Jax Bar & Bistro in Boynton Beach offers al fresco dining, cocktails
A casual strip shopping center eatery, which replaced the Jewish-style deli Katzner’s, offers respectable, largely American cuisine, a full bar and plentiful outdoor seating.
By ALAN J. WAX
There are few places in suburban Boynton Beach that offer what you’ll find at Jax Bar & Bistro, the successor to Katzner’s Deliterranean Café.
Jax, an urbane modern bar and dining venue in the Shoppes of Woolbright strip center at Jog and Woolbright Roads, replaced Katzner’s and its Jewish-style deli and Mediterranean dishes, in December 2020. Aside from such chain eateries as Applebee’s and Duffy’s, there are few places in the neighborhood to sip a dinner cocktail and dine.
A bistro by definition is a neighborhood restaurant that isn’t super-fancy. Even so, the new look is an upgrade. As part of the transformation, Katzner’s walls were redecorated, the garish yellow replaced by earth tones, a wall formerly adorned with menu boards is now done in wood and the checkered deli case has been replaced with a black granite bar. A large painting in the back of the dining room, however, remains, as do subway tile signs. Oddly, Jax’s Facebook page still refers to both names.
The concept change, brought about some two years after Katzner’s was opened by owner Alan Adams, deserves plaudits. The fare at Jax is largely American with a few Italian twists and a continuation of the deli sandwiches offered by its predecessor for those who still need a deli fix. There’s a full menu page of cocktails, wines and beeds and a lengthy happy hour with a menu of bar bites. To be honest, I was not enamored of the Katzner’s offerings after visiting in the spring of 2018 per my prior review.
Crab-stuffed filet of sole in sauce.
Jax’s biggest selling point these days with COVID still a concern to many is an abundance of outdoor dining that stretches in front of and on the side of the restaurant. Brown vinyl tables with bright red umbrellas (with lights for when it’s dark) and matching chairs stand behind a low hedge that separates the dining patio from the parking lot. A small speaker near the door blared classic rock music on a recent evening.
Jax’s kitchen has occasional flashes of excellence, such as the crab-stuffed filet of sole in a cream sauce ($29) that I enjoyed during a recent dinner, but the perfectly fine menu lacks inspiration.
What would a bistro be without a hamburger? On this count, Jax’s delivers, though inflation has caused Adams to raise prices from $12.95 to $14 to $19 on my most recent visit. Jax burger is a char-broiled half pound of beef, served with your choice of crunchy batter-dipped fries (a carryover from Katzner’s) or rough-cut cole slaw or three-potato salad, plus a sour pickle half (the restaurant no longer provides a bowl of pickles at the start). The burger was satisfying despite being cooked a shade over the requested medium.
Jax’s burger and fries.
Service on the other hand though friendly was lax during our most recent outing. A cocktail ordered at the beginning of the meal was a no show. Similarly, the included salad with my entrée did not appear until after the entrée was served. Our server, a recent hire, we learned through an eavesdropped conversation, blamed the bar for the missing cocktail and a miscommunication about the absent salad (she said she thought my salad was for my wife). She also disappeared from the time she took our order until we were done. We had to retrieve a bottle of ketchup on our own and flag down a busser for water and Coke refills.
Service issues and prices aside, you may find Jax worthy of a visit for competently prepared food in a casual atmosphere, especially If you’re not yet ready to eat insidesir.
Jax Bar and Bistro
10817 Jog Road, #246, Boynton Beach, FL 33437
561-200-4604
jaxonjog.com/#welcome
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