Jolene Bakery & Restaurant — Restaurant in London

This is purely a coffee review - this does not apply to baked goods or restaurant menu

Coffee: 3/5 stars Would I choose to come here for a luxury coffee, if I had other luxury options? Probably not. Would I choose this place over retail coffee, yeah, sure. As a coffee it’s about 3/5. I would go higher, as better than standard retail places, but if you love your coffee, this can be bitter or overheated during busy times.

This seems to be an okay artisan bean blend, it is in the luxury tier in terms of price, but it’s pretty standard in terms of result. I’d say a Gail’s can beat this. It’s not bad per se, but it’s not as good as I expected. An Independent cafe that uses small batch imports from Norwegian or Dutch roasters will likely get you a better result. The profile is pretty basic. It’s just starting to do something special, so it’s made it past the black sheep coffees, Starbucks or Costas of this world, but it’s not giving you what say… you’ll get at Devotion coffee in Clerkenwell. Not even close.

Having had maybe 10 cups from here, I’d say avoid if the staff look busy or stressed. Coffees can go a bit skew when the going gets tough, with milks being overheated, coffee extraction being bitter etc, and you’ll notice that there’s no real opportunity for you to interact or ask the barista to add sugar for adding milk etc, given the space where you stand. Save your visit for when the place has a smaller crowd.

Location: Looks great! Aesthetic interior and exterior, good social vibe. I’d imagine this is a veeery nice sit down and eat with friends location.

Experience: Can be a slightly odd experience ordering coffee due to the interior design that places the coffee machine in the entrance itself. It must be done that way to save time, but is a little weird socially to be shuffled back outside the restaurant after dropping dimes on a premium coffee. You end up feeling rushed.

Staff: Lovely peeps, friendly and looked after. Very happy with my interactions upon each visit.

Process: I think there is a slight awkwardness around gathering your own pastries/cake/bites with tongs and brown bags when… they’re not exactly cheap items. Taking them by yourself feels a bit throw away, and the bags/packaging doesn’t feel very aesthetic. I don’t think that’s the staff. I think that’s the process they have in place and how it doesn’t really seem very socially warm. I noticed how customers are a bit confused when they are told to gather their own items. It could be more efficient if the customer knows to pick up pastries before they get to the till, but for a first impression it can come off as lacking social graces. Almost as though the customer is being surprised by a chore that they weren’t expecting- it’s fine, but it’s a bit weird not to have a helping hand, say if your hands are already full as you thumble through your bag for your wallet or purse. I have seen it from time to time. Is it really so bad to have a friendly face to help bag items for you?

You are also a step removed from the barista, as you order from somebody other than the barista, and then stand behind a plane of glass until your name is called. Want sugar? there is a small bowl of brown sugar cubes and one available spoon… not sure if that’s for communal use, you can ask for a spoon, then… you kinda… just place it back inside the window? Not sure what’s going on there.

Overall, 2 of 5 if you are going for take away coffee. The coffee itself is okay. Nice looking place, deduct a star due to odd process and experience. be prepared to hurriedly pack your own items as a crowd of peeps watch over your shoulder as they...

Have been meaning to go for a while now. Could not get reservations forever but finally got some very last minute which I was excited about. Commuted 50 minutes. It was a £50 cancellation fee per person. A bit of a let down when it came to the restaurant. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. The food wasn’t the best ☹️We started off with only a couple of dishes to see how to go from there. The way the dishes are presented is odd. Apparently every meal ordered is a sharing meal, so they give you small plates depending on how many people you are and only present one dish at a time. We were a group of 4. Off the menu, there are 14 dishes. We were told that usually a group our size orders from 8-16 dishes (assuming you order two of some things) which was a bit overwhelming considering the price points of these dishes and the portions presented. ( Please keep in mind I am constantly reviewing restaurants of different price ranges and evaluating based on what I truly think is worth the cost. This is not a trait where I am being stingy lol) We ended up ordering two starters and three mains. They said we can order more once the food comes out. I guess that’s quite common. Bread and Butter was Great. The Aubergine was fine. Tiny portion considering its sharing. The best dish was the beef ragu but even then it was a bit too oily. I want to reiterate that these portions are very small. I understand that may be why you should order 8-16 dishes but that just seems greedy lol. The Gnocchi was served as flat squares. When asked about the shape, it’s apparently sometimes done that way? Not an issue but found a bit odd. And the sauce on the gnocchi was very bland. We also got the Cod but it was sat on top of green beans cooked in a sort of tomato sauce. Odd combination. The cod was VERY bland. I truly truly did want to like this restaurant but it was disappointing. It was also where I chose to take my cousin who came from abroad so I just had higher expectations. I think I will be back for the bakery opening times because I’ve heard...

Overall: Majority of the dishes were very good. Reasonable mid-tier price point for the quality and atmosphere. Will return to try more.

Lives up to the hype compared to many other hard to get into places in London. Majority of the food was excellent. The marinated olives, focaccia and bitter greens salad were all delicious and generous in size (the olives are deceptively portioned, trust me). The wine list was approachable and not too large, especially for myself who isn’t that educated on wine. Our server was very knowledgeable and let us try a sample before ordering. We ordered two mains, which were good but didn’t blow our minds. About 40-50% of the menu is vegetarian, and 80% of those dishes are vegan friendly if you ask.

The service was also great, especially when compared to other similar price points in London — servers were friendly, knowledgeable, refilled water and wine frequently, and the food came out quickly. They were also very kind and remade a dish for my table when it came with cheese on top while we dined with a person who has a dairy intolerance. It took maybe 3 minutes for them to remake it for us.

Atmosphere was relaxing, intimate and quiet. Probably want to come here with 5 people maximum. The music was great, think Alex Isley "Think of Me" type vibes. Also, the bathroom was a 10/10. You will have a 90 minute table limit (for 2 people at least), so keep that in mind if you are trying to stay a while.

Overall we spent £130 for the focaccia, marinated olives, bitter greens salad, cavatelli, baked crab fideo, a carafe of orange chardonnay (which I normally dislike, but this one was great. And a carafe gave us 6 glasses!) and two cocktails. I will definitely come back and try...