I’ve been watching the transformation of the sad, empty old Steak & Ale building for the last couple of months. The transformation is complete and Jimm’s Steakhouse and Pub is now open. My wife and I decided to have lunch at Jimm’s last week to see what it is like.
We arrived just a little before noon and were a bit concerned about being able to get in as the parking lot was quite full. Fortunately for us we ended up only waiting about 10 or so minutes for a table to free up. There were quite a few groups having lunch and most of the diners we saw were business folk.
We were offered the lunch menu which featured sandwiches, steaks and soups as selections as well as the salad bar. I selected the 7 ounce sirloin ($11.99) with “seasoned” fries which came with the salad bar. My wife chose the ‘Hawaiian’ chicken ($7.99) and substituted a cup of poblano cheddar soup for the normal sides.
My wife said the soup was very good – I had a taste and it did have a good poblano flavor and was pretty rich and creamy. My wife also said the Hawaiian chicken was nicely seasoned, tasted good but was perhaps a little on the dry side (as grilled, boneless, skinless chicken breast typically is). Overall, she enjoyed her meal.
My steak was cooked correctly and had nice grill char marks on it. It was also pretty tender and was on par with the type of sirloin you would get at Texas Roadhouse or Logan’s. While it tasted good – I would have liked it better if some (or more) salt & pepper were put on the steak prior to cooking. The menu stated the steak comes with “seasoned” fries – however the fries I received had absolutely no seasoning on them at all – not even salt. The fries themselves were a bit below average and not very crispy. They were medium cut with skin on.
The salad bar is just about a direct carry over from the Steak & Ale days. There aren’t as many components as say Ruby Tuesday – but the salad items were fresh and of good quality. Fortunately for me there was no one else at the salad bar when I visited it, but I did notice that at times there was quite a line. The bar itself was setup such that you have to visit both sides to make your ingredient selections and then return to the far end for dressing which leaves you fighting the flow if there are more than two people at the bar.
I don’t remember enough about the old Steak & Ale menu to be able to directly compare – but based on the lunch menu my wife called Jimm’s a ‘meat & potatoes’ place. I would agree. I haven’t seen the dinner menu but I would imagine it being similar. I think if you liked the old Steak & Ale menu you will be comfortable with the menu choices at Jimm’s.
Service was a little slow on our visit. Some of it was due to our server being a bit preoccupied at times with other tables and I think the kitchen was running a bit behind – but when we visited – Jimm’s had only been open 3 days so I’m sure they were still working out the kinks. Our server was friendly and helpful.
If you’ve driven by Jimm’s recently you’ve seen the outside work that has been done – it looks nice and they added a big window in the bar area to brighten that area up. Inside no major structural changes were made. There are still several different dining areas and the salad bar(s) are still in the same location. There is new carpeting and paint and that has freshened things up quite a bit. I think the tables & chairs are the same.
Based on our lunch visit I think Jimm’s has captured that familiar Steak & Ale feeling. The food we had was overall pretty good. I’ll be going back for dinner at some point to see how that goes.
1935 South Glenstone Avenue – (417) 886-5466
Jimm’s is pretty much a direct continuation of Steak ‘n Ale, as Jimm is the previous manager of Steak ‘n Ale when it closed and they’ve done little to change the inside.