Jays:Here is another Dayton Icon restaurants, Excellent seafood restaurant near the Oregon District.Jay's is far from a chain, it's family run, some say expensive" but I think it well worth the $$$ Very Fresh Seafood.Very classy setting and excellent service.

Perfect for something special. I read many reviews on a lot of different sites before going to Jay's. I was nervous about the bad reviews but friends have recommended it so we went.
For those who say it is pricey - well, yes it can be but this is not a chain and it is more upscale than applebee's. I found it precisely in line with other seafood restaurants and the pre-fixe menu made it rather reasonable. $27 for three courses is prefect.
For those who say they were trying to up-sell a lot - Um, that's what restaurants do. Would you like an appetizer? Coffee with dessert? May I suggest some wine? Restaurants want you to have the best experience so they offer what they have! When we turned down an appetizer, our server was respectful and moved on.
For those who said the food was not great - we didn't order whatever it was they said was bad - and our food was wonderful. I had the prefixe menu of Salad, Salmon and Peanut Butter pie and everything was excellent. If anything, the Salmon's first bite felt slightly overcooked, but overall the food was really delicious. My husband had the Greek style Swordfish which was amazing. Also, please note this is Dayton Ohio and not the New England coast so you are not going to get seafood of that quality once you are used to that.
For those who had bad service. We didn't. Our server was exceptional. We were not rushed at all. We had a long, wonderful experience. We were looked after but never pushed. I wish there were more servers like that. If your server isn't good, talk to the manager or owner, not splay it all over a review.

In a nutshell - lovely location, historical building, dim romantic setting, nice food, exceptional service....perfect for a special occasion like a birthday or Valentine's day. We will be back!

Ate at Jay's this week for the 1st time and was very impressed. Ordered the Oysters, Mussels, Chowder, and had the House Swordfish dish for main course. Everything was very fresh and had great flavor. For sure the best and freshest seafood in Dayton. I will be back!!!