Is romantic dining on your agenda? Jules @ Market in Bristol is at the top of my list. Truth be told, I found it by accident. I was going on my last first date and looking for a great half-way spot between Central Bucks County and South Jersey. Google Maps dropped the pin right on Bristol Borough and the reviews for Jules @ Market made it a must visit. Five years later, Jules @ Market remains a special place that we return to every year for our anniversary.
The magic of Jules @ Market lies in its unassuming nature and its impeccable food. Its décor is best described as understated elegance. The centerpiece at your table will always be the person you are sharing a meal with, rather than something else, to avert your gaze. That is, of course, unless you get transfixed by the black and white silent film projecting on one wall or the interpretive Botticelli Birth of Venus on the other.
From anywhere in the restaurant, you can experience the fully-open kitchen and watch your food being prepared. There is something seductive about it, especially when you can see flames dancing around a skillet. Open kitchens tell you something wonderful about the cleanliness of the kitchen, the collegiality of the staff and the pride that the chefs take in prepping the food. There is no guesswork here; what you see, is what you get. It's honest, real and dare I say, loving. There are no screaming, Gordon Ramsey-types in this kitchen.
Jules @ Market describes itself as a “boutique fish house” and is undoubtedly for seafood lovers. If your dinner date prefers turf to surf, there are still a few other options. Every fish on the menu is certified by a reputable organization in the seafood industry for being both responsibly harvested and sourced. The menu even details which entity certified the fish.
On our most recent visit, we paired our own, as in BYOB, with an oyster flight. If you like oysters, this flight takes things to an entirely new altitude. The oysters deliver an ocean at its peak taste, but what makes these so exceptional is the preparation and the presentation. You won’t find the old standards for dipping. These oysters were paired with three different artisan sauces: aji verde, serrano and pickled red onion, candied grapefruit mignonette and pomegranate mint. Imagine one bite tasting like an entire ceviche. They are aphrodisiacs on steroids.
For our second course, we shared a salad with arugula, beets, feta, candied pecans, vinaigrette and a fig glaze. The feta was so mild and creamy that it could easily be mistaken for goat cheese. Unlike most restaurant salads, it had a perfectly balanced distribution of ingredients, so that you could get a little bit of everything in every bite.
Although our main courses had similar presentations, I had a blackened mahi-mahi and my partner had the blackened red drum. Both were accompanied with avocado and cilantro crema and a siracha mayo. The key differences were in the textures and taste of the fish and both were fantastic. We also shared a side of broccolini, broccoli’s fitter first cousin with smaller florets and longer, thinner stalks.
If this hasn’t made you fall in love by now, surely the desert will woo you to Jules @ Market. We chose the hazelnut pot de crème. If you are not familiar with this French dessert, imagine a custard and a fine hazelnut ice cream having a love child. It was smooth and chocolatey without being overpowering, overly sweet or heavy, and topped with an edible flower. Our waiter knew we were celebrating our anniversary and even brought it out with candles to mark the occasion.
It’s hard for me to separate the personal nostalgia of returning to where I met the love of my life and loving the food at Jules @ Market. The memories and possibilities are somewhat intertwined. Whether or not you are cultivating real, honest love or just looking to love a romantic dinner, Jules @ Market is certifiably lovely.
