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Jacky's Cafe
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
5991 Spring Garden RdHalifax, NS B3H 1Y6
(902) 446-4060
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
8 reviews for Jacky's Cafe
8 reviews in English
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Review from Murray W.
Tucked away in the Spring Garden Professional Centre (aka the ugly office building on the corner of SGR and Robie that has a Starbucks that you may or may not occasionally visit), Jacky's is a quaint little office building cafe that is a lot of different things. Tightly packed with about 10 tables, I enjoy that it's a deviation from the usual Greek/Lebanese-esque cafes that populate the city, instead going the route of Chinese food in addition to the standard breakfast and lunch fare.
I've had a couple enjoyable visits here before over the years, and there seems to be a reasonable amount of customers of the Asian persuasion, so I was looking forward to coming back. Meeting up with a friend for lunch, we wanted to hit up the Chinese side of the menu to try and get a taste of what Jacky's is all about. We ordered dumplings and a vegetable spring roll for appetizers and the Hunan chicken and black bean sauce chicken for our mains. Not thinking about it, we forgot to order drinks and the cashier didn't catch on either to make the sale, so we got back up to get them, but really it was our own fault. After a short wait, our apps were brought out to us. The spring roll was crispy, although I'm not a fan of crunchy, long strands of cabbage in my rolls and prefer more of a mash. The dumplings were a nice size, browned nicely on the outside and soft on the inside. The stuffing had a nice pork and veggie flavour for the greens, and I just wish there was a bit more of it to fill some of the empty space in the dumpling.
The mains were somewhat underwhelming when they arrived. While the veggies were reasonably fresh and crunchy, the sauces were a little on the weaker side, perhaps due to being an office restaurant and trying to tame things down. The chicken in both the dishes, while cooked properly, had an unfortunate texture that suggested it had come from a freezer. The rice was adequate and I was a fan of the noodles that came with my black bean dish, although I'm a sucker for noodles in most of their forms.
With some minor improvements, Jacky's could definitely rise above the office restaurant pack to be something unique and special, which is something that would be good for the city and my belly.Listed in: SGR
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Review from Ben B.
11/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is your basic office tower diner with an unexpected Chinese flare. Older folk come here for no-frills breakfast, office workers come for morning drip coffee, people-in-the-know come for dumplings and noodles.
I popped in to kill some time and grab a bite, settling on their breakfast sandwich without the ham or bacon. Coming in at $2.95 (nothing taken off despite the no meat), trying to pay was the worst part of my visit.
Credit cards aren't accepted but cash and debit are okay. Except the debit machine wouldn't work. She tried for a solid two or three minutes to get the card rung through while I tried to guess if I had enough change to pay without actually being told my total. But, since this is 2011, I didn't have more than $4 on me so when we finally gave up on the card, I had to do without my OJ. Not to mention the general funtime feelings of not being able to pay for your order. Super...
The sammich was pretty good on a fresh english muffin but the cheese was totally a Kraft Single. You know, the kind that leaves that gross film on your teeth for the rest of the day? Again...super...
I will give Jacky's bonus points for nice staff, rocking the early nineties power ballads, and for having my childhood fave peanut butter and banana sandwich on the menu ($2.95). But outside of their Asian food (which I haven't tried), this is definitely grub you can make at home. Probably with a better cheese choice. -
Review from Asheley R.
Halifax, NS
11/16/2011
Oh my dear Jacky. I'm sure you are quite the nice lady but I personally cannot say the same for your food. I popped in here as I was in a pinch for lunch. Chinese? Heck yes. I'm always down for that. HOLY SODIUM OVERLOAD.
I think my arteries and eye balls popped out of my body. No but seriously, the funny thing about it was that it tasted semi-great going down. Afterwords was quuuuuite the opposite. I felt like one huge sack of disgusting. Super cheap though! And quite a hefty size dish for the price. The decor is well, several thousands notches from chic.
But realistically, what can I expect from a bunch of noodles and chicken.
Rumor has it the breakfast is pretty tasty and could therefore easily bump my rating up to a 2-3.
Until we meet again. -
Review from Rhia P.
3/15/2011
It's no haute cuisine but Jacky's is a great stop if you need a quick bite near Robie and Spring Garden. There's a weekly rotation of stir fry specials, as well as absolutely delicious noodle soups.
I keep meaning to go on Saturday morning for congee. I'll be sure to report back if I do. -
Review from David H.
Halifax, NS
5/14/2011
Jacky's Cafe (correct spelling), inside the professional building at the Northeast corner of Spring Garden Road and Robie Street (entrance next to Lawtons Drugs), is open every day except Sunday, but its real highlight is the Chinese breakfast that is served on Saturdays from 10am to 4.30pm. Jacky's has 28 seats and, if you go there around lunchtime on Saturday, you will see it well attended with around 80% of customers being Chinese.
For the Chinese breakfast on Saturday you can choose from different types of congees (for instance the shrimp congee for $5.75) and different types of dumplings (for instance the pan-fried dumplings for $3.75). They also have deep-fried bread, "turnip" cake, spring and egg rolls, and a few other items. Of course you get tea with your order but you can also get various soft drinks including Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Coke, and Diet Coke.
I absolutely love their Chinese breakfast. Especially the congees and the dumplings are truly excellent. A great way to bring flavour into your Saturday!
Note that they charge a $0.40 fee on debit purchases so be sure to bring cash instead. -
Review from Ang M.
Halifax, NS
10/8/2009
Okay, I have to confess, I've only ever eaten one thing on the menu here, but I've had it repeatedly - like, every time I go there (which is maybe once every month or two). It's the shrimp wonton noodle soup, which is a big steaming bowl of rice noodles in a delicious broth with a pile of delicious shrimp wontons on top. Yum.
The restaurant is one of those places you might never discover unless you happen to be in the building for something else - it's hidden at the back of the Professional Centre, and unless your doctor happens to be in that building, you probably have no idea this little spot is here.
They also serve some other Asian and Canadian dishes, although I can't tell you exactly what, since I only have eyes for their noodles. -
Review from Shawna D.
Chester, NS
1/21/2010 2 photos
I have heard a lot about this place and it always seems to be busy. It is located in the Professional Centre on Spring Garden Road.
They have been around for about 5 or 6 years. It is a pretty simple interior, clean with about 10 tables. I think the location wins out over everything though.
Now I have eaten enough noodles to know that these ones were definitely not on the top 10 list for me.
I ordered the chicken with fried noodles. Hmm, I was expecting to be wowed, unfortunately I was not. The chicken was dry and looked like it was sitting around and then redone. The noodles had no life. The portion size was small for $7.00.
The menu looked interesting though. Maybe next time I will try the soup.
Or maybe the Turnip Cake.
For you breakfast lovers, they have all day breakfast, Bacon/Ham and Egg on an English Muffin for $2.95, or a Western Sandwich for $4.95. -
Review from cheryl d.
Halifax, NS
4/11/2010 2 photos
Located in the Professional Building on Spring Garden road Jackies Cafe was a quick fix for lunch on day as I was on the run.
Small and Cafe style with tables totalling about 10 -12 just enough for a lunch time crowd from the offices upstairs. Grabbing on the run I had the Garden Vegetable Soup with half sandwich. The soup had a great consistency of vegetables and tasted like it was homemade. you know some locations all you can taste is salt.
Is Jackies a location that would go out of my way for no but for every now and then it is a great fix for something that is homemade apposed to deep fried. Check it out as each day the special are clearly displayed our front.
