Journalist appreciates family friendly atmosphere

Recently relocated, House of JuJu in Old Town Clovis reopened last year while adding some new seafood-based menu items and increasing their restaurant space. The restaurant mainly focuses on gourmet burgers but provides various other options.

When you walk in, the first thing you see is a wooden bar with multiple TVs hung across the wall. The main room is lightly decorated which makes the room feel open. The room’s main colors consisted of black and brown and felt very modern and rustic without being explicitly cowboy themed or too casual. There were also exposed pipes on the ceiling which added an interesting touch.

The menu’s variety was pretty good and presented options that were pretty extensive, including vegetarian, seafood and lower carb options.

From where I was sitting, you could clearly see inside the kitchen which was off-putting; there was no door and the opening was pretty wide. To get to the men’s restroom, you also need to walk partly into the kitchen. The bathroom was fairly clean except for the sink which had dirt around it.

I wanted to try a variety of their items, so I ordered the slider trio where you choose three of their burgers and get mini versions of them along with a side. At $13, the meal was not too pricey, but the whole meal wouldn’t have been enough if I was hungry. I chose the Leticia, Calamity Jane and JuJu Bleu, along with roasted potatoes and chipotle sauce.

The Calamity Jane turned out to be my least favorite. It was overloaded with barbecue sauce and the sauce overpowered everything else to the point where all you tasted was lots of sauce and a faint taste of meat. The sauce also absorbed into the bread making it really chewy and unpleasant to eat.

The Leticia was only okay; it wasn’t very flavorful except for a little bit of spice. The bell peppers were basically nonexistent in regards to overall flavor, although, the cilantro sauce was very good.

By far, the JuJu Bleu was the best burger on the plate. Every element of the burger combined to make an amazing symphony of flavors. It was sharp and tangy while being unique in flavor.

Throughout every burger, the meat was seasoned perfectly and tasted excellent when separated from everything else.

Along with the burgers came roasted potatoes and chipotle sauce. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the sauce. It was homemade and combined perfectly with the potatoes, although, I think the potato pieces were too large and kind of clunky.

For dessert, I ordered their cinnamon roll cheesecake. I loved it! It was one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. The top 75% was a luscious and smooth cheesecake with cinnamon filling chunks and the bottom was a fluffy yellow cake with rich cinnamon swirls. All drizzled with a light cinnamon glaze.

Overall House of JuJu is an excellent restaurant and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a family-friendly ambiance, while maintaining high-quality food and service.

House of JuJu is located on the bottom floor of the new Realty Concepts building at 565 Pollasky Ave in Old Town Clovis. For another food review read, Crackin’ Crab Claw specializes in Louisiana style dishes, or College Corner: Academic Advisor shares important college dates.

Vijay Stephen can be reached via, Twitter or email.

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