Jackson + Rye Soho

I was very much looking forward to my Sunday brunch at this self-style American bistro. Unfortunately I walked away thoroughly disgruntled and disappointed. I realise that the current zeitgeist is all things American from steakhouses to "Brooklyn Bistros" but this is so wide of the mark. They don't even offer bottomless coffee (and it's a tiny cup to begin with)! It took 20 minutes for 2 glasses of orange juice and 2 Bloody Mary's to arrive, despite asking them a couple of times. But the answer was "sorry we're busy". Of course! It's Sunday Brunch. I ordered a Reuben, which should be a delicious, succulent and subtly spicy affair, but essentially it's all bread. It had the stingiest amount of pastrami inside which had dried out and no mustard! My friend ordered the shrimp burger which was fresh and tasty, but didn't come with fries, as mine had and we weren't offered any on ordering, so had to order them later. The staff are ambivalent at best, not rude, but just diffident. Usually, we would spend at least a couple of hours in one place, drinking Bloody Mary's and chatting, but we were so fed up we went to another bar to while away our Sunday. I wouldn't recommend it.

It's de rigeur for the current spate of new London restaurants to furnish the dining area with an old railway clock which, cynically, I suspect is designed to make you vacate your table quicker, the upmarket equivalent of McDonalds' harsh lighting. Thank goodness the one in Jackson & Rye is at least judiciously sized and doesn't seem to have had an effect on the pace in here which remains resolutely relaxed. Our visit starts off with a comic edge: I want a lime & soda, a standard request in England, but this foxes our European waiter who thinks we are asking for Lemon Soda, a thing he tells us they don't do. The comedy continues when he takes our order and only afterwards tells us the specials of the day. There is a drinks special too he tells us but he can't remember what and he says he will tell us later (he doesn't). But he is trying hard and is sweet and smiley so we don't mind. My only complaint about service is that the staff are all so cool I can't work out who works here and who's a customer so this leads to an embarrassing wait at the end of the meal as I daren't catch anyone's eye to ask for the bill in case they are not staff. As to the food itself, well it was pretty good. The menu doesn't contain any surprises but it is all solid, American fare as you would expect and very tempting in my eyes (eggs every which way, steaks, buttermilk fried chicken etc) and is extremely reasonably priced, especially for Soho. I had a tuna steak that was juicy and cooked perfectly and that came with well roasted tomatoes and lovely skinny fries (hurrah! a welcome change from the near ubiquitous triple cooked chip). When I did manage to get it the total bill (including multiple soft drinks and coffees) was a mere £20.60 which pound-per-hour was excellent value. All in all it was a very pleasant, chilled out place for a 3-hour brunch with a girlfriend but, although it does what it does well, it's not quite special or different enough to merit a hurried return.

