A few weeks ago I read a review of the new restaurant Jar Kitchen on Drury Lane which raved about its small menu and lovely staff.

I mentioned it to some friends as we had a birthday to celebrate and we managed to secure a table.

The day before we went Jar Kitchen was reviewed in Time Out – needless to say I was glad we’d already secured our spot.

Six of us went on a sunny Wednesday and were given a nice big table downstairs. Jar Kitchen is a snug place but the tables are well spread out and are all decorated with candles and wild flowers.

The name ‘Jar’ is reflected in the decor with candles and drinks served in all shapes and sizes of glassware.

The menu is small with only five or six dishes for each course.

I knew from the great service as soon as we walked in that as much care and attention would be given to the food created in the kitchen.

I was out with the same group of girls who have featured in many of my posts – the OVERordering ones!

However, this time we decided to share some starters as we knew there were desserts we’d also want to sample.

We ordered two portions of the ox cheek and cheddar croquettes with aioli.

Three neat little balls arrived which were crunchy on the outside but warm and moist inside. The flavours were delicious but I think we could have done with a little more of the aioli which could also have been a bit more garlicky.

We also shared two portions of the sea bass ceviche with an avocado mousse and crunchy lettuce.

The textures on the plate worked perfectly together and it was totally delicious.

The small pieces of soft fish were complimented by the avocado and peppery salad. This was definitely our favourite of the two.

The menu for the main courses had two lamb dishes on it which is unsurprising given it is Spring and the week after Easter.

However, while the dishes sounded lovely, half of us chose not have lamb as we’d eaten it the previous weekend.

I chose the seared monkfish with grilled baby artichoke, toasted spelt and shallots. Again the presentation was beautiful and there was a great mix of textures.

The fish was tender and cooked to perfection and the spelt had a nice bite to it.

The portion wasn’t huge and we said we could have eaten it all over again but I think that was a mixture of greed and satisfaction.

Two of the other girls ordered the mixed grain salad with roasted carrots, yoghurt and molasses and both opted to add braised lamb shoulder for a supplement.

This was a stunning dish Middle Eastern inspired plate. The ingredients were seasonal and complimented each other perfectly.

Our table was booked for 7pm but by the time we had finished our first two courses it was well after 9pm.

This wasn’t due to poor service but because of our nattering. By 9.45pm the kitchen was starting to wind down but the waitress didn’t try to discourage us from ordering desserts.

We went for the apple and pear crumble with buttermilk ice cream which was a huge portion served in a gorgeous, deep dish.

It was so big that not even six of us could finish it. Probably because we were distracted by a cheese board and mini doughnuts with vanilla cream.

I told you we’re not afraid of ordering!!

The doughnuts were so soft and light and were stunning on their own or dipped in the delicious cream. I’m not a huge doughnut fan as I find them so weighty and dense but these were sublime.

The cheese board was also really well thought out. The cheddar, blue and goats cheese came with dried figs, walnuts, butter and warm bread.

It seemed to take us forever to eat which is my favourite type of cheese board….

We were in Jar Kitchen for over three hours and sampled the best of what was on offer and we all concluded that we had a great evening.

The staff were sweet, helpful and friendly. The menu was simple and seasonal and we washed the food down with great white and red wine.

This is a restaurant worth keeping an eye on, with an ever changing menu, I think it is a very exciting new addition to Covent Garden.