J. GILBERT'S WOOD-FIRED STEAKS & SEAFOOD, Glastonbury - Menu, Prices, Restaurant Reviews & Reservations - Tripadvisor (2024)

Excellent503

Very good147

Average44

Poor17

Terrible14

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Tuna is back for lent

Good tuna. Best shrimp co*cktail in area, 5 plump large shrimp cooked and chilled. Still requires reservations even for the bar tables.

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Great dinner out!

Excellent service , very personable. Alec was a wonderful host for us. Management was present and available. We had a great time and will be back soon.

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You won’t be disappointed.

In my opinion J Gilberts never disappoints! They always have the best cooked steaks to order and the creamed corn is by far the absolute best I’ve ever experienced!The wait staff is top notch and always friendly and courteous.

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Not So Special

Between the hype, the menu, and the reviews, we were expecting a spectacular meal. Appetizers were good. The much-touted fried onions were tasty, but the thick cut took away from overall flavor. There were 11 of us and three entrees had to be returned. 2...chicken dinners were undercooked and a steak overcooked. They were readily replaced and something taken off the bill, 6 it made what was supposed to be a family celebration awkward. No one knew whether to keep eating or stop while our companions waited for replacement meals. And even some of the other entrees were just ok. Crab cakes were bland and salmon a bit too sweet. On the plus side, bread was wonderful, and service was impeccable. We were treated well. But we go to restaurants for the food and we expected better.More

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An absolute gem and must-visit spot outside of Hartford!

Best restaurant in Connecticut. We started with date nights and special occasions and now we are twice a month if not more. You can’t beat this. Trip Advisor portrays other steakhouses as competition- and maybe they are in theory- but not in actuality. This place...has NO competition. The food is fantastic but the servers are a cut above any other place I’ve ever dined. The management staff is always present and interacting with tables and do not accept anything but perfection. This is the best run restaurant I have ever seen short of the food network. We have never had a bad experience. If you haven’t dined here, put it on your bucket list, it’s and absolute must-visit spot.More

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Food Great - Too much salt and dining room way too COLD!!!

Went here because it is one of our favorite restaurants with great food and superb service! However, they use too much salt and we were drinking water all night long! Additionally, their dining room is always extremely cold, even with a sweater on! Obviously, management...doesn’t care about customer comfort or controllable expenses!!!More

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Too good to only go once!

Great steak house restaurant! Fantastic meals and great bar offerings! We had a gift certificate for a birthday dinner, and they did not disappoint! The meals were amazing and the bar drinks were just as good!

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My Happy Happy Birthday Meal

Four of us visited J. Gilbert's yesterday evening for dinner. For two of us this was our initial visit (it will not be our last).It was crowded for a Monday night and for good reason. The place is electric. The atmosphere, quality of (locally...sourced) food and drink, and service were all excellent.Our server Alec was professional and attentive, always helpful and aware but never once obtrusive. Alec possesses a terrific knowledge of the menu, he was very helpful with suggestions, and he made our visit all the more enjoyable.We started with the blue cheese potato chips and the oven warm bread roll. I almost filled up on those items alone. The four meals were all "chef's kiss" delicious. I had the 8 oz. center cut filet with sides of Yukon mashed potatoes and creamed corn with bacon bits. It was without question one of the better meals I have enjoyed in quite some time. Other entrees ordered were the jumbo cooked crab cakes and two of the filet combos. Everyone agreed that they absolutely loved their chosen dishes.And on Monday nights J. Gilbert's does a very generous bottled wine promotion that we very happily took advantage of.Great spot, great service, great food and drink. What more could a customer ask for?More

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Jules Made the Night

We had the best server you could ever wish for; Jules was wonderful!! What a fantastic meal we had too. I had Oysters Rockefeller and Bone in Kansas City Strip and my wife had the Calamari and a Halibut Special that was outstanding. This place...is packed 7 days a week for a reason, great food and service. Thanks Jules!!More

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Skip Brunch Here

Poor brunch.warm food cold, hot food warm. Dirty utensils. Not well stocked.table service only here.

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great food great wait staff

awesome meal never a bad meal at this place.alec g. was our waiter and he was awesome from start to finish. this is a place you have to go to.

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Should’ve gone to Waffle House

