One of my top targets on our summer 2023 trip to London was Jam Delish, which is an all vegan Caribbean restaurant. I’m a big fan of the British MasterChef series, and it’s extremely common to see contestants preparing the Caribbean dishes of their family heritage, and I’m always jealous that I don’t have anywhere to try veganised versions of what they’re cooking (you may not be surprised to learn that there is no vegan Caribbean scene in Prague). The judges’ key criticism of the Caribbean dishes they’re served is that they’re lacking refinement (yawn!), and this year they finally had a contestant who plated up his Jamaican dishes like fancy modern French cuisine, and the judges’ minds were blown (at least temporarily – they quickly reverted to type). Jam Delish has similar fine dining presentation, so this was a welcome opportunity to try fancy Caribbean food.

The menu was extremely tempting and I agonised for weeks over what to order. I was saving myself for dessert and Mother HH wasn’t too hungry, so only Dr HH got a starter. The menu was so tempting that it was a shame to deny myself…but considering the dessert I got later, I can safely say I made the right choice. Dr HH ordered the saltfish tostones, and thought they were a great start to the meal. The fish had a really great texture which seemed similar to tofu but was actually fibrous and fishy. There was a nice warmth from the spicy mayo. The fish was served on a double fried plantain cracker, which also had a good texture. It was a promising start!

Mother HH ordered the curry prawns, as she’s had some good experiences with vegan prawns. She was a fan! There was a lot of warmth in the curry, but it was not too fiery and there was a bit of sweetness from coconut. She was impressed with the texture of the prawns as well, though the flavour was not really there, perhaps overpowered by the curry. She also loved the cooking of the rice and peas, and enjoyed the plantain (which she’d never had before) and tender stem broccoli, which kept a bit of bite. She declared it a flavoursome and enjoyable dish!

Dr HH went for the curry goat, as it’s something we see quite a lot of on MasterChef and never on menus in Prague. It was served with well seasoned rice and peas, and some slices of fried plantain which he thought added a fun flavour and texture. In the bowlful of curry, he was a little underwhelmed by the goat, which had a pleasant, fake meat texture but was not really different from any other fake meats we’ve had. Still, it was nice, and the curry flavours were good and spicy, with welcome chunks of potato.

And I ordered the callallo and codfish. I really loved the fish (on the right of the picture). Much like the starter, it had a good fishy taste and texture, and was a real standout, especially after a disappointing fish and chips earlier in our holiday. The rice was nicely seasoned. The peppers were in a really flavoursome sauce, which seemed notably different from the Indian, Thai, or Japanese curries I eat quite regularly (closest to Japanese). The cassava herb dumplings (which are the bigger greyish chunks you see above) were a fun addition for texture. They were quite chewy and rubbery, a bit like a kidney or chestnut. This dish was different from anything else I’ve had before, and I really enjoyed it. That fish lives on in my memory!

And finally, Dr HH and I both ordered the spicy ginger cake. It was everything I’d hoped for: sticky, sweet, spicy, and sharp. It was really well balanced. The ginger sponge itself seemed really decadent, but it felt really light at the same time. It was served with raspberries for sharpness and pistachios for a welcome crunch. The custard was really fun, it had a nice plantain flavour. The scoop of ice cream was unexpected, as it was not listed on the menu, and the dessert probably didn’t need ice cream as well as custard, but why not, eh? All in all, it was a really fun dessert.

This was a really fun meal, and everything was beautifully seasoned and well cooked. Service was great too, and I definitely hope to return one day!