Just
“Interesting, and somewhat difficult location to find as it is in a building behind a gas station.”
“We ordered the spicy tuna cones for an appetizer, the ny strip steak, and spare ribs as a entrée, and the Oreo zeppoles.”
“I enjoyed the homemade pretzel rolls with honey mustard butter that come as the bread basket.”
Just
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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We came here on a Friday night with another couple. I had been scoping Just out for a while and was really excited to eat here. The restaurant is gorgeous. You really feel like you're in a very fancy place in spite of having to drive through a gas station in Old Bridge to get here. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars but went with 3 due to tiny portions coupled with very high prices and some cooking mistakes. I ordered the Just Champagne and pear martini. Both were strong and delicious. I especially loved the elderflower in the champagne. We loved the homemade soft pretzels with mustard butter. It's always exciting when restaurants do something different for the bread course. For appetizers, we shared the wagu sliders, duck tacos, and pork belly. The duck and pork belly were a little overcooked. These appetizers were small and difficult to share. For example, they brought out 3 sliders for the 4 of us and we had to awkwardly divvy them up. It all tasted good, and I give them credit for being creative with the ingredients and flavors they incorporated. For our entrées, my husband and I shared the duck duet and glazed chili short ribs. The short ribs were great. We loved the spicy chili paired with creamy mashed potatos and buttery leeks. This entrée was cooked well and decently portioned. The pieces of duck in the duet were comically small; they were not just short but also thin. Thank goodness for the duck meatball that accompanied this dish otherwise it would have been really sad. I would have liked the duck breast to be a little more underdone, but I wasn't asked how I wanted it cooked. It's worth mentioning that none of us were asked how we wanted our food cooked. I was especially surprised that my friend who ordered the $32 lamb chops was not asked. For dessert, I love smores, so I ordered the smores creme brulee. Sadly, I didn't taste any chocolate or graham crackers. Also there was no caramelized top on the custard. The custard was thick and cheesy. It didnt taste bad…I was just expecting smores creme brulee and instead was given a marshmallow cheesecake pudding thing. Just has the pricing and feel of an upscale restaurant but lacks the sophistication.
Just is a decent restaurant for the area. They are striving to recreate a NYC restaurant vibe and they do a good, albeit not great, job. The highlights have always been the servers who in the three times I've been were all excellent, and the drinks. Appetizers have always been strong including the wagyu slider, tuna cone, and the pork belly (historically). The chicken tandori, ahi tuna and duck mains have been consistently good too. Overall nothing is a standout but if you want a nice date night and don't have time to get into the city – this is perfect.
This place is definitely a hidden gem. Literally hidden behind a gas station. Once you drive past the gas station the look of the restaurant is nice.
Despite the location, inside of the restaurant is nicely decorated. The modern furniture, the lighting and the giant bar in the back gives it a loungy feeling.
After reading the reviews we decided to take the risk and make a reservation for our Valentine's Day dinner. We originally made a reservation for an early dinner but had to change it for a late one last minute (the day of). The restaurant was very accommodating but did warn us that we might have a little bit of a wait once we get in. THEY LIED! We got seated right away despite the fact they were quite busy.
Instead of bread they brought out hot soft pretzel bread with honey mustard butter..amazing. For appetizers we shared the spicy tuna cones, highly recommend it! I won't lie we ordered the tuna cones based on the pretty pictures we had seen on their page and as posted by other Yelpers. The cones tasted as good as they looked. For dinner my husband got the lamb shank and absolutely loved it. I got the miso glazed sea bass. The fish is not super glazed like the miso glazes cod (my fav from a certain Japanese Restaurant), instead its lightly glazed and served on a bed of brothy green. Despite being picky with my miso glazed fish I thought my sea bass was different but delicious. We shared a side of mushroom risotto which was pretty good. For dessert we got the cinnamon sugar doughnuts. It was warm and soft ball of goodness that tasted even better when dipped in the vanilla icing.
Despite the busy night the service was impeccable. The waiters made sure our water always got refilled. We will definitely be back for more
This place was behind a gas station and right next to a Ukrainian store. I believe it was Ukrainian. Anyway, it does not look appealing from the outside, but once inside, it was very nice. It had a medieval type feeling to it in an upscale environment if that makes sense. There was limited seating and a small bar in the back. The staff was very nice and the food came out extremely quick. Even though the menu was limited, there was lots of variety in the menu choices.
