JusTini's — Restaurant in New Orleans

I took my gf here Saturday night during Essence Weekend and the atmosphere was great until we were moved to another part of the restaurant that I’ll called “the forgotten zone” the waitress took our orders, gave us a glass of water an the only time we saw her was when she was bringing us our food. She never checked to see if we needed more water, more food, drinks or anything. The food on the other hand was good, BUT it took ages to come. We ordered both the seafood & hot sausage tacos, salmon bites, wings and two drinks. Our food didn’t all come out at once like we thought it would. It came out separately after we ate each dish. The tacos came out first, they were good but it took a total on 38 minutes to get to us. It took another 15 minutes for the salmon bites, which we enjoyed. The wings took a whole hour to come out. As I was walking out of “the forgotten zone” to go cancel the wings and get the check I seen the cook bringing two plates of wings, one to a lady sitting at the bar (who wasn’t there when we placed our order) and the other was for us. I sarcastically asked him did they have to kill and pluck the feathers off of the chicken before they cooked it and he jokingly said “no it was frozen” I’m not going to lie the wings were also good but not worth that wait. I don’t think the wait time would not have bothered us if we were in the main dining area with the rest of the people listening to music and watching tv. The forgotten zone did have a tv but it wasn’t on and we were the only ones sitting in there after a party of women left. The tables in “The Forgotten Zones” was super wobbly and difficult to eat and drinks from without fear of spilling things. Also what made the wait long was our waitress NEVER checked on us. We had one glass of water, with no refills and after we had our drinks she never came back to see if we wanted more. That drink I had was really good. I wasn’t going to leave a tip for her bc her service was horrible but I read on a menu that after 90 minutes of sitting the waitresses get a mandatory 18%. No wonder why our food took so long, and the waitress had no reason to work for her tip, bc she know she was getting tipped anyway. The food was good, the main dinner area was a vibe but the wait time, the mandatory 18% for horrible service and “the forgotten zone” make me never want to come back or recommend this place to my...

Where to begin. We had such high hopes for this place after seeing the instagram stories. Unfortunately, Justini’s ruined our birthday dinner. First, we made a reservation and apparently the reservation seating is at the back of the restaurant in a room with 3 tables and a tv playing music. it lacked any sort of ambiance. We ordered cocktails and this were great and literally the ONLY thing great! So now the food. We had the ribeye with garlic mash potatoes, the grilled Lamb Chops, the grilled Salmon, and the Hot Sausage Tacos. We ordres the ribeye medium temp and the lamb chops medium well. The ribeye was well well done and grey on Where to begin. We had such high hopes for this place after seeing the instagram stories. Unfortunately, Justini’s ruined our birthday dinner. First, we made a reservation and apparently the reservation seating is at the back of the restaurant in a room with 3 tables and a tv playing music. it lacked any sort of ambiance. We ordered cocktails and this were great and literally the ONLY thing great! So now the food. We had the ribeye with garlic mash potatoes, the grilled Lamb Chops, the grilled Salmon, and the Hot Sausage Tacos. We ordered the ribeye medium temp and the lamb chops medium well. The ribeye was well well done and grey on the inside! The lamb chops were medium rare. oh and the grilled Salmon was raw!!!! The party member who got the tacos said they were good. So we sent back the ribeye and the lamb chops. the member who ordered Salmon refused to let them correct the issue in fear of another let down. So they didn’t eat! The ribeye returned cooked at the right temp, unseasoned and swimming in garlic butter. The mashed potatoes were kind of thin and lumpy! such a disaster. The lamp chops came back to the table without the sides that left with them. I was told they were bland and disgusting. The lamb chops were sent back again and replaced with a piece of fried fish. The service was poor also. The waitress was working our area way in the back of the restaurant and the live DJ fun area at the front of the restaurant, so we barley were serviced. Overall it was a horrible experience and felt like a tourist trap. super disappointed. Oh the excuse for the disgusting food was that they...

A Disappointing Visit to Justini’s: A Lesson in Hospitality Dining out is more than just food—it’s about the experience, the ambiance, and most importantly, the hospitality. When a friend visited from out of town, I wanted to introduce her to a local gem, and Justini’s had been gaining traction online. Unfortunately, what should have been a pleasant culinary outing turned into a lesson in how poor customer service can overshadow everything else. Justini’s closes at 4 PM on Sundays, and due to an unexpected delay, we arrived at 3:05 PM. The restaurant was nearly empty, yet instead of a warm greeting, we were met with a look of irritation from an employee, who immediately checked their watch with a disapproving expression. This reaction set an unwelcoming tone. When another staff member approached, we asked if it was too late to be seated, only to receive hesitation and uncertainty—no clear response, just a lingering pause that made us feel as though our presence was an inconvenience. Uncomfortable with the situation, we decided to leave. While it’s understandable that a restaurant must prepare to close, turning away paying customers with an hour left in service raises questions about professionalism. Had the staff been more communicative and accommodating, we might have opted for takeout instead. A restaurant's reputation is built not only on its food but on how it treats its guests. Dismissing customers prematurely—especially with such palpable reluctance—undermines the idea of fostering loyal patrons. Establishments thrive when they respect and value their clientele. Hospitality should never feel conditional, and businesses that fail to understand this risk alienating their community. Regrettably, Justini’s will not be a place I...