| Ambiance: |  (4.5 / 5) |
| Service: | (2 / 5) |
| Value for money: | (3 / 5) |
| Pizza: | (3.5 / 5) |
This was another find with Ben but it wasn’t a result of getting lost! Accidental? Slightly. We were on one of our usual tapas crawls around London and after having a delicious ‘starter course’ at Copita, I was in the mood for pizza. Unbelievably, Soho seemed quite short on the pizza front – well, within the distance I was prepared to walk anyway. We found Soho Joe within a ten minute walk from Aberlay Street. On first impressions, it didn’t look like anything to get excited about BUT it was packed and the promotional deals advertised on the glass doors and windows were a definite incentive to wander inside.
The inside didn’t disappoint the outside exterior – it had a great buzz which impressively filled the huge warehouse space. The music was lively, making it feel more like a late night bar rather than eatery. We were welcomed immediately by the front of house staff and were seated at a nice, tucked away table. It was quite dark so we had to use our candle, rustically pushed inside a wine bottle ( a lot of places seem to do this now!) to read the menu. Now, the menu…. I’m quite a menu snob, as I truly believe it offers a pretty accurate reflection of the restaurant. And I’m sorry Soho Joe’s, but yours let me down. It was laminated, and had a pretty limited selection – with no side salads to speak of. Why I ever order side salads is beyond me, as I’m forever disappointed, but I do and I definitely like the option. I did like the fact that all pizzas were £10 though – made things a lot simpler, although it made me feel briefly sorry for the vegetarians as they definitely get the short straw on this one.
We chose to share a Chorizo pizza and I was going to wear the trousers on this rare occasion and pay for us. You can’t order at the table at Soho Joe’s, and the front of house didn’t inform us of the ordering process so I was left a little confused, going up to the bar to order to be re-directed to a randomly placed ordering section with a till. I soon found out that my desire to wear the trousers was short lived as Soho Joe’s don’t take cards, and I’m awful at carrying cash. This was actually pretty annoying, not so much to me as I was saved by Ben but for the average person, trawling the streets for a nearby ATM is never an enjoyable part of the dining experience.
The pizza came and it more than made up for Soho Joe’s minor short falls. The only reason why it wasn’t demolished was because Ben and my eyes were too big for our stomachs at Copita.
Recommendation:
If you’re in the area, and fancy a quick bite to eat, I’d recommend Soho Joe’s. However, to me the service and impersonal feel of the place let it down. Maybe if I had just gone for a drink, this recommendation would be different but for simply food, I’d personally opt for somewhere else.
Extra Information:
Address: 22-25 Dean St, London W1D 3RY
Phone: 07534 134398
Website: http://www.sohojoe.net/
NTK: Take cash – Soho Joe’s doesn’t accept cards.