They start the meal off with a pretzel with a homey mustard butter. The pretzel was crispy and the butter was a nice touch. It was different.
For appetizers, the spicy tuna cones (13) and brisket-stuffed mushrooms (10) were ordered. There were 3 spicy tuna cones with high quality tuna. The cone was made of sesame miso tuile. The cone was filled with tuna and everything about this dish was great. This dish made it feel like eating a high quality ice cream cone! The brisket-stuffed mushrooms was another solid choice. The mushrooms were topped with brisket and provolone cheese. There was also a brandy-barbeque sauce that accompanied this dish. The tenderness of the brisket and the sauce really made this dish unbelievable.
For an entrée, I ordered the short rib ravioli ($25). There were 4 medium sized raviolis with short rib meat in a truffled mushroom cream sauce. There was also loads of meat on top of the raviolis. The sauce was creamy and the rib meat was as tender as can be. The raviolis were also cooked to perfection. They were not too soft or hard. I was very impressed with how the entree was prepared. I also tried the lobster cannelloni carbonara. It was lobster with house-made kimchi, pancetta, and ricotta cheese. It was another solid tasting dish with plenty of flavor. The kimchi was not as hot I would like, but still good. There was lots of lobster present in the dish as well. I preferred the short rib ravioli however.
For dessert, the warm rose apple tart (8) was ordered. It was a gala apple in a puff pastry served with vanilla ice cream and a quince and honey foam. This was excellent. It was hard to top the cold delicious ice cream with the warm apple and puff pastry. The pastry was delicate while the ice cream was of high quality.
Will I go back? Easily.
A hidden gem in Central Jersey.
Me and my boyfriend came here one night after hearing good things about Just and not wanting to travel into the city for a fancy date night.
Just blew us away. Presentation was what I would expect from a 5 star Miami Beach restaurant, taste was impeccable, service was perfection and atmosphere was romantic, trendy, and beautiful!
I've since been here several times and each time the amazing taste and atmosphere of utmost class are always present!!
Must order:
Spicy tuna cones
Miso-Glazed Sea Bass
Truffle fries
EVERY dessert & cocktail!!
I took several days to write this review for many reasons and I settled on 3 stars….I was torn between 3 and 4 stars, after consulting with my consigliere(my wife) I settled on 3 stars.
I was able to move on from having to drive thru a gas station to get to the restaurant. The restaurant is decorated beautifully. I was cordially greeted at the door, my wife and I were joining group of 12 for 830 dinner reservations. I had scouted out the menu prior to arriving, pricey especially for Old Bridge NJ
As another yelper mentioned I also feel like this is positioned as a Manhattan style restaurant.
Eccentric menu, large variety of choices with Manhattan prices. We ordered fried calamari, skewered filet mignon and tuna roll in a spicy cone.
The presentation is beautiful, the portions are borderline offensive. All the items tasted wonderful.
The chef gives quite a bit of thought in his presentation and flavors.
Many of our guests ordered the 15 oz ribeye, after taking our orders the waitress came back to tell us that they only had 2….Saturday Night….2 steaks really?
I am glad business is so good. The guests who were unable to get the rib eye settled on the Filet Mignon. I was lucky and got the Rib eye, excellent steak seasoned just enough cooked to a perfect Medium.
The steak was accompanied by the most fabulous chipolte seasoned steak fries. I also ordered a side of mushroom risotto….a bargain at $6 and it was silky smooth and delicious. I might just go back and order 3 orders of their risotto, star of the show for me.
The gents who had the filet were disappointed, small and I mean small steak. My better half had a short rib dish with a spicy ketchup like substance on top.
The short ribs were prepared well but the sauce was less than desirable. A few of the guests ordered salads which were well less than impressive for $12. One guest had the chilean seabass and he raved. A few other had their rendition of the chicken tandoori and they said it was a solid dish.
We had many cocktails, cocktails and wine range from $10 to $15….again not Old Bridge NJ prices
A few of us had coffee…
The meal came to $838 plus tip. We left over $1000
After the bill was paid we sat around for about 30 minutes after closing as did 2 other tables
I am extremely annoyed that after we paid the bill not one person checked on us, asked us if we would like a another coffee, refill water etc. Very disappointing, especially given the bill. To end on a positive note, the waitress picked up 2 appetizers given the issue with the steak order. I really enjoyed my meal and I will probably go back but be prepared as your experience may not be perfect but the food is excellent.
