A first rate sports bar in East Lawrence? Who would have thought? I would not have known to try Jacks, if it weren't for the fact that they accept Open Tables reservations. Very few restaurants in Lawrence do, and the ones that do are mostly high end restaurants. No other sports bars in Lawrence do. Anyway, the blackened salmon, sweet potato fries, Caesar salad, cheese cake, and service were all big hits. There were four of us at the table, and Jacks was a big hit with all of us. We'll be back. And then there is the huge TV screen. We were sitting below it, so could hardly see it. Next time we'll sit back from it to have a better view of that monster TV. Perhaps the best view would be from the upper level, but it is only open for service on Fridays and Saturdays, except if reserved for a private party.
(4)
Alexis R.
On par with other similar sports bars, it the staff and owner that set Jack's apart. The waitresses are friend and great regulars by name. The poker and trivia games are great distractions for non-sports fan. The huge projection screen makes it a great choice for watching the Jayhawks. The onion straws ($6.99) are my favorite appetizer. While far from healthy, they crispy strips of heaven dipped in ranch are difficult to refuse. Their selection of burgers are great too. Go on Monday, which is 1/2 night. They have good happy hour appetizer specials most nights along with fairly decent drink specials too. So it your looking for a place to watch a game, I would definitely recommend Jacks.
(3)
Adrian P.
Avoid going here late at night. Chances are you'll get a cranky middle-aged woman named Vicki as your server. Not sure which one she is? Wait for the eye rolling. If you ask for ANYTHING, those old eyes will be rolling. Want to order a drink? Rolled. Want an appetizer? Again, rolled. Speaking of appetizers, $7 for 6 mediocre mozzarella sticks? Really? I can go down the street to Dillons and buy a whole box for less than that. Anyways, back to Miss Vicki... I called to complain the next day. The manager apologized sincerely but made any and every excuse for her stating she gets "stressed" out when she has a lot of tables. And that this wasn't the first complaint about her. Really? *facepalm* Sorry Jack's but if you want to keep people coming back, get rid of cranky waitresses like Vicki. Or at least offer a little discount for poor service towards a future visit, if there is one...
(2)
Susan F.
A great locally-owned sports bar & grill. We've been coming here for years and love the casual atmosphere and friendly & quick service. They have a lot of TVs to watch the various games including the HUGE screen that's maybe 40' across? They do have an outdoor seating area to the east of the restaurant where most of the smokers go for a break. We're thankful, because then you don't have to walk through the smoke clouds to enter or leave the restaurant since the main entrance is on the south side of the building. :) They have daily food & beer specials. Love their catfish platter!
(4)
Myranda S.
We came out to lunch here with some friends a few months back. We were not impressed with our burgers, they were dry and appeared to have been ordered prepackaged and frozen. The server was nice and I would be willing to give the place a second try, but it probably won't be on the top of our list for a while.
(2)
Jerome S.
Service fluxuates on the account of the high turnover of the wait staff. If you catch em when they're good, great. If not, sorry for your loss. I've had really good experiences here and very marginal ones but never terrible. Great if you're on that side of town but not quite worth making the trek for, if they're having one of their slumps.
(3)
Eric B.
Good food and LOTS of sports on the multiple TV's The place looks biger on the inside. Service is good. Would recommend to anyone who wants to have a causal meal with friends and watch a sporting event.
(3)
Lexey J.
Set 'Em Up Jack's is a great sports bar and grill. They have more TVs than I could count from my seat, including a MASSIVE projector on one of the main walls. There's a TV in view of just about every seat in the house and they don't all show the same thing, which could be good or bad depending on the station. The food is also very good. I had one of their seasonal salmon sandwiches while I was there, and despite the overall carnivorous scene, it was easily one of the better sandwiches I've had. One of the guests that I went with had the catfish po'boy, which was also great. A third had a veggie burger, and despite the overall carnivorous feel of the place, it was really great! They know their way around a sandwich at SEU Jack's. The service was pretty good. The waitstaff was very friendly, though we did have a period where we were without drink refills. The place was dead, too, so it wasn't a lack of time issue. Finally, the booth we sat in had a very distinct mildew smell to it. We're not really sure what that was all about, so we just moved over to the next table.
