The Jones Family Project

The Jones Family Project has been one of those places that since I first heard it mentioned, it seems to have been mentioned about a million times since, either recommended to me by friends of friends or popping up on other blogs. Located right across from the Hoxton Hotel, it’s in a great location for a quick bite before scouring all that Shoreditch has to offer (I got a fabulous hat and leather skirt from the The Vintage Store close by, as well as a great deal on a light pink skater skirt from the American Apparel sale rack down the road).
Spring had just sprung when we popped in — we’d reserved a table for quarter to eleven — but we didn’t really need to, though it did begin to fill up as we left. The venue itself is really light, and on-​trend, too.
After our morning mimosas, my brunch date ordered the eggs benedict, which looked amazing (and got her seal of approval).
I opted for the Jones baked eggs — two free-​ranged eggs served in a terracotta pan, but without the toasted bread (which arrived anyway). I went for the baked eggs with chorizo, peppers, red onions, white wine, potatoes, tomatoes and rosemary. The dish was very Iberian — it had a distinct Spanish/​Portuguese flavour to it, and was really delicious — the combination of the baked eggs with the chorizo was divine.
The cocktail menu, as well as the bar snack and lunch selection also looks really appetising — and with such a great location Jones Family Project looks like it would be great place to go slightly later in the day too.
My brunch, including mimosa, tea, and the eggs came to around £20, which is pretty standard given that you are paying for the location.

Went to this place last year (end of 2014) and forgot to review. Have to say this place has such a fun vibe about it. Less so in terms of actual ambience, but more it terms of food and the staff which were both very good.
Their burger was excellent and the inside is deceptively big because you go downstairs to dine. We had actually booked their special table which is ever revolving in terms of theme. A table that you go to dress up for the occasion. It was a 70’s type room (when I say room it’s a table within a specially decorated theme. This was 70’s for that month.
We dressed up in Shoreditch, went down and were welcomed in. Might be a bit weird to dress up just for that table whilst everyone in restaurant dines normally but it was good fun and essentially a good idea. Nothing I had seen previously.
In anycase the food and drink were good and if it was a bit more packed it would have been nice as the downstairs was a bit quiet.

We came in on a Sunday to check out their Sunday Roast and were not disappointed! It’s actually really close to our apartment so it was a quick walk over. When we arrived, we were greeted by a friendly host who led us to the downstairs seating area. I had a quick glance at the ground floor which boasted a long bar. As we arrived downstairs, we were met with another bar as well as a cozy seating area. The tables were comfortably spaced and came with plush chairs. A comfy chair while eating is always greatly appreciated!
The server came by soon after we were seated to hand out the Sunday menu. After having a look, a Bloody Mary (£8.00) and the roast beef with all the trimmings, gravy and horseradish cream (£17.50) sounded perfect. JFP offers three roasts on Sundays, a roast beef, a chicken and a nut option. We were in the mood for red meat so the roast beef was the easy choice. The Bloody Marys came out quickly and were quite good. We’ve never gotten them spicy (even when requested extra spicy) but they were quick to offer a bottle of Tabasco. The tomato juice used was good quality and after a couple of shakes of Tabasco, this was a tasty Bloody Mary!
Soon after our roast came out. The efficiency almost made us a bit nervous on the quality of the roast but one bite and all qualms were set aside. This was the best roast we’ve had in London. The Yorkshire pudding was piping hot and you could tell that it was fresh from the oven (not reheated). The vegetables included — carrots, potatoes, sprouts, and cauliflower — were all cooked perfectly. I find a lot of roasts throw the vegetables on as an afterthought and they are overcooked, bland and drained of any color/​nutrients. Blah. That was the exact opposite of the vegetables at JFP — loved these veggies! Onto the meat, perfectly medium rare and so flavorful. Definitely the best meat I’ve had at a roast in London. The gravy was nice, not too salty, and the horseradish cream was perfect. Slightly creamy and added some tang dolloped on the roast beef.
I will definitely be back to try out their other food and drinks but this place is going into my regular rotation!