The location of this place is behind a gas station. We almost missed it. Thanks to fellow yelpers here i was expecting it but i still almost missed it. The moment you walk into the door i knew it was something special. First off the door wasn't just any door, its this huge door that had some good weight in it, high quality i guess. Ladies, let your man open the door for you. 🙂
The inside was nicely decorated. Ambiance was great, the lighting was just right. We got there early for dinner around 5p so we were the first customer there. The staff was very welcoming from the hostess, to the waiter all were excellent and checked up on us all night but not too much that they disturbed our conversation.
Food was excellent. Warm pretzel w homemade honey mustard butter was the perfect compliment. Appetizers of crispy duck tacos and wagyu sliders was great. The tacos was great i would have preferred a softer bun instead of soft taco wrap but it was still good. Sliders was juicy and love the caramelized onions.
Entree, I had 12 oz strip steak medium, made perfectly by chefs in the back. My steak was complimented by chile lime sweet potato fries. Significant other had lobster roll with a great amount of lobster meat inside and came with homemade chips. We also ordered truffle fries on the side for kicks. All delicious.
Dessert, we had cinammon donuts w some liquor glazed dipping sauce and smores creme brulee which was pretty good as well. Overall, all went well and would definitely go back.
mediocre and pricey, with amazing service that earns them a third star.
from the reviews, i had high hopes for Just. when the boyfriend and i finally got a chance to get out for a date night, it seemed like the place to go. the gorgeous pics and good reviews had us anticipating a classy, dressy venue with high-quality food. what we really got was a tired, used-to-be-fancy resto trying it's best to be something it just is not.
location: behind a gas station, attached to a russian grocery store (which, btw, was great and made me feel like i was back in brighton beach).
friday night, 7pm, and we were the 3rd table in the joint. guess making that reservation was not at all necessary. we had read that the resto was a dressy joint, but both other parties were casually dressed. in fact, the ladies at one of the tables were in denim shorts and tees. not what we expected, to say the least. the decor of the place was dated, the silverware – while replaced after each course – was spotty, and the atmosphere was almost awkward.
the food was decent. not great, but good enough. i don't think it was good enough to justify the price tag, but it was okay. we were served warm pretzel buns with a honey mustard butter – this was one of the highlights of our meal. very tasty. for an app, we got the 'just sliders'. they were decent, reminding me of sliders passed at wedding cocktail hours. they were pretty greasy and soaked through the thin bottom bun, which is a bit unappealing. boyfriend ordered a pasta with tenderloin bolognese dish, and i took our waiter's recommendation of the short rib ravioli. of the two dishes, mine was far better. the bolognese was a bit bland, the sauce was forgettable, and the papardelle pasta was cooked quite a bit more than al dente. definitely have had better… not worth the $26 price tag. while a bit more expensive, my ravioli dish was a hit. the mushroom sauce was yummy, the ravioli was large, but the short rib both inside and on top was pretty dry. the dish was just missing a pop of freshness (maybe some herbs or veg?), and was also overpriced. dessert was next, and it was easily my least favorite course. as lovers of creme brulee and s'mores, we were excited to see s'mores creme brulee on the menu. what came out looked promising – torched marshmallow atop custard. this dish, however, was sad and not good at all. the marshmallow looked deceivingly charred – it was a cold gelatinous glob of marshmallow fluff that may have been charred hours ago for the look. it was gummy, sickly sweet, and cold. the 'custard' was a very very cold mousse-texture, with soggy bits of what i was told later was supposedly graham cracker. it was disappointing and so gross that i couldn't stomach even a second bite. boyfriend ate his, cuz, well, dudes.
i must say, i was disappointed given the rave reviews. our waiter Amar (i may have spelled that totally wrong) was the shining star of the night – friendly, engaging, knowledgeable about the menu, attentive… seriously one of the best waiters i've ever had. the rest of the staff seemed great, too. water was constantly refilled, plates cleared, etc. definitely appreciated,.
overall, i don't see a reason to go back. mediocre, overpriced dishes aren't my favorite. but hey, i'll probably swing by that russian store soon 🙂
sidenotes:
– apparently a lot of people like the donuts dessert. while we did not try it, our waiter did mention that since people adore the mini shopping cart the donuts are served in, the resto now sells them! approx $10/ea if you're interested.
– they also sell their pretzel buns and honey mustard butter – these are yum.
– the menu has a number of gluten-free dishes marked, so might be nice to try for gluten intolerant folks who have limited options elsewhere