Great place... period. As a dedicated North Sider, this place brings me back to the original James Street Tavern, only better. The food is good and sometimes very good. The menu is pub style and I have tried nearly everything on the menu at this point with little disappointment. The key takeaways if you are considering:
Food: Good food, but not exotic. It says gastropub but not by NYC standards but who cares. Appetizer menu is limited and a few more healthy choices would help. I do love the fried oysters though, for me perfect every time. Some friends have found them spotty. Burgers are tasty, I like them all. Food gets a 3.5 stars
Drink: Great bartenders generally speaking and drinks are relatively fairly priced. Drafts are solid, nothing earth shattering but it is not a craft beer haven. Mixed drinks solid, again nothing exotic but always a good and fair pour. Drink gets 4 stars
Atmosphere: What can you say, it's the James Street. Jazz oozes out of the rafters, day and night. With their steady stream of jazz nightly it has become the go-to jazz club in the city. Atmosphere gets 4.5 stars
Total = 4.0 stars. Very good in my view.
Would like to see some menu changes, and maybe even a few more exotic gastropub like specials. No complaints though... all good here.