Anna’s brownie is out of this world, totally scrumptious and really delicious. This review is just for dessert as that’s all I had, but I could pretty much go on about that brownie all day. It comes with coconut ice cream with hardened pieces of chocolate on it and the ice cream is perfect and yummy and the combination sublime. Love the soft brownie texture with the hard chocolate pieces, it’s just really satisfying together as are the coconut and chocolate flavours. I had the privilege of meeting the Anna (the owner) who made the brownie and telling her how much I love it and didn’t want to share it with my companion (who kindly let me eat more than my half). I think when food is so good that you throw fairness out the window, it is definitely something special. This brownie and I will definitely meet again.

I have been here a couple of times for drinks, as they have a good happy hour on the ground floor bar. I’ve even ventured downstairs once or twice, but I really didn’t truly notice the cavernous restaurant and bar space on the lower ground floor. Wow. We had our first taste of this Shoreditch grill recently and I loved everything about it.
It’s family owned, so a lot of love has gone into this place from the comfy décor to the commitment to quality sourced produce. The menu is not huge, which works in this case, as it is mostly meat options from the josper charcoal oven (highly rated for good steakhouses).
I opted for the venison, cooked to perfection, moist and tender. This came with potato fondant, honeyed parsnip purée, pomegranate and red wine jus. My guest had the chuck burger topped with slow cooked oxtail which came with big chips. Our shared starter was the fillet steak tartare, truffle sabayon an crostini. My main, I had to go with the truffled potato dauphinoise. Food porn on a place. I’m a sucker for truffle, so it was always going to be a winner. Not too potent, just subtle enough.
The Jones Family Project may not be suitable for all wallets, with main courses being an average of £22. For those of you who are not flash with cash, this is your special occasion stop. Valentines is just around the corner…

So I booked a brunch for half 1 on Saturday to try this place out. I ended up leaving at about 8.30pm. 7 hours in one restaurant? Yes I kid you not. Possibly the longest time I have ever spent at a restaurant! Why you ask? It comes down to the vibe — I just didn’t want to leave, and at no point did I feel that the staff wanted me to leave either. I could have stayed forever!
So whats so good about this place?
1. the high back seats upstairs — so comfy. You could sleep on them
2. the tables are spacious, you could easily whip out a board game and play on them
3. the MUSIC! I mean from mainstream Alicia Keys, Gyptian, to Haim, a bit of nu disko, great beats. My compliments to the DJ.
4. the art, the lighting, the cosiness
5. the familial feeling, like you would have at home, no pressure to leave, just stay as long as you please.
6. of course the food :)
I recommend you try Anna’s brownie — magic in your mouth. Anna Watts who is the owner here was very kind to provide me & my friend with a couple of pots of mint tea on the house, at around 6pm, (5 hours later!) by then of course I was well and truly set.
Thank you.
Needless to say I shall return!

Had the chance to meet the owner (Anna) at an event and simply had to experience the business run by a person who clearly takes pride in her establishment, and great care with her guests. So made my way to JFP for a solo dinner, and can definitely see what all the fuss is about. :)
A hoppin’ bar scene upstairs seemed to be quite the place to mingle. Dinner guests descend downstairs to a cozy and welcoming dining room that wraps around the kitchen, providing enough proof that they’re working magic back there but without forcing you to see how it all gets done. Lots of seating and seems like a good place for groups, but also for smaller parties. There’s also a great bar downstairs, more low-​key and means diners don’t have to wait for their drinks due to the upstairs crowd.
I had the fillet steak with their homemade bearnaise sauce and a side of truffled potato dauphinoise. Perfectly prepared and great portions. Then enjoyed a mousse-​like dessert that I can’t remember the name of (not helpful here)…that was lovely in presentation and flavor.
Had great service and enjoyed the meal/​experience very much. Great venue for a social or work meet-​up and for steak eaters or otherwise. Lots of options on the menu and I look forward to the chance to try more soon.

