JoJo Eating House And Bar

The food was just ok. The veggies on the plate were totally mediocre. When you spend 20 or more on a entrée you expect more…

JoJos was the only place I could quickly get a reservation for 7 at brunch today which should have been my first warning. This location seems to be cursed as bars and restaurants rotate through here faster than rolls of toilet paper. Anyone who has a review at 4 to 5 starts should be publically beaten and banned from Unilocal.The food is absolutely awful. We had omelets, crepes, scrambled eggs, and a tuna salad. The tuna on the salad had probably been frozen and thawed several times. The omelets had runny eggs and the ham was something from a oscar meyer deli package. For 10 – 15 a plate JoJos is a waste of money and I doubt they will make it till the end of 2013.

Some of the poor reviews make no sense to me. Such as the quote «5 star steak house, 3 star Applebees».obviously you have no taste if you think an Applebees is a 3 star restaurant. I’m biased because I love the place. the staff is always friendly, although I agree that some of them are newer and less educated when it comes to this level of cooking and wines, but the chefs are consistently putting out great dishes. I’ve been to JoJo’s 5 times now since they’ve opened and I’ve consistently gotten great meals. Chef Laurent has actually reduced the price of the menu in recent months and still seeks out local, organic produce and meats. I’ll be going back to try their new lunch menu and I’m excited to try their new brunch menu they have on Saturdays and Sundays.
I’m a huge fan of the Braised Beef Cheeks, lamb chops and halibut. If you go to JoJo’s, you get fresh, unique dishes for a change instead of the overdone Tex-​Mex or chain steakhouses available on every other corner of Uptown.

Either the reviews are made by those that want a Happy Meal and a Coke for their dinner or are not forgiving of the effort to seat large parties. OR are possibly made by competitors…
In any case, I’ve been there three times now. The food has been very good. Does Dallas stand out for its mussels, No, but the ones here are good. It is pleasantly different fro the normal, cookie-​cutter eatery. The service has always been friendly and attentive. Give them a try. It’s in Uptown. Expect to be treated as a regular person. Go in with that expectation and you will be happy.

Went here last night with a party of 4.
Great space, and I really hope this place can last.
The service lived up to the reviews I read here on Unilocal.SLOW, actually beyond slow. This would not have been so bad if they could just keep the drinks flowing. Waiting for wine for 10 minutes, a jack and coke for 20?
Beef Cheek dish– fantastic. No complaints.
Cheese board– great (but it took over 20 minutes after ordering to get that)
2 of us ordered rotisserie chicken (usually a safe bet) DRY
the rest of the dish that the chicken laid on was great and full of flavor. Chicken still dry, even with the other stuff and sauce.
Crab cakes– friend said they were bland.
Service is just plain terrible, expect to be there for a long dinner but if you are there for the long dinner experience it will be fine. They just need to work on keeping drinks filled.
I ran into a friend who was there for dinner as well, and then ran into at BBC afterwards in which he told me they ended up leaving without eating because the service was so bad and the manager was unapologetic when the issues were brought to his attention. They had a few choice words to describe him. The table next to us was extremely irritated with the lack of service they received and I also saw another patron who came up to the waiter station to gripe about his service. All this in my one done here.
Staff is nice but I feel they are trying to give off a fancy vibe which leaves them
lacking personality. There is no fun vibe from them, all very serious/​nervous/​awkward. They all walk as if they are on a stroll. No sense of urgency.
The kitchen cooks are out in the open and they don’t smile, don’t talk, just cook which when the music isn’t on is awkward. I love the kitchen at Nick & Sams because its lively and fun and they are all working together.
The owner was scolding one of the waiters a lot.
I really hope they read these reviews and fix some of these issues so it can be a staple go to place in uptown.
Will try again and hope they have worked out the kinks. Of the kinks are not worked out soon I’m afraid it just won’t last.

I cannot fathom why the average rating for JoJo Eating House and Bar sits at 2.5 stars, but I disagree. I cannot speak on behalf of the authenticity, wine program, or even a dinner experience, but this uptown French-​ish eatery knocked my recent lunch out of the park. The pricing played a pivotal role, of course.
For starters, the runny aioli for the bread, which I will admit lacked desirable attributes, offered a different spin on the typical bread and butter. Moving on, the Andalusian Gazpacho packed a slight punch that balanced out the cool, refreshing character. Definitely fresh to say the least.
The $ 9 Moroccon Veggie sandwich possessed a fantastic olive spread with nice salty notes and pretty springy foccacia. A heftier hand with seasoning could have improved the vegetables. But, they split our sandwich for us, so the price tag felt far too low for the quality and quantity. To round out our light lunch, the house salad with candied pecans and an abundance of pine nuts benefits from the light, zippy lemon vinaigrette.
JoJo gets my vote for a classy, but simple uptown meal. Good service to boot, at least during my visit.

