Sustainable Dining at Jar Kitchen, Drury Lane, Covent Garden

I love the idea of starting a business with your best friend, and that’s exactly what Lucy Brown and Jenny Quintero when they opened Jar Kitchen on Drury Lane in Covent Garden. A homage to fresh local ingredients, sustainability and minimal waste.

Even the decor is upcycled with the eponymous jars used as plant pots, sugar containers and even cocktails glasses. It’s a teeny space and super cute with bare wooden floors, specials on chalk boards and an open kitchen at the back.

It’s Saturday brunch and the small space is packed to the rafters with people in pursuit of bottomless prosecco and crushed avocado, the current Millenial brunch classics.
Well it was be clearly rude not to order prosecco when it’s bottomless (for only £15) but there are also the options of an endless stream of bloody Marys or mimosas. Plus you’re welcome to switch drinks throughout. The chalkboard advertised a the ‘beer of the day’ which was Mr S’s choice, he’s expecting something exciting and artisan so was a little disappointed by a beer in a can.
The Saturday Brunch menu is fairly simple with three choices for starter, main and dessert. The heirloom tomato salad with olives and yellow courgette dressing was a lovely light and refreshing starter – I’m a huge fan of the simple tomato salad. While the chorizo dish packed a real flavour punch and we loved the pea, mint and parsley sauce. I would have personally preferred the texture of crispy potatoes but overall it was a very enjoyable dish. In regards to portion size, Mr S was already worried he’d have to stop for a Nandos on the way home, but I find that’s often the way with bottomless brunches – and we did still have two courses to go. Plus I read on the Jar Kitchen blog that portion size is also managed to reduce waste.
The chicken corn tacos were a little disappointing and were lacking in flavour despite the jalapeños and pickled red onion. Plus in terms of size, we felt like it was more like three canapés on a plate than a proper main course. Despite the smallish portions it’s safe to say the prosecco was generous and glasses were constantly topped up around the room.

Better was the smashed avocado with poached eggs on sour dough, we chose the option of gin-cured salmon on top. It’s a dish that needed seasoning to taste but the eggs were perfectly cooked and the salmon flavoursome and firm.

Desserts are an absolute must at Jar Kitchen and the baked chocolate mousse with blueberries was our favourite thing on the menu. The promise of mini doughnuts is a hard one to pass up so I recommend that you don’t and just enjoy those heavenly bites dipped in salted caramel.

I really wanted to love Jar Kitchen as it’s such a cute cosy space and I love the fact that it’s the culmination of a dream of two best friends so I was sad that a few of the dishes fell a little short. I do find that this can be the case with London’s bottomless brunches and with three courses for £20, the value is undeniable.

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