Jake’s Texas Tea House, Waco, Texas - This ain’t no tea room
- takinthebackroads
- Apr 7
- 4 min read
Jake Black was a corporate man in the oil industry for years, packing bags and jumping on private jets to fly to locations all over the world for meetings, but he gave it all up. His daughter, Stacie, was 7, and he missed her Christmas play because of work. It was then and there that he told his wife, Karen, that he’d made millions for his boss, so now he could make thousands for himself.
Since then, Jake has opened 14 different restaurants in places like Colorado, Florida, and Texas. Most of them have been themed restaurants, including Jake’s Texas Tea House in Waco, Texas, which they opened in August of 2012. This ain’t no tea room though, it’s named after the oil boom in Texas, at the time, oil was referred to as “Texas Tea” and stepping into the restaurant is like taking a step back in time.
Jake and Karen have owned five-star dining and ski lodges, but this is a come-as-you-are, casual diner, decorated with filling station signs, red and white striped leather booths, and restored classic cars (well, halves of them anyway).
The food is from scratch, and while they are long-trusted family recipes, before anything gets put on the menu, it gets put to the test. The employees, many of whom have been with them since day one, get to test each recipe to decide whether it goes on the menu or not. This place is a vibe. It’s bright and colorful, the music is classic, and the smiles and laughter permeate the air as much as the smell of the food. I haven’t been to a restaurant with a better staff, and it starts with Jake and his daughter Stacie, both loving and wonderful people full of personality. I was so impressed by how the staff were all outgoing, welcoming, and lively, even as it got busier and busier as we were there.
The Chicken Fried Steak had a beautiful, golden, well-seasoned crust topped with scratch-
made cream gravy. A big helping of fluffy mashed potatoes and cream gravy sat to the side, along with a bowl of freshly made broccoli salad. I love broccoli salad in just about any way it can be served, but the sweet-savory flavor combo and creamy-crunchy texture combo of the salad is really one of my favorite ways to eat it.
The Smoked Turkey Reuben was thick slices of juicy, smoked turkey, a slice of Swiss cheese, and crunchy, creamy coleslaw. All of that was piled on toasted sourdough bread, slathered with a silky thousand-island dressing, and it was served with a little cup of cranberry sauce on the side to smear on as you’d like. It came with a pile of the best sweet potato fries I’d ever eaten; they were more flavorful, sweeter, and crispier than any that I’ve found.
All of the burgers are made from fresh, never frozen, locally-sourced beef on freshly baked buns. My Deisel Burger was a thick, well-seasoned, juicy patty, topped with a gooey pepperjack cheese. Then grilled onions, jalapenos, and poblano peppers were stacked on it, and fresh, cool lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and red onions helped to balance the heat. I got a big stack of hand-battered fried green beans and homemade ranch as my side, and I can’t express how good the fried green beans were. Not only was the batter crisp, but the green beans still had the perfect amount of snap in them. The batter had just a slight amount of spice to it, enough to make you go “hmm,” that it was the perfect compliment to their ranch.
My Best Bite of the Day was the Salad Trio, a bright and colorful plate of housemade chicken salad, vermicelli salad, and fruit salad. This was a big enough plate that I could order it for a normal lunch and get two meals out of it; all three salads were large servings. The fruit was fresh, sweet, and cool, served with a poppy seed dressing for dipping. The chicken salad was creamy with celery, apples, and craisins to brighten up the flavor. Out of the three, the vermicelli salad was my favorite, but that’s because I love a good pasta salad. It was lightly dressed, with peppers, onions, and just a kick of spice that added a nice pop to the overall plate. The meal also came with a fresh-baked carrot and zucchini muffin that was soft, fluffy, and flavorful.
The desserts are freshly made daily, and when they’re out, they’re out. Boog got the Key Lime pie; it had the creamiest, dreamiest key lime filling, a fluffy layer of whipped topping, and a perfect, buttery crust. I got the chocolate dream, which had a toasted graham cracker and pecan crust, a layer of whipped cream, a layer of chocolate pie filling, then another layer of whipped cream topping, and a dusting of the crust mixture on top. Both were decadent and absolute perfection. Do not miss out on their homemade desserts.
All of the portions were big, all of the food fresh, and the service and atmosphere were lively. If you’re looking for a spot to stop in and have a good time for lunch while you’re in Downtown Waco, then you definitely need to take the backroads on your way to Waco and grab lunch at Jake’s Texas Tea House. Tell Jake, Stacie, and the crew that I said hi, and make sure to take a friend and a camera, you’ll be glad you did!
613 Austin Ave, Waco, TX 76701
As always, be sure to check their hours before you head that way.
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