(3)
Katie L.
Is it a good place to watch games? Yes Is the service good? Meh, most of the time. Are there really good drink specials? Not really. Nothing too great. -- And I'm starting to get annoyed with every time that I go and order martinis that they are poorly made. I shouldn't be getting ice cubes in my martini. Is the food good? It's really not too bad... But the menu claims that their wings are "famous" and so great... I ordered the buffalo wings with blue cheese and was really unimpressed. Their buffalo sauce is one of those odd-tasting, bitter ones... I could hardly force myself to get through half the order, luckily I only ordered the half order. Normally if I go with a couple friends, we'll order nachos with beef and an order of mozzarella sticks and there is no issue. I think I'll stick to that "bar food" and stop trying to explore the menu from here on out.
(3)
Clarice W.
How do I rate a place like Set'em Up Jacks? I can't talk about the food but here is what I can say: if you go to Saturday night Karaoke, be prepared to simultaneously laugh until you cry, die of embarrassment, and be in completely weirded-out awe of the characters that show up here. Oh and be sure to drink (they have an okay enough bar with lots of Boulevard beer on tap and cheap drink specials nightly). You will need it.
(3)
Rock H.
I go here for major sporting events or for the monthly car shows in the Summer. The food hasn't disappointed yet. I especially like the Sweet Fire hot wings. I've never had bad service. Nice choices for beer and decent specials for beer and drinks, even on weekends. There are plenty of screens including the giant one that can be seen from everywhere. There's also a nice patio.
(4)
Laurel C.
I always get the Reuben and it is pretty good. I have tried the burgers but I'm not impressed with the bun, a little dry. They definitely have the best pub chips in town, the dip is delicious. They have changed their fries to a thinner crinkle cut and when they are cooked well they are good. Once they were mushy and not crisp but most of the time the cooks do good. It is a great place to watch a game.
(3)
Jesus C.
I grew up in a trailer park in southwest kansas; which this place really reminds me of. Everytime I go in there, it seems like the trailer park behind the restaurant migrates inside for natty lights. This would be okay if the food was worth a damn, and boy it is not worth a damn. I got a turkey burger, the patty was okay, toppings whatever... you could tell this spot really wanted to be henry t's with their burger menu. They put some silly greenish salt on the fries... they're pretty much crinkle cut fries with silliness put on it. Ordered wings. They have that weird gooey texture that you find from Tyson's wings from the grocery store. I love how other places of decent repute here in town make their own dressing; not this hall of shame. Hell i got a bottle of kraft bleu cheese in the fridge i could just use that. I always finish dinner... hell i'm a glutton and look forward to overeating, but hell this food wasn't worthy of being served out of a truckstop or jail. When I'm really hung over and don't feel like driving, or i left my car in some random spot the night before, i walk over and feel like a piece of crap walking back with a bag full of poorly made food in styrofoam containers. Now the next part's gonna get personal. I wouldn't read if I regularly visit and/or enjoy this place. You walk in and see carhart coveralls and shitty beards all over the place. Hell you might even see someone wearing an icp shirt. Plenty of winners in there. It smells like low credit scores and geds in there.
(2)
Alicia R.
Great place to watch KU games. Great service & extensive bar menu...the sweet potato fries are great.
(4)
Ryan S.
Everything is great here. I've had almost every menus item.
(5)
Mike H.
Took the family here after moving nearby. I was thrilled to be told by our waitress that they served all Boulevard beers on tap. It was great to be able to order a Boulevard Stout when so many other places give you the option of Wheat and maybe Pale. The food is definitely above-average bar & grill food. I had their Lumber Jack burger, my wife had the fish tacos and my daughter the hot wings. Everyone was very happy with what they got and I even heard the people who sat next to us say how good the catfish they had ordered was. The wait staff was very friendly and we never had to wait long for anything. The atmosphere was nice. It was comfortable, clean and the giant TV was surprisingly clear for a TV that size. I will definitely be going back soon.
(5)
Cory D.
