Jay’s Restaurant & Lounge

This Place Appears to be Closed May 2016… had heard about some previous problems in parking lot & Outside Area stabbings. Don’t know if that was the cause of the closing.

There was a long line when i went there and had to pay a cover charge like a club. Its so nice inside. I really like their set up. They are not too big or too small. I did not order food there, only drinks. I enjoyed myself.

This place is so nice inside… i cant believe the YOUNG crowd… smh the music sucks unless you like twerking or you like to hear your song for 10 seconds before the DJ switches the track… the drinks are expensive so I’m sure that’s why when I looked around I promise you ½ the club wasn’t drinking! It’s a shame because when it first open the crowd was a good mix of people thirty and over. I wish they would step their game up because this area is full of enough places for the younger crowd!

Looking for a nice grown and sexy lounge to hit but don’t want to go to DC … this is it! I haven’t had the food here but the nightlife is nice. The facility is spacious with tables near entrance and VIP section towards the back. There’s a big dance floor separating the areas. A photographer comes around and snaps pictures, smoke comes from the ceiling, and it’s illuminated just right. Drinks were average price and bartenders were very tentative. My new favorite spot to hit!

This was first time. Shrimp skewers were ok. Holy cow though it was freezing in here at 6 pm. If it had been busy with a lot of people it might have been warmer perhaps. I had the filet and my girl had the stuffed chicken. Both meals were great. Would have given 5 stars but it was really so cold it made for a uncomfortable experience.

I came on a Friday night. The atmosphere was cool although it looked like a bunch of people hanging around and NOT drinking. You definitely have to choose the right bartender. My friend went to a bartender and ordered a whiskey sour. Instead of a low ball glass, she used a taller glass with 1 shot of whiskey and the rest sour mix. When my friend said she couldn’t drink it, she told the bartender it was too sour. Instead of trying to remedy the situation by correcting her mistake, she says that she is not adding more whiskey (which was never mentioned) but she could add sprite. Needless to say, I moved down the bar to another bartender who did his job well. Overall, I enjoyed my night but I have a low tolerance for poor customer service.

Where do I begin… Oh yes!!! ABOMINATION… a perfect place to start. If you have abslutely have anthing positive going on in your life like a good job, life goals, dreams ambitions or simple self respect!!! this place is not for you!!! This place was absolutely and utterly ABYSMAL!!! The DREGS of society are in full force at this club! I was utterly embarrased when I walked through the door. Since the place is new, a friend and I thought, maybe this could be a potential local place to just go and have a drink, laugh and dance a little after a hard days work!!! we just heard radio announcements, and thought that we would give it a try. Ohhh NO!!! We arrived early, and the place was somewhat empty, so as we are having a cocktail! we are looking around and thinking, very spacious and nicely decorated. An hour and a half later… the welcome wagon starts to arrive, the entire atmosphere changed! I mean every low life scum of the earth poured in, from the four corners of Virginia, every, HillBilly Crack-​Head, Hoodlum, Ghetto Fabulous, GangBanger, Pervert, Ratchet, Jobeless, Hopeless, Dreamless, Ambitionless, Driveless, Homeless, Moraless person arrived to party at this place! and I was embarrassed to be among this crowd!!! The music changed and it got real Ghetto in there. Ladies (and i use that word figuratively) were challenging each other to a fight, you could just feel the aggression in the air! it was definately a very violent atmosphere! and I felt very unwelcomed. I immediately called for my ride and we left! I saw a few other people who were there and was just as shocked as I was! they left also! As I said, this is not the place for someone who has remotely anything to lose or to live for! I will remain in downtown Fredericksburg! or just pop for the extra cash and go up to DC to party at a more upper Echelon establishment, where people care about what happens to them the next day and want their teeth to remain where they are! in their mouth!!!

I usually attend the lounge time and party which is great 5 stars. But today decided to come in and try some food during lunch/​happy hour WRONG THING TO DO! I got the breaded oysters which were basically crust and looked dirty. And the happy hour mozzarella sticks you got 3 for 5 but were sooooo delicious. Service kinda sucks I sat for 10 min before I saw anyone and then 5 more for someone to actually come help me. The kitchen was not ready so I had half my order then 10 min later I got the other half. All I ordered were the oysters and cheese sticks and was the only one there!

