Ed eats
Juuls
7, St Joseph Street,
Spinola Bay,
St Julian’s
Food: 6/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 7/10
There is something quite magical about combining friends with food and drink and music. I don’t mean we should blend them. That would be messy and only the music would escape unscathed. They’re four of life’s pleasures that are enhanced when enjoyed together. It makes sense, then, that there exists a multitude of options to allow a group of friends to make the best of this combination.
At the most rowdy are bars that play loud music and serve nibbles while groups of friends slowly and systematically get drunk. The way our nation includes Sunday mornings in this ritual tells a lot about us.
The problem with this for me is the music. One is at the mercy of the person behind the bar, manning the iPad to drown conversation rather than regale patrons with music. You Tube playlists top 40 charts from a few months ago, or even the same Dire Straits album on repeat, can bring a man to tears. And tears, what with their being salty and all that, don’t mix well with drinks. Unless you’re drinking cheap tequila. On a Sunday morning. Then tears are just fine.
On the other end of the spectrum, there used to be places dedi-cated to proper music, defined by the genre they represent. There was a jazz club in St Julian’s once, now replaced by a gigantic hole in the ground, that served food, played excellent music and ripped you off at the bar.
Spending time there with friends who enjoyed the music, the food, and as many drinks as our wallets could possibly allow, meant we never walked out drunk. We strolled out, sometimes at sunrise, with happy smiles and a list of artistes to look up and find out more about.
This has, for the most part, become a vastly outmoded form of entertainment. We’re in favour of generic pop-hit playing, shiny surface clad, short lifespan bars that don’t serve food. At least we’re ripped off at the bar just in the name of nostalgia. It is a good thing that growing up makes one afford more drink because it pays to drink the edge off these places.
Then there is Juuls. This is one brave bar. The music they’ve chosen is reggae. The food they’ve picked is vegetarian. For this combination to work on an island like ours, something special must be going on.
Reggae is a rather divisive music. Most people I know either love it or hate it. The rest have listened to Bob Marley’s Legend album and know the words to some of the songs but will kick and scream if unfamiliar reggae is played at them for any length of time. So picking this style and sticking with it for so many years shows that Juuls has the guts to stick to its guns. Or rather, its peaceful, loving revolution.
There is more to Juuls than the music. The place looks great because it is themed very consistently. Whether you happen to like the theme or not is subjective, but the consistency works. The bar serves up great cocktails, with the mojito being a favourite of mine.
The people at the bar are friendly and efficient, so no matter how busy the place is, you’re always served with a pleasant smile and an unhurried approach to preparing your cocktail. Good drinks come to those who wait.
The location is also quite unique. Nestled in an alley that runs perpendicular to the quay at Spinola Bay, there is plenty of room for tables and chairs for those who want to enjoy the evening air. Run out of tables and just pick a spot on the wide staircase outside. Out here, the music is no more than a pleasant and unintrusive backdrop.
Now I’m one of the weird ones who can take any amount of decent reggae but hardly ever choose to listen to the style at home. So I can enjoy the music if I visit Juuls and not miss it when I leave. Going to Juuls with someone who might despise the music is another matter.
I find it best to ask before dragging people over. And now that they’re serving food, there is another question to ask your guests. Do they mind vegetarian food?
I find that the answer to reggae questions turns up the mix of love/hate that’s consistent with what I expect of it. The food, on the other hand, does not.
I have only ever had one negative reaction to a veggie-only dining option. Everyone else I’ve asked about vegetarian food has been quite happy to join me.
Deciding to serve vegetarian food is quite the undertaking. The expectation of quality and flavour are raised, particularly when non-vegetarians are being served
I visited Juuls recently, drawn mainly by my desire for a mojito. Knowing I’d be there in the evening, I made sure I’d have room for supper, quite looking forward to giving their kitchen a spin.
I wasn’t lucky enough to find a vacant table outside, so in I ventured, hoping there would be room at a table inside the little labyrinth that the place has become since it popped steroids and grew to fill the adjacent property.
There was plenty of room inside, the temperature was cooler and the music was louder. I asked the better half if she minded any of this, because I’m polite once every six months. She must have been stunned by my concern because she quickly said she was fine with it. I even caught her bopping her head to the music at one point.
We ordered food at the appropriate counter and were served by a really helpful young lady who was happy to customise our order, swapping the burger bun for a salad when we requested it.
The burger is a mushroom and cheese burger – no cows are allowed in here – and I went with the falafel because I love the stuff and don’t come across it half as often as I’d like to. We paid less than €15 for the food and the girl who’d taken our order said she’d hunt for us and deliver the food when it was ready.
Next stop was the bar, where a young man, just as helpful and cheerful as his colleague, took our orders for mojitos and prepared them with pride.
The set-up inside is tranquil, with little lights and candles, various effigies of Bob Marley, the occasional depiction of the sacred herb and the colours of the Jamaican flag livening up the gaps in between. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it worked for me.
Our food was served about 10 minutes later by the girl who’d taken our orders. My falafel was served in a basket, with two pockets of pitta, each containing a salad and two balls of falafel on top.
Eating this is surprisingly easy and I didn’t make half the mess I expected to. The salad was quite thick with fresh rucola and I picked out the obvious stalks.
The sting of the rucola was a pleasant addition to the well-executed falafel and the yoghurt dressing wrapped up the dish.
The salad with the burger was also very generous and hid little delights like tiny rings of fresh radish and slivers of avocado. I wasn’t too impressed with the dressing and would have expected some decent olive oil to present itself at table.
The burger patty enjoyed a lovely flavour and a savoury intensity I wasn’t expecting. I take exception to the texture, believing it could have been bound a little more tightly. The potato wedges were pretty decent and completed the whole burger and fries notion that’s seared into our minds.
Deciding to serve vegetarian food is quite the undertaking. The expectation of quality and flavour are raised, particularly when non-vegetarians are being served.
I know the vegetarians among you will be indignant about this statement but, whether you like it or not, that’s the omnivore market for you. Take out meat, and a fitting replacement is expected.
We liked the food at Juuls. It is tasty, it is filling and it has the ability to make one feel all virtuous about the healthy aspects of the food one’s just eaten.
It might not have been the best vegetarian I’ve tried but the price is in its favour, as are the location of the restaurant and the fact that the bar happens to be one to beat.
Juuls might not be the obvious choice for dinner every day of the week, but if you’re partial to reggae and up for a dose of healthy flavour, go on and stir it up a little. It is worth straying outside your comfort zone once in a while.
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