The Jones Family Affair – Review

Last Updated on February 22, 2022

A stylish new steak joint in London’s West End

There’s a new modern steak restaurant and cocktail bar in town – perfectly positioned moments from Theatreland, Charing Cross Station and Trafalgar Square in London’s West End.