Juniper

I went to brunch here with a friend. It was a nice atmosphere and complimentary valet! I feel the atmosphere is better suited for dinner instead of dining during the day in nice 70s weather. My friend’s carbonara was AMAZING! However the «Bianca pizza» I got was not so impressive. It was more of bread with some cheese sprinkled on top. The flavor profile was good, but I felt like it should be served with butter in a bread basket.

Food was good… Not great. I think if we would have had better service, it would have changed things. The waiter was very snobbish, acted like we were inconveniencing him by asking for our drinks to be replenished. Some of the dishes were very innovative, but others lacked flavor. Honestly, we would like to try it again with a different server.

Juniper lives up to all the hype. Went for brunch yesterday and everything was delicious, the place is stunning, and I can’t wait to go back for dinner. We tried the trumpet mushroom plate, the potatoes and pancetta, the sweet potato coffee cake, and the fresh bread. Everything was AMAZING.

One of the most fun aspects of this place is sitting at the low seat bar and watching the staff make the dishes, whilst of course conversing occasionally with the gents making the drinks.
The plates are artfully assembled and pack a punch of strong, uniquely combined tastes. My wife and I shared the Gulf Shrimp, Stuffed Pasta, and Ribeye. It was delightful to savor each individual flavor, but so much more to experience the explosion of them all together as they hit the tongue at their various times and textures.
The drink menu is not for those who like sweet (a good thing in my opinion). It’s strong, tart, yet smooth; if you get sweet be sure it will be followed by bitter. Sipping beverages.
It was a delightful experience to take in the modern, trendy décor and music generating a cool, comfortable, not pretentious atmosphere along with the dishes and drinks assembled for adults who want beautiful blows of taste in the tongue.
For my wife and I, I believe this may be our new date spot!

There is zero parking, so be prepared to hand your keys to the valet or park on the street and walk. The restaurant itself is really nice and feels extremely comforting — nice light level, good décor/​art and a big open kitchen/​bar combo area. The menu is varied but everything is tapas sized portions. This was our first visit and we had another couple along — we had figured out exactly what we planned to order and then the waiter REALLY pushed us to double everything up because he said the portions were far too small for 4 people to have a bite. This was an epic load of crap and was the major negative to the dining experience. With the exception of the oysters (1+ per person) and the cannoli desert bites, everything was very shareable. Ironically, the only thing he didn’t push us to order more of was the desert (maybe because it is only $ 3). Really a bit of a put off — he was way too strong in pushing the double orders. What should have been a $ 250 meal for 4 ended up being almost $ 400 because of this and we all left stuffed and annoyed.
Oysters were very briny and delightful — cold water variety from the NE. «Famous» puffy potatoes were great on flavor but perhaps a but mushy for my taste — would have preferred slightly more cooked or crispy I guess. Broccolini and little lettuces were tasty. Mackerel was extremely oily, as would be expected, but was still a bit strong for some of us. The pork belly was honestly some of the worst I’ve ever had — they didn’t trim away enough of the fat and the meat portions were tough and overcooked — definitely not the melt in your mouth stuff that is desired. On a positive note, the beans that came with the pork belly were amazing. Pappardelle and ribeye were probably the best dishes of the night — really recommended. Shaped pasta was boring — wouldn’t get again.
Great drinks — both those on the menu and off the menu. Fairly spendy, especially if your waiter pulls the «double» game on you.
Good date or group of friends kinda place — pretty loud but atmosphere helps. Definitely will try again but won’t fall for the waiters bill padding ruse.

Juniper
First of all I want to start off by saying WOW! The food was amazing. Couldn’t find parking anywhere no problem they have valet. The valet guys are so awesome great friendly smiles they open my door for me and waited patiently as I look for my key. All while making jokes that kept me smiling after waiting for me to find my keys walked me to the front door and open that for me as well top notch service for sure. Now while in side I was greeted by a nice and friendly wait staff. And like I said the food was amazing will be going back soon.

