The Jam Tree

Just returned from a staff Christmas dinner. The evening started well, but the 7.30 start for dinner was delayed by over an hour and with long gaps between courses, we had hardly finished dessert before being ushered out of the downstairs area we had booked and informed that we had 10 minutes to by and drink our drinks before we would all be requested to leave.

We dutifully moved to a couple of tables upstairs where a ‘bouncer’ stood over us while we attempted to finish our drinks – other customers were left in peace, while a female waitress persistently requested we drink up and leave ‘immediately’ sighting reasons such as a member of the bar staff needing to catch a train and the manager having to put his children to bed???

When a colleague requested that we take our full bottles of wine with us, the she grabbed them off the table, knocking glasses over in the process. She then requested that the ‘bouncer’ “make these people leave”. He put his hand on my friend's shoulder, which she asked him to remove and he responded by saying that he was legally allowed to use physical force to remove us ruined by completely heavy handed and intimidating approach to clearing the pub. Many of us had already left or were leaving and given that other customers were still being allowed to drink in peace, this was an incredibly poor way to treat a well behave party that had spent over £1000 and left over £80 in tips.

A friend recorded the incident on his iphone. I can honestly say that neither myself or any of my colleagues will be spending our money there again.

Some friends and I visited The Jam Tree in Kensington on Saturday for lunch. I'd heard great things about the place and certainly wasn't disappointed.
The service was excellent throughout, Sam the manager made sure we were all well attended to and really went the extra mile even though they were pretty busy.
The food was amazing. I had the Jerk Chicken Salad with Mango and Pomegranate to start, a wonderful fusion of flavours, followed by the Sea bass fillets with a salad of watercress, cucumber and sweet potato in a brown shrimp, caper and tomato butter.
My only complaint is that I was too full to try the chocolate and pecan brownie! A great reason to return though, which I certainly will be doing.
Highly recommended.

I had planed our for months for our wedding party dinner in London for 20 people just to do something different. we booked the private dining room at the Jamtree 58 Milson rd W14 OLB. on the 20th May From the beginning of emailing i had second thoughts because of the lack of communication from the management 3 days before our dinner we still did not have the menu as i was informed they change it all the time however it was the same menu as on their website since April i booked our 3 course dinner etc. nothing was ready we sat and waited for the glasses for the bubbly etc, our first impression was on the way up to the room was not good as we were getting stuck on the sodden carpets.We never saw the boss the whole evening until he rudely & abruptly interrupted our party to say we had to leave ASAP conveying his excuses about the local council in a very unprofessional manner.I explained to him that he had no service or communications skills what so ever the way he conducted himself, which he got very upset about.I told him that the power of blogging is very powerful & that i would never come back to the Jamtree I wish i could show you all the mail i received when i got home with his (explanation) i feel like i after spending a thousand pounds i have done something wrong, they couldn't even get the bill right, had to ask them to refund the deposit 0f 150 pounds i paid. The only waitress for the whole party did her best she could, the food was good.
Three of my party have been in the food & beverage industry for many years and would never of conducted themselves in the manner the manager did.
However he has offered me a free dinner at his place if ever we are back in London, no thanks never again. By the way still waiting for my deposit of 150 pounds.
The waitress did inform me that it was her last week working at The Jam tree, i wonder why?But never again you have been advised.
Very disappointing on a very special occasion.

I recently went to this restaurant for an early supper as we had heard good things about it. When we first arrived the staff seemed a bit perplexed when we asked for a table and although the the place was empty as it was only 6.30pm, they spent a while looking at sheets and considering what to do with us. Eventually we were told we could sit on a table right next to the door and we were also asked if we were going to be quick! We actually got the giggles because it was so odd!
The menu looked really good, lots of interesting choices, quite expensive but nothing horrendous. The starter of sticky squid was amazing we really enjoyed it couldn't recommend it more! The main courses were nothing special, the fish cakes with parsley sauce massively lacked in basic flavours and the other main course of Indian style lentils on nan bread was good but again a bit bland.
The alcohol is crazy expensive.
The real thing that got to us was the 15% service charge which was added onto the bill with no prior knowledge and with no ‘optional’ next to it !!! Mad.
On the plus side there was still the sticky squid… and the place is done up pretty cool as well.

I've been here a few times now, and overall I'd say my experiences have been a mixed bag. The food for a gastro pub is undoubtedly good and I think pretty reasonably priced. The samosa starter is delicious and they offer a very competitive roast! However, the service is poor and sometimes it feels like they've packed in too many tables which if you're on a table for two in the middle of it, can be a tad uncomfortable. In regards to the service, the owner and staff seem to be overly attentive to some people and completely neglectful to others. I have sat there for a very long time trying to get their attention to order another drink or ask for the bill, which is irritating. I have also experienced the owner coming over to chat constantly which is equally irritating as he is over bearing and loud. But if they could get the latter issues fixed, this place could be an absolute corker of a pub.

The Jam Tree is a real find! Quirky and comfortable. Sofas and wooden school tables; books and games like snakes and ladders to borrow. The food’s great. (so is the wine) Could have had curry or beefburgers with chunky chips, but settled for the fantastic smoked- haddock-with-toast starter – and followed it with scallops in an amazing sauce. For pud, he had Jamtree roly poly and I had Brownies – both delicious. Whole thing not at all expensive. Service was friendly. The Jam Tree is the kind of welcoming place that you can go singly-with-a-book; couples to chat; with lots of friends: It is a place to return to.

I have just got home after dinner with friends at the Jam Tree. I live around the corner, and was looking forward to trying out this Gastro-pub, as I had read rave reviews.

Unfortunately, I am HUGELY disappointed. The service was some of the worst I have ever experienced. The waiter, who also worked behind the bar, was one of the most petulant people I have ever encountered. I don't think he could have made us feel more un-welcome if he had tried. Everything was an effort, and we felt that we were doing him a favour just by being there.

But, we wanted to give the food a chance. I was surprised, when handed the menu, how high the prices were, but, good food costs, so we ordered.

Our dishes came. Mine was luke warm and the “parsley sauce” tasted of nothing other than milk. A totally bland, tasteless and worse than some of the “boil-in-the-bag” meals I ate in my youth.

But, my overall gripe, is that we were charged service for having to put up with the most arrogant and un-helpful waiter who ruined our night.

The Havelock and Bird in Hand are both around the corner, and a swell as making you feel welcome, serve excellent fppd.

I will NEVER go back there, and will encourage people to do the same until they change the staff and improve the food.

My mother's birthday was held at this enigmatic corner Gastropub. We booked the Private dining room for 20 of the close family and every request was met by one of the owners who was extremly helpful and offered suggestions to help organise the night. The chef created a magnificent menu for us to enjoy, it was spectacular. Highly recommended to all.

A very good experience. This place will go very far and must have ruffled a few feathers in the local area! The wine list is very well priced and the food is out of this world. I have booked the private dinning room for my birthday coming up soon and very much looking forward to it. The owner was fantastic when I made the booking and offered me free Champagne as it was my birthday which I thought was a lovely touch. I wish The Jam Tree the very best of luck and you will be seeing me soon!

The food at this wonderfull gastropub is fabulous. The whole experience is fantastic from the charming staff to the fantastic surroundings and quality of the wine list. I had lunch at The Jam Tree and loved it so much I went back for Dinner the same day! Good addtition to the area, and far better than the Havelock Tavern which has gone downhill drastically in the last year or so.