Food critic Gary Hanna has described his visit to Jamie Oliver's hidden café inside a John Lewis department store as "misleading" after finding several advertised menu items unavailable. The café, located on level three of the store on Oxford Street in London's West End, left Hanna feeling "let down" despite his initial excitement.
An Exciting Start Turns Disappointing
Before visiting Cafe Jamie Oliver, which sits next door to the Jamie Oliver Cookery School, Hanna had browsed the menu online. The website promised a selection of "stacked sarnies" and "tasty toasties" made fresh daily, including prawn cocktail, ploughman's, ham and cheese, and pepper mozzarella. It also advertised a "quiche of the day", herby sausage roll, housemade tomato soup, and various make-your-own salads.
Upon arrival, however, Hanna discovered that some of these items were not available. He learned that only salmon toasties remained and that the café had run out of celeriac slaw. When he asked if they had any sausage rolls or quiche, he was told these were also unavailable.
A Meal That Missed the Mark
Hanna opted for a salmon toastie priced at £8.95, a salad for £13.50, a piece of chicken for £4, carrot cake for £5.95, and a cappuccino for £4.40. In a review for his Gary Eats YouTube channel, he described the experience as "a bit of an odd experience" and expressed his disappointment at the missing items.
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."
Quality Concerns and a Final Verdict
Hanna showed his salad and sandwich to the camera, describing the toastie as "disappointing" and noting it had not been sufficiently toasted. He joked it had, at best, "seen a radiator" and was "soggy" underneath. He likened the toastie to a "stale bread sandwich" with "claggy" cheese, though he conceded the salmon was "very tasty".
He did enjoy his salad, which he said had a "Mediterranean feel" and "absolutely gorgeous" beetroot, and was similarly impressed with the chicken. However, when reassessing the price, he said the salad was "too much money". The carrot cake, meanwhile, was described as "a quality carrot cake" that was "well worth the money".
Despite these positives, Hanna claimed Jamie Oliver had "absolutely not" lived up to his expectations and urged the celebrity chef to "take a look at your website". Summing up, he said: "It's misleading because I was expecting a lot more. There's not enough range, Jamie."
In total, Hanna spent £32.80 and gave the eatery four out of ten. A representative for Jamie Oliver declined to comment.
