasted like Kings. Uncle Jack's just probably has to work a little on the down-talk. Look at me, I'm a big guy, and I know my food. No need to over-explain.
A good friend who recently became more took me here for a date, which I was trying to unwind after an exhausting and stressful work week. Indeed, I was able to unwind and shed some baggage at the bar, without alcohol, as I was recovering from a hangover the previous night of attending my company's holiday party. It was one of the better dates I've experienced in a long while. The atmosphere is not the traditional steakhouse of dark poor lighting that is typically caterers to adamant men with stuffy, pushy wait staff. The bar tenders are very attentive and knowledgeable about wine, champagne and beer. They serve one of my favorite champagnes--Piper Heidsieck which not too many restaurant either upscale or mid-price tier serve. The furniture appears to be oak, which I believe, is standard for American steakhouses. The bathroom is an all-in-one where patrons have to wait their turns as the facilities are located in one room--although clean with traditional details of modern flair. Uncle Jack's does not have the same vibe or U.S.D.A. standards for their preparation or style of cooking as Strip House in Greenwich Village but somewhat less the price as Strip House. Thankfully, upon arriving at the bar the bar tenders do not wear the typical rude scowl on their faces as the typical upscale steakhouse as first impressions make lasting impressions.
The VIP dessert sampler is out of this world! The carry Kobe beef which I have not tasted the same high quality as Tokyo's renowned Zipangu. To my dismal, I did not see Australian Yellow Tail on the featured drink menu. N.B. I do not recommend this restaurant to children.
I was visiting NYC and found this place online. It is a little pretentious but the food backs it up. The wine list is phenomenal and the meat is just the way you ask for it. No more No less. Our waiter was also a little bit pretentious but very knowledgeable. Good experience
I'm a steak lover and I'm an avid fan of Wolfgang's (former head waiter at Peter Lugers who decided to open up his own restaurant). I went to Uncle Jacks because I heard good things about them. My husband, my mom, and I went on January 24th. I wouldn't say that the food is bad - its actually decent. But its nothing like Wolfgangs if you're craving a bad porterhouse - I ordered the porterhouse for 3 medium-rare (which is how i always get it) and it was cooked just fine, except that by the time they brought it out (since the service is ridiculously slow) it was lukewarm! They don't serve it on a sizzling plate like they do at Wolfgangs...I missed Wolfgangs the whole time I was there. I wouldn't have complained about the food so much if their service was decent...but it was not. We had a waiter by the name of Chris - he was terrible. It took 40 minutes for my mom to get her coffee and about 35 minutes to get our salad. I'll probably never go back.
