Jewel of the South Is 2023’s Greatest Restaurant Bar

Situated within the iconic French Quarter of New Orleans, Jewel of the South resides in a renovated 1830s “Creole cottage.” Head bartender/companion Chris Hannah describes Jewel as “slightly tavern,” although it’s a lot greater than that. The restaurant is a snug, colourful house whose bar has turn out to be identified for considerate riffs on iconic cocktails.

The kitchen is led by chef Phil Whitmarsh, who seems top-notch, “unapologetically English” and French fare, from pork pies to foie gras parfaits. In the meantime, Hannah’s bar focuses on classics alongside progressive variations, together with a Sazerac lauded by Esquire journal as one of the best within the nation.

Jewel opened in 2019 to a lot fanfare however confronted more durable instances in 2020 as a result of pandemic. After a difficult begin, “now we’re lastly again to what we have been imagining 4 years in the past,” says Hannah. That features a full menu, two flooring of consuming and eating, plus out of doors backyard and grove areas. The venue has a complete of 78 seats between indoor and out of doors seating. 

The house options homey and historic thrives, together with an 1800s-era again bar imported from London. The uncovered brick and darkish woodwork keep true to the cottage’s rustic roots. “The one actual renovation was upstairs, the place the bedrooms [were],” says Hannah. These rooms have been transformed to extra house for eating.

The drink menu modifications a number of instances a yr, usually together with collaborations with the kitchen. For instance, drinks made with rendered animal fats are a typical. If hen is on the dinner menu, you’re prone to discover one thing just like the Foghorn Leghorn cocktail on the bar, made with schmaltz (hen fats). Cordials made out of dessert components regularly turn out to be a part of welcome cocktails provided to common company.

Different components of the drink menu deal with riffs of well-known Southern requirements: The French 75 (which nods to Hannah’s 15-year stint on the French 75 Bar), the famed Sazerac, the Brandy Milk Punch, and the Brandy Crusta are among the many high sellers. So is The Night time Tripper, a stiff-and-stirred Hannah traditional (bourbon, amaro, Strega). Bottles-to-go—an upscale model of NOLA’s iconic “go cups”—are also a part of the combo.

General, Hannah describes the bar’s vibe as “very alive and comforting; it has a pleasant, worn-in aspect to it.” As befits New Orleans, “soul-ish” music is a vital a part of the expertise too. “The town has a big African American inhabitants and historical past,” says Hannah. “After the hurricane, so many transplants got here in and also you’d hear the identical music in all places, [whether] right here or Chicago or Kansas Metropolis… We wish you to know you’re in New Orleans.”

The music is simply one other key to the “Creole Cottage,” says Hannah, whose objective is in “preserving New Orleans alive by way of the home, the service, the drinks—every part.”