Do you know the kind of thing that everybody is telling you «hey it’s great» but then when you have it you just think «meh, really?». Well that-​s what JFP represented for me.
I want to come back here for brunch as I can-​t believe I have such a different opinion from other reviewer I have similar taste with, hence it may just have been my experience.
We probably stayed in the wrong place, the high table downstair, which is a bit uncomfortable, with very low light and very high volume music, making talking with each other difficult.
The dishes, well. I personally had the chicken, which was not bad, but it was completely uninspired and just a union between different ingredients that did not much sense together, not a single thing was used in order to create a «dish». And, as a side note, I found it a little bit too pricey.
My big delusion came with the dessert: I went straight for the brownie, expecting a comeback from the bad main dish experience, but my god no. The brownie I received was less than 1 star. It was more similar to a cake rather than a brownie, completely lacking in flower, butter. It’s incredible the chef decided to serve such a thing (and it was not a mistake, other people at my table had the same dish). Abysmal. This time the portion was definitely too big for its price (and its quality).
Sincerely, this place just appeared to my eyes as a stupid, useless place, the kind of places you can find in an airport, bad food high prices and a fake atmosphere.
No thank you.

I’m a fan! I made reservations here to meet a friend for brunch this past weekend. I was surprised to find it relatively empty when we arrived, but it was soon filling up as we left. Generally when I walk past this place there is a line waiting outside, so I’d recommend booking ahead.
The service was friendly and attentive, without being overbearing. I had a mimosa in one hand and a delicious stack of calamari in front of me within 10 minutes of sitting down.
I went for the jerk chicken salad and it was delicious, but maybe a little too healthy because I suffered immediate menu envy when my friend was served a huge plate of mac and cheese. So I ate some of that too. #Balance
Overall, great, fresh menu options, and they a little something for everyone. I will definitely be back to try the dinner menu one evening.

Nice bar on ground floor with bar snacks. Main restaurant in basement — nicely set out for a basement restaurant.
Good quality food — steaks, duck, lamb, fish. Nothing blew me away to next week but I’ll definitely come back here as every dish was well made with quality ingredients.

Been here twice now for their Sunday Roast. Their desserts are to die for, especially Anna’s Brownie which is freaking amazing.
The space is fantastic, really big and spread over two floors (the top is more bar and casual, and downstairs is more restaurant). Their drink and food menus are great — they use locally sourced food and drinks and their chefs are fab.
Their staff are great — met a few of them at another Unilocal event and they’re super nice and really love the work that they do.
I highly recommend popping into Jones Family Project — you won’t regret it!

The blaring Mary J Blige was as abrasive as the luxe Aesop exfoliating hand wash in the bathroom. A Nice touch though, to throughly clean ones hands after all that high 5’ing you tend to do with those silicone workers at meetings on Old St.
Despite the hairy Mary blarey, music, it was a good job I like to be received with pumping sounds, I like 90’s RnB. However downstairs the reception is a bit more 90’s AT&T. So speaking of receptions, I wouldn’t say hold a business meeting here as one can’t really get down to business down in the lair of The Jones Family Project as the internet’s outties.
What was refreshing, however was the nice open space with big sprawling tables and the extra big large glasses with which the flinty green Austrian white was served, roomy for sucking up through my nose those fresh botanicals, freeing the flavour. It made me feel more like Maria Von Trap in the lush green hills, rather than Von Trapped in a meeting I didn’t want to be in. I escaped to the bathrooms and carried on dancing to J Blige, when really I was O’bliged to be contributing to the meeting.
A fun place, confusingly corporate but still rather party. I only wish they had party rings and a bouncy castle and it’d truly be a place for blue sky thinking and midday drinking.
I’d like to high 5 the JFP clan, their drinks menu gets my vote.