Two stars only on account of their robust and varied TV arrangement, perfect for watching the Jayhawks or any other big time event (PPV excluded unless you "know somebody"). Other than that, sheer mediocrity, from the food to the service to the beer selection to the decor to the parking (which is actually just bad) to, finally, the prices, which are astronomical relative to the piss-poor quality of the food. It's bar food, done badly. If you're so exhausted coming into Lawrence from K-10 that you just can't bear to drive any further to a sports bar (of which Lawrence has many nice ones), stop in here, I suppose. You'll ask yourself, "what the hell was I thinking?" but that's OK, because chances are, many of your fellow patrons will be asking themselves the same thing.
(2)
Ty O.
I was at Set 'em Up Jacks for a karaoke night out with friends on a Saturday night (it's free!). I didn't eat or drink so I can really only comment on the atmosphere. The place is a sports bar with projectors and giant screens all about, with many different booth areas and seating areas at different levels, all surrounded by maple paneling. It was a bright and loud inside and that helped contribute to a nice time. I'm reluctant to even comment on the karaoke because I know that at Set'em Up Jacks I was a stranger in a strange land; this place was not for me. I don't mean that in a judgmental or snooty way either -- in the same way that I know MTV couldn't care less about me at my codgery, post-teen age, and in the same way the AARP couldn't care less about me in my pre-arthritic, whippersnappery youth, or in the same way the League of Southern Thai Association Football Mothers would have nothing to say to me for innumerable reasons, Set'em Up Jacks simply isn't for me, and I'm okay with that. Who is it for? It's a mix. Age seemed less a factor, though it was not a college hang out. Those who like to drink and those who like to publicly sing (some skillful, some not, some deluded, and some just for fun) were at home there. Also, based on the average singers' physical constituency, I have to assume the food at Jacks is delicious. I believe there is a selection of stouts at the bar too. In the end, it was an interesting excursion and I may even end up there again sometime, but only ever as a visitor. It's perfect for some and not for others, and I love that there are many obvious regulars who go on a weekend and have a good time. If you too are a fan of karaoke, sports, alcohol, corpulentery, and friends, this might be your joint. Don't expect it to be anything it's not, but what it is, it is a good one of. Rating: 3 stars.
(3)
Jared H.
The environment was nice and the sports bar set up was great. Lots of TVs for watching games. We came with a group of friends on taco special night. Good price for the dinner overall. The Tacos were good but I became sick shortly after leaving the restaurant and was lucky to make it home. After spending some time in the bathroom I spent much of the night with stomach pains. The Wife ordered chips with a cheese type dip. The dip was great but the chips themselves came in a greasy chewy ball so we sent them back. When the waitress returned she informed us that we would be paying an extra $.75 for the new bowl of chips. I was a little shocked since most restaurant give out chips for free and the only reason we sent ours back was because they still needed too be cooked. The waitress told the manager of my complaint and they removed the charge, however when the ticket arrived I had two blank charges on my receipt. When I asked the waitress what the charges were for she at first responded that she didn't know but all receipts seemed to have the blank charges so it must be NORMAL. I asked her is she could find out and after a bit of confusion on why I would ask such a thing she left to find out. Turns out that they were charges for extra tacos that the wife had ordered when I wasn't looking. I was surprised that the ticket items were left blank on the receipt and that people had not questioned these charges before. We will not be returning mostly due to the reason that I became ill after leaving the restaurant, not sure if it was the food but the other shenanigans certainly didn't reinforce my faith in the staff.
(2)
Shelby M.
Mediocre, over-priced food. Awful wait staff. Please, avoid. Didn't have many problems until tonight. Maybe that's because my boyfriend and I generally sit at the bar and deal with bartenders (they are lovely). Severs are an entirely different story...
(1)
Alison M.
A pretty standard sports bar, Jacks is a good place to grab a drink after work, or to watch a game. They have an absurd number of televisions, including one screen that is almost theatre size, and you will be in good company to watch a KU game. It can get really busy during basketball season, so you need to get there early to get a table. They have tasty appetizers, and the entrees are pretty good. The outdoor covered patio is a great spot when the weather cooperates.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Late Night Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : No Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Bill B.
