If you look on JJAM's instagram you'll see scroll after scroll of perfect, healthy, vibrant food with a scatter of edible flowers, a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and a perfect whisp of cappuccino foam coffee. Surely this place can't be as insta-perfect as it appears? Spoiler: it actually is.
JJAM is a lockdown project set up by childhood friends Jack James Ellisdon and Scott Andrew Martin. Both have worked in hospitality for many years and set up in St Albans in 2020, with a store in Osprey's Regent Street outlet following sometime this year. The concept is healthy, slightly Italian-inspired, fresh, bright brunch food with some sharing platters and [what they call] flatbreads (but what I call pizza) alongside the usual avocado on toast. The menu is the same all day and through into the evening, where there is often some live music bringing the little courtyard to life!
We managed to visit on a surprisingly glorious sunny day and got a table with plush cushioned chairs, in the gorgeous pebbled courtyard, under a massive parasol. So far so good. It took a while to find the cafe, which is hidden in the countryside surrounding St Albans at a converted farmhouse alongside the Osprey collective, so when we finally got seated, I was looking forward to a coffee. Unfortunately, service was a little slow. It took 10 minutes to get menus and then a further 10 minutes to have our order taken. After half an hour I finally got my coffee; lucky I had good company whilst I waited, and lucky too that the coffee and fresh juice I ordered were worth the wait when they finally arrived.
The menu itself is drool-worthy. There was so much on there I could have ordered: BLT bagels, Caprese salad, dough ball skillet (I am having that next time!), beef ragu arancini......the list goes on! But I settled on a club sandwich. Theirs comes with chicken, bacon, jarlesberg cheese, lettuce, tomato and a fried Clarence Court egg. Sign. Me. Up! What arrived was a skyscraper of a sandwich which I couldn't even get my chops around. The egg was jammy, the bacon was crispy, the salad fillings were fresh and the chicken was plentiful and succulent. All sandwiched between two gloriously hot buttered toasted slices of sourdough. It was a perfect medley of salty, crunchy, juicy and drippy with oozing mayo. One of the best club sandwiches I've had.
My friend ordered the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs on toast. Man, those Clarence Court eggs make a damn fine scramble; all vibrant, sunset orange and perfectly creamy. The smoked salmon was thin-cut and lightly smoked with a gentle salt level. A perfect brunch dish, all served on that luscious buttery sourdough. Dayyyyum.
All in all, a rather wonderful spot for a fancy ladies lunch-although I must concede that I'm sure gents can enjoy it too, especially when dough balls, beef ragu, flatbreads, bavette steaks and skillets get involved.
SERVICE:
Pretty slow, but maybe this was a bad day and they were short-staffed? It was a lovely enough setting to relax in so I wasn't too upset.
PRICE & VALUE:
You're looking at £12-£14 for a main dish so it's not too pricey, and the ingredients are good so it feels like good value especially as portions were generous.
QUALITY:
Great ingredients, cooked well and presented exceptionally well. Care has gone into the compositions of each dish which was much appreciated.
OVERALL:
EXCELLENT- The food and the ambience were wonderful. This is off the beaten track so feels a bit special too as its a lovely setting.
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