Prime rib may be the headline attraction at Jakers Bar and Grill, but the warm scones with honey butter have developed a following of their own. The Idaho Falls restaurant also serves hand-cut steaks, seafood, lobster bisque, and a full lineup of classic cocktails.
Jakers traces its roots to 1975, giving it decades of history in Idaho’s restaurant scene. Its menu has stayed broad enough for everything from a steak dinner to salmon, trout, pasta, and cocktails, while longtime favorites continue to bring diners back.
For a first visit, the decision may come down to prime rib or steak. Just leave room for the scones.
A Landmark Address With a Story Behind Every Table
The address is 851 Lindsay Blvd, Idaho Falls, Idaho, and if you have driven past it without stopping, you have been missing out on nearly five decades of serious cooking. Jakers Bar and Grill has been serving this community since 1975, which means it has outlasted trends, recessions, and every fleeting food fad that has come through eastern Idaho.
Founder Jake Jones started his journey in a college sorority kitchen at the University of Idaho, learning from a retired chef named Willie who taught him that great food begins with genuine care. That philosophy never left the building.
After earning a Business Management degree and gaining experience in food service, Jake opened his first restaurant in Pocatello before expanding to Idaho Falls.
The Idaho Falls location has since become the flagship experience, earning a 4.5-star rating across nearly 2,400 reviews. Knowing that kind of track record is behind your meal makes the first bite taste even better.
Prime Rib That Has Earned Its Loyal Following
Some dishes exist on a menu as an afterthought. The prime rib at Jakers is the opposite of that.
It is slow-roasted, seared at high heat to lock in the juices, and sliced to order every evening after 4:00 PM, with Sunday being a particularly celebrated occasion for this cut.
The beef is sourced from RR Ranch in Washington and Idaho, a detail that matters more than it might seem. Premium sourcing translates directly into flavor, and one bite of this rosy, tender cut confirms that the supply chain here is taken seriously.
Au jus arrives alongside every order, and creamy horseradish is available for those who want a sharp contrast to the richness.
On busy Sunday nights, the prime rib has been known to sell out before closing time, which tells you everything you need to know about its reputation. Arriving early on those evenings is not just a suggestion; it is a strategy worth adopting.
The Scones That Deserve Their Own Fan Club
Do not let the name fool you. These are not the dry, crumbly British pastries you might be picturing.
Jakers serves pillowy, slightly sweet bread rolls that they call scones, and they arrive hot from the kitchen with a generous side of honey butter that melts on contact.
Scones have racked up 63 mentions in customer reviews, making them one of the most talked-about items on the entire menu. People have been known to request extras for the road, dunk them into lobster bisque, or tuck them alongside a pasta dish just because they cannot stop eating them.
They are that good.
The scones set the tone for the whole meal. When the first basket lands on your table and the honey butter starts to soften into those warm layers, you immediately understand that this kitchen cares about every course, not just the entrees.
Consider yourself warned: one basket rarely feels like enough.
Seafood Selections That Surprise in the Best Way
Most people do not walk into an Idaho steakhouse expecting a seafood menu worth writing home about, but Jakers has a way of rewriting expectations. The Cedar Plank Salmon is a signature that delivers smoky depth with every bite, while the Fresh Salmon can be ordered with either a miso-citrus glaze or a black pepper garlic butter over jasmine rice.
Fresh Idaho Trout earns special attention as a regional highlight, charbroiled with a lemon butter caper sauce or pan-fried with melted butter. The Coconut Prawns arrive crispy and golden with sweet chili and Malibu rum sauces, while the Seafood Linguini packs shrimp, scallops, cod, and salmon into a single hearty pasta dish finished with Alfredo sauce.
Jakers sources its seafood through Ocean Beauty, a supplier recognized for sustainable, premium product. That commitment to responsible sourcing shows up in the flavor and freshness of every plate that comes out of the kitchen.
The ocean is far from Idaho, but you would never guess it here.
Lobster Bisque Worth Planning Your Visit Around
Thirty mentions in customer reviews is not a small number for a single soup, and the lobster bisque at Jakers has earned every one of them. Rich, creamy, and deeply savory, it shows up as a starter that frequently overshadows the competition from the salad side of the menu.
The bisque is included as part of the soup or salad choice that comes with most entrees, which means there is no extra cost standing between you and one of the best bowls in Idaho Falls. Many guests who are new to the restaurant discover it through a server recommendation and immediately wonder why they waited so long to try it.
Pairing it with a basket of those warm scones creates a combination that is genuinely hard to beat as an opening act to any meal. The bisque is thick without being heavy, and the lobster flavor comes through clearly rather than hiding behind cream.
Order it first, and let the rest of the meal build from there.
Classic Cocktails Crafted With Real Intention
The bar at Jakers is not an afterthought. It is a destination in its own right, where bartenders take the craft seriously and the cocktail list balances timeless recipes with Idaho-inspired creativity.
The Lemon Drop Martini brings a citrus brightness that cuts through the richness of a heavy steak dinner, while the Old Fashioned is prepared with the kind of careful attention that makes it feel like a small ceremony.
For something with a local twist, the Huckleberry Mule puts an Idaho spin on a familiar recipe, combining berry notes with a ginger kick that works surprisingly well. The Strawberry Fizz leans fresh and bubbly, built around muddled berries for a lighter option.
The Espresso Martini rounds out the list for anyone who wants their dessert and their pick-me-up rolled into one glass.
