The Bell, a Very Plaid Pub From a Charleston Restaurateur, Opens in New Orleans | Eater New Orleans
"Set along New Orleans’s tree-draped Esplanade Avenue, this new restaurant and bar eschews recent feminine trends and leans into an unmistakably masculine, 19th-century U.K. gentleman’s-club vibe — more laddish English pub than flirty Parisian café — with tartan fabric, Union Jack flags and pillows, black-and-white rugby photos, croquet mallets and wooden racquets, dark wood, squat leather stools, and library-esque antique lamps. Owned by Charleston restaurateur Brooks Reitz with New Orleans partners Tim Mink and Andrew Bell (Bell runs the restaurant’s front of house and lives in the neighborhood; Mink is largely based here too; Reitz remains based in Charleston), the team took over the Bayou St. John building and leaned into its homey nature: a cozy space known for its outdoor patio and front porch that could easily be mistaken for someone’s home. The menu was developed by Reitz’s Charleston team and features Marcus Jacobs (formerly of Marjie’s Grill and Seafood Sally’s and current co-owner of Porgy’s Seafood Market) in the kitchen. Offerings are a succinct mix of hearty, elevated pub food and Southern favorites: bhaji (described on the menu as curried onion and carrot fritters); a classic shrimp cocktail served with Marie Rose sauce (a British condiment made from a blend of ketchup, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and pepper); a smoked trout dip accompanied by fried saltines; broiled Gulf oysters topped with bubbly cheddar rather than Parmesan; fried mussels on the half shell; and crudité with a dill and fennel dip. Salad offerings—important to Reitz—include one with celery, arugula, pistachio, and olive; a classic endive salad with apple, Stilton, and walnuts; and a Siam salad with cabbage, crispy onions, avocado, and herb (the latter is a favorite at Leon’s Oyster Shop). British staples include a crispy fish sandwich with fries and a fishmonger’s pie served with a browned and bubbling cheese crust; other entrees include a horseradish, onion, and arugula steak sandwich; seared shrimp cakes with lentils and an herb salad; and a pork chop with braised fennel, with sides like peas with shallot and mint. The small bar seats eight (the bar and the small front “pub room” are first-come, first-served; the dining room takes reservations) and Reitz wants it to be a “Guinness bar,” noting that Guinness should be ice cold, served in the proper branded glass, with foam that’s “proud” of the rim, or settles just at or above it. A frozen drink machine dispenses a frozen gin and tonic, and the cocktail menu includes a negroni, a margarita, a Little Bird (tequila, grapefruit liqueur, lime, rosewater), a Gold Rush, a breakfast martini (orange marmalade, gin, lemon), and a “club style” gin and tonic. Wine (about 20 varieties) skews old world but includes an Argentinian sparkling chardonnay, a Chilean red blend, and an orange from Croatia. The most exciting forthcoming element is a horseshoe-shaped oyster bar to be built on the side patio (currently landscaped with about eight four-top tables), which will be covered, house the oyster bar as the centerpiece, and serve beer and three to four rotating oyster varieties each night — one from the Gulf, one from the West Coast, and one from the East Coast — on a first-come, first-served basis, with a vintage wrought-iron garden entryway separating the patio dining from the oyster bar. Current hours: Friday and Saturday 5–10 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, and Monday 5–9:30 p.m.; closed Tuesday." - Clair Lorell
