Jo Jack's Espresso Bar and Cafe in Portsmouth,Va

So today's review is on Jo Jack's Espresso Bar and Cafe. A cafe in Portsmouth,Va. It's a coffee shop/sandwich shop so you can come here for a coffee or for a good lunch. I've actually come here for lunch before and it was yummy. I've been wanting to check out their coffee (since that is of course what I do) so here I am.

When i arrived, the place was actually pretty busy. They have a drive-thru as well as a dining area but it's not like one where you talk into a speaker, you just pull up to a window and get waited on there. The dining area is pretty big. It has about 5 four top tables, two bars with about 4 stools each and a few two top tables. But what they don't have? Outlets. You would think at the bars at least, where the people that are likely to sit there are alone, there would be a lot of outlets so people can plug in their laptops. Most people that come into coffee houses alone come with either a laptop or a book, some form of entertainment. I had to find a chair right by the bathrooms, it was the only place I could find with an available outlet. But since there are so many tables, I am kind of in the way.

I think I came during their lunch rush but they seemed to be organized about the chaos that was going on. I saw 4 girls working, one of which I think is the owner (always nice to see). One girl running food and drinks, one making the food, one taking orders and one doing the drive thru and checking in on the customers in the dining area. To be honest, the whole time I was here they stayed pretty busy. There was a constant influx of people coming in for the most part. At one point some guy (the manager? owner?) came out from the office and started running food.

I ordered a soy iced vanilla latte.



They have the hand tamping espresso machine here as well. I don't think I would have ordered anything with espresso if it was a super auto. The portafilters were rinsed and drying on the counter. Always a good sign. If you leave them in the machine after you use them, the machine creates a sort of vacuum and sucks up some of the used grinds into the machine gunking it up through time and slowing down your espresso shot.

So i ordered my drink, I was given a plastic number and told to have a seat and my drink would be brought out to me. This was a first for me. But I can only imagine it was because the lack of "waiting area". Most coffee shops have a kind of lingering area for you after you order your drinks. This one didn't really so I guess I can understand the seating thing. What I couldn't understand was the 5 min wait I had for my drink. Now I know any experienced barista could make my drink in 60 seconds or less. I also understand that there were people ahead of me. But 5 minutes? At one point I thought they forgot about me and I was going to check on my drink. But then the girl brought it out and I was just happy to have coffee in my hand.

The coffee? It was good. I think there was only 2 shots in it though. I would have preferred 3 to this size. And the cost? $5.50. I thought that was a lot. It was only 16oz and I know I asked for soy so that is a charge as well but I was a but shocked at the price. I looked at the menu and they ARE a bit pricey with all their drinks. But looking around the majority of the customers are business men and women on their lunch break. The sound of high heels echo on the hardwood floors and men in tacky starched ties and polished shoes milled about chatting on their cell phones. The rest of the customer base consists of older women having lunch with their friends and the occasional bored housewife busy texting away. Not a single person my age is in here. No angsty pierced teenagers in need of their premature caffeine fix or high school barbies wanting her low fat frappuchino. Nope. Just Brooks Brothers and old lady must. Needless to say I am standing out in the crowd. But you know what? Money is money. And in this day and age any small business that is still booming like this place deserves props.

The staff seem to really enjoy their job, there was always someone walking the floor checking on everyone and even at one point someone came and picked up my straw wrapper to throw it away for me.

The ambiance? Well it's kind of a mix of corporate america and indie cafe style. You have the hardwood floors and chalkboard in the corner, the walls are rather bare other than the occasional framed picture of coffee. All the tables are a dark wood with a few cushy chairs on the wall. It's not cozy. It doesn't seem like a place I could curl up and hang out for a while. I think it's focused more of the lunch aspect than the coffee. And their lunches are good but maybe it could be more equal.



Well all in all I did like this place. But I don't know if I will be back. My coffee was good and the people here were nothing but nice but it's just not my type of place. I like the cozy warm coffee houses where the baristas love their coffee. The "barista suggestions" on the wall were lame. Nothing creative in the least. Almond mocha with a cutesy name, blah blah blah. Give me someone who knows how to make a dirty chai or loves their perfect espresso shot. I get the feeling these people will be around here for a while. They're in a good location and they cater very well to their customers. I just don't think I am going to be one of them...