We sat at the chef’s counter for dinner last night. The place is beautiful and seeing the food being prepared is an added treat. However, the food speaks for itself. The chef, Nick, has a keen understanding of salt and sauces that border on soup. The Sunchoke with crab, meyer lemon and arugula kicked our taste buds into overdrive with delicate flavors of the sea in a broth that was almost a chowder. The crisp puffy potatoes with whipped dijon was what potato puffs always wanted to be. We followed with the broccolini and the gulf shrimp which were cooked just past medium rare to blend wonderfully with the salsa verde and black garlic. Next came some of the best pork belly I have had the pleasure to eat. Sweet and suffused with the white beans in a sauce that was like a Northern Italian White Bean Soup. Then came the shaped pasta with pickled mushrooms and a pine nut brittle that ended with a kick of red pepper. We ended the meal with the Pistachio Cannoli. The cannoli was a caramlized chestnut roll filled with pistachio cream and dipped in nuts, candied orange and chocolate. A really memorable meal.

This is one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at! I loved the food, ambience, wine, attention to detail and service and it helped our waiter was handsome too!
The food is all small plates which I don’t normally like, but with a party of 5 it was the perfect amount and we all left very stuffed. My favorite dishes were the puffy potatoes, warmed winter greens (the parmesan had a nice bite to it), the lamb, and the stuffed pasta. I was a little afraid of the foamy sauce on top of the pasta but it was so delicious, warm and melt in your mouth! I believe there was a brown butter sauce that was served on top.
A member of our party was also vegetarian and there were plenty of vegetarian options as well. The dessert we chose was carrot cake which was soft and fluffy with butter cream. I had a glass of the red Li Veli Primitivo.
The only reason I gave them ⁴⁄₅ was because the cocktail server forgot about us while we were waiting for our table and our drinks too a long time. Other than that, it was perfect! Next time I’m in Austin, I would definitely go back.

Really little delightful spot! The architecture is just beautiful, such modern clean lines and did i mention the Kitchen is completely open so you can see the chefs prepare each dish if you are sitting in the bar area. Came for the brunch which wasn’t too packed prior to coming you may want to slow down a bit since they do have complimentary valet, it’s a bit hidden as well. Enough about the initial experience let’s talk about the food!
The oxtail lasagna for brunch was amazing, i also like that the portions aren’t «American Size» but that they are portioned out so you don’t feel like a glutton after eating everything. We also tried the fingerling potatoes with juniper pancetta, Salmon with scrambled eggs, and Wild Mushroom Polenta everything was really good and we didn’t leave feeling like we needed a nap after a heavy meal. To end everything off you always have to have a sweet so we ordered the donut holes which were freshly made and brought to the table hot. Nothing like a hot donut hole to end a rather perfect brunch!

Myself and 6 of my best food cohorts arrived in Austin to ring in the New Year and our first stop was Juniper.
Upon arrival the clean lines and cool vibe were soothing yet edgy. Service was excellent. Warm, welcoming and informative. We decided based on our larger party and the tapas style portions of the menu that the chef would send out 6 course comprised of his menu favorites.
We ordered multiple cocktails a smattering of the menu and most people after their first sip said, «I will need to think about that» and then we all switched to wine.
The food began to arrive.
The oysters with fennel and roasted orange were ok. Nothing special.
Next up the Puffy Potatoes. A real treat. A tater tot with the soul of a mashed potato. Yummy.
Then the Warm Winter Greens. This got mixed reviews from our table. All in all fine.
The King Trumpet Mushroom. This was my favorite of the offerings. A single albeit over salted mushroom well roasted bearing a smokey flavor that was great.
The Stuffed Pasta. This also brought mixed foodie reviews. Some found it to be over salted (an emerging theme of the evening). I thought the cauliflower and cherry mix was interesting.
The Branzino. An over salted extremely fishy plate that most at our table found inedible.
Next we were given 2 pork belly and 2 duck plates. The pork belly was dry and over salted.
The Duck was very gamey and also over salted.
Last was the Ribeye. I found the chunky chimichurri to be wonderful. The steak while boasting an excellent sear was extremely salted.
We decided against dessert after the inconsistency of the meal.
All in all I won’t be back to Juniper. But maybe, just maybe. I caught them on a bad day?

