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JUBAN’S RESTAURANT BY MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON • PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLLIN RICHIE
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, it was a foregone conclusion that the average Baton Rouge suit would have, at some point, had lunch at Juban’s. The 40-year-old, family-owned Creole restaurant at Perkins and Acadian cultivated a reputation for hosting refined business lunches as well as midday meetings for scores of professional organizations. Its large footprint and reliance on private events made staying open unsustainable during the pandemic, and the restaurant’s owners, the Juban family, decided to temporarily close. The hiatus provided time to rebrand, remodel and bring the iconic eatery into Baton Rouge’s more competitive hospitality landscape. It reopened April 4. The new design, created by Dyke Nelson Architects and X Design, is luminous and gilded, a modern version of celebratory New Orleans institutions like Commander’s Palace and Brennan’s. The main dining room, now the Hallelujah Bar, features dining tables, a large bar and an outdoor patio. The Tigre Room, a sultry “library,” behind a trick wall, is set off in rich teals, dark wood and burnt orange. It’s wallpapered in bright, colonial tigers and peacocks, while the beloved visages of Joe Burrow, D-D Breaux and others are hidden in heroic portraiture. On the plate, it’s equally old-meets-new. Chef de cuisine Chris Motto, formerly of Mansurs on the Boulevard, runs the kitchen, while managing partner and executive chef Peter Sclafani occupies a leadership role. Motto has updated Juban’s enduring dishes such as Hallelujah Crab, Redfish Adrian, and mango tasso shrimp. Among his new additions is the Ora King salmon, a buttery sustainably farmed salmon from New Zealand. It’s served with ratatouille, sautéed spinach, smoked tomato coulis and chive beurre blanc, and is topped with homemade salmon crackling that Motto prepares by dehydrating and deep frying salmon skin. “It’s one of the best fish available,” Sclafani says. “The flavor and moisture are just insane.”
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Traditional favorites like the Hallelujah Crab (background) remain on the menu, but a new dish attracting attention is the Ora King salmon, a buttery, sustainably farmed salmon from New Zealand. The Victorian explorer-inspired Tigre Room is generating excitement for its sultry vibe, animal skin rugs, and a series of “paintings” of famous LSU sports personalities. A temporary closing during the height of the pandemic allowed for a complete rebrand and redesign of the iconic eatery.
ADDRESS: 3739 Perkins Road PHONE: 225-346-8422 WEB: jubans.com CUISINE: Creole fine dining CHEF/OWNER: Executive Chef, Peter Sclafani; Chef de Cuisine, Chris Motto; managed by Making Raving Fans Hospitality SCENE: Newly renovated eatery with multiple private rooms, large Atrium Bar and patio dining PRICING: $$-$$$
BUSINESS REPORT, May 2022 | BusinessReport.com
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4/28/22 12:19 PM
