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| - I went with a group of 12 people just to have dinner on a Thursday - Dec 2010
FYI this is a CASH only place.
This is a personal peeve of mine in this day and age. I feel a restaurant of the size and history of Java House should have a credit card & debit machine. Having an ATM that will probably charge $2.00 for transaction fees is not a solution especially for those on a budget.
Atmosphere:
It was fine. There is the front half of the resto which is more cafe style with table and chairs. We sat in the back half which had booths and a more restaurant dinner vibe. It was dim enough and candle lit which I feel is always a plus. Unfortunately the booth I was sitting in had a spring or something poking through the worn cloth in the middle of my back. In a large group like we were in changing seats would have been too much of a hassle.
Service:
Was decent. Dealing with large groups I always try to be more understanding (having been *screamed* at by a customer in a party of 20 when I worked at a terrible restaurant in Georgia where we seemed to never have the food we specialized in, or the essential liquors for normal drinks etc)
My friend to my left before ordering asked explicitly if the enchilada thingy could be served w/out meat of any sort, or just full of vegetables instead. Server said no problem, I believe in our table she was the only one who a specialized order. Her meal came and there was some meat in it. Once that was picked off, she realized she didn't have any sour cream. She requested some of the server, but the server seemed unable to give her any with her Mexican dish without charging. This to me was ridiculous. Anytime you order a taco, quesadilla, enchilada, burrito or almost any Mexican dish you can expect a heaping dollop of sour cream. As a previous server, I would have not thought twice to go back to the kitchen and scooped some in a bowl or something. Maybe the manager is super strict about such things - but as my friend told the server it should be noted on the menu that the meal does not come w/ sour cream.
The server did keep track of our drinks and maintained our waters well, and our meals all came our in short wait. They checked on our table that magical amount of times - not too much to be annoyed, not too little to have us annoyed.
Food:
I order the Thursday special, an entree w/ premium beer. I choose the Shanghai Noodles w/ shrimp and a Steam Whistle beer for $8.95. The salad that came out before my entree was probably the biggest disappointment of my entire meal. There were maybe 12 large and roughly cut pieces of romaine lettuce, a sprinkling of julienne carrots, and the nice (but very few/small) surprise of bean sprouts. I liked the dressing, not sure what it was though. Looked like a dark italian but tasted more like peanut/Asiatic sauce. My meal was alright. The shrimp had the tails on, which I guess is a positive or negative depending on one's preference (for me I prefer no tail). Only part of my plat principal I didn't like was that the egg over my noodles had not been 'scrambled' into the rest of everything else. It was a fried egg laying on top of my noodles & veges. Not a huge deal, but maybe this was their 'presentation.' It seemed everyone enjoyed their food just enough. Nothing to write home about, but satisfied our hunger pangs.
Bang for the Buck?
For the relatively cheap prices of their food and variety listed on the menu, you get your bang for your buck. Your food comes out in a plates wanna-be fancy style, decent size portions, in a nice sized restaurant in a funky part of town. Don't expect a thrill. Come for a cool motif painted wall on the exterior, and to fill your belly before a night of drinking.
Another place I won't recommend out-rightly, but if someone were to say they were going I wouldn't discourage it. I probably will return because my friend is there often, but will order something like fries and not a whole meal.
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