After nurturing a rather prolonged craving for fried plantain, I recently took it upon myself to scour the streets for a Caribbean restaurant within a lazy strolling radius of the office. Thankfully for me, a dear friend whose never been adverse to shoving her face into a bowl of rice, chicken & peas, was due to celebrate a birthday, so I could think of no better opportunity to share the joy than by booking a table at the minuscule dining room of Dub Jam, a jerk BBQ and rum shack conveniently located in Covent Garden!With a surf board for a demi-bar and an open kitchen (a kitchenette may be more accurate), this tiny hole-in-the-wall establishment is attached to The Adventure Bar and can seat no more than 20 people in close proximity, not too dissimilar to the average pokey pop-up du jour! With graffiti emblazoned over all walls, some smashing neon letter signs (I couldn't guess where they were all from, but the 'M' was definitely stolen from Ronald McDonald!), and a raggaeton heavy playlist gracing the room, it certainly is a super cool bijou eatery. Thumbs up from me so far.
Unfortunately though, whomever took my booking made a mistake and our table was being taken by another group who'd been waiting for a while already. A free round of rum shots later, we ventured downstairs into The Adventure Bar, where we could purchase a bottle of bubbles while we waited. Staff were super friendly so far and I was with a cracking crowd, so the wait didn't really bother any of us too much and when our table became available, we were all a little bubble happy already. A round of orders were made and despite the overwhelming disappointment at hearing there was no curried goat patties left (Punky Raggae Patty - £4.95), we all suddenly realised how hungry we were - I do wish I hadn't realised how willing I was to chew my arm off though, because the ensuing wait for tucker was oh so long! We watched multiple trays of chow go downstairs before ours arrived (you can take food down, but cannot bring drinks up...que?!?!), but when it did all finally arrive, it was DELICIOUS! The Jerk Chicken Burger (£7.50), with extra cheese (£2.00) was tender and full of flavour while the Sunshine Slaw (£3.50) was made with coconut and turned out to be an unexpectedly big hit for me. Meanwhile, KJ's Sweet Potato Chips (£3.60) and the Island Cob (£3.50) were positively mouth-watering and my friend did indeed dive face first into a good portion of Rice 'n' Peace (£3.50). With everyone's head down, reminiscent of feeding time at a farm, I think I can safely appraise the cooking talents here and as such, I have to be a fan! Such a shame then, that this was tainted somewhat with our lost booking and long waits...most importantly of all though (for me, least!), where was the plantain?! There's even a picture of it on the website, but nowhere to be seen on the menu...I was then and remain now, utterly distraught!
Overall then, Dub Jam is casual cavity, with an amazing soundtrack! It will deliver you fantastically unfussy basket food, cooked very well and priced right. Service was also excellent and super friendly, and much to my endless delight, it's the kind of place that makes you really want to thank everyone for their hospitality when you leave! I wish our experience had been a little more slick and that plantain had been on the menu, but this aside, I would definitely, but cautiously recommend that others give it a go.
PS. Thank you for having us Dub Jam! The music rocks, the decor is cool, the vibe is welcoming, the staff are great and the food is cracking...
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