Another 4 for £16 cocktail deal from timeout. Hadn’t heard of this place before then. Bf and I decided to go after work on a Thursday. Easy to book via email with friendly reply. A little walk from Liverpool Street but easy to find on main road.
Friendly welcome in spacious upstairs. Asked to move to window seat with quirky sofa which was fine by them. They explained the reduced cocktail menu for the timeout offer (still plenty of choice) and brought over a massive bowl of popcorn and water.
We ordered one each first and chose: don’t get in a muddle and dreaming of Aruba. Both really good!
We were a bit peckish but we’re going somewhere else for dinner so picked 2 things of their bar menu: truffle Mac n cheese and cornbread with jalapeño butter. Both realllly good.
Second cocktails: Clover Club & the old street lemonade. Recommend both.
They also do a cocktail deal of £6 between 5 and 7pm, choice of five and some good choices and price of beer and wine. Main food menu also looks really good but quite expensive
I will definitely bear in mind for future drinks/​food!

The Jones Family Project is an amazing and wonderful discovery!
PandaPay ran a trial a week ago, and I haven’t stopped recommending the place to all my friends since.
When you enter at street level, it just looks like chilled out bar with for a place to enjoy some fine wine with a few snacks.
BUT, you must go downstairs to engage the true experience of the Jones Family Project. The décor is a hipster, 1950s meets a tropical feel. You just need to see it!
The food was extraordinary. I had the Fillet Steak, med-​rare. The juices were so strong, that I felt that I’d already eaten it before I started.
Most of my friends had Salmon, which was the fish of the day. The preparation was a piece of art — just check out the photos that I up-​loaded!
The whole experience was cosy, fun and truly enjoyable. Perfect for couples, good group of friends and experiential evenings.
I would not recommend it for business meetings or just a place to go to for a quick bite. Business entertainment, on the other hand, a clear and certain yes! :-)

I recently visited the Jones Family Project with a group of friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. We sat it the lovely bar area and had a drink while everyone arrived and we were then taken down to our table. The décor is great and staff were friendly.
Food was delightful and really was a taste sensation — I tried the venison dish which was brought out like a work of art (I almost felt guilty eating it).

F I N A L L Y, An eatery in London that has actual background music. No screaming at your friends in here, just good food & good times.
Met my crew on this cold Saturday morning for our brunch session. JFP doesn’t disappoint.
Entry: bright, welcoming, few leaflets & notices of the neighborhood.
Drinks: Every one we had was on point!
Food: Yummy, tasty & appropriate sizes (aka you won’t be hungry by the time the bill comes) it’s also worth noting that I had the French Toast. Other places I’ve been make it sickly sweet. Not in here. It’s all good & proper crispy bacon! CRISP!
Service: always with a smile. Never intrusive & helpful with drink selections.
Atmosphere: Bright, pretty, cosy, homey, cool, laid back. Yes, all those trendy buzz words.
JFP has an upstairs bar/​brasserie which is lovely & reminded me of an indoor floral art space. Tables are appropriately spaced. Downstairs is the restaurant which is quite big too.
Toilets: clean but a few stalls missing loo roll (minus a star)
Overall, this is a winner. We’ll be coming back.

I’m shocked that I haven’t reviewed JFP before, because it’s a go-​to spot in my list of amazing London restaurants. In fact, the girlfriend and I often have to force ourselves to try new things sometimes just so we don’t keep coming here (especially on Sunday mornings).
JFP is in the heart of Shoreditch and somehow both has a hipster like vibe (with it’s wooden benches and epic artwork) and also remain elegant and classy at the same time (with it’s beautiful downstairs glass dining section and spot on wine list). Lord knows how they pulled that off.
I love coming here. The atmosphere is great, the food is great, the chocolate brownie is one of the best in the city.
And I tell you this honestly, easily one of the best Sunday Roasts I’ve had in London. It’s a little pricier than your average pub roast (in fact, everything here is a little pricier than what you’d pay for other things on the street, but you do get what you pay for) but it was an epic giant meal complete with delicious homemade gravy and a yorkshire pudding that was more of a pop-​over, unique and fantastic.
And I know I mentioned that brownie before but holy hell, that brownie.
To top if off, the staff here is just so damn nice, despite us coming in for ridiculous things like Christmas Crawls and pre-​office party meals. Just so nice.
I can’t give them anything less than five stars, because, dammit, I love it.