Over the past 3 months I have visited J&R 3 times, so I feel compelled to write a review based on more than a single visit. During the week, I'm located on Berners Street, so it's just a leisurely stroll down Wardour St. Handily, the CEO is a bit of a foodie – and it seems, driven to find the best Burger in town (currently held by Berners St. Tavern in his opinion) so it was on his recommendation (their Cheeseburger is his No.2) that I rocked up there on a Saturday with my girlfriend. We arrived just after 1:30 to find it pretty busy. We were told that there was a 40 minute wait and to pop back; unless we would like the 2 remaining seats at the bar? – we accepted the invite. Accidentally it would seem, we struck gold – what a great place J&R is, for a number of reasons. Firstly in my experience, the staff are very friendly. I've read some reviews and heard anecdotally, that some people have experienced slow, or inattentive service. This has never been my experience. There is always a very warm and friendly welcome by whoever is on the door as you walk in and certainly from the manager. However, I have (following our fantastic first experience) always sat at the bar, on one further occasion with my girlfriend and for a midweek business lunch – which I am sure lends itself to more speedy service. The guys behind the bar are very attentive, funny and knowledgeable – they also order your food. So what could be better? Almost instantly with a drink in hand and then, when you're ready; tell them what you want to eat. Genius. They only chat when you want them to – just to be clear, it's not an in your face Manhattan, whoop, whoop type experience! They do this very well and very efficiently, whilst also serving the drinks orders (cocktails included, for the entire restaurant) So to the food experience. Granted, it's never going to be up for any major culinary awards, simply because of the type of trendy New York style menu. But; so far, in my opinion, what they do, they do brilliantly. Now, it just might be that my critique is based on great service/fun and therefore being in a positive mindset, but so it should be. I want to look forward to the food, having had a couple of drinks and some fun with the staff. It might be noted at this point that I'm not averse to the Michelin Star experiences in London, if only some of those places could be a little less uptight. Anyways – food wise, across the 3 visits; The Cheeseburger – simplicity, presented brilliantly and is absolutely delicious (one measure I use being the Grease Drip Factor – their burgers are hugely tasty, without the grease tap being turned on with every bite). The Steak ‘n’ Eggs – the flattened rump was cooked perfectly and melted in the mouth almost – this is a lot of food, but I found myself picking at the straw fries long after the steak had ‘disappeared’. On my last visit, I had the Reuben sandwich. Simply, if I had to pick one sandwich to eat for the rest of my life (which won't be much longer on this fayre!) it would definitely be the J&R Reuben. The Salt Beef and Swiss Cheese, with a smidgen of the spicy coleslaw combo is a massive winner. Other plates taken have been the Shrimp & Grits, something I hadn't had before but really enjoyed the unusual texture combined with the chilli, garlic prawn hit – a great dish. The Crispy Squid – read simply perfect with the side dip and the Crab Mayonnaise with guacamole – I'd say this is the only thing I was a little disappointed with taste-wise. The crab was over-powered by the mayo and the guacamole, but not a disaster nevertheless. A special mention must also go to the Pretzel Shake. On our first visit we literally inhaled 2 of these – sounds a bit off the wall, is a taste sensation. Finally the Pecan Pie – which is to die for and accompanied by the Rye Ice Cream makes it doubly delicious. In terms of value; I guess perception is hugely subjective but on my first visit, we stayed for a few hours and the bill was less than £80, having seemingly single handedly drained the rose & delicious unfiltered draught lager supplies. But for me it's about the whole experience, not one element. I'd happily take a small compromise on food, for great service and atmosphere. Interestingly (to me) I am taking a table this week for a business lunch for 6 people, I hope not to have to review my own review following this visit!!! I am sure this dining experience will be different; it does seem so much noisier/busier on ‘the floor’ for starters; I hope this doesn't affect the overall experience. One final thing of note; if you sit at the bar, be prepared to share part of that experience with fellow diners arriving and waiting to be seated/turned away, and the accompanying draught!! Not that I'm trying to put you off this little secret…of course!!!

My friend and I wanted to try Jackson and Rye so we popped in on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago. It happened to be Valentine's Day (though we were very firmly out for a non-romantic evening) so I was a little concerned that it could be absolutely packed. It wasn't. We didn't have a booking but we were seated almost immediately. Unfortunately that was when the waiting began. I read somewhere that the service was leisurely, giving you time to relax. It wasn't. It was non existent. We had long decided on food and drinks but no waiter even came near us. We actually had to start signalling them to attract attention and that is always something I hate in restaurants. They should be aware that their customers need service without my waving my arms like a windmill. Even worse, people seated after us were served first. I have to say that I am impressed though by the way they handled the situation. We didn't complain when the waiter finally appeared. In fact we didn't mention the wait at all. However, even without that, they offered us complimentary desserts. Very well handled. Clearly, someone in the staff was paying attention. Well done. Many top restaurants wouldn't have noticed, so that really is amazing. Unfortunately, less amazing was the food. We shared a shrimp and grits for a starter and it was tasteless. There was supposed to be chilli and spring onion and maybe there was but it gave the shrimp no flavour at all. The grits reminded me of semolina. Essentially just mixed with milk and no other flavouring. Utterly bland and clashing with the shrimp. Two flavours that didn't work on any level. I had a burger for the main. It was fine. It didn't make much of an impression one way or another. I've had better, I've had worse. Mediocre. My friend enjoyed his steak but it wasn't the best steak he'd ever had. Again, nothing too memorable. I ended up with the blueberry cobbler for dessert and it was an enormous slice of pie. Far too large for me after the burger and a little heavy as well. On the other hand, my friend's melting chocolate sundae was unbelievably good and filled with chocolate pieces. Also a lot lighter to eat so we swopped. I can honestly say it was the best part of the meal. This isn't a cheap restaurant and I'm not exactly sure what sets it apart from any other place in Soho so I can't imagine what would entice me back there. I wanted to try it. Now I have. There is really very little else to say.