Brunching at Jar Kitchen

Jar Kitchen opened its doors quietly back in 2015 on the northern end of Drury Lane, just steps away from Covent Garden.

This part of town actually holds a lot of memories for me. My student days at London School of Economics meant that I stayed 5 minutes away from campus at the student accommodation on High Holborn road. I had London at my door step as I lived minutes away from Covent Garden and Soho.

However, Drury Lane was my refuge from the flocks of visitors in the more popular streets in town. It had its own charms as I took shortcuts across this street many times to get to my morning lectures in record-breaking time.

Today, I welcomed the lovely addition of this smart cafe to this quiet little back street. It’s just what a newly arrived visitor to London would have loved to discovered as their special spot off the beaten path.

The unassuming dark exterior welcomed me as I pushed open the door to step inside the ground dining room. I was handed a brief breakfast menu that listed all of the hottest healthy ingredients du jour. Coconut nibs, avocado, chia seeds, almonds, poached eggs, you name it, they got it.

However, some new discoveries were also on show. Pork belly with baharat spiced beans, and kimchi plated with beetroot ketchup proved to be interesting combinations.

I loved the sound of charred buttermilk flatbread as my memories quickly shifted to the delicious buttermilk pancakes I had tasted in the past. I opted for a plate of that paired with smashed avocado, poached egg, and Earl-Grey cured salmon, intriguing!

What would I say is the most alluring thing about this cafe? My eyes quickly shifted to the distressed wooden tables filled with upcycled eco-friendly jars and farm-chic interior dotted with fairy lighting. The perfect complement to their philosophy that all good food start with just simple farm-to-fork fresh ingredients. Nothing more, nothing less.

As I tucked into the warming buttermilk flatbread and reminisced about the good times during university, I could have only wished that this cute cafe existed back then. But I’m happy that I can share this little secret with you guys, and you’ll be able to enjoy well-cooked imaginative food at very un-Central-London prices.