- well, if you have sufficient cheek, that is. This is a restaurant that, as far as I know, is one of a kind. Essentially, it has no prices. Nope, that's none at all - not even for drinks. You simply eat your mean and pay what you think it's worth.
Sound bizarre? Now,I looked into this ... Read review
This Shirley Temple classic has never looked better! A patented colouring and remastering ... more
process makes her picture-perfect charm more vivid than ever!Plucky Penny Hale (Shirley Temple) is excited to return from boarding school to live with her widower dad (Charles Farrell), but when she learns that he's lost his real estate project, and they now live in a basement, she sets out to win over a crotchety real estate developer - whom she mistakenly believes is Uncle Sam.
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Advantages: Great service and food Disadvantages: How to add up your bill?
...list of what you've eaten, just without prices or obviously a total. It is then totally up to you what to pay. By this point, any half decent person will have decided that leaving a derisory amount, or just walking out, just isn't an option - everyone's been too nice and the food is too good, and you can't bear to take advantage like that. When I first went, with a party of four, we decided on £20 each plus tip, for a three course meal with wine. ... ...one of the few downsides of this place that walking out wondering if you've left enough is not necessarily the best way to end an evening. This may account for why, according to Mr Vasos, he makes 20% more here on average than he does in another restaurant he owns which he says is similar but with prices on the menus.
So, a sneaky psychological con trick or the most honest of restaurants? Well it's a question that certainly makes ... more
- well, if you have sufficient cheek, that is. This is a restaurant that, as far as I know, is one of a kind. Essentially, it has no prices. Nope, that's none at all - not even for drinks. You simply eat your mean and pay what you think it's worth.
Sound bizarre? Now,I looked into this when I did an article on it, and as far as I know, there's nowhere else like it in the world. And yet, in the ferociously competitive London restaurant market, where profit margins are the size of Ally McBeal, it's been consistently profitable for twelve years. It breaks every single economic rule, and yet gets booked up weeks in advance.
SO how do they do it? Well, it works something like this. The owner's theory is that other restaurants tend to hide behind fixed prices and allow themselves to get away with dodgy service or the odd dodgy meal because they'll still get the cash. At JATC, it doesn't work like that. They know that the second their service slips, or a meal gets served lukewarm, they see it in their takings. So the result is actually exemplary service and first rate food.
That's not to say it's not all a little strange. Assuming you can find it - it's hidden away on the Finchley Road and I walked past it twice when I first went there, you'll find a tiny, woodpanneled interior with lots of low lighting and candles, and lots of little tables tucked into cosy corners. It is what I believe is usually termed intimate, but nicely so. You'll probably get effusively greeted by the owner, a Mr Vasos, who puts in the hours to make sure people feel welcome and looked after. He can be a little over enthusiastic, but is very sweet.
The menu is the strangest bit. It took a while to get used to absolutely no prices at all, and to stop thinking that you could have chicken but not duck cos it was cheaper. When the food came it was absolutely delicious. I can especially recommend the crab-stuffed profiteroles with hollandaise sauce for a started and the lamb en croute as a main course. That alone should tell you this place is good: I haven't eaten there for about a year.
The next moment of strangenes comes, inevitably, when you pay your bill. You'll get a list of what you've eaten, just without prices or obviously a total. It is then totally up to you what to pay. By this point, any half decent person will have decided that leaving a derisory amount, or just walking out, just isn't an option - everyone's been too nice and the food is too good, and you can't bear to take advantage like that. When I first went, with a party of four, we decided on £20 each plus tip, for a three course meal with wine. Possibly we underpaid, I certainly thought so afterwards, and it's one of the few downsides of this place that walking out wondering if you've left enough is not necessarily the best way to end an evening. This may account for why, according to Mr Vasos, he makes 20% more here on average than he does in another restaurant he owns which he says is similar but with prices on the menus.
So, a sneaky psychological con trick or the most honest of restaurants? Well it's a question that certainly makes for an interesting argument over dinner. But when you're actually sitting here, enjoying their excellent food and hospitality, there's no question as to which is the right answer. I heartily reccomend this place - always assuming, of course, that you can find it.
Advantages: You are the judge of the prices. Disadvantages: Slightly out of reach
...no bills, whatsoever. You just leave on the table what you think the meal is worth, nobody chases you out the door, and you don't get served rubbish.
The food has a French twist but really does cater for most tastes, with it's good selection of seasonal seafood, at reasonable(well up to you really) prices. However, this place is slightly out of reach and is not that easy to find. This is cos of the slightly unappealing front door, but inside it ... ...ofcourse. Suitable for couples, or just friends gatherings with a private room upstairs for parties.
You really have everything here, with the food being very good indeed. However, opened for over ten years, and a family business, you expect a warm welcoming from the boss himself rather than too formal an approach. Up to you whether you'll like this or not.
Though generally this is a very good restaurant and reminding you that again, this is a ...
Ruby 02.10.2000 (28.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Just Around The Corner, London
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