Bacaras Family Restaurant

I have had good meal time or two quite some time ago. Last two times, not happy with steak. First was inedible, redone still same… no help for that one. Few weeks ago order med well as we’ll done not guaranteed, steak fairly tender but only cooked outside, brought home to recook. Good soup always tho only tiny bowl, good bread, decent salad, extra charge extra dressing. Can, t comment other entrees, but I won’t order steak again and may not go back in all likely hood. Chef wanted to credit $ 2 for inedible steak ridiculous’! And you’ll likely starve in the hrs it will take.

Bread was delicious, soup was good but salty. My filet was medium rare rather than medium and a bit fatty. My fiancé got the New York strip and said it was the best steak he had ever eaten. we will go there again but I will try something else.

My family went to Bacara’s for mother’s day. I was really looking forward to it. However, by the time we got our drinks I was ready to leave. My husband’s drink had food particles floating in it and two of the silverware rolls we were given had dirty silverware in it. When the salads arrived, the lettuce in mine was completely wilted and gross. Then, when being served our family style main course, three of the seven plates we were given were dirty. Finally, during dessert, my 8 year old pulled a piece of GLASS out of his cheesecake! After speaking with the «manager’s wife» our waitress acted like we hadn’t informed her about any of the problems. We will NEVER go back. Avoid this place if you like your food prepared in a clean environment, eaten with clean utensils, and served on clean dishes!

What a great find! Everyone we had was amazing! The service was great. Special thanks to Michael who made us all feel welcome.

Made my first trip to Bacaras on New Years Eve. The service was awsome, the food even better. My husband is a very picky eater and he said his steak was the best he had ever eaten… I will be going back.

So, reviews have been hot or cold. I enjoy going and eating whatever the chef prepares. Sunday brunch is excellent with a variety of family style main dishes served to everyone. The bread is always good and the fare is usually either prime rib, fish, chicken, pork or prime rib (usually 3 with accompanying veggies/​sides. At less than 13 dollars with soup, salad, meal and dessert (coffee or tea) it is a bargain. I will go whenever I am in town.

This is a unique experience that I was not really expecting. The food is fair and it takes a drive to get to it. It is worth a visit if you are in the Jamestown area but it should be added on the «to do» list if you are driving for more than 20min.
The staff seemed to be friendly but the service was inconsistent. I was disappointed in the quality and became concerned with the cleanliness of the place after a few minutes.
The food was fair and inconsistent. My guest’s risotto was dry, hard, and cold and they were out of all the other sides. It wasn’t replaced and this was a very disappointing thing to me since I have been a German chef for 25 years. This should not be a problem for any chef at any level.

My husband and I were at bacararas on Friday and Saturday night and here goes, I ordered a filet what I got was a ribeye that had been in freezer so long it tasted old and freezer burned!!! I didn’t complain to waitress at all about being served the wrong cut of
tell the truth they were stressed enough without my saying anything! Next night I ordered a filet mignon with Cajun shrimp. Anyone knows a filet does not come with gristle. The meat had a purple cast to it so tough I could NOT get one piece down! The shrimp came on a bed Of spiced rice, which was good, but not trying to get shells off of overcooked shrimp. What a mess! I have in the past had the best filet mignon at this restaurant and they are taking a jewel and turning it into a stone!

I hate to be the naysayer for these reviews for Bacaras, however here it is. The waitress read us the nightly specials when I decided on the «surf & turf» that she had mentioned. And I quote «we have a bacon wrapped filet mignon with a pound of spicy shrimp». Sounds good to me… well not so much. Let me start with my «filet mignon», this was no filet mignon it was a very (and I mean very) tough cut of steak with zero bacon on it. When I asked the waitress about the «bacon wrapped» part of the special she had quoted she took my plate back to the kitchen and returned with one piece of bacon that was halfway cooked just dropped over the top of my steak. OK I can live with that, so I cut into the steak and put on a small piece of bacon, wow they used heavily flavored MAPLE bacon. The maple overwhelmed the steak tremendously. Oh well, I can just not eat the bacon I though… well come to find out I couldn’t eat the steak either. Every time I popped a piece into my mouth I ended up spitting it back out because it wouldn’t chew. I again asked the waitress about this being a «mignon», again she went and asked the cook. Her answer was «oh, it is just a different cut of steak». So of course I had to remind her that the mignon is the cut of the steak. If it is a different cut then it is not a mignon. Oh well the steak is no good but they gave me plenty of shrimp I can just eat that. Let me ask you something, who puts peel and eat shrimp into a boiling pot of a gumbo type mix? The shrimp still had 100% of their shells on them but the pot of gumbo was boiling hot. I had to pull out the shrimp with my fork, lay them on my plate and blow on them until they were cool enough to pick them up with my fingers to peel them. Now with all the bad stuff being said, they do have fantastic fresh bread. It had an orange flavor to it and was like eating a piece of cake. But unfortunately that was the best thing about the meal.

