Jules on Jarvis has to be one of my best finds in East London. I have been to this restaurant four times since I discovered it in November last year. When I initially mentioned my blog to my neighbour, she had suggested that I include it in my list of restaurants to visit, and I am glad I did. I frequent this establishment so much that a friend asked me if I am now a shareholder. Another friend asked if I am perhaps doing shifts there.
THE SERVICE
I have had the pleasure of enjoying at least three meals from the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus at Jules. On each of these occasions I found the service lacking. This is primarily because they do not appear to have a permanent restaurant manager/ assistant. This task is fulfilled by the waitresses who often leave the reception unattended as they attend to the seated patrons.
On my most recent visit at Jules, I was there with a friend for mine for dinner. I had called that morning to make a booking and also to confirm if they have a dinner service as they are listed online as a breakfast and brunch restaurant. My expectation walking in was that there would be someone to welcome us at the door.
We waited at the door for a good 3 minutes while waiting for someone to acknowledge our presence. It got awkward as we stood at the entrance for a while waiting for the one waitress we could see to finish taking the order of the guests seated closest to the door. Given that they take bookings, one would expect a body to welcome their guests. Jules would do well to address this matter as it also affects after sales service before payment. We waited a while after requesting the bill before the waiter came back.
THE FOOD
The food at Jules is very delicious and compensates for the poor service mentioned above. They have the freshest of ingredients and each bite leaves you wanting more. On the day I had lunch there I had a Moroccan lamb mezze salad bowl. This was a green salad with pulled harissa lamb, hummus, marinated olives, pickled red onion, avocado, toasted flat bread and dill yoghurt.
Not only was the meal well balanced, it was full of flavor with crispy crunchy greens and components that complimented each other well. There wasn’t even a need for a salad dressing as the salad was not only nutritious but tasty and satisfying. This salad bowl cost me R80 which I thought was reasonable considering that it had a generous helping of lamb meat and avocado which isn’t in even in season.
Eggs benedict with sauce hollandaise
On the day I had breakfast at Jules, I had an eggs benedict with salmon. This was an awesome meal of two poached eggs on English muffins with smoked salmon, roast tomatoes and a hollandaise sauce.
The eggs were perfectly done, with a firm egg white and a runny yolk. The only downside was the untrimmed micro herbs which the dish could have done without as well as an excess of the hollandaise sauce which was very delicious.
On the dinner occasion I opted for a grilled fish with chives and a miso and sweet corn sauce. For a side I went for the Melanzine steak which is made of roasted aubergines with tomato sauce, mozarella and parmesan cheese and basil. The fish wasn’t only aesthetically pleasing it was very tasty too. My side, although appetizing didn’t compliment my dish, and for this I take full responsibility. The steak could have easily been a meal on its own.
Grilled fish with chives and a miso and sweet corn sauce
WHY GO THERE
If you are looking for great food, prepared with skill, finesse and fresh ingredients, Jules is your place. And it is great for those who want an adult hangout without noise from children. Just be aware of the little snag with their service.