The Williamsburg classic JR & Son bar and restaurant re-opened its doors at 575 Lorimer St. this month with a new look and a whole new menu.
Once an Italian social club and more recently a bar, JR & Son closed in 2020 and has been reimagined by the same team who transformed another Williamsburg classic, Kellogg’s Diner.
Inside, JR & Son pays clear homage to its Italian roots and former owners. Designers Nico Artze and Matthew Maddy, who led the refurbishment of Kellogg’s, too, restored the restaurant’s original design, which had been covered up in the many years since it first opened in 1936.
The black and white tile floors are original to the space, as are the decorative tile ceilings and the decades of old memorabilia and photos covering the dark wood-paneled walls. Plush red booths and warm, cozy lighting complete the old-timey atmosphere.
The food, too, honors JR & Sons’ history. The kitchen is led by executive chef Patricia Vega alongside a team of cooks including Pastry Chef Amanda Perdomo, fresh off a stint at Kellogg’s.
JR & Son’s menu offers both classic Italian-American dishes — like those served in the restaurant’s recent past, when it was an Italian eatery called Charlie’s Bar and Grill — and items inspired by some of New York City’s best-known bars and taverns.
Diners can start with a bread service that includes green olive focaccia and garlic and herb parker house rolls or appetizers like arancini salad with smoked mozzarella, watercress, and radicchio or stuffed clams. The raw bar offers classics like shrimp cocktail, lobster, oysters, and clams with sauces including mignonette, salsa di mare, and cocktail sauce.
Then, there are the pastas. Some are classic, comforting dishes, like paccheri with spicy lobster sauce and spaghetti and meatballs; while others are a little fresher — ravioli with fresh mint ricotta, English peas, and parmesan, a risotto with sundried tomatoes and artichokes.
Tavern-inspired entrees include ribeye steak with roasted garlic; the Junior’s Burger with steamed onions. American Cheese, and shredded lettuce; and steamed mussels with Calabrian chili butter, chickpeas, and cherry tomatoes.
Perdomo, the pastry chef, has crafted an innovative dessert menu with a modern spin, offering an orange amaro tiramisu with mascarpone, espresso, and cocoa; a vegan cake inspired by classic Italian rainbow cookies; and the Amanda’s Cookie Plate with butter and pignoli nut cookies alongside fennel shortbread and pistachio panforte cookies.
JR & Sons also offers a diverse, “amaro-forward” cocktail menu, with drinks like the “Love Theme from Spartacus” with sparkling wine, cocchi americano, pasubio, and rosemary; and the “Johnny Dangerously” with amaro, lime, and cane sugar.
The Lorimer Street restaurant caters to night owls — it’s open Wednesdays-Sundays from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., with an abbreviated menu available until 1 a.m. Walk-ins are encouraged, but some reservations are available.