A first rate sports bar in East Lawrence? Who would have thought? I would not have known to try Jacks, if it weren't for the fact that they accept Open Tables reservations. Very few restaurants in Lawrence do, and the ones that do are mostly high end restaurants. No other sports bars in Lawrence do. Anyway, the blackened salmon, sweet potato fries, Caesar salad, cheese cake, and service were all big hits. There were four of us at the table, and Jacks was a big hit with all of us. We'll be back. And then there is the huge TV screen. We were sitting below it, so could hardly see it. Next time we'll sit back from it to have a better view of that monster TV. Perhaps the best view would be from the upper level, but it is only open for service on Fridays and Saturdays, except if reserved for a private party.
(4)Alexis R.
On par with other similar sports bars, it the staff and owner that set Jack's apart. The waitresses are friend and great regulars by name. The poker and trivia games are great distractions for non-sports fan. The huge projection screen makes it a great choice for watching the Jayhawks. The onion straws ($6.99) are my favorite appetizer. While far from healthy, they crispy strips of heaven dipped in ranch are difficult to refuse. Their selection of burgers are great too. Go on Monday, which is 1/2 night. They have good happy hour appetizer specials most nights along with fairly decent drink specials too. So it your looking for a place to watch a game, I would definitely recommend Jacks.
(3)Adrian P.
Avoid going here late at night. Chances are you'll get a cranky middle-aged woman named Vicki as your server. Not sure which one she is? Wait for the eye rolling. If you ask for ANYTHING, those old eyes will be rolling. Want to order a drink? Rolled. Want an appetizer? Again, rolled. Speaking of appetizers, $7 for 6 mediocre mozzarella sticks? Really? I can go down the street to Dillons and buy a whole box for less than that. Anyways, back to Miss Vicki... I called to complain the next day. The manager apologized sincerely but made any and every excuse for her stating she gets "stressed" out when she has a lot of tables. And that this wasn't the first complaint about her. Really? *facepalm* Sorry Jack's but if you want to keep people coming back, get rid of cranky waitresses like Vicki. Or at least offer a little discount for poor service towards a future visit, if there is one...
(2)Susan F.
A great locally-owned sports bar & grill. We've been coming here for years and love the casual atmosphere and friendly & quick service. They have a lot of TVs to watch the various games including the HUGE screen that's maybe 40' across? They do have an outdoor seating area to the east of the restaurant where most of the smokers go for a break. We're thankful, because then you don't have to walk through the smoke clouds to enter or leave the restaurant since the main entrance is on the south side of the building. :) They have daily food & beer specials. Love their catfish platter!
(4)Myranda S.
We came out to lunch here with some friends a few months back. We were not impressed with our burgers, they were dry and appeared to have been ordered prepackaged and frozen. The server was nice and I would be willing to give the place a second try, but it probably won't be on the top of our list for a while.
(2)Jerome S.
Service fluxuates on the account of the high turnover of the wait staff. If you catch em when they're good, great. If not, sorry for your loss. I've had really good experiences here and very marginal ones but never terrible. Great if you're on that side of town but not quite worth making the trek for, if they're having one of their slumps.
(3)Eric B.
Good food and LOTS of sports on the multiple TV's The place looks biger on the inside. Service is good. Would recommend to anyone who wants to have a causal meal with friends and watch a sporting event.
(3)Lexey J.
Set 'Em Up Jack's is a great sports bar and grill. They have more TVs than I could count from my seat, including a MASSIVE projector on one of the main walls. There's a TV in view of just about every seat in the house and they don't all show the same thing, which could be good or bad depending on the station. The food is also very good. I had one of their seasonal salmon sandwiches while I was there, and despite the overall carnivorous scene, it was easily one of the better sandwiches I've had. One of the guests that I went with had the catfish po'boy, which was also great. A third had a veggie burger, and despite the overall carnivorous feel of the place, it was really great! They know their way around a sandwich at SEU Jack's. The service was pretty good. The waitstaff was very friendly, though we did have a period where we were without drink refills. The place was dead, too, so it wasn't a lack of time issue. Finally, the booth we sat in had a very distinct mildew smell to it. We're not really sure what that was all about, so we just moved over to the next table.
