Midtown’s new seafood restaurant has opened its doors. Josephine’s Gulf Coast Tradition is now open for dinner in the former Izakaya space (318 Gray St.).

Photo by Ally Hardgrave

Get a po' boy or a crab meat melt.

First announced in April, Josephine’s serves an eclectic menu of seafood dishes drawn from across the Gulf Coast. Executive chef Lucas McKinney takes inspiration from his heritage as a Mississippi native as well as his time working for chefs such as James Beard Award winner Vishwesh Bhatt at Snackbar in Oxford, Mississippi and multiple roles for Houston’s Underbelly Hospitality, including sous chef at Hay Merchant and chef de cuisine at GJ Tavern.

“We’re serving what we know,” McKinney said in a statement. “We’re proud to be stewards of Gulf Coast ingredients and traditions — honoring generations past while creating new traditions for the future. We love telling stories of the people we learned from, the people we source from, and the people who inspire us.”

McKinney will primarily tell those stories through his menu. It includes raw dishes such as oysters and amberjack crudo, small plates BBQ shrimp and crispy pork ribs, boiled seafood, salads and vegetables, sandwiches that include both a burger and a po’ boy, and center of plate entrees such as shrimp and grits, roast chicken, and grilled redfish. Nods to the chef’s history include the chicken on a stick, inspired by a tradition at Ole Miss, and a crabmeat melt inspired by the Vancleave Special from Rosetti’s Café in Biloxi.

“I’ve always dreamed of owning an old, divey oyster bar. It’ll have some of those nuances, but it will have some really fun raw bar dishes and small plates,” McKinney told CultureMap in April. “If you want to get a po’ boy and a cup of gumbo, you can.”

Pastry chef Emily Rivas (Georgia James, Bludorn) has created dessert offerings inspired by classic Southern favorites such as Mississippi Mud Pie. She’s also putting her own on things with a summer-inspired corn flan and an oatmeal moon pie that combines the oatmeal cream pie and the moon pie.

General manager Joseph Ramirez is a Louisiana native who previously worked as the general manager at Kata Robata. “Our goal is for Josephine’s to be a place to decompress, recharge, and let the gratitude of Southern hospitality take over,” he said.

Nest Interiors renovated the space to convert it from a Japanese-inspired pub into a Southern-inspired dining destination. Most importantly, the dumpling bar has been converted into an oyster bar. Other changes include the installation of painted tin ceilings, hex mosaic flooring, and new light fixtures. A renovated patio will be ready when the weather cools off.

The restaurant will be open for dinner initially with weekday lunch service to follow next week.