Went for lunch on a Friday with a group of friends-​8 of us. We were the only ones in the restaurant, arrived at noon. We called ahead so they knew we were coming. No other people came in the place the entire time we were there, which seemed odd for a Friday. Two people ordered the duck, and only then were we informed they were out of duck and lamb. Seems like the server should have told us that when menus were handed out. It took over an hour for our food to arrive, which is probably because 8 orders went in at once-​but here’s the thing-​the server never came out to let us know about progress or offer drink refills. It would have been nice if they brought us some bread or something too. By the time food came out we were HUNGRY and CRANKY!
My lobster roll was fishy smelling and not what I was expecting from the menu description. And everyone’s fries were limp, soggy and cold. If you can’t master french fries, you probably shouldn’t be in the kitchen. To sum up, no one was happy with the food, the service was a joke, and then they added 20% to the bill for our large party! Maybe they do better in the evening– I don’t advise lunch here.

I went to Jay’s for the first time thinking, «how great can it be, it’s in Fredricksburg?!» that was a serious error on my part. I had a wonderful, drama free night there. It was for a friends birthday. We came for dinner, I had the Cajun Chicken Linguini which was nothing shy of delicious (obviously i recommend it). As far as appetizers went, we shared various options, and i don’t recall anything standing out as unappealling. All yummy :) the mixed drinks were fun with the glowing color-​changing ice cubes. As the night goes on they neatly make space for the restaurant to become a lounge with dancefloor. (i say «neatly» because too many occassions I have been in a restaurant/​lounge and their transition makes you feel like you’re in the way and need to leave – not at Jay’s though). Once that was setup, we finished eating, talking, and went to dance. They eventually filled up nicely! DJ was great, bartenders were great and the general staff (waiters, hostess, manager) were all friendly. I seriously can’t wait to go back. :)

I had heard so much about this place from coworkers that I had to check it out. The atmosphere, lighting, and décor were all nice. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly. However, I must say that once the music started, it was all downhill from there. I expected more top 40, r&b, etc. and got little more than techno and jazz. How does anyone dance to that??? At one point, the entire dance floor just stopped dancing and looked at the dj…(he was apparently oblivious to the fact that no one liked the music that he was playing.) Oh well! What can you do??? I was already there… if they fire the dj and hire another… I would rate it 4 – 5 stars!

(Harrison Ford voiceover):
This thing. This dish. This Moroccan Chicken. It was my first thought upon waking after midnight. More insomnia. I had been dreaming about the sheep again (electric or not, depending upon the version of the story you believe), but no longer. I could not get this thing out of my head. Moroccan Chicken. I rolled out of my apartment and dropped my spinner down to Jay’s. I half expected Gaff to materialize out of the mist and follow me in, but not tonight.
I entered Jay’s which is really no different from any other LA club in this dystopian world in 2019. This particular club was not one I had been to often. But they have this dish, Moroccan Chicken, and I needed it.
The pounding bass and shimmering, shifting lights in the place would offer great cover to a replicant, but I had never encountered one in a place like this. I was seated at a small round table near the front window. The other tables were filled with the usual relatively exotic club-​goers. Lots of alcohol. No food on the tables, really, hopefully the kitchen’s still open.
A group of three rich b*tches in the other window corner appeared clearly out of place and provided some temporary amusement as they cavorted to the music in their chairs. One of the hipster’s with them seemed to be drinking out of a large antiquated glass and another was drinking a pink appearing liquid. Probably one last hurrah before they go off-​world forever.
The waiter seemed a bit incredulous when I asked for the Moroccan Chicken. He needed to check with the kitchen. In the meantime I sipped my drink and eyed the VIP area which was full of more party going types. Something about the waitress over there, a leggy blonde thing. A replicant. One of my three marks.
The waiter returned. One last dish of Moroccan Chicken available. I’ll take it.
I flip the collar of my trenchcoat up and unsnap my holster. The blonde replicant catches my eyes and bolts towards the kitchen. I’m out of my chair, gun drawn, racing through the dance floor, bass pounding and lights flashing.
The Moroccan Chicken will have to wait.