This place is a hidden gem. The food is phenomenal! The setting is quaint and informal. The service was fantastic. You can bring your own alcohol for a modest cork fee. They do not sell alcoholic beverages. There is a mixture of american, french, italian, and german food on the menu; there is something for everybody. We had 4 people who had 4 different meals; each meal was delicious. They serve homemade bread with a tasty orange zest butter. It was so good that we are going back the next weekend and will probably make a trip to Jamestown often. For 4 people: 2 appetizers + 4 entrees + soup + salad + bread + 2 desserts = $ 30 each with a tip for the bill. You won’t find a better restaurant within 2 hours.
For the salad, order the house vinaigrette because it is homemade and yummy. The restaurant is owned by a German chef, so we ordered German food. We felt like we were in Germany, the food was so good. I ordered the sauerbraten, which came with spaetzle, a vegetable medley, and red cabbage. It was outstanding. My girlfriend ordered the jaeger schnitzel, which came with a mushroom sauce, spaetzle, a vegetable medley, and red cabbage. She loved it. I don’t recall what our friends ordered off the top of my head, but I know that they liked it a lot. We got the apricot torte and a chocolate raspberry cake. We really liked the light fruity flavor of the torte the best, but the chocolate cake was good too.
You don’t leave the restaurant hungry. We were so stuffed that we could barely walk out of there! The leftovers for lunch the next day were of course delicious. Three of the four of us have spent vacations in Germany and this was as good as anything we ordered in Germany. :-)
PS: Bring cash or check! No credit cards.
PPS: They are only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings and Sunday for Brunch.

What a surprise! A fine dining experience in the countryside north of Jamestown, just outside the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area.
Bacara’s operator came from Germany several decades ago and worked for some time as chef at the «Beggar’s Castle» restaurant deep in a valley near Jamestown. He’s still serving German food (wienerschnitzel, sauerbraten, sausages, etc.) in the current establishment, but the menu also has plenty of American style choices (steak, shrimp, burgers, etc.) for the less adventuresome palate. The menu also included several items labeled «French» or «Italian».
The German style bread made a great start to the meal, accompanied by a tasty vegetable soup and a nicely assembled salad. Our German selections (sauerbraten, jäger schnitzel, spaetzle, red cabbage, and other veggies) were well-​prepared. Portions were large, so we didn’t have room for dessert, but there were some delectable tortes on display. No alcohol is served (I’m pretty sure that Fentress County is still dry), but Bacaras offers set-​ups for wine or beer.
The dining area is divided into several different rooms, each holding a few tables, which makes for a more intimate eating experience. Wherever you turn, the walls are filled with an unusual mix of Tennessee country kitsch and German kitsch: cuckoo clock, beer steins, farm implements, quilts, Fentress County memorabilia, and plenty more. Although the dining experience is pretty special, the dress is totally casual, as many Bacaras customers are people who stop in fresh from a day of horseback riding, hiking, or other outdoor pursuit.
Bacara’s is open for dinner Thursday through Saturday (but I think they may operate more days in the summer) and Sunday for brunch. They do accept reservations, so phone ahead (if you can plan ahead better than we do).
If this place were in a city with lots of fine dining choices, I don’t think I’d be giving it 5 stars, but in Jamestown it’s as good as it gets!
NOTE: Unilocal’s current map location for Bacara’s is wrong. It’s on a different «Wheeler Lane» that’s several miles north of Jamestown. This place is on Wheeler Lane which is a turnoff from Leatherwood Ford Rd (Hwy 297), just east of «Sharp Place» on Hwy 154. Here’s a Google map link to the actual location:
Also note: Bacaras doesn’t take credit cards, but they do accept checks.