Description: Trying to find a restaurant open on Sunday in Innsbruck was not an easy thing, and we
were pleasantly surprised when we discovered Papa Joes on a quiet side street near Herzog Friedrichstrasse. P.J.s reminded me of a touristy Caribbean beach restaurant and
seemed very popular, so we decided to give it a try. The initial receptionist was a bit
brusque, but as we made our way to our table we were caught up in the energetic vibe -
loud rock, loud conversations and laughter coming from tables where people were
enjoying yard-high glasses of beer and tropical looking drinks while young servers dressed in red and black were scurrying between tables with platters of food.
Our table was on the second floor and it was less than a minute after we were seated that our server was asking what we’d like to eat and drink. Bea ordered a rack of baby back ribs and Tracey and I decided to split the mixed appetizer platter and a small Caesar salad. The salad looked great with crisp romaine, large chunks of bacon and croutons but the dressing was so heavily loaded with dry mustard that it was inedible. We thought we’d have better
luck when we spotted the three-tiered tray that contained our appetizer platter, but were
disappointed to find that it consisted of 2 pieces of fresh carrot, 2 thin zucchini sticks, 4 deep fried shrimp, 4 cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers, 4 mozzarella sticks and 2 chunks of grilled corn. The selections were tasty but we felt that the small amount of food did not warrant the price of €15.
Bea’s meal was a much better choice. The ribs seemed to
cover the platter sized plate and were basted with a smoky barbecue sauce. They were served with an oversized baked potato loaded with garlic butter - too much in fact but it was easy to scrape off. The ribs were a typically messy affair and the finger bowl with lemon scented water was definitely needed for clean up.
The restaurant is open daily from 4 pm to the wee hours of the morning. I wouldn’t go back to Papa Joes for dinner but it would be a fun place to meet friends for drinks before heading out for a meal someplace else.
Close