People will have to find a new place to celebrate anniversaries and birthdays now that a Biloxi restaurant that’s been feeding locals and tourists for 30 years is about to close.
Owners David “Bubba” and Sharon Mattina announced on Facebook they are retiring and closing Jazzeppi’s Restaurant. The husband and wife team said their last night to serve dinner will be Saturday, Dec. 20.
The fine dining restaurant at 195 Porter Avenue, just up the street from the Biloxi Lighthouse, is known for its service and its classic Italian dishes and creative salads, steaks and seafood. “
The veal Jazzeppi was my absolute favorite,” one person said in Facebook comments after learning the restaurant is closing. “Best chocolate martinis” and “your crab cakes are amazing,” others commented. The restaurant is said to feature 100 varieties of martinis, along with fine wines.
“Antipasti selections at Jazzeppi’s include offerings like grilled filet tips and fried calamari, as well as grilled portobello mushrooms,” the Open Table listing says. The steaks are grilled to order and other house favorites are eggplant Lorenzo and shrimp scampi.
In a time when franchise restaurants offer the same menu at all locations, Jazzeppi’s menu is original, rooted to Biloxi and its seafood and steeped in family recipes.
The house muffaletta salad and gourmet pizzas show creativity, while the osso buco and Italian dishes are classics. It’s the only place where people could order Veal Mattina with veal, shrimp, crawfish tails, crabmeat and artichoke hearts in a white wine cream sauce.
This is the latest of several restaurants in South Mississippi closing for various reasons. The owners of Burger Burger, just down the street from Jazzeppi’s, also recently retired as the people who have fed South Mississippi for years decide it’s time to let someone else take over the kitchen.
Dining and Cooking