Just in time: the food at JusTini's in the Bywater, New Orleans
JusTini's
review by Paul Oswell
The shifting demographics of the Bywater have changed a lot over the last couple of decades, as short term rentals have steadily encroached on the residential population. This has meant an uphill battle for neighborhood restaurants, and the turnover has been notable. Perfectly good spots, such as Oxalis and Maurepas Foods, came and went, with the ill-fated Booty’s Street Food perhaps the poster child for pushing a knowingly-fashionable identity that wasn’t widely welcomed.
That institutions such as Frady’s have outlasted all of these places is telling; simple neighborhood joints perhaps have the best chance of thriving. The recently-opened JusTini’s is now taking up the location on the 3100 block of Dauphine, long-abandoned by Oxalis. It’s definitely a step-up in sophistication levels compared to Frady’s no-frills counter service, but owner Jessica Robinson is making sure that the basics are done well enough to be here for the long haul.
Robinson is a long-time bartender in New Orleans, and there’s tangible ambition as you step into her bar-restaurant. The layout hasn’t changed a huge amount if you were familiar with Oxalis - there’s a bar and dining room, some cute nooks just off the main space and a small courtyard with a new, striking mural. Chandeliers bring an illuminated elegance to the bar, and honestly it’s just really gratifying to walk in and see life in this building again.
We go on a Thursday night and there’s a low-key buzz, a couple of groups finishing up and half a dozen couples lingering over their date night. Staff are perky and chatty, and it feels immediately welcoming, cocktails coming out and cones of french fries being shared. It’s lively and relaxed without a hint of pretension - no knowingly quirky decor or try-hard gimmicks here.
The cocktails are solid, creative enough to be interesting but still accessible. We had a Krewe of Justini, which mixes tropical melon and pineapple with a potent punch of white spirits, and a Fuego, which has tequila and a piquant jab of muddled jalapeno with a healthy slug of pineapple to cut through the spice.
The food menu doesn’t over-stretch itself - I’ve watched enough Gordon Ramsey restaurant shows to know that focusing on doing a few things very well beats an encyclopedic menu that pushes everyone to the limits. My Blackened Shrimp Salad was a gratifyingly hefty portion, with perfectly-seasoned shrimp, while my friend’s Catfish Dauphine was garlicky and spicy and not a little decadent.
The rest of the menu covers tacos of sausage and fish varieties, salmon bites and truffle fries - nothing overly fancy, just good bar food done confidently and with an eye for what people are looking for in a semi-casual, local restaurant like this. You could celebrate a birthday here or just drop by on a whim for a quick bite - it’s aiming for, and mostly hitting, that middle-ground sweet spot.
We left with nothing but good wishes for JusTini’s - I hope it can ride out the vicissitudes of the city’s STR challenges, this part of town deserves to feel like a real neighborhood again, and restaurants such as JusTini's have a huge part to play in helping that to happen.
JusTini's website
review by Paul Oswell
The shifting demographics of the Bywater have changed a lot over the last couple of decades, as short term rentals have steadily encroached on the residential population. This has meant an uphill battle for neighborhood restaurants, and the turnover has been notable. Perfectly good spots, such as Oxalis and Maurepas Foods, came and went, with the ill-fated Booty’s Street Food perhaps the poster child for pushing a knowingly-fashionable identity that wasn’t widely welcomed.
That institutions such as Frady’s have outlasted all of these places is telling; simple neighborhood joints perhaps have the best chance of thriving. The recently-opened JusTini’s is now taking up the location on the 3100 block of Dauphine, long-abandoned by Oxalis. It’s definitely a step-up in sophistication levels compared to Frady’s no-frills counter service, but owner Jessica Robinson is making sure that the basics are done well enough to be here for the long haul.
Robinson is a long-time bartender in New Orleans, and there’s tangible ambition as you step into her bar-restaurant. The layout hasn’t changed a huge amount if you were familiar with Oxalis - there’s a bar and dining room, some cute nooks just off the main space and a small courtyard with a new, striking mural. Chandeliers bring an illuminated elegance to the bar, and honestly it’s just really gratifying to walk in and see life in this building again.
We go on a Thursday night and there’s a low-key buzz, a couple of groups finishing up and half a dozen couples lingering over their date night. Staff are perky and chatty, and it feels immediately welcoming, cocktails coming out and cones of french fries being shared. It’s lively and relaxed without a hint of pretension - no knowingly quirky decor or try-hard gimmicks here.
The cocktails are solid, creative enough to be interesting but still accessible. We had a Krewe of Justini, which mixes tropical melon and pineapple with a potent punch of white spirits, and a Fuego, which has tequila and a piquant jab of muddled jalapeno with a healthy slug of pineapple to cut through the spice.
The food menu doesn’t over-stretch itself - I’ve watched enough Gordon Ramsey restaurant shows to know that focusing on doing a few things very well beats an encyclopedic menu that pushes everyone to the limits. My Blackened Shrimp Salad was a gratifyingly hefty portion, with perfectly-seasoned shrimp, while my friend’s Catfish Dauphine was garlicky and spicy and not a little decadent.
The rest of the menu covers tacos of sausage and fish varieties, salmon bites and truffle fries - nothing overly fancy, just good bar food done confidently and with an eye for what people are looking for in a semi-casual, local restaurant like this. You could celebrate a birthday here or just drop by on a whim for a quick bite - it’s aiming for, and mostly hitting, that middle-ground sweet spot.
We left with nothing but good wishes for JusTini’s - I hope it can ride out the vicissitudes of the city’s STR challenges, this part of town deserves to feel like a real neighborhood again, and restaurants such as JusTini's have a huge part to play in helping that to happen.
JusTini's website