(3)Katie L.
Is it a good place to watch games? Yes Is the service good? Meh, most of the time. Are there really good drink specials? Not really. Nothing too great. -- And I'm starting to get annoyed with every time that I go and order martinis that they are poorly made. I shouldn't be getting ice cubes in my martini. Is the food good? It's really not too bad... But the menu claims that their wings are "famous" and so great... I ordered the buffalo wings with blue cheese and was really unimpressed. Their buffalo sauce is one of those odd-tasting, bitter ones... I could hardly force myself to get through half the order, luckily I only ordered the half order. Normally if I go with a couple friends, we'll order nachos with beef and an order of mozzarella sticks and there is no issue. I think I'll stick to that "bar food" and stop trying to explore the menu from here on out.
(3)Clarice W.
How do I rate a place like Set'em Up Jacks? I can't talk about the food but here is what I can say: if you go to Saturday night Karaoke, be prepared to simultaneously laugh until you cry, die of embarrassment, and be in completely weirded-out awe of the characters that show up here. Oh and be sure to drink (they have an okay enough bar with lots of Boulevard beer on tap and cheap drink specials nightly). You will need it.
(3)Rock H.
I go here for major sporting events or for the monthly car shows in the Summer. The food hasn't disappointed yet. I especially like the Sweet Fire hot wings. I've never had bad service. Nice choices for beer and decent specials for beer and drinks, even on weekends. There are plenty of screens including the giant one that can be seen from everywhere. There's also a nice patio.
(4)Laurel C.
I always get the Reuben and it is pretty good. I have tried the burgers but I'm not impressed with the bun, a little dry. They definitely have the best pub chips in town, the dip is delicious. They have changed their fries to a thinner crinkle cut and when they are cooked well they are good. Once they were mushy and not crisp but most of the time the cooks do good. It is a great place to watch a game.
(3)Jesus C.
I grew up in a trailer park in southwest kansas; which this place really reminds me of. Everytime I go in there, it seems like the trailer park behind the restaurant migrates inside for natty lights. This would be okay if the food was worth a damn, and boy it is not worth a damn. I got a turkey burger, the patty was okay, toppings whatever... you could tell this spot really wanted to be henry t's with their burger menu. They put some silly greenish salt on the fries... they're pretty much crinkle cut fries with silliness put on it. Ordered wings. They have that weird gooey texture that you find from Tyson's wings from the grocery store. I love how other places of decent repute here in town make their own dressing; not this hall of shame. Hell i got a bottle of kraft bleu cheese in the fridge i could just use that. I always finish dinner... hell i'm a glutton and look forward to overeating, but hell this food wasn't worthy of being served out of a truckstop or jail. When I'm really hung over and don't feel like driving, or i left my car in some random spot the night before, i walk over and feel like a piece of crap walking back with a bag full of poorly made food in styrofoam containers. Now the next part's gonna get personal. I wouldn't read if I regularly visit and/or enjoy this place. You walk in and see carhart coveralls and shitty beards all over the place. Hell you might even see someone wearing an icp shirt. Plenty of winners in there. It smells like low credit scores and geds in there.
(2)Alicia R.
Great place to watch KU games. Great service & extensive bar menu...the sweet potato fries are great.
(4)Ryan S.
Everything is great here. I've had almost every menus item.
(5)Mike H.
Took the family here after moving nearby. I was thrilled to be told by our waitress that they served all Boulevard beers on tap. It was great to be able to order a Boulevard Stout when so many other places give you the option of Wheat and maybe Pale. The food is definitely above-average bar & grill food. I had their Lumber Jack burger, my wife had the fish tacos and my daughter the hot wings. Everyone was very happy with what they got and I even heard the people who sat next to us say how good the catfish they had ordered was. The wait staff was very friendly and we never had to wait long for anything. The atmosphere was nice. It was comfortable, clean and the giant TV was surprisingly clear for a TV that size. I will definitely be going back soon.
(5)Cory D.