Loved it. No questions asked. It’s almost as if Jay’s was a restaurant/​lounge that was somehow picked up by a spaceship from DC and just randomly settled into a shopping center in Fredericksburg.
Food? Delicious. Drinks? Even more delicious. Atmosphere? Out of this world. This kind of restaurant looks like it belongs in a major city. Far from being a run-​down looking establishment unlike other places in Fredericksburg, it’s really a good breath of fresh air.
Jay’s has various events take place inside, ranging from jazz nights to comedy hour. It’s a shame not too many people have reviewed it here on Unilocal,as that reflects on not as many people going there as other places. I guess people are used to nearby Aladins and the old place before Jay’s (Mexico Lindo). People have their opinions of both places, but they shouldn’t let any negative feelings prevent them from going to Jay’s.
The other review here for this place has specifics, but I feel that may ruin the surprise for you. Basically, if you want a fresh experience in a restaurant that is not usually the type seen in Fredericksburg, I highly suggest going. Service was great, bartenders were friendly, and very original food that has a distinct cuisine that was hard to put a finger on. You will not be disappointed, personal guarantee.

My fiancé and I found the menu to this restaurant on line and instantly fell in love. We are big brunch fans, and the menu promised nothing less than an exquisite time, with live jazz and a four course brunch. We arrived around 1:30, and were seated near the window after a very small wait at the door. The restaurant was lit like a jazz club should be, with lots of band equipment and show lights everywhere. Definitely had a club atmosphere. Our waitress was a very polite young girl, whose name we later found out was Laurel. It was written on the comment card. She brought us some menus, and asked for our drink order. We asked about brunchy type cocktails, and she had the bartender come to the table. He suggested a Mimosa, which my fiancé ordered. I just had a water, as I was interested in the coffee offered on the brunch menu. We expressed interest in the brunch, and finally received the last crumpled brunch menu, three pages stapled together. While the menu itself was shabby, the offerings were nothing less than mouth-​watering. I started off with the coffee and beignets, and my fiancé ordered the apple cider and pull-​apart bun. My coffee came in a small cup on a small round plate, with the chocolate covered biegnet on the side, unfortunately leaving a lot of itself on the side of my coffee cup. My creamer for my coffee was served in a shot glass, and was difficult to pour. When I added sugar, I realized I had nothing to stir it with, so used my fork. The biegnet was delicious, and forgive me if I am wrong, but the Pop rocks on top were brilliant! The apple cider was perfect, spiced just right with a cinnamon stick to stir. The pull-​apart bun, however, was hard and more easily eaten dipped in the cider. For our next course, we ordered the Fruit Blintz, and the Honey and Pear Napoleon. Absolutely perfect! Light and flaky pastry with honey, almonds, and pears. And the Fruit Blintz was amazing, The mango and the citrus crème paired nicely with the grilled crêpe. Our next course consisted of bourbon cranberries with oatmeal, and grits with bacon and cheese. These were both very tasty, but the portions were a little too large. The bourbon cranberries were excellent and paired well with the oatmeal. The grits with cheese and bacon really wasn’t much more than loaded mashed potatoes, but very good all the same. Our final course was the Shaved Prime Rib gravy and biscuits, and the Crème Brulee French Toast. The french toast was very tasty, but the strawberries on top were very bitter, not ripe. The biscuits and gravy were excellent, topped with light, fluffy scrambled eggs, and the seasoning was perfect. I almost believed I was eating a shaved prime rib sandwich!
Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. We never did receive the fresh squeezed juice or pastries promised on the menu, but we probably would not have had room for them anyway. The chef and several other staff members stopped by our table during the meal, and that was very nice and personable. The only thing that brought it down a notch was the atmosphere. The band didn’t start playing until our meal was almost over, but the band’s children were banging the drums while they were setting up. It felt a little like the focus was more on the club and less on the food, which is a shame because the chef has some very nice creations that should be showcased.