Dub Jam jerk and perks!

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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Beef, beef and more beef at MASH London

Beef, beef and more beef! We can’t get enough of it at the moment, with steakhouses, burger joints, chicken shacks and BBQ’s all ingratiating themselves onto our eating out guides, bringing us meat from Argentina, Uruguay, New Zealand, America, Scotland and Scandinavia among others. We drink red wine with fine steaks at the likes of Hawksmoor, 34, and Gaucho, but we also spend hours collectively queuing for root beer and burgers at the plethora of pop ups and no-bookings hotspots including MEATmarket / MEATmission / MEATliquor, Honest Burgers, Hache, Patty & Bun, and Dirty Burger etc. We all seem to be going gaga for cow on a plate and for this, I am eternally grateful. 

Uruguay Fillet 200g - £30 

MASH still feels relatively new to this cavernous basement space in Soho, but having opened in 2012, it’s definitely overcome any growing pains it may have feared! It’s a beautifully masculine dining room and bar, with low lighting, dark wood and brass trimmings, a sea of cosy booths and a vibe that would be equally befitting of a business dinner as it would a date or catch up with friends; it attracts celebs, sports folk, and regular folk like me by equal measure, and it’s luxurious without being inaccessible. Rarely does such a place straddle such a myriad of social gatherings or clientele, but here we have it…I don’t know what else to say about the matter really! 

You can be modest or you can go wild with your steak, with a menu ranging from £25 for a standard steak & chips to £75 for a 200g American grade 9+ sirloin from Grand Omaha. Be aware though, you are ordering simply steak (nothing else but a plate of steak), so if you want sauces, sides and/or salads, you must order separately for an extra £4.50 per dish (each portion is big enough to share between two, so there’s no need to go overboard). My Uruguay Fillet (£30 for 200g) was tender, cooked exactly to order (medium rare incase you were wondering!), succulent and flavoursome. The Béarnaise was precisely what it needed to be, the chips crispy and well-seasoned; the creamed spinach was rich and bone marrow sympathetically cooked to bring out the best beefy flavours (I spread mine on like a flavoured butter!). 

Service was also precise, friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable and efficient, which is immensely pleasing in such a large restaurant that, as I’m sure you can appreciate, gets rather busy. I got lucky with a 50% discount from all food (promotion for those of you who can find a friend with a birthday in November), but without this, I suspect this would not have been a cheap meal, even without the wine! Starters are all under £10 (unless you opt for the ½ lobster!), and the steak is offered at whatever you’re willing to pay for it. It’s worth it, but be prepared to spend a bare minimum of £50 - £70 per person for a 3-course meal, with a glass of wine. If you love good steak, there’s not too much to moan about here. 

 Meat, meat, oh glorious meat! 

Thank you and goodnight.

 

Guns n Roses: Cherry wine, rosemary & lavender syrup, Californian sparkling wine - £11.50