The bar area itself has televisions and a livelier energy than the main dining room, making it a solid choice for solo travelers or anyone who wants a more casual setting without sacrificing quality in the glass.
Happy Hour Deals That Make Weeknight Evenings Worth It
Happy hour at Jakers runs Monday through Friday from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, with weekend hours starting at 4:00 PM and running to 6:00 PM. For night owls, there is a late-night window from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, Monday through Saturday, which makes it one of the more generous happy hour programs in the Idaho Falls dining scene.
During these windows, discounts apply to a rotating selection of cocktails and appetizers, giving curious diners a lower-stakes way to explore the menu before committing to a full dinner spread. The Coconut Prawns and various starters pair well with a lighter cocktail order, making the happy hour feel like its own complete experience rather than just a prelude.
The restaurant opens at 11:30 AM Tuesday through Friday, and on weekends the kitchen fires up at 4:00 PM. Knowing the schedule before you arrive saves the frustration of showing up at the wrong time, especially on a Saturday when the dinner crowd tends to build quickly after opening.
The Steak Program That Keeps People Coming Back
Steak is the word that appears most often in Jakers reviews, racking up over 100 mentions, and it is not hard to understand why. The menu offers a range of cuts that cater to different appetites and budgets, from a compact 6-ounce sirloin to a commanding 14-ounce prime rib, with ribeye options landing in between.
The center cut ribeye can be ordered Bernaise style, finished with a rich egg-yolk sauce that adds a velvety layer to an already excellent cut. Snake River Farms beef has appeared on the menu as a premium sourcing option, and its reputation among serious meat eaters speaks for itself.
Baked potatoes are the classic companion, and when they arrive properly cooked, they are soft all the way through with a slightly crispy skin.
The kitchen cooks steaks to order and takes the requested temperature seriously. Consistency is the mark of a kitchen that respects its ingredients, and Jakers has built its reputation on delivering that consistency plate after plate, visit after visit.
A Founder’s Vision That Shaped an Idaho Institution
Jake Jones did not set out to build a restaurant empire. He started by helping in a college kitchen at the University of Idaho, where a retired chef named Willie showed him that food prepared with care tastes fundamentally different from food prepared just to fill a plate.
That lesson became the backbone of everything that followed.
After earning his degree in Business Management from Idaho State University and gaining experience managing college food services, Jake opened his first location in Pocatello in 1975 under the name Jake’s. The Idaho Falls location followed, and over time the brand evolved into Jakers Bar and Grill, expanding to multiple locations across Idaho and Montana.
What makes the origin story worth knowing is that it explains the culture of the restaurant today. The emphasis on quality sourcing, consistent preparation, and genuine hospitality did not come from a corporate playbook.
It came from one person learning to cook properly and deciding that nothing less would ever be good enough to serve.
An Atmosphere That Fits Every Occasion Without Trying Too Hard
The interior of Jakers manages something that many restaurants attempt and few actually achieve: it feels upscale without making you feel underdressed, and casual without feeling careless. The lighting is warm, the booth seating is comfortable, and the overall design creates a sense of occasion without requiring a formal dress code.
Private booths are available for guests who want a quieter, more intimate setting, whether that is a date night, a business dinner, or a birthday celebration. The bar area offers televisions and a more energetic vibe for anyone who prefers background noise and a livelier crowd.
Both spaces coexist without feeling like they belong to different restaurants.
Jakers has become the default choice for a wide range of celebrations in Idaho Falls, from prom dinners to retirement parties, anniversaries to family gatherings with children in tow. The staff handles all of these scenarios with the same level of attentiveness, adjusting the pace and tone of service to match whatever the table needs that evening.
Recognition That Reflects a Genuine Standard of Excellence
In 2024, Jakers Bar and Grill in Idaho Falls received a Quality Business Award, designating it as the leading Fine Dining Restaurant in the city. This recognition is reserved for businesses that achieve a quality score of 95 percent or higher, placing Jakers among the top 1 percent of American businesses by that measure.
The award is not based on a single glowing review or a one-time performance. It reflects independently verified customer satisfaction ratings, consistent service standards, and a track record that holds up across thousands of visits over many years.
For a restaurant that has been operating since 1975, maintaining that level of recognition is a significant achievement.
Awards like this carry weight because they are earned through repetition, not luck. Every table that leaves satisfied, every steak cooked to the right temperature, and every scone that arrives warm contributes to a cumulative record that eventually gets noticed at a higher level.
For guests, it means the standard they experience on one visit is likely to be the same on the next.
Practical Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Visit
A wait of 25 to 30 minutes is not uncommon on busy evenings, and arriving hungry makes that wait feel much longer than it actually is. Calling ahead to make a reservation is the simplest way to avoid the uncertainty, especially on Friday nights or Sundays when the prime rib crowd arrives in full force.
Online ordering is available for pickup and delivery, which is worth knowing for travel days when sitting down for a full meal is not realistic but skipping Jakers entirely feels like a missed opportunity. The E-Club membership offers a birthday reward of half off any entree and half off a dessert on your actual birthday, with a valid ID required at the table.
Anniversaries come with a complimentary shareable signature dessert, which is a detail worth mentioning to your server at the start of the meal rather than the end. Vegetarian and gluten-free menus are also available, ensuring that every guest at the table has genuine options rather than a single afterthought dish.
The restaurant’s phone number is 208-524-5240 for reservations.
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