Juniper has been open for 10 weeks now as of Dec 26, 2015. Ten weeks is quite enough to get all the kinks worked out in the front and back of the house. Actually, I’m a firm believer in getting all the kinks worked out before you open to the public. That’s how and why restauranteurs, FH professionals with experience and consultants such as myself have made a living.
The manager D on staff Saturday at noon was kind enough to take care of our bill after I had given him some objective comments. I thank you D. That said it underscores the need for serious and meticulous training of their sous and assistant chefs and wait staff.
Had I not sat at the chef’s bar I wouldn’t have noticed what I had. In this respect I am grateful. Juniper is on the right track food wise. Their presentation and combinations are marvelous. Loved the single egg over easy with trumpet mushrooms and fresh herbs. Appreciated greatly the toast with creamy butter and homemade apricot jam. The egg being drippy needs something to mop it up. The quality of their coffee bean is excellent however the execution of the latte was done sloppily with a foamy design that looked like a Halloween mask as opposed to a beautiful dainty heart or swirl. Lastly, the ricotta tart was loose and a tad too sweet. It had lovely jam on the side yet the tart slid off the crust like a toboggan going 50 mph on a ski slope.
Keep up the good work guys. Perhaps you’d like to take a trip with me to NY and visit Jonathan Waxman?

Juniper has been on my list to try since I saw it on the eater. Austin doesn’t have many Italian restaurants so when one pops up, my Italian cravings kick in.
Let’s start with the valet service — super nice & speedy guy! They don’t have a big enough lot for parking on site so either go with the complimentary valet or park on the streets. The décor is beautiful and the layout of the bar was very spacious. You could see exactly what’s happening in the kitchen. Saw many salads, desserts and pasta dishes made here! The service was good, though at times I did feel that it was a little awkward.
The food at Juniper is tapas style — small dishes, small bites, some may be overpriced (aka the salad). The warm winter green salad was good, but very small and for $ 8 dollars — I don’t think its worth the price. The salad had spinach, lettuce and Parmesan cheese.
The pork belly was decent, very juicy and tender and the roasted pumpkin along with the crispy pork rinds complemented well. However, the dish was on the salty side and it was very obvious when tasting the other dishes.
My two fav dishes of the night would be the duck, it was savory and pretty juicy. The mustardy sauce added a kick to the dish. My absolute fav dish would be the chicken liver mousse with toasted bread! I don’t really like liver, but this appy was top notch stuff and at $ 7, it was a steal. The chicken liver mousse doesn’t have the liver after taste — which I liked! The candied grapefruit and the creaminess of the mousse was decadent. Also the toast was very tasty… can toast be tasty?
And lastly, the dessert — milky & honey was a semifreddo, topped off with honey, granola bits, and a yogurt gelato. creamy and dellllicous.
Overall it was a good experience and I would come back again.