This has managed to be my worst service experience anywhere. The occasion was my friends birthday and she had never experienced a true steak house or fine dining experience. I was more than excited to introduce her to what was, to me the best steakhouse...in CT. When we arrived for our 7:45 at 7:47 (had to look for parking), we were not actually seated until 8:00-8:05. We sat without a greeting or water for another 5 minutes. When our server came to greet the table we had already been given waters but were more than ready to give our drink order. We asked for a glass of wine and an espresso martini. As we could see by our location in the lounge the bar was busy and they were truly swamped with orders. But as we watched others drink orders come out we figured it would be any moment. It would end up taking us 25 minutes to get our drinks from the bar to our table. During this wait time our server asked us if we would like to place our food order. I saw this advantageous as we could perhaps get our food when our drinks would finally come. This would prove to not be the case. The server apologizes for the drinks and says they’ve been taken off the bill for which I am appreciative and understand the duress the restaurant may be under at this moment.The entrees came (ordered medium and medium rare) over 58 minutes after the time we ordered them. The medium was medium rare and the medium rare was rare. My friend at this point had to either rush to eat in order to get home at a reasonable time or box her food. At this point I’ve asked for a manager who is no where to be seen. I ask another employee now to find the manager, still no resolve. The server at this point has caught wind of my displeasure and comes to us with a scoop of ice cream with one candle in it as the manager approaches me. As the manager steps away to “investigate” the cause of these shortcomings in service, the server quite literally drops down the one scoop of ice cream with no Happy Birthday nor positive affirmation. As she chases the manager to the POS computer system where he is looking further into how this all came into play. My friend is now crying as this has easily for both of us became the worst dining experience I’ve had in all forms of dining.When the manager returns I explain the lack of professionalism and respect we had seen in our experience and that I had never complained nor asked to speak with someone at this capacity. I explained that I’ve worked fine dining for over 10 years and that between the hospitality and the overall timing that there were serious flaws that I thought needed to be addressed if not questions in an attempt to recognize who fell short in this instance. His response was that of a typical FOH manager, “we appreciate your feedback” “thank you for your service” but only after he begrudgingly interrupts me by asking “Well, where do YOU work?” I did respond and explained the CT magazine best rated restaurant in southern CT to which he wrote it off as something pompous and continued to his managerial script. I never thought I would actually put a full play by play for how this overall evening would go. Because I never truly thought every piece of the experience would actually become tainted all the way down to the disingenuous apology from the young “well versed” FOH manager. And a quick slice of cake (which my friend cannot eat due to allergy/dietary restrictions) to appease me and keep my frustration if not anger at bay handed to us silently in a brown paper bag. With regard to the restaurant as they read this. You underwrote who sat in your restaurant, I have a long standing record of coming in and tipping more than 30% each experience, I planned to order 2-3 more rounds of drinks that would’ve in turn upped sales over all. And I did indeed plan to do a dessert and aperitif. But instead I left with 1 glass of wine, a $60 meal in a plastic box, a piece of chocolate cake we threw out, and an unwarranted and unwelcoming melting scoop of ice cream and for the first time ever. A tip of $15 on $110 after drinks we had comped.More

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Wonderfully upscale steakhouse

My husband and I came here to celebrate an anniversary, and we were so glad we made a reservation! This place was super busy, even for midweek. There was a bit of a wait after checking in, but the wait was worth it. Our hostess...showed us to a comfortable table, and our friendly waitress gave us big menus and explained the specials. This restaurant is known for its steaks and seafoods, and they do not disappoint. My husband ordered a filet mignon and I ordered the prime angus burger, and both were superb! The meat was tender without being undercooked, and the portions were gigantic (neither of us finished our meals). While this place was busy and a bit noisy, the noise didn't bother us at all. The prices aren't cheap, but they reflect the quality and quantity of the meal. The desserts looked fabulous, but we were so full that we didn't have any space for them.I'll add that this restaurant is located in a plaza with Barnes & Noble, and the parking lot set aside for this place is surprisingly small - we ended up parking close to Barnes & Noble because we couldn't find closer parking.More

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My first visit and will not be my last! AMAZING!

Dined here on Saturday 12/3/22 with my boyfriend. We were celebrating his birthday. Our server Ashley M was magnificent from beginning to end. She was not only very personable, she was super attentive and never missed a beat. Very impressed, considering how busy it was,...she went above and beyond. . All staff was very friendly and considerate. The food was INCREDIBLE! The Jumbo lump crab cakes were on another level of great. My boyfriend had for his entree, the Ribeye that was cooked to perfection. I had the scallops with the lobster risotto. Oh and the drinks! I had their Espresso Martini! Wow! Superb. We were beyond happy with our experience. Great attention to details everyone! The staff did an amazing job all around. Highly recommend!More

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Loud!

J. Gilberts always has great food...except for the tiny surf and turf and the same old boring menuI. It used to be my fav. restaurant...but they are just too busy and service people seem stressed and seem to pressure you so they can turn the...table over quickly. No longer my occasion place will go back to Bricco's. Will not be going any longer due to poor manaement with a problem we had.More

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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

I'm not certain what you mean regarding posting guidelines, this may be better directed to Trip Advisor directly.

I went to the J. Gilbert Restaurant page and registered. They later sent an email with a gift coupon for $20.00 or $25.00 off for a birthday meal. I do recommend reservations when booking, they will dress up the table in a... More

I went to the J. Gilbert Restaurant page and registered. They later sent an email with a gift coupon for $20.00 or $25.00 off for a birthday meal. I do recommend reservations when booking, they will dress up the table in a festive way. Also, it's a busy restaurant, the reservation is worthwhile. Hope this helps!

The bar is somewhat noisy, but the restaurant side is not noisy at all