Amazing place in London. I love the food. can’t wait to come back here again. Congratulations to the staff.
Memoirs Of A Metro Girl
+4
With the rebuilding of the overground station and lots of redevelopment in the surrounding area in recent years, Farringdon lost some of the many cool venues (eg Turnmills) I used to frequent. So I was pleased to here some character coming back to EC1 with the opening of bar-restaurant Ask For Janice last year. I had wanted to visit for some time, so with Christmas approaching, one of my friends and I popped along for some festive food and drink last week.
The chorizo is practically swimming in sherry and is so tender that we can almost spread it on the toasted slice of sourdough bread that accompanies it. A huge bowl of squid that has been battered in stout is drizzled with an orange wedge and continues the indulgent trend of the meal. A combination of chargrilled fennel and leafy herbs offers light relief to the decadent dishes, anise undertones creating a layered and complex flavour that’s a pleasant alternative to a traditional side salad.
“Asking for Janice” seems to mean take it easy, enjoy a few drinks alongside some dishes of crafty comfort food and set your concerns on pause for a while, or so my experience played out when I finally got round to paying a visit to this highly recommended little bar. I really enjoyed my dinnertime visit to AFJ. A number of foodie folk whose opinions I respect had been upping the thumb about the place to me since it opened. They were right too.
Rosie Alittlelusciousness
+4.5
Fresh, foraged, seasonal food served alongside stunning cocktails - Ask For Janice is revelation. In an area of London that I more commonly associate with all-nighters at Fabric and dodgy burgers and milkshakes afterwards at the open 24/7 Tinseltown, I was delighted to find out more about this new to me restaurant serving an ever changing menu of seasonal produce with cocktails made from some of their 40+ gins.
I asked for Janice and got such a fresh pint aaaaaahhhhhhhh :)
I went in here with a friend before heading to meet some friends, so I had little time on hands, but boy oh boy, it was worth its salt !
Quirky prices of art and deco, old school style chairs, nice and colourful.
. At Ask For Janice in Farringdon, there is a new Spring menu and a whole host of newly created cockatils, mostly featuring one or more of their 40+ gins. I tried both the Hey Ladies and the 3 Minute Rule. I had to try them again.... It opened only last year, and I don't know who Janice is, nor did I ask for her, but she has created a fantastic menu featuring locally sourced seasonal ingredients, some even foraged in Hackney.
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I have found my favourite cocktail. It's taken years of research and much trial and error but here it is:
Hey Ladies.
It's 'Breakfast tea infused Beefeater Gin, Creme de Figue, lemon, fig jam, egg white, Prosecco top, and a sherbet rim.'
It's beautiful. It's delicious. It's sweet. It's got everything I love - Prosecco, gin, lemon and some sweeeet sherbet. Mission accomplished.
At Ask For Janice in Farringdon, there is a new Spring menu and a whole host of newly created cockatils, mostly featuring one or more of their 40+ gins. I tried both the Hey Ladies and the 3 Minute Rule. I had to try them again...
The restaurant on street level looks out onto Smithfield Market, and is only a few minute's walk from the Barbican (the tube station and the actual Barbican). It opened only last year, and I don't know who Janice is, nor did I ask for her, but she has created a fantastic menu featuring locally sourced seasonal ingredients, some even foraged in Hackney. I had some crispy fried wild garlic flower - delicious. Like some kind of tempura batter, but seeming healthy as it's totally natural and wild inside. With those amazing cocktails, they are beautifully complementary.
Another starter/nibble worth the visit is the pork crackling. Crisp, really crisp, served with a sticky cider jelly. The perfect snack to whet your appetite for the rest of the menu, which is all billed as British, with a modern creative twist. All seasonal, all locally sourced. All delicious.
There was asparagus salad with Somerset ricotta and hazelnuts, cod cheeks with braised wild fennel and lemon - again very more-ish, and marinated flank steak with Young Buck blue cheese. So tender and so tempting.
For dessert Ask For Janice has taken the traditional British dessert Poor Knights of Windsor and turned it into the Farrindgon version - a brandy-soaked walnut bread and butter pudding, with caramelized peaches, served with custard. Not too sweet and not too stodgy, the perfect end to a meal.
The basement bar at Ask For Janice is a laid back, trendy area where you can choose from a gin list, a wine list, and a cocktail list. You can even hire it out for private events. Did I mention the Hey Ladies? Go and try it. It's wonderful.
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P: "Ask for Janice"
J: "Arse for Janice?!"
P: "No.. ask for Janice"
After a few more rounds like this, I finally heard loud and clear that this restaurant was called Ask for Janice. It is located opposite Smithfield market and is a short walk from Farringdon tube station. The name baffled me. Was Janice the lady to ask for to get a table? Was it one of these poncy places where you have to recite a riddle to the bouncer in order to gain entry and Janice was integral to the riddle? It turned out that you don't need to ask for anyone called Janice, nor recite a riddle.
It is very stylish; lots of exposed brick, interesting artwork and chairs resembling secondary school art room chairs. It was slightly too loud though; I was anxious I wouldn't be able to hear my fellow diners.
