Jam Delish Islington — Restaurant in London

My partner and I were looking forward to visiting Jam Delish for some time after following them on Instagram and has been on our list of vegan places to visit for a while. But I have to say we were quite disappointed and It seemed to be an Instagram Vs Reality moment based on our experience.

Firstly, we arrived for our reservation on time and were suitably hungry and had to wait at the bar with no seating for the table to be set which wasn't too bad as it wasn't longer than 10 minutes. However once we sat down, we were very excited to order & we selected a wide range of dishes.

We were quite disappointed that 50 minutes passed and we were still waiting for starters. Service was very slow & by the time we finished eating 2 hours had passed from the original reservation time. We also witnessed tables next to us being ushered out of the restaurant to allow for other reservations so we felt pressured to eat as quickly as possible based on this experience & the atmosphere was a bit strained. Not to mention the condition of the unisex toilets at the time that we visited (no toilet roll, wet floor throughout, soaked tissues on the floor, no hand tissue/towels) and also small details like my plate came and it was chipped, it's a small thing but the small details are important especially as it wasn't the cheapest out there.

Once the food did arrive the one word that we both thought was underwhelming, both in terms of portion size & flavour. We were looking forward to sampling exciting new flavours however, we felt that it did not live up to our expectations. This was the most expensive vegan meal we have had in London with respect to the places we have visited (and there have been many on the list) but we are truly sad to say Jam Delish definitely did not live up to the price tag and the hype. The total bill came in for the food at £98 and mains were priced at approx. £20.

The only positive element was the staff who were friendly and welcoming, although this did turn to some awkwardness when we were watching people being asked to leave, one couple didn't have chance to order dessert due to them needing the table back, however with the slow delivery of the food they couldn't have ordered any sooner.

It is very unfortunate that we would put them at the bottom end of the list of vegan places to visit in London given our experience on the day and we felt you can obtain better quality and portion size for a more reasonable price elsewhere. To clarify this is not a dig at Jam Delish this reflects our open and honest experience on the day, which hopefully is valuable feedback to take on board...

We had such high hopes for this place based on all the great reviews. Unfortunately left very disappointed. To begin with we were given a table directly across from the toilets - the toilet door had no overhead closer so remained open with toilet and drain smells coming out constantly. The table across to us had already asked to move (presumably because of the smell), so when we asked to be moved, we were told 'sorry they asked first'. People continued to leave and new people be sat at other tables, so we could have been moved, we just couldn't be bothered to make a fuss.

The food itself was pretty lacklustre. Starters - the roti and dips (island trio) was nothing inspiring, the fish tacos were nice but tiny and the taco breads a bit stale, also tasted a bit too fishy - not sure what they've used to achieve that. The fried oyster mushrooms on fried bread were yummy. Wish we had got the chicken wings which looked nice. Main - we got the fried chicken which as others have noted is basically four nuggets on a bit of squash. The chicken itself was lovely but we wished we had so much more of it. The main also took 45 minutes to arrive after the starters. When the main was brought out we were told there was no mac and cheese which we had ordered, as the chef had made it wrong (we heard another table complaining that it tasted like tuna pasta...). We could have been told that at any point in the 45 minutes we were waiting, when we would have actually had a chance to pick a different side from the menu..?!

We didn't bother ordering a pudding in the end as the rest of the food had been so disappointing and we just wanted to get away from the toilet smell at that point. The service a bit poor as well - the table adjacent from us were a bit peeved that the bottle of wine they ordered was brought to the table already corked, and poured into 4 glasses without asking anyone if they wanted to taste it. The waiter also spilled some of the wine on the table whilst he was pouring, which is no biggie but a bit amateur hour.

We left feeling disappointed and really quite annoyed we'd spent over £80 for 2 people on a small amount of not great food. Love to support independent vegan businesses but I think this one has been a victim of its initial success to be honest. Hope they make some...

A recent addition to the London Vegan Scene is Jam Delish, the modern Caribbean fully vegan restaurant in Angel. I’ve been really wanting to go since it opened, and finally did so last week!

The vibes of the restaurant are immaculate, from the decor to the menu. From the moment you walk in it all feels very distinguished and well thought through, and the staff was always so friendly and helpful.

Their cocktails and smoothies are a great way to start the meal, and their list is long enough to make it hard to choose, but not too long that it’s overwhelming. I had the Jus Jammin, which is a Hennessy based cocktail with cinnamon, apple, and vanilla. I love Hennessy, so I might be biased, but it was one of the best cocktails I’ve had in a while!

We chose to have a few of the small plates and they were the star of the show. They are really unique and unlike anything you'll find anywhere else. I could easily order all of them and make that my meal. Everything we had was incredible and I'd recommend everything we had, but I'd particularly highlight the Deep Fried Buttermilk Oyster Mushrooms that I could easily eat every week, which were covered in spicy plantain ketchup that I absolutely need a bottle of to put on everything I eat.

The mains are much closer to traditional Caribbean dishes so if that's what you're going for I'd absolutely recommend them. We tried the Curry "Goat" with rice and peas and it's everything you want a Caribbean curry to be, basically the food equivalent of a hug. We also tried the "Chicken" Skewers and they were delicious, with a really tasty char to them.

The price is definitely a bit steep, but the quality and attention to detail I think justify it. I strongly recommend giving it a try. They will be refreshing their menu soon for Autumn/Winter, and I'm really excited to go try their soon to be added new dishes!

🏅 Overall: 9/10 🌱 Fully Vegan

What we had: 🍌 BBQ Jerk Plantain 🌮 “Saltfish” Tostones ⭐️ 🌮 Jerk “Pork” Belly Tacos ⭐️ 🥗 Buttermilk Oyster Mushrooms and Tropical Salad 🌟 🍢 Jerk “Chicken” Skewers ⭐️ 🍛 Curry “Goat”

Cocktails: 🥃 Jus Jammin 🌟 🍹 Passionate Rum Punch

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