Nouvelle Etiquette

Justine’s will be committed to rigidly following all CDC guidelines, and have implemented our own extra safety measures as well. We have embraced new hours and a refined layout that celebrates intimacy in an expanse. Tables are at least 7 feet apart, and in some cases 12 feet. Our outdoor space is now an Edenic setting, featuring private, cabana-like dining areas with canopies and misting fans for parties of up to six. Think evenings in silhouette at the Chateau Marmont or, if dining inside, where seating is newly very limited, a private music-infused salon-style gallery. No bar seating. For the time being, Justine’s will be RESERVATION ONLY through Open Table or by calling. No walk-ins please. We are not accepting any cash payments at this time. Menus will be by Digital QR code at table. Disposable paper menus will be available upon request. We’ll be open six days a week, 5pm to 10pm. Closed on Tuesdays.

To ensure the safety of our clients and staff, we will be adhering to, and also ask that our patrons adhere to the following nouveau etiquette:

For All

Wash and sanitize hands often
Hand sanitizing stations will be provided throughout the restaurant
Avoid close contact – suggested 6’ distancing
Patience and kindness with staff and fellow patrons

Patrons

Face masks to be worn at all time while moving about the restaurant
If you do not have a mask, we will provide you one
Respect reservation time restrictions
Maintain six feet between diners not in your party
All food and drink orders to be placed at table
Bathrooms are now single use
Kindly request manager for comments or questions

Staff

Face masks to be worn at all times
Maintain comfortable distance from guest tables when possible
Monitor and update guests with reservation time restrictions
Clean and disinfect regularly and frequently
If feeling unwell, staff will be asked not come to work

Please call us at 512.385.2900 for any additional questions or concerns.

“To love purely is to consent to distance, it is to adore the distance between ourselves and that which we love.”
- Simone Weil, Thinker & Activist

Menus

Gift Cards

We have two types of gift cards!

For an instant e-card, click here. Physical gift cards can be purchased in-person at the restaurant.

Questions about your gift card?

Email giftcards@justines1937.com for more information.

Special Events

For private event inquiries & information for Justine’s Secret House:
Director of Justine’s Secret House | Erika Stojeba
cherie@justinessecrethouse.com
www.justinessecrethouse.com

The Justine’s Porn Dialogues

We get about one email a month letting us know that our website (justines1937.com) is porn—————-and we usually don’t reply (see Instagram @justinesbrasserie) since, as @larscrooks wisely noted: “It’s great when problem customers self-regulate.” Or, as @designbuildadventure said, “Your website works!”

But this particular writer demanded a RESPONSE. (She also likes to capitalize the word PORN!) So we wrote her back. wink emoticon

From: [email address redacted]
To: "BelleDejour@justines1937.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 2:19 PM
Subject: Your website

Being a lover of French Onion Soup I went online and found several recommendations for your restaurant. I was curious as to your menu, hours, etc. so I decided to check out your website. When I googled you two listings came up: 1) Justines and 2) Justine's, both listing the same address and phone number. I happened to click on #2, Justine's, and to my total shock a very grainy pornagraphic film was playing - several naked women in a bathtub etc. While the images weren't totally clear it was definitely porn. Several of my co-workers agreed with me after taking a look.

I wonder why you would think it was appropriate to have pornagraphic movies on your website? I wanted to see your menu and other information, again I am after the best bowl of French Onion soup in Austin, and NOT PORN.

I await your response as why a restaurant that is supposed to be family friendly would do such a thing.

If you are unaware of this - please take a look at your website immediately - maybe somebody is intentionally trying to damage your business as it is hard to imagine why a responsible restaurant/business owner would include PORN on their website.

[name redacted]

-----Original Message-----
From: [email redacted]
To: BelleDejour <BelleDejour@justines1937.com>
Sent: Wed, Sep 4, 2013 3:02 pm
Subject: Fw: Your website

SECOND REQUEST!!!!!! PLEASE RESPOND!!!!!

From: BelleDeJour <BelleDeJour@justines1937.com>
To: [name redacted]
Sent: Wed, Sep 4, 2013 5:13 pm
Subject: Re: Your website

Dear [name redacted],

So sorry for the delay in responding. That is in fact our website, and we designed the opening page ourselves; the film you see playing is footage that Justine, the owner (who is also an artist), created at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco years ago. To us, it's beautiful, racy, sensual, risqué, edgy, nostalgic, evocative, referential, playful, counterintuitive, rebellious, sweet and provocative---but not pornographic.

We're not offended that you see it as pornography even though we see it as art because everyone is entitled to defining terms like that, and "pornography", from culture to culture and individual to individual, has more definitions than practically anything else, besides perhaps "love".

Justine's was built by hand and is run by a group of friends and co-workers who work hard to do something we believe in. We're not corporate, and don't need to sanitize and compromise our ideas to please the masses. We not only please but (hopefully!) thrill many of the diners who come to Justine's, and it's largely because we have a distinct and sincere ideology and aesthetic. We're not the Olive Garden. Our outlook is that by trying to please everyone, you end up truly exciting no one. We may alienate some people, but we make other people happy, and in the meantime, we honor our own principles and imagination.

We're a bar as much as a restaurant, open till 2am every night, and are a meeting place for many different kinds of people, including many artists and musicians, and we embrace every race, age, creed, sexual/political/gender/cultural orientation. We play loud records all night, have fun, and are known to provide a sense of joie de vivre (bordering on chaos) and freedom.

We think our website does a GREAT job of letting you know what you're in for. We are not for every one. And we think the families who come to eat at Justine's are very happy to be there, having chosen to come there, and believing like us that beauty and sensuality are not "anti-family". If you fear kids being online and seeing something THEIR parents deem inappropriate, you’re referring to a burden that lies on the parents.

The glorious part for us about running a business in America is that you don't need to come to Justine's, and you don't need to spend any more time looking at our website if it offends you---and we don't have to apologize. We do however appreciate the opportunity you've given us to articulate our thoughts on this, since we don't take the issue lightly either.

Best,

Jardine Libaire
Justine’s Brasserie

[postscript* Then she never wrote us back!]