Ask For Janice London Review
Ask For Janice
Farringdon, London
Reviewed by Emma Rogers
Ask For Janice in Farringdon, London is a restaurant with a slant of difference. The window outside proclaims ‘This is a bar’ but once inside, it’s hard to miss. The decor is definitely a Smithfields/City market chic with an industrial look but a particularly delicate menu. Don’t be fooled by the school-style benches and chairs, the neon signs and modern art work. The owner has gone to some length to make the restaurant individual and it works.
The staff are uber friendly and just as stylish as the interior. The food is just as fashionable, but so eclectic, I had to ask what the style was! I was told it was ‘Modern British with a twist of Goan’ (on account of the genius Goan chef. We had lamb cutlets and fried onions with curried yoghurt (think finger food with a curry twist) and crab cakes with sea vegetables. All of the ingredients are sources from Britain, including the salads which are foraged from different parts of the British Isles by the chefs. The counter serves coffee and cakes as well, which is what provided us with the desserts of stout and lavender honey cake and orange and apricot sponge. Each was a little bit different to your usual chain shop, but then this isn’t a usual chain shop.
There were many people in the restaurant, and trying to place what you’d come here for is difficult. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all catered for (Ask For Janice is open until gone midnight) and there is a fully stocked bar along with tea and coffee served after 10am. Downstairs is another fully stocked bar in a hidden (yes, a hidden speakeasy!) in the basement. Catering for 30-35 people is available and underground dinners can be provided to anyone wanting to soak up the atmosphere a bit more.
Ask for Janice (it’s a Beastie Boys song!) provides the Farringdon area with a mix of foods, cocktails and all day socialising. The decor adds something completely different to the atmosphere, and that alone is worth a visit!
Rating: 5/5 
Opening Times: Mon-Fri :07.30 to 00:30, Sat: 9.00 to 17.00
For more information, to view menus or to make a booking visit www.askforjanice.co.uk.
Ask For Janice, 50-52 Long Lane, Farringdon, London, EC1A 9EJ | 0207 6002255
