Jamon Jamon

This is my 100th post!

On Saturday evening, some old friends and I head out to camden in search of somewhere to line our stomachs before a heavy night of drinking and dancing to some cheesy 80's tunes at the jazz cafe.

Jamon Jamon is where we wound up, tapas meaning there's something for everyone. Geoff, Dave and I did the ordering and started us off was a couple of jugs of sangria. This was a bit rough to be honest, but I've yet to try a sangria that I thought was genuinely good. Perhaps I'm just not a fan. The waitress suggested several times that we might like to try this, she was possibly a bit too pushy about it but, otherwise, service was polite and we'd neglected to book so we were in luck to be accommodated at 8pm on a Saturday.

The best dish for me was the pimientos de padron. I got all mild ones, it's a bit of a lottery heat wise, some very fiery.


The chorizo was average, cooked in olive oil and red wine served on a bed of roasted red peppers, quite spicy but a tad over cooked. All dishes came fairly swiftly after ordering, except for the paella which the menu warns will take 20 minutes to prepare. We'd finished everything else by the time it arrived and it was hugely disappointing. Dry, and at the same time stodgy with a meagre amount of fish and chicken. The 2 large prawns were the only saving grace, but there were 6 of us.

A selection of other dishes were unremarkable, croquettas, chicken and blue cheese varieties lacked flavour. Garlic mushrooms were a little better in a potent garlic butter and the marinated meatballs in a white wine sauce were very tender. The deep fried battered tiger prawns were fine, but I fail to see how battering a shell and eating only the meat within in it can be a good idea. There's a reason that shell on prawns are usually served simply as they are or with a marinade.

The octopus in a spicy tomato sauce was ok at best, there was at least a fair kick to the sauce but again the actual fish was overcooked. They have the right idea here but there is an apparent carelessness resulting in dishes lacking depth of flavour. Perhaps we ought to have ordered some jamon.


The biggest disappointment for me was the pan con tomato. A white 'bake from frozen' baguette with a sodden faintly tomatoey top, one piece was black and frankly should not have been served.

If a little more care and attention went into the sourcing of products and the preparation of the dishes here they could be onto a good thing, Camden Parkway is a good location for a restaurant but with the far superior Del Parc just a 5 minute bus ride North I am unlikely to return here.

Jamon Jamon
38 Parkway
Camden
5/10