Went to Juniper last night – as always, I love trying new places and finding great places to eat in Austin. Unfortunately, I will not be back to Juniper.
We were 4 of us, and upon entry, I thought the place was beautifully decorated, and had a great ambiance. We got our menus, and looked over, and the dishes sounded really interesting, though lacked description as to what actually was going on with the ingredients. It just lists the ingredients, so you don’t know if pig ear is actually drizzled on, it’s a whole ear, or shavings. None the less, I was excited until the waitress said, you’ll need to pick about 3 – 4 plates per person for an entrée size. Around $ 12 a plate and I need 4 to actually be full? There is where the excitement quickly died down.
Between the 4 of us, I believe we ordered about 9 plates. We had a polenta dish, shrimp dish, risotto dish, oxtail, and many others. Unfortunately, sharing a plate this small among 4 people is nearly impossible. The bowls are shaped where trying to scrape away a third of a shrimp in order to leave a bite for your dinner mates is absolutely ridiculous and frustratingly pitiful.
After our first 2 – 3 dishes, there was a really long lull of time which I thought was ill-​timed – specifically because the waitress says they will time the dishes carefully in order to bring us the flow.
Several of the dishes were either too salty, odd flavoring, or so small that you literally get one bite. It was frustrating, not fun, and really put all of us in an annoyed mood where we had to just laugh it off, especially when the bill came of $ 50 a person + tip, leaving hungry, and still needing to go across the street to Mongers in order to get more food.
However, when we were ready to go, someone tried to deliver us a dish, and we said we were already done. The server went back and then someone else brought us spoons and we keep trying to communicate that we’re done by saying, no we’re not having any more etc, until finally after 3 attempts at stopping him, he says, you’ll need it for what’s coming. We got a free dessert, because a spoon was dropped on one of us with beet risotto on it, so that was nice.
I was deeply disappointed, I find it a huge missed opportunity, and unfortunately, is yet another cliché when it comes to what type of food will really hit the mark in a scene that is straddling big city and little city.

Scott was our server. He said he would «drive the menu» so we could chat and enjoy our wine. He did a wonderful tasting. I feel like we got all the highlights on the menu. It’s a cool atmosphere and was not too loud so we could have great conversation.

A lot has been said so I’ll keep it brief. This place is very serious about their food and they do an incredible job in conceiving of, preparing, describing, and serving innovative and truly excellent food. The restaurant itself is gorgeous. I would consider this as a great place to take a date. Service was excellent.
A few critiques that did not result in any reduction in my 5 star rating: The portions are pretty small, the menu is more Italian-​inspired vs. classic Italian, and the prices are pretty steep for the serving sizes. That said, I’d give this a comfortable ⁵⁄₅ as an excellent addition to the Austin high-​end food scene.

The Good: The place looks amazing! Décor is on point and service was great. We tried about 6 items and my favs were the oysters (although I think they are over priced), duck, puffed potatoes and arctic char.
The Bad: I expect a high scale Italian restaurant to have mind-​blowing (or close to) noodles but unfortunately the noodle dish our waitress recommended, Thin Noodles, was no where near mind-​blowing. The sauce was delicious though, I just think the noodles maybe should have been soaked in the sauce a little longer since it lacked flavor. Or just add more sauce.

We were a party of 3. I arrived first and sat down to a glass of wine. I took a look around; the décor is nice and trendy. Then I paid attention the music. It was an unedited rap song filled with racial epithets. Ummm… excuse me??? Granted, I listen to all kinds of knucklehead music in my private space, but I damn sure as hell do not want to hear the N-​word being blasted in a supposed high end restaurant. When I did bring this to my server’s attention, she giggled like I was kidding. Finally, the look on my face registered and she scurried off to tell someone. Needless to say the music was changed. But really? I actually have to point this out??? *sigh*
Now…the food. As I mentioned, there were 3 of us. Of all the things we ordered we barely got a bite or 2 each. As most everyone else has already said, the serving sizes are pitifully tiny. The shell pasta pig ear dish was way over salted. They were kind enough to remove it from our bill. The zucchini was laughable… a thick SLICE was $ 9! I do believe I could have bought 5 lbs and made all the sauces in the world for that kind of money. There were some shrimp and potatoes…1 bite each. We had a few other dishes that were again small but fine. I can’t even tell y’all what they were — so unmemorable.
What I do remember is running out of there and across the street to Mongers where we then had an actual meal. I don’t know what their vision is over at Juniper. Perhaps this is geared towards waif girls and skinny pants boys who only eat air and drink water. Sorry, but I eat actual food to build the muscles that burn calories and build strength. I need sustenance and it is not found anywhere in there.