Our waitress was friendly, attentive and trendy (in keeping with the decor). She also advised us on ordering; the menu is split into "Things" and "Bigger Things" which are pretty much what they say on the tin. We paired off based on meat-eating tendencies. I was in the pro-meat pairing, and we opted for black dahl with deep-fried pickled cauliflower and paneer, braised beef croquettes (with two varieties of mustard), cod cheeks with braised fennel and lemon, stichelton, comte and pearl barley arancini ("things") and roasted pollock with summer greens, parsley sauce and Cornish new potatoes (a "bigger thing").
The dahl was wonderful, the croquettes were nice but a tad too salty, the cod cheeks were really great and the arancini was delcious and interesting given that arancini is usually done with rice. Note that cod cheeks taste the same as most other parts of the cod.
The pollock was really something special. It was so flavoursome, the greens were wonderful and the sauce was tasty whilst not being overly rich.
We shared a fruity/craime freche apricot granola dessert which was lovely.
Pre dinner I enjoyed an interesting gin cocktail from the extensive gin menu, including sloe gin which i tried for the first time (and plan to drink again soon).
Dinner was approx. £30 per head. Highly recommended.
This place has a really good vibe, on a Thursday evening it was full and lively, but not so loud you couldn't have a conversation over your meal. The staff were very nice and efficient, which is always appreciated but not always expected on a busy evening. I'm personally not a huge fan of the type of food they serve here; tapas sized dishes but a lot of fried stuff and not many healthy options. However, it was tasty! Wine selection is very good!There is a secret bar downstairs vis-à-vis the toilets, the door looks like the wall. It was nice and quiet, and always fun with a secret bar! I'd recommend this place, and I will go there again and perhaps have one of the main courses instead.
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Popped into Ask for Janice at lunch time, we had to reserve a table as it gets pretty busy. The interior design is very retro/ urban. It was a nice touch to find our table reservation on a cassette tape. Service is friendly and staff seemed knowledgeable about what was on offer. They have a nice selection of beers and ales, unfortunately for us they were having problems with the tap at the time. For food I ordered the Barnsley lamb chop, which is basically two lamb chops joined in the middle. For 13.50 I was hoping for a slightly bigger chunk of meat as once you cut away the bone there were barely 8 small pieces of meat. The crushed potatoes with capers and peppercorns that accompanied the chops were delicious! When the bill arrived I was a little disappointed that the bottled beer was charged at £6.25, we were served this as an alternative to the draught version we ordered which was much cheaper. I'd have liked this to have been mentioned when we were offered the alternative or offered to us at the draught price. Apart from that quibble the place has a nice atmosphere. I don't know if I would eat a full meal here again, maybe pop in for a drink and snack on the way to somewhere else.
Phoebe Priscilla Opoku-Asiedu
+4
This place is a little gem in the city. Very great bottomless brunch menu allowing you to choose 3 meals but sizes were really small. The menu has pancakes but they really do serve you one tiny pancake. We were pretty much still hungry after our meals. Aside that it's great for groups. It's a very relaxed vibe and you can still hear yourselves when you speak. Service was not bad especially considering that there were not too many hands on deck and meals came in at the right times. Will recommend but will add that it's a little too pricey for the quantities. I'll only visit if I have a discount to be honest.
Bottomless brunch, with (£38) or without (£28) alcohol. I did the non alcohol version since I'm trying to be good for January 😊
.
Baked egg with merguez sausage, hash brown with chorizo.
Salmon hash with quail egg, babette.
Buttermilk pancake with poached caramel apple.
Wheelchair access ♿: There is a step to get in and they do have a ramp, but it's super steep so you wouldn't be able to manage on your own. They do not have accessible toilets.
Dishes were tasty but I was also starving. Not too bad of a deal, especially since there's 50% for the whole of January. I liked having a variety of small dishes as oppose to one big one too 👍
very nice dinner, with burrata, chorizo and pork cheeks being our highlights. carrot fritters were nice though not special, while the deep fried chicken and (overcooked) pasta was not to our liking (hence the 4 stars instead of 5). the gin list is absolutely fantastic! and the wine list too. service could not have been any better - attentive, friendly and smiley. overall highly recommended
Ask For Janice is one of the best restaurants in the area.
The food is amazing, atmosphere is chilled out, drinks are yummy and the staff are brilliant.
When I am working in the area, I eat here most times.
This time I called for a last minute table on Thursday night and was called back promptly when a table came available which was reserved for us.
The staff are always helpful with recommendations as they have tried everything on the menu (including the drinks).
I love it here and couldn't recommend it more.
Get the pork scratching. You will not be disappointed.
Went here for bottomless brunch last Sunday. It's great because you get three brunch dishes! That's right, three! I feel like each dish has been carefully created and thought about.
The reason I haven't given 5 stars is because, it's unfortunately quite expensive, £38. Also, the staff were slightly slow in noticing when our bottomless drinks needed topping up. But, it is still there good because of the amount of three dishes, and the staff's flexibility on switching between the three drinks they offer too (bucks fizz, salty dog cocktail or bloody mary). You don't have to stick and choose just one.
The bucks fizz was a bit too orangey and should have had less orange juice and more bubbly.
I had quite high expectations because of my friend and it was fullfiled multiple times! The food - hot carrot "pancake", with seasoned hummus and green topping, something really incredible. I enjoyed the capuccino too, plus very lovely, helpful and kind staff, and warm, pleasant place. Thanks a lot!
Great food and coffee but their brunch means that prices for 3 small plates without drinks start at £17. Individual breakfast can only be purchased on the weekend! Absolut lovely staff.
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