Dining in Shoreditch: High 'n Dry

A dry night out at Jamies

The first thought I had when walking through Shoreditch on a lazy Friday afternoon was that I wanted to have a coffee at ‘Mr Coffee, he’s so frothy’. Very avant-garde, I remember thinking, and as I looked at the vehicle which was neither a car nor a motorbike but whose back opened to reveal a true kitchen on wheels, and later at the people sipping their frothy cappuccinos at small tables right on the pavement, I felt a strong pang for Paris.

So, in the heart of vibrant Shoreditch I found an oasis called Jamies [sic]. The first thing you see are the twin staircases spiralling up to a corridor resembling a New Orleans veranda or the front of a Mexican hacienda – only, somehow disappointingly, the pastel green doors did not open into the luxuriant beauty of a South American inner courtyard nor the warm interior of a Creole house, but to a selection of stylish, beautifully decorated, perfectly functional toilets. The staircases are, I imagine, an exercise in equilibrium on a Friday night. The only way you can survive the twisting and turning of those steps is by ordering just the right amount of food to go with your wine. On the menu, international dishes battle against each other. It’s a fierce, cold competition, labelled Starters, Mains and Platters. You can have anything from fish and chips to Thai curries, salads and sandwiches. The vegan and gluten free options are not, by any chance, missing. The sides include juicy marinated olives, crusty bread and butter, hand-cut chips, and creamy mashed potatoes.

Jamies seduces through refined modesty, somewhere between poise and simplicity. The wine list captivates with names such as Krug and Lily Ballinger, Dom Perignon and Louis Roederer Cristal, the latter a legendary champagne originally created in 1876 for the Tsar Alexander II. The wines and champagnes, strong or delicate, decadent or sumptuous, regal or ordinary, are sorted by country of origin, with ten in total: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and USA. They must have a wine elf in the cellar, I thought mischievously, drooling over my tasteless Pepsi, wishing it was Friday night and that I wasn’t on a strictly ‘no alcohol’ diet. The list was simply breathtaking.

Not surprisingly, I found the selection of soft drinks rather poor, but then again, if you want a soft drink, London is not the place for you, and Shoreditch is definitely not an option. I am now thinking of the free Prosecco I could sip in the buzzing warmth of Jamies. If only there was a Christmas party to book, I would hurry as the deadline is only this Friday.

Visit www.jamiesbars.co.uk to find out more.

Jamies Bar
155 Bishopsgate
EC2N 3AR