It looked really nice and I have always wanted to go here. And so I did just to be disappointment. No… that is a huge understatement. I was MAD at their price vs. quality mismatch.
Food and drinks were the price of a 5 star steak house but the service and the taste was that of a 3 star Applebees. Granted seafood is not cheap. I get that. But… Hear this out.
I ordered a bowl of a Lobster bisque, but I got the smallest cup size I have ever seen with one small piece of lobster in it. eh… REALLY? The server confirmed that was the «bowl» size. I wondered how small the cup size would have been. My husband’s muscles was not bad, but still expensive. $ 50+ per dish on average is WAY~~ too much in my opinion.
The service was simply mediocre. Nothing that would say «We are 5 star restaurant staff.» Again, it reminded me of Applebees… I felt that I paid for their decoration not for their food or service. They have to understand that the price alone does not make them 5 star quality and they need to step it up.
It is an expensive but still affordable restaurant although hugely not worth it.

— Excellent, fresh food
— Excellent menu with good seafood, meat, veggie options
— Excellent wine list
— Mediocre service: very nice, just seemed like lots of new staff, still working out the kinks and made meal a little awkward
— OK atmosphere: would be great except was pretty empty for a saturday night so made it kind of lacking in energy

I have just finished up dinner here and we loved it!
My boyfriend and I sat at the bar that overlooks the kitchen and we enjoyed the cooks who stopped to talk to us and explain what it was they were cooking. Our waiter was great and very gracious!
The food was great. Very fresh and I enjoyed being able to watch the cooks prepare the meal.
Great Place.

Went to JoJos for a friend-​date last week, and overall, I’d give it a B or B-​. It wasn’t bad by any means, but also didn’t blow either of us away, either. I think all in the bill was $ 120 (pre-​tip), which for two people with a bottle of red is affordable. I guess I just expected more of something.
I will say that I really like the restaurant’s vibe… open kitchen with bar-​top seating, comfortable four-​tops, rounded booths, a great bar… they know what they’re doing here.
For our meal, we enjoyed a nice bottle of red, which was priced fairly at $ 50. However, scoring thru their wine list was quite a task… I was presented with an iPad which at first glance I thought was clever and seemed easy, though once I started searching thru it was exhausting and confusing (and I own an iPad!). I think sticking to paper menus and avoiding this little antics would suit them just fine.
We started with their Country Loose Beans, which we both were salivating over upon reading the description that included Goat Cheese and Pork Belly… YES please. It was a large portion, and honestly probably too much for an appetizer for two. But, it was really, very tasty, so I would get this for my meal next time, it was that good.
My only issue with their appetizers is price… they range from $ 13-​$ 17 which seems high when their entrees are $ 18-​$ 36. My humble suggestion to JoJo would be to half the size and price of the appetizers. We almost didn’t order one because we weren’t hungry enough and the prices threw us off (though at a new place I always want to try more, to sense the place better). Now, don’t mistake me… I’m a gal that will, and has, happily spent $ 300+ dollars for a great meal, but I don’t think my appetizer (unless seafood) should cost close to what my entrée will… just seems odd.
Anyway, for my entrée I ordered their Beef Cheek, with Polenta and Asparagus. It was tasty enough, but I wouldn’t get it again… it was just OK. My friend ordered the Bavette Steak Frites, and hers was good too, though not memorable. I will say though, the Frites tasted as though they were fried in duck fat, and thus were absolutely delicious.
We finished our meal with their Crème Brulee, which was very good. I don’t think it’s hard to mess up this classic dessert, but I’ll give credit where it’s due.
I may venture back with my hubby for a drink and those Country Beans, though I won’t hurry back, which I think says a lot.

Fun little place!
Our server was so kind and I really loved the cocktail selection and wine. The smoked salmon was amazing. Really fun place to go sit and have a cheese tray with a friend or two.

I was sooo excited to try this place but ended up leaving really disappointed. We had reservations for a group it took about an hour just to get us seated even though the place wasn’t even that busy.
My biggest comment for this place is that they had an awful wait staff. The food was okay but you can get better and cheaper else where.

