Jacksons Steakhouse Review

Surprisingly, Jacksons Steakhouse is an American Style Grilled owned by the Alfresco’s group.They currently only have one location on Hai Bà Trng Street, Hoàn Kim, Hà Ni.

This restaurant is an upscale American dining experience. Far from the traditional red seats, black and white floor tiles, and burgers served by waiters riding rollers, Jackson Steakhouse is more on the high end of the dining spectrum.

The location

Couldn’t wait to take a bite of the Chef’s Cut Steak after getting our passeport ready

Located in Hoan Kiem, the center of Hanoi, the restaurant is very near the Trang Tien Plaza. The location has a fairly narrow but deep surface on two levels. From the entrance of the restaurant, you can see the Tiffany and Co. advertisement and expensive cars coming out of the Plaza Parking.

Inside the first floor or Jackson Steakhouse

If the restaurant doesn’t have a view over the lake, it is only located one block away from it. The restaurant looks the part when it comes to American fine dining, which, in my opinion, looks like a mixture of Italian and British.

The decoration is very subtle, and the tables are well arranged. On your table, you can find flowers, a salt and pepper mill, and multiple pieces of tableware. The place is simple but elegant.

The menu

There are different menus. One is the set lunch menu, where you can make a selection from multiple choices for three courses: starters, main courses, and desserts, for a price of 375,000 VND, which is honestly a great value for the money.

You also have a menu à la carte where you’ll find the more sophisticated or specialized dishes such as beef Wellington, lamb chops, and other lobsters.

Like at every fine dining establishment, you will also find a menu for the drinks and wine.

Exemple of dishes in Jacksons Steakhouse

We found the menu to be very well made and the dishes well chosen. To be honest, this restaurant has a strong Italian influence. There’s carpaccio, calzone, chicken Parmigiana, risotto, and rigatoni on the menu. Which is good for us because we love Italian food and deliciously cooked meat.

The experience

I came to Jackson’s Steakhouse not knowing anything about it. I was honestly expecting a franchise like an upscale Buffalo Grill. So it’s no wonder I was pleasantly surprised to find out that first, there’s only one of these restaurants, and second, the experience is quite pleasing and the food very good.

We personally ate a late lunch there after a trip to the Embassy, so we opted for the convenient sets.

The restaurant give us a pre-appetizer : a selection of bread with different butter with some sort of an eggplant dip. It was honestly very good and the waiters didn’t hesitate to refill our basket.

For starters, we chose the carpaccio and the smoked salmon crostini. Both were very delicious. The smoked salmon was delicious, like the kind you can find in Nordic countries in Europe, not the overly salty, cheap salmon you usually get from restaurants.

The carpaccio was also delicious. I was surprised at first not to find any vinegar or lemon to slowly cook the beef, but the olive oil used and the rocket salad mixed with just the right amount of black pepper, salt, and cheese were to die for.

One thing to notice is that the center of the carpaccio meat was still a bit frozen, but this is probably because these are imported products, and it didn’t affect my experience by any means.

We also had the opportunity to come a second time and try a different entrance. The cauliflower salad was simple but delicious: cauliflower, orange, salads, and dry tomatoes with a touch of balsamic vinegar.

Even though the portion was a little small, the starter salmon on toast was delicious and well balanced.

We both chose the steak as the main course, so the only difference was that I was supposed to get a medium-rare and my wife a 70% cooked steak.

The steak arrived warm and a bit undercooked, but for me, it was not a problem since I am used to eating my ribeye bloody. The steaks were served with a sauce, some mashed potatoes, and some broccoli gratin. We were offered some mustard from Dijon and some traditional mustard.

The duck à l’orange was well cooked, still rosé on the inside, with a crispy skin. Perhaps the food is slightly underseasoned with salt, but that’s not a problem since there’s self-serving salt on the table.

Overall, the main course was simple and effective. The menu was not overly complicated or fancy, but it was well executed.

Small but delicious Fruit Tart from Jackson’s Steakhouse

The desserts were delicious too, perhaps on the small side, but that is to be expected from a set. The thing that caught our attention was the effort of the staff to make our stay enjoyable. I have to say it was a great service overall.

Some sort of lemon mousse with almonds on top

I have to say the portions of the lunch set menu are about perfect. You’ll feel full but not too much, and you’ll stay full until later in the evening.

Verdict

8.2 out of 10

Jackson Steakhouse is basically more or less what I was expecting to find in Hanoi when we tried the Italian restaurant Il Grillo.

A simple and elegant place with good food at a relatively affordable price. Basically, this is a great option for foreigners who love steak and Italian food.

All of this with great service, where you don’t feel like they are trying to squeeze every last ounce of value out of you but instead simply trying to give you a great experience.

I think this place is underrated, and it is a must for foreigners looking to eat simple, good-quality food in a relaxed atmosphere in the central city.