The Jayhawker

We stopped in for Happy Hour to check out the drinks and snacks. I had the Purple Haze and my husband got the Manhattan. They asked what liquor he wanted in his drink. We were looking to take advantage of HH prices but once he specified the liquor he wanted, his drink was no longer HH pricing but upgraded to regular price. He wasn't told they were upselling which seemed a bit dishonest and was disappointing. My drink was okay nothing to knock my socks off. We also ordered the HH wings. They were tasty but very tiny. The bar is inside an historic building, The Eldridge Hotel, it was empty and quiet inside the bar area.

We stopped in at The Eldridge for a mid-day cocktail. The Eldridge is a Cool Historic Hotel. The Jayhawker Bar is located right inside of The Eldridge. The Bartender Garrett greeted us right away and seated us at the bar top. My friend and I decided on a Bloody Mary, it was a little spicy but not heavy. Garrett was friendly and attentive, he engaged in small talk with us which was nice. We only stayed for one cocktail but I would definitely go back to try some other delicious cocktails that I saw on the menu.

I will definitely come here for the drinks and the service- but I wouldn't come back for food. We came for Sunday brunch. I ordered the veggie eggs Benedict and one of my poached eggs was super overcooked. My husband thought his club sandwich was just ok. Also, we had to wait about 40 minutes for our food to come out- it wasn't very busy, but there was one larger group in the restaurant. 5 stars for drinks and dessert, 3 stars for food.

I used to work for the Olivia collection, left the company right before they started remodeling The Jayhawker. I am proud to be the first reviewer, and announce that they have put some nice touches on this bar/restaurant. It's a 50's vibe from the music, to the red leather seats, to how the drinks are made, to the outfit the staff is wearing, without the racism(:I ordered the bourbon apple mule, and it was strong. *please note* I am a light weight so moist drinks with alcohol will be fairly strong. The bourbon apple mule was sweet with a big kick. It's made with bourbon and apple butter, so if you don't like whiskey this isn't the drink for you. This place is more for mature crowd in Lawrence, except $5 Martini Thursday's brings a crowd of all into the bar. This is definitely a high quality bar to taste the flavor of the drinks you order. You'll savor the flavor of the martinis, and surprise your taste buds with the bold twist they put on their drinks.

Loved having drinks here. Cute, awesome environment, and great staff. We went for happy hour for martinis.. the staff helped us choose which flavors to try. Another staff gave us some history of the building and showed us a little tour, and a manager or supervisor made sure to say hi to us. It was a really good environment to get a drink and relax.

I made reservations for a group of 19 of us, 2 weeks in advanced for dinner, and upon arrival there was no waters or silverware. The waiter kept walking around us and never acknowledged our table. I had to go to the front to ask for some service on multiple occasions because it had been 30 minutes and we hadn't been spoken to. After an hour, we finally got waters and our drink order, however I had to go up to the bar myself to get a wine list and ordered a bottle there. When the food finally came out, it was either cold or not cooked thoroughly. Overall, just a bad experience, I would not recommend going here especially if you are going with a large group of people. I was thankful that the manger helped out with the service to try to make up for the mistakes.

We stayed at the Eldridge Hotel and had happy hour, evening cocktails and breakfast the next morning. Service was excellent and the appetizers and breakfast we had were delicious. It was a nice staycation visiting our son at KU. I would recommend the Jayhawker.

If you're looking for an excuse to drop into the historic Eldridge Hotel, having a drink at The Jayhawker serves that purpose fairly well. It's corner location allows for lots of people watching on Mass St. while enjoying a pint or cocktail. Recently, the entire bar underwent remodeling, and it was transformed from a moody, dark wood bar that you would find in some of your favorite noir films, and transformed into what looks like an...odd 1950s diner...? Personally, I am not a fan of the decor change, as I obviously preferred the pre-remodel atmospheric ambiance, but also because I don't think it now matches up to the rest of the hotel's overall decor. I'm sure the new Jayhawker decor works for others, but I'll always remember it as it once was. Side note: Friday evenings at the Jayhawker have resulted in witnessing several entertaining drunken wedding parties staying at the hotel, and who end their night at the bar.