We held our work Secret Santa event at JoJo a couple of weeks ago and had a great experience. We showed up early and they were able to accommodate us immediately. Our server was very professional and helpful. The cocktails were amazing and the appetizers and desserts were delicious. I highly recommend the cheese board, charcuterie plate, ravioli, souffles, chocolate cake and crème brûlée.

I am not a big fan of (stereotypical) France or the (stereotypical) French. Having said that, I have had a lot of French food.
Went here with a large party. And we had pretty decent service. If you are with a large party, and can, order the «prestige platter.» It basically casts a huge fisherman’s net into the sea and pulls up every seafood item you can imagine and puts it onto a cool tiered platter for ya. From mussels, to lobster and scrimpies — you got it. We also got so crab cakes.
Oh also order the Strawberry Basil Garden — it does not come with mud. It is a refreshing drink and will not be weird. Fresh strawberries and simple syrup that will make you smile.
I ordered the mussels mariniere with frites. The sauce was pretty decent but not the best I have had. Good. The frites were absolutely fabulous though. Totally fresh and just delicious. I sopped those bad boys up in the sauce. I tried the sea bass that someone else and that melted in my mouth like butter. Additionally had some of the filet mignon, it was decent but not the best steak I have had.
All in all, this was a great restaurant. Can I give a shout out to the awesome bathroom though? I spent an extra second in there admiring it. I loved the number one and number two flushers. I loved the non slam cover to the toilet. Am I a dork? Yes. Bathroom was that awesome and smelled fresh and fabs.

Visited JoJo for the first time last night. I’m a regular at the Gingerman, and I’ve wanted to check this place out since it opened. It’s a lovely restaurant that has a street-​side wall they open up when the weather is nice. Very inviting. A friend and I decided to give it a try after our weekly pint night.
The inside is every bit as inviting and cozy as the outside. Like many new restaurants, the open kitchen is the centerpiece of the dining room. Lots of gleaming pots and pans, chefs in crisp red chef jackets, and what looks to be a wood fired (or possibly coal) pizza oven.
Perhaps all the negative reviews inspired a ‘Come to Jesus’ talk between the owner and the wait staff, or maybe we just got one of the better waiters, but service was spot-​on. Helpful advice when requested, water glasses never less than half full, no upselling or disappointing looks when we ordered a lower priced bottle of Shiraz instead of a $ 300 Cabernet, or sharing a pizza instead of ordering a $ 20+ entrée, and occasional low-​key check ins on how we were doing without interrupting the conversation. I like to occasionally indulge in high end restaurants, and this service was on par with some of the top places in Dallas.
The food was good, but not knock-​your-​socks-​off great. They provided some complimentary red-​pepper hummus and bread to go along with our meal. A nice touch, and well prepared. We shared a prosciutto pizza. Again, good, but not exceptional. The thin crust had just the right amount of crispness, and never got soggy from the toppings. They could have been a bit more generous with the prosciutto. The arugula leaves were fresh and gave it a nice bite of pepper. Quantity wise, their pizzas are share-​able for smaller appetites, but you’ll want to get a salad or appetizer if you’re hungry.
The reason I’m giving JoJo 3 stars is the pricing. You won’t find an appetizer under $ 10. Entrees are around the $ 20+ mark — even the pastas. No wines by the glass that are less than $ 10. If you dig around, you’ll find a few value wines by the bottle, but not many. They’re pricing themselves at the level of Nonna or Lucia. And they’re neither, at least at this point. Those restaurants are able to price at that level because they’ve earned a reputation for exceptional food and service. Better they bring down the prices a bit, then gradually edge them upward as they start building a reputation.
I think location is part of the issue too — when you’re surrounded by pubs and lower to mid-​tier restaurants, you need to at least broaden your range of prices — throw in some lower priced options so that don’t make scanning the menu inspire sticker shock. The pizza menu is an exception — I think the pricing there ($ 12 – 15) is workable.
Dallas is an incredibly competitive restaurant market. There are so many good options, and JoJo, at this point, doesn’t rise to the level of the competition. Coal Vines, BBC (great food, tho one could also argue somewhat overpriced), Toulous… I think they need to tweak their approach or pricing, or they’ll be yet another failed restaurant in a spot that has seen many come and go.
I do love the décor and open-​feel to the place, and think this could be a good option for sharing a bottle of wine and some nibblies on the patio. But I’d look elsewhere for a meal.