Two stars only on account of their robust and varied TV arrangement, perfect for watching the Jayhawks or any other big time event (PPV excluded unless you "know somebody"). Other than that, sheer mediocrity, from the food to the service to the beer selection to the decor to the parking (which is actually just bad) to, finally, the prices, which are astronomical relative to the piss-poor quality of the food. It's bar food, done badly. If you're so exhausted coming into Lawrence from K-10 that you just can't bear to drive any further to a sports bar (of which Lawrence has many nice ones), stop in here, I suppose. You'll ask yourself, "what the hell was I thinking?" but that's OK, because chances are, many of your fellow patrons will be asking themselves the same thing.
(2)Ty O.
I was at Set 'em Up Jacks for a karaoke night out with friends on a Saturday night (it's free!). I didn't eat or drink so I can really only comment on the atmosphere. The place is a sports bar with projectors and giant screens all about, with many different booth areas and seating areas at different levels, all surrounded by maple paneling. It was a bright and loud inside and that helped contribute to a nice time. I'm reluctant to even comment on the karaoke because I know that at Set'em Up Jacks I was a stranger in a strange land; this place was not for me. I don't mean that in a judgmental or snooty way either -- in the same way that I know MTV couldn't care less about me at my codgery, post-teen age, and in the same way the AARP couldn't care less about me in my pre-arthritic, whippersnappery youth, or in the same way the League of Southern Thai Association Football Mothers would have nothing to say to me for innumerable reasons, Set'em Up Jacks simply isn't for me, and I'm okay with that. Who is it for? It's a mix. Age seemed less a factor, though it was not a college hang out. Those who like to drink and those who like to publicly sing (some skillful, some not, some deluded, and some just for fun) were at home there. Also, based on the average singers' physical constituency, I have to assume the food at Jacks is delicious. I believe there is a selection of stouts at the bar too. In the end, it was an interesting excursion and I may even end up there again sometime, but only ever as a visitor. It's perfect for some and not for others, and I love that there are many obvious regulars who go on a weekend and have a good time. If you too are a fan of karaoke, sports, alcohol, corpulentery, and friends, this might be your joint. Don't expect it to be anything it's not, but what it is, it is a good one of. Rating: 3 stars.
(3)Jared H.
The environment was nice and the sports bar set up was great. Lots of TVs for watching games. We came with a group of friends on taco special night. Good price for the dinner overall. The Tacos were good but I became sick shortly after leaving the restaurant and was lucky to make it home. After spending some time in the bathroom I spent much of the night with stomach pains. The Wife ordered chips with a cheese type dip. The dip was great but the chips themselves came in a greasy chewy ball so we sent them back. When the waitress returned she informed us that we would be paying an extra $.75 for the new bowl of chips. I was a little shocked since most restaurant give out chips for free and the only reason we sent ours back was because they still needed too be cooked. The waitress told the manager of my complaint and they removed the charge, however when the ticket arrived I had two blank charges on my receipt. When I asked the waitress what the charges were for she at first responded that she didn't know but all receipts seemed to have the blank charges so it must be NORMAL. I asked her is she could find out and after a bit of confusion on why I would ask such a thing she left to find out. Turns out that they were charges for extra tacos that the wife had ordered when I wasn't looking. I was surprised that the ticket items were left blank on the receipt and that people had not questioned these charges before. We will not be returning mostly due to the reason that I became ill after leaving the restaurant, not sure if it was the food but the other shenanigans certainly didn't reinforce my faith in the staff.
(2)Shelby M.
Mediocre, over-priced food. Awful wait staff. Please, avoid. Didn't have many problems until tonight. Maybe that's because my boyfriend and I generally sit at the bar and deal with bartenders (they are lovely). Severs are an entirely different story...
(1)Alison M.
A pretty standard sports bar, Jacks is a good place to grab a drink after work, or to watch a game. They have an absurd number of televisions, including one screen that is almost theatre size, and you will be in good company to watch a KU game. It can get really busy during basketball season, so you need to get there early to get a table. They have tasty appetizers, and the entrees are pretty good. The outdoor covered patio is a great spot when the weather cooperates.
(3)