I finally tried this place for dinner. We started with sharing the bread and the Cornish Crab, both are a must-​have. The butter for the bread was too cold though, would have been better if it was melted a bit or if we have olive oil as well.
My friend got the Rare Yellowfin Tuna Nicoise Salad. I tried a bit and it was unbelievable, which huge chunks of yummy tuna. My other friend got the Garden Vegetable & Goat‘s Curd Salad with the Truffled Macaroni Cheese, both of which I tried as well. I absolutely loved The Garden Salad, because I’ve never had Fregola with Arugula Pesto and it was incredible. The Truffled Macaroni could have had more truffle because the taste was a bit bland.
Then to my dish. I got the Fish of the Day, which was the fishcakes with prawn and Asian slaw. It was good, but it was half the size of the other mains. There was only one prawn, and the fish cakes looked like appetisers. I had the whole thing before my friends even finished half of their dishes. This was really quite disappointing.
Finally we all then shared the Anna’s Triple Chocolate Brownie with ice-​cream and not the sorbet, which was very nice. Overall the food was delicious, but definitely don’t get the Fish of the Day.

They have a potato menu. I should probably just stop there. What else do you need to know, right?
I came for dinner at the Jones Family Project with a friend on a very cold winter’s night and we were warmly welcome the moment we arrived. Our host lead us downstairs to a comfortable booth. I stuck with sides (£3.50 each): Roasted Brussels sprouts with avocados and pecans, truffled macaroni cheese and big chips (from the potato menu, of course). I also sampled some of my pal’s calamari which was very tasty. For dessert, we both enjoyed the orange tart with crème fraîche, pistachios and
cinnamon saffron syrup.
I don’t think I’ve received nicer service anywhere in London and the restaurant’s soundtrack totally rocks. I’d make this my local if I lived in London!

I consider Jones Family Project to be like my own family project, as I spend enough time there to deem it so.
I’ve now been 3 times, and have not been disappointed. Dinner, breakfast, work sessions… you name it, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s my new happy place.
FIRST: The staff is NICE. They welcome you warmly. They act as if they’d like you to stay. If you’ve dined in London, and specifically Shoreditch, you know that this is not commonplace. Every time I walk in I indeed feel like family!
DINNER: served down below… it’s an expansive dining room with a hearty menu. I opted for the chicken, my husband the (seriously stacked) burger and chips and our dining pal the steak plus a few sides, most notably the mac ‘n cheese (do get it, do). They have a very nice list of cocktails as well (as evidenced by the bill!), and a fairly extensive wine list. If you are seeking good libations, do not fear you’ll be disappointed… they deliver well.
Though I have to say, JFP is probably my new favored destination for a «working lunch.» I really enjoy the main floor, which is set up like a bar/​café. They have a very nice salad/​soup lunch special, plus a short list of sandwiches and light lunch fare. Couple that with some comfy booths, free wifi, ample power outlets and a friendly server and I am set for several hours of «work from home» bliss. Do note they cut the wifi at 5pm (understandable) to make room for the happy hour crowd. There is also a little «desk for 1» in the front window equipped with a printer, computer dock, etc. I’ve never used it, but I really like the idea!
LUNCH: The grilled cheese, salads and soups have never disappointed. They rotate daily, so check the board or ask your server.
Of note, their «temperance cocktails» (alcohol free) are LOVELY. My favorite (the name escapes me) with marmalade, fizz, etc.
As you might guess, I’m a big fan. A very versatile, warm, welcoming spot on Great Eastern Street. Guests of the Hoxton Hotel will surely be delighted that there is an alternative to Hoxton Grill (not really that good). I’m a regular. They’ve checked all the boxes I need checked, and I’ve been singing their praises since my first visit in early January.
Of note:
*they do take reservations. The booking agent on their site is a bit bunk (it told me no tables until 9pm one night, and when we arrived at 7pm the restaurant was empty), so do call… the space is so large, I’d be surprised if you couldn’t get a spot at the desired time.
*There is a lift for handicapped/​elderly/​pram-​drivers to reach the downstairs level.