Jac's, the reincarnation of a couple tries at restaurants in this near-West side Monroe St. space in recent years, does a lot of things right. These include:
- vibrant, fun and comfortably crowded full-service bar and dining room that lends a neighborhood and low-key vibe to the place
- an expansive French bistro-style menu with well-executed soups and salads for starters, classics such as moules frites (in your choice of three wine-based baths), entrées such as duck breast - perfectly cooked medium-rare, and an array of delicious side items such as roasted brussels sprouts (if you think you hate them, think again)
- a great lunch menu with an array of sandwiches to tempt any tastebuds. Try the salmon on flatbread with aioli for a real treat.
- nice specials, such as half-off bottles of wine on Monday nights
- a commitment to rustic and local foods that really demonstrate a restaurant's understanding of the particular Madison style that has taken hold in the city's top dining venues
My criticisms are few:
- the prices are high: entrées come close to, match and even surpass some of the city's more ambitious eateries. This is an issue at Jac's, because the food is very good in almost all cases but...
- ...the ambiance is lacking. The serviceable but uninspired décor is a letdown, particularly when such effort has gone into crafting a French bistro or gastropub-style menu
- the Friday night fish fry is a major disappointment; it's not particularly cheap and the fish lacks flavor. The Laurel just next door does a much better job.
Jac's is a restaurant with a loyal following and a great deal of potential to attract an even larger fanbase. To do so, a revamping of the dining room to match the ambitious menu, a honing of the overly expansive menu, and a check-in with what some other restaurants are doing, a bit more successfully (e.g. Sardine), would really bump Jac's up into the next echelon of Madison staples where it seems to want to be. Alternately, Jac's could consider slightly lowering their prices to better match the décor and casual service, and things would feel a bit more correctly aligned.
Bottom line: a promising spot with good bistro-style food, but needs some polish and attention to detail to become a true contender.