There are food reviews and there are food reviews. Many times we approach restaurants cautiously, wondering how the review will go. Will we have to throw it away? How many eye rolls will there be from the group as we are marketed to with a sales pitch instead of convinced with the quality of the food? When entering Joe’s Downstairs recently, there were none of these apprehensions. Anyone who does not like this island institution for its food simply does not know gastronomy or maybe has a secondary motive. I will simply challenge anyone on this! The chef, Aaron Hooper is a maestro of combining flavors and great ingredients into mouthwatering dishes that range from super simple to ultra-complex. Let me say right here at the beginning, there is plenty of amazing food on the menu here to keep everyone happy!
As all great artists, he is a bit temperamental but introducing yourself will be well worth it.As I write this the morning following the review, I still dream about several dishes and flavors from the past evening. The menu ranges in options from duck to short ribs to crab and tuna tartar and everything else you can imagine in between. The bartenders are well trained and when we arrived, we were immediately served our first drink, a couple of New York Style Martinis, dirty enough to really taste the olive flavors. We quickly perused the menu and got right to the task ahead. The restaurant in lovingly designed, white in décor, and always reminds me of an upscale seaside place in the Hamptons. The staff is friendly attentive and attractive, one group member remarked. We all agreed. Chef Aaron is adaptive enough to individual tastes that you can call him over and take suggestions from him directly and really experience his talent.We began with the min braised Wagyu beef tacos, which come with crumbled gorgonzola cheese and fresh arugula and salsa verde. Fantastic is all we could say. The crusty shell perfectly complements the ingredients inside and we dreamed of more of these as the plate was finished almost instantly.
Our next dish, photographed in this story, was the premium jumbo crab cake, made of blue crab set atop a base of Haas Avocado salad with sharp lemon vinaigrette. What a marvelous concoction. The flavors were spectacular and we simply could not get enough of this. You cannot go to Joe’s and not give this a try! We also had a tuna tartar that never escapes my attention every time I have the fortune to eat at Joe’s. it is an ahi tuna tartar with ginger chili soy on crispy wonton crackers. You cannot go wrong with an order or two of this wonderful dish!We rested and chatted with the chef before starting on the main dishes. First came the braised Angus beef short rib which is fork tender cabernet braised Australian beef ribs served with roasted garlic mashed potato, sautéed arugula and red wine jus. The meat was spectacular and the combination of flavors was spectacular. Next, we were presented with Hokkaido Sea scallops which were masterfully presented and perfectly cooked, meaty and tender inside and nicely seared outside.
Finally we were presented with a massive portion of pork tenderloin which was lovingly presented and cried out to be devoured. The premium grade Kurobuta pork was served with wild rice pilaf, truffles, white asparagus and a masala demi glaze. The dish was a wonderful conclusion to the main courses and left nothing to be desired. A big eater’s meal to be sure but also complex and delicate enough for any foodie to appreciate. Once again, the best description is….spectacular. We chatted a while after dinner with some friends of the chef. In addition to his culinary talents, he has developed a loyal following of social butterflies that gather around at the end of most evenings. Joe’s Downstairs is a must visit if you are in Phuket and we are very happy to recommend it to all our readers. See you there.
Joe's Downstairs
223/3 Prabaramee Road, Patong Beach, Phuket 83150, Thailand
P: +66 (0)76 618245 F: +66 (0)76 618239
www.baanrimpa.com/seaside-restaurant
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