To start with a positive since my review is unfortunately going south quickly, the space is gorgeous. I love the set up and how open the restaurant and bar area are to the outside.
8:30 reservation, sat closer to 9pm — not a huge deal, it happens. We were there for a birthday dinner (for fellow Unilocaler Stephanie C.) so drinks were had at the bar. Once we were sat, the water got a little choppy. Our server took drink orders, and came back 15 minutes later to take appetizer orders. Our first drinks came about 30 minutes later. The iPad wine list is cool — the waiter didn’t know many of the wines on it however, so it might be a good idea to not leave it completely up to technology and educate him on them a liitttlllee. We quickly learned that the best method with this guy was to order our next drink as soon as we received the last one. The cucumber gimlet stood out to me since I normally never like gin — so props there even though it wasn’t strong. We had a few cheese boards and charcuterie trays as well as the artichoke and lump crab ceviche (this was served on each individual artichoke leaves).
The food was actually decent. I could see how some would say it was overpriced, but our portion sizes that night were honestly huge. Things around me that I tried: Mussels provencal & mussels mariniere both with frites (both good but wouldn’t put them in my top 5 in Dallas). Duo of Lamb Leg & Chop w/​tomato provencal — this to me was overcooked, but the guy who had it said it was cooked perfectly, but he prefers his closer to well done. NY Strip — This was interesting. The guy who had it said that it was completely rendered in bacon fat and was steak that tasted like pork. He lost me with this description until I tried it. It seriously did taste a lot like bacon, but with a steaklike texture (it was cooked perfectly mid rare). I personally would have been extremely disappointed that my $ 36 steak tasted like non crisp but tender bacon but hey — maybe some of you are into that sort of thing. A few other dishes I don’t quite recall as well as two of the pizzas (one prosciutto and one chicken pesto). END OF FOOD REVIEW.
Now that I’ve covered the food, you can stop reading now if you’ve even gotten this far and that’s all you cared to read about :) The service. I’m usually not one of those people who feels the services can completely ruin the meal, but this truly was one of those times. I worked in restaurants/​waited tables for 7 years of my total almost 26 years on this planet.
From where I was sitting we were our waiter’s only table, but perhaps his other one was on the complete other side of the restaurant which would account for his long periods of absence. The scroll/​squirrel/​whatever you like to call the computer station where the waiter enters the food was directly in our vision though and that is not where he was spending his time. The waiter was nice enough, and I will say I felt he had nice pronunciations of the names of the dishes, but it was either his first week or he should perhaps look into a different profession. We were literally sitting at the table eating from 9pm til almost 12:30 am. This really put a damper on our birthday girl’s bar time and she even just called it a night and headed home after because the experience was so exhausting :/​The restaurant wasn’t even that busy. Maybe a thursday night busy, but not a Saturday.
Things forgotten for me personally: my first drink, my second drink (glass of wine), my lobster bisque while everyone else’s soups/​salads came out and then my request for a spoon for said lobster bisque. I ended up using my friend’s spoon because I didn’t want the soup to get any colder. Don’t judge. I also understand that large parties can be a lot, but 9 people isn’t anything out of control, and perhaps they should have let it be a team wait and split the table between two waiters if it was going to be an issue. The checks were a complete NIGHTMARE. From check request to check tab out was probably about 45 minutes and they still weren’t correct.
THE MOST UNFORTUNATE PART — we saw the well dressed manager sneak down the hallway in our back room and chug a few drinks, he never once came by our table in all 4 hours we spent in their establishment. THE ONE SHINING STAR out of this experience was another server named Jerry. Towards the end of our meal (I assume he was busy all night actually taking care of his guests) he stopped by our table multiple times and continually asked if we needed anything or what he could do. He even brought the birthday girl a complimentary glass of some type of sparkling Rose. His customer service is the only reason this review has two stars instead of one. If you really want to try this place, I’d request Jerry if possible — perhaps they should make him the manager.

Where to begin? We made a reservation here for 8:30pm for a birthday dinner, and weren’t seated until 9pm. That should have been our first indication of how things were going to run.
Our waiter seemed inexperienced and easily distracted since it took about an hour for him to even take our dinner order. Granted our party was on the large side, however, the manager never stepped in to help. Drink orders were forgotten, along with simple requests for more silverware.
The food was decent, but nothing outstanding. Everyone in our group ordered something different. Mussels and frittes were served in a cassoulet pot, which made for a nice presentation. My boyfriend ordered the pork chop, which was over cooked. Those that ordered the pizzas seemed pretty unimpressed.
All in all the bad service just ruined it for us. I understand that the restaurant is still fairly new and they might still be trying to work out the kinks. BUT, an apology or a quick visit from the manager could have gone a long way.
Three and a half hours later, we finally paid our tabs. No joke.

