J & A Cafe

4 Sutton Lane, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 5PU - View on a map
Telephone: 020 7490 2992

Overall 3.3
Food 4.0
Service 2.0
Atmosphere 4.0
Value 3.0
Based on 1 reviews

what the critics say

Guy Dimond - 4/6

Thursday, April 16, 2009 - This Clerkenwell café, opened in autumn 2008, is housed in a former Victorian workshop used for cutting diamonds. As you’d expect it has lots of natural lighting, and the high ceilings, bare brick walls and large windows give it a surprisingly cosy feel… The two young sisters who run this café use good produce to great effect in simple, home-style dishes. A chicken and vegetable soup is their grandmother’s recipe, and it’s rich and full-flavoured; a steak sandwich, the meat cooked rare, had all the right details with it, from a mustard and mayo dressing to ripe cherry tomatoes.

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Mark Bolland

Monday, February 16, 2009 - Run by two enterprising young women, the J & A Café is hidden at the back of one those timeless, labyrinthine East London yards. Simple and unpretentious, the room has an old-fashioned warm and rustic feel. Brick walls; cream slatted ceiling; lots of natural light. There's a central refectory table on which sits a giant bowl of apples and lemons; smaller tables are dotted about. Vegetables of the day are displayed decoratively (it's a bit like walking into a still-life class). A big blackboard announces the specials. It's perhaps more Cambridge than Clerkenwell.

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your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne

Well, that was disappointing...

1: Serving staff forgot to take our order (had to go inside to remind them after an 10 min wait)

2: Serving staff brought warm drinks on a super-hot afternoon (no ice, no straw, no mats, and no serviettes)

3: Serving staff was plain miserable & surly (very English)

4: Outside area is covered in cigarette butts and litter (shabby chic is one thing - plain shabby well that's another)

5: Table was wobbly and no effort made to sort it out.

Sorry guys - I can't recommend you. Not until you get your act together.
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Michael
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Went for lunch here last Friday with friends. We are from the Netherlands, we enjoy äuthentic homemade food. The lunch has been great. Very hospitable and friendly and a relaxed welcoming environment.

Compliments for the chefs of J+A. A lovely pint of Guinness supplement our meal.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, March 27, 2011

I work around the corner from this cafe and myself and my colleagues were really pleased to discover it several months ago - we've been back half a dozen times since. The food is great and all the waitresses are very sweet and helpful. However the owner is incredibly rude. Last time we went there for lunch she complained that it was 'very inconvenient' for us to pay individually and acted most put out (you wouldn't have thought this was an unreasonable reason on a weekday lunchtime?). When my colleague pointed told her that she felt rather upset by her comments, her reply was 'well it's my place, so I can do what I want'. We were all appalled by her manner and attitude towards us. It spoiled what was otherwise a very pleasant lunch, arranged for a colleague's last day.

We will not be going there again.
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Anna
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, October 29, 2010

what the bloggers say

Bellaphon

Thursday, February 19, 2009 - Barely six months old, J and A are the initials of the two wonderful Irish colleens who own and run the café. The dining room (or mini hall because of its high ceilings) is from a practical perspective, beautiful and purposeful… Steak Sandwich- this came with onion, rocket, dijon, mayo and toms. Beautifully cooked and well-seasoned meat accompanied by the thickest cut and crustiest white bread imaginable- this is unadulterated sandwich porn heaven! As if the sarnie wasn’t enough on its own, crisps were thrown in as well; J+A cheers!

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J & A Cafe

what the critics say

Guy Dimond - 4/6

Mark Bolland

your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne

what the bloggers say

Bellaphon

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