Today I had the pleasure of eating at Jay’s Bistro in downtown Fort Collins. It was an incredibly convenient place to eat lunch, because I happen to work in the offices next door. My boss and I decided to eat there for a lunch meeting - but we also decided that it might as well count as our “holiday party” too (it’s still quite a small company). This was my first dining experience at Jay’s, but I have heard a lot of positive things about them in the past, so I had high expectations. I was surprised by how many people were dining there for lunch, and the crowd made for a good atmosphere - the people gave the restaurant a warm, inviting, and energetic feeling.

We sat in a booth in the back corner of the restaurant, and even though there were plenty of people seated around us, it felt more private than most restaurant booths, and we were able to carry on a conversation without really hearing other people’s conversations. The atmosphere in Jay’s is very stylish, and they went a little overboard with their Christmas decorations (think formally dressed dolls), but it was warm and welcoming.

The staff were all very nice and polite. Our server gave us excellent service, he checked on us regularly to refill drinks and find out if we were doing well.

We were served freshly baked bread as an appetizer, and it was very soft, fluffy, and enjoyable. Included with the bread was a tray with plain butter, some sort of spicy butter, and what I think was a fruit jam. I tried the spicy butter and it was pretty good, but I didn’t try the jam.

The menu had a great variety of choices, so many good things in fact that I seriously had a hard time deciding between 2 or 3 different dishes, but I finally settled on “The New Yorker” ($9). The New Yorker is a sandwich described on the menu as, “Our popular Seasoned Corned Beef Reuben with Housemade Sauerkraut, Gruyere Cheese on Pumpernickel with Russian Dressing and Fries” (check out the website menu). I believe my sandwich had marble rye bread, and not pumpernickel, but it was delicious anyway. The corned beef was seasoned very well, and tasted great. Although I am usually not a fan of sauerkraut (even on ruebens), it was the perfect compliment to this sandwich, and it had a unique taste. The gruyere cheese was very melty and added a lot to the sandwich, as did the russian dressing. Overall, this sandwich was the perfect combo of quality ingredients, and every bite was scrumptious. The fries were a good compliment to the sandwich, they were seasoned well, and didn’t even require salt. I ate everything on my plate, and even though my appetite was satisfied, I was left craving more.

My boss ordered Linguini with Clams, which she described as, “very, very good.” We decided not to get any dessert, as we were both too full to eat any, but I would love to return to Jay’s sometime in the near future to try their famed chocolate raviolis.

This isn’t necessarily a cheap place to eat for lunch, all the entrees ranged from $8 to about $13, but it was definitely worth the experience, especially since the business paid for my meal :) I plan to go back to Jay’s in the coming months to experience their dinner menu as well, and I will give you all an update when I do.

Atmosphere: 4/5 (would be a 5, if the creepy christmas dolls weren’t sitting above my table)

Service: 5/5

Food: 5/5

Price: 3/5 (slightly pricey for lunch)

Overall Rating:

Have you ever been to Jay’s? What did you think? Have any restaurant recommendations for me?

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