Food critic Gary Hanna has delivered a one-word verdict on Jamie Oliver's café hidden inside a John Lewis department store: "misleading". After visiting Cafe Jamie Oliver on the third floor of the Oxford Street store in London's West End, he said he felt "let down" because items advertised on the menu were not available.
Menu promises vs reality
Before his visit, Gary had browsed the menu online, which boasts a range of "stacked sarnies" and "tasty toasties" prepared fresh each day, including prawn cocktail, ploughman's, ham and cheese, and pepper mozzarella. The menu also promises a "quiche of the day", herby sausage roll, homemade tomato soup and a variety of make-your-own salads.
Upon arriving, however, Gary claims that some of these items were unavailable. He discovered that only salmon toasties remained and that they had sold out of celeriac slaw. When he enquired whether sausage rolls or quiche were available, he was told that they weren't.
What he ordered and paid
Among the food available were toasties, make-your-own salads, cakes, scones, cookies and croissants, alongside other items. He settled on a salmon toastie for £8.95, a salad for £13.50, a portion of chicken for £4, carrot cake for £5.95, and a cappuccino for £4.40.
In a review for the Gary Eats YouTube channel, he said: "It's kind of a bit of an odd experience. I feel a little bit let down because I did go online, and I wanted to show you the full experience, and I got a little bit excited cos I was like, 'Okay, so we got homemade quiche'."
He added: "Very strange. It's almost misleading because if it says it on the website, this is what we actually provide, then it should be what it is."
Disappointing toastie but a standout salad
Presenting both his salad and sandwich to the camera, Gary described the latter as "disappointing", noting it had been inadequately toasted and joking that it had, at best, "seen a radiator", and it was "soggy" on the underside. He likened the toastie to a "stale bread sandwich" with "claggy" cheese.
While conceding that the salmon was "very tasty", he remained largely unimpressed overall. His salad, however, proved a highlight, with Gary praising its "Mediterranean feel" and declaring the beetroot "absolutely gorgeous". The chicken, too, earned his approval. He observed that, "as salads go", it was "okay", but appeared to reconsider when he reflected on the cost, remarking it was "too much money".
Finally, he sampled his carrot cake. "It's just a quality carrot cake. The sponge. It's not dry. It's not dried out. I like the cream with it. Everything's very zesty on top. Yeah, that is well worth the money."
Overall verdict and call to Jamie
However, this did not appear sufficient to allay his concerns. Gary insisted Jamie had "absolutely not" met his expectations and urged the celebrity chef to "take a look at your website". Concluding his review, he said: "It hasn't been open very long. And as I said, what's actually shown on the website is not available in the cafe. It's just not there. You know, when it's just... I can't keep going through the same bits and pieces all over again. It's just not available. So Jamie, you've got to take a look at your website cos it is misleading."
In total, Gary's bill came to £32.80 and he awarded the establishment four out of 10. He added: "I think that is overpriced and I don't think it is worth...well, it's not worth the money and it's misleading. And that's the word I keep going back to. It's misleading because I was expecting a lot more. There's not enough range, Jamie." A representative for Jamie Oliver declined to comment.