We went specifically for drinks and overall I was disappointed with the bartenders service and his lack of knowledge on some of the most common cocktails. I tried the «elder fashion» which is a hit on the old fashion with St. Germaine… yet the Bartender was unaware of how to make the drink properly or even the type of bourbon he was using. After about 20 minutes of awkward conversation about how he hated bartending he offered us a tour of the restaurant, which we politely declined since its not a very large space to explore. My main concern with this trendy spot is that they failed to find staff with proper experience needed to make craft cocktails or just did a poor job of training them on the drink menu. I will have to try the food next time, and i guess a glass of the highly recommended pinot noir.

I wish I could give this 3.5 stars because that feels a bit more appropriate. I have been here for drinks once and dinner once. For drinks they have a full bar. I wanted a Moscow Mule but they didn’t know what that was which was surprising for a place I expected to be kind of cocktail-​y. My friend had a Manhattan and she said it was one of the best she has ever had. I got the sense they much prefer that you order wine as we were told about their wine selection by every one working in the bar! Haha. As others noted it is on an iPad which is cool. When I had dinner I ended up trying the «house cab» which was ok. The Pinot the waiter suggested was excellent.
I have mixed feelings about the food. The lobster bique is something special. My friend ended up sending back her «caesar» salad (which seemed to just be a plate of iceberg lettuce). But the hostess couldn’t have been nicer about letting her swap out to the bique (she agreed it was excellent). For dinner we had a pizza together and I also had the gnocchi. The pizza was good. Not quite as good as Coal Vines in my opinion but also not exactly the same style either. The gnocchi was, as someone else noted, too doughy. The portion was very small ($ 19). I also thought the greens on top kind of over powered it as well.
The service was also, as someone else noted, kind of nervous and unpolished but with lots of enthusiasm and a genuine desire for you to have a good experience.
My take away so far has been that the space is excellent and the service and food are going to improve over time as the place kind of figures out what it wants to be. It reminded me of my favorite places in New York where you can get great food in an open modern space with lots of energy and some people will be dressed up and some will be more casual. At least I hope that is what they want. If they go for fancy and stuffy I don’t think they will pull it off. I am going to give the seafood a chance as I think it might be the real highlight. There are options for big stacked platters of lobster, shrimp, crab, etc. And if that doesn’t work out it is still going to be an excellent place to drink wine ordered off an iPad.

We tried JoJo this evening on the second official day of service.
The restaurant inside looked fresh and different, the bar area very stylish. We were offered a seat at a «common table» inside or in the «enclosed patio» out back. We chose the enclosed patio so we could have a private table. The inside of the restaurant was promising, but the enclosed patio overlooks a parking garage… not the ideal setting for a meal.
We waited a few minutes for a server to come and offer us a drink or a menu, to the point where we were craning our necks hoping to find a nearby server. When we requested a wine or cocktail list we were handed an iPad with a list of wines (they don’t have a menu of specialty cocktails, although they do have a full bar). I appreciate the attempt to capitalize on a current popular techie trend, but I found the iPad wine menu clunky and awkward. I couldn’t help but wonder if people were thinking, «did that girl bring her iPad to dinner???»
The food was lacking, unfortunately. We started with the tuna tartar which, although presented beautifully, was bland and uninspired compared to similar dishes in town (Driftwood, to name one example). In fact, it tasted more like the radish included in the dish than fresh tuna. Furthermore, we found it hard to distinguish between the tuna and tomatoes in the dish.
Our entrees — gnocchi and beef cheek, respectively — were unimpressive. The gnocchi was decent but too ense and doughy. I enjoyed the flavor of the mushrooms and salad served with the dish, but it didn’t save the main components. The beef cheek was served in a cassoulet pot and the server removed the top at the table. This type of service looks fancy but is only appropriate for a stew or dense dish, not one that you need to cut with utensils. The dish was flavorful but was missing polenta, which was a main element listed on the menu. We asked the waiter, who confirmed the dish was missing a main component and later brought a side of… potato gratin. Whoops. The potatoes lacked salt and flavor. We would have preferred the polenta to soak up the jus, which was actually quite flavorful.
The highlight of the meal was a glass of pinot noir our server recommended. It was actually the cheapest pinot noir on the menu and we were very satisfied. You’re probably better served to tell your waiter what type of wine you like and let him or her pick for you rather than dealing with the iPad.
I hope this restaurant addresses its misfires as it has a lot of potential given its prime location. Currently, it doesn’t hit the mark or encourage a second visit.