Jungle Jim's Bar & Eatery is a franchise with 26 locations across Canada. There is now just one location in the Saint John area, located on the west side. Jungle Jim's has something for everyone and their slogan is "It's a jungle in here." I've been going to Jungle Jim's since the early 2000's and every once in a while, I go and have some nachos. Sometimes I splurge with a "Hurricane" cocktail: It'll blow you away.
There was quite a bit of toppings when we visited in March 2021, but Jungle Jim's did not have the same amount of cheese as previous visits. There were enough toppings for all the chips, but not enough cheese.
Quality
I liked how they had mixed cheeses. I also liked how they had black olives on these nachos because, in my experience, not a lot of restaurants put black olives on their nachos. The veggies were nice and fresh, and their dips were a good size. The chips they used were corn chips which are my favorite. The problem with our latest visit was that the nachos didn't have the "toast factor". In other words, they needed to be cooked more.
Value
The Super Super Nachos without any extras is $14.99. If you choose to add beef, tex-mex chicken, or chili cheese, it is $18.99. Extra dips are $.99 each and guacamole is $1.99 extra for the regular size and $3.99 for the jungle size. I always get the Jungle-sized guacamole, but I always find I have a lot left afterwards after using my two other dips. I think the value is about the average price for veggie nachos. That being said, the lack of toast factor and insufficient cheese decreases the overall value of the nachos.
Quantity
If you are having Jungle Jim's Super Super nachos for a meal, it will satisfy one person. If you are sharing, it is best as a late night snack with some fun drinks.
Conclusion
Jungle Jim's has had two locations close in the Saint John area (Uptown, Quispamsis) and today we are left with the west side location. I felt that the west side location did not have the magic that the other ones had in terms of the quality of the nachos. I think that if you fail on the toast factor and the quantity of cheese, you do not deserve to be on the A range and in the top three places to eat nachos in Saint John. I have been lenient in the past with bad experiences at Jungle Jim's and have only brought down the rating a little bit each time because I try to look at the sum of all the experiences instead of just looking at the last experience. However, when I look at the top ten in Saint John, there are quite a few places that deserve to have a higher rating than Jungle Jim's. Also, I think that by looking at the sum of all my past visits instead of focusing the most recent experience, that imparts too much personal bias, and does not reflect current conditions.
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Jungle Jim's Tex-Mex Chicken Nachos - March 2021
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| Super Super Nachos (beef) - July 2019 |
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| Super Super Nachos (beef) - July 2019 |
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| Jungle Jim's Chicken Nachos - December 2018 |
Distribution of Toppings
There was quite a bit of toppings when we visited in March 2021, but Jungle Jim's did not have the same amount of cheese as previous visits. There were enough toppings for all the chips, but not enough cheese.
Quality
I liked how they had mixed cheeses. I also liked how they had black olives on these nachos because, in my experience, not a lot of restaurants put black olives on their nachos. The veggies were nice and fresh, and their dips were a good size. The chips they used were corn chips which are my favorite. The problem with our latest visit was that the nachos didn't have the "toast factor". In other words, they needed to be cooked more.
Value
The Super Super Nachos without any extras is $14.99. If you choose to add beef, tex-mex chicken, or chili cheese, it is $18.99. Extra dips are $.99 each and guacamole is $1.99 extra for the regular size and $3.99 for the jungle size. I always get the Jungle-sized guacamole, but I always find I have a lot left afterwards after using my two other dips. I think the value is about the average price for veggie nachos. That being said, the lack of toast factor and insufficient cheese decreases the overall value of the nachos.
Quantity
If you are having Jungle Jim's Super Super nachos for a meal, it will satisfy one person. If you are sharing, it is best as a late night snack with some fun drinks.
Conclusion
Jungle Jim's has had two locations close in the Saint John area (Uptown, Quispamsis) and today we are left with the west side location. I felt that the west side location did not have the magic that the other ones had in terms of the quality of the nachos. I think that if you fail on the toast factor and the quantity of cheese, you do not deserve to be on the A range and in the top three places to eat nachos in Saint John. I have been lenient in the past with bad experiences at Jungle Jim's and have only brought down the rating a little bit each time because I try to look at the sum of all the experiences instead of just looking at the last experience. However, when I look at the top ten in Saint John, there are quite a few places that deserve to have a higher rating than Jungle Jim's. Also, I think that by looking at the sum of all my past visits instead of focusing the most recent experience, that imparts too much personal bias, and does not reflect current conditions.
For example, why did people watch "Fuller House?" Was it because of the exceptional acting? The great character development? The suspense? I think it was because of the nostalgia of growing up with Uncle Jesse, DJ, Stephanie, etc. and trying to re-live the magic of one's childhood. Sometimes nostalgia blurs reality and I think I have to stop thinking about all the great times I had at Jungle Jim's (especially uptown) and think of the present which is that Jungle Jim's West failed two basic parts of the nacho experience: cheese to chip ratio and toast factor.
Nacho Blog Rating: C+
Nacho Blog Rating: C+