Every week, my daughter and I have a date night. We go to a nice restaurant, enjoy a delicious meal (most of the time), and just catch up on our week. Aside from the benefit of keeping our familial bond intact, it gives us a great opportunity to go out and try new restaurants.
Tonight, I left the choice to her, try an established restaurant that’s been around for 15+ years, but has mixed reviews, or try a new place that has great reviews, but not many of them. She opted to try out the new place. This is how we ended up at Juniper on a Tuesday night without a reservation.
Juniper is located in that ‘old is now what’s hot and new’ neighborhood of east Cesar Chavez. We arrived at 7pm and were greeted by a couple of friendly valets. Once inside, we were greeted warmly and seated promptly at the bar, where you get front row seats to watching artistically presented plates of creative twists on modern Northern Italian cuisine. The restaurant was full, but it is somewhat smallish inside. The décor is a warm mix of modern design with unique and interesting lighting and art.
If you’ve ever been to a restaurant and thought, man, I can’t decide! I want everything! Juniper is the place for you. The food is served in very small portions, sort of like tapas, but really a bit difficult to call them shareable. Each item is $ 3 to around $ 17, and not one of them will make a full meal. I think if you know this going in, you won’t be disappointed going out. This is not going to be an inexpensive night out and you should expect to drop $ 100 – 150 for dinner for two with a very modest amount of liquor. The food is of high quality and expertly prepared. There is a real thoughtfulness in the flavor combinations and presentation. Everyone seems to take pride in every aspect of service. Glasses were brought to the bar, from the back of house, on silver trays, gleaming and without a single spot on them, to be placed behind the bar in anticipation of the next expertly crafted cocktail. I mean, it looked as though every glass was individually buffed and polished. When a server accidentally spilled a tiny portion of a drink, the entire drink was poured out and re-​crafted, not just topped off, which could have caused the proportions to be off by a fraction. When I inquired about one of the liqueurs used in a cocktail, the bartender not only described it to me, told me about its uses and then, he poured me a taste of it.
It is a treat spending these weekly dinners with my daughter, especially when the food, service, atmosphere and drinks come together in such perfection. I could go on and on about Juniper, but you should give it a try for yourself.

SO GOOD. My husband and I went for the first time tonight without a reservation. Got there at 7, were promptly seated at the bar where we got to watch all the action in the kitchen. From start to finish the service (even from the valets outside) was excellent – so rare these days in Austin. The space itself is gorgeous, and I liked that I almost felt like we weren’t in Austin anymore. Something about it just sets it apart from all the other new (almost too trendy) restaurants. It’s warm and inviting, and the open kitchen really adds life to the place.
But what impressed us most was the value. The food was phenomenal. I mean, really, really good. Every one of the 8 dishes we had (bought 7, 1 was on the house) were wonderful. Yes, they’re smaller, as they tend to be at nicer restaurants, plus it’s designed so you can order more and enjoy a nice variety. And unlike many high end places, the prices at Juniper reflect the portions and we thought it was very well priced. Our 7 plates, 1 dessert, 3 cocktails, 1 mocktail (preggers) and hot tea cost us $ 125. That is an incredible value, especially when you account for the beautiful space and awesome service. One of the owners, Michael, made a point to come talk to us a few times, which really sealed the deal. These people care about their guests’ experience and it absolutely shows. I think we’ve found our new favorite spot!

If I could give Juniper 10 stars, I would. Make that 100. Austin, with all of its wonderful food in so many different cuisines, has been lacking a truly gourmet, Babbo-​like Italian restaurant that executes the highest quality ingredients with amazing technique. Juniper is it. From the raviolo to the beet risotto, everything was complex and delicious.
I’d put this restaurant up with the best in Texas. It far surpasses Da Marco in Houston.
This is the first Italian restaurant in Austin that would hold its own in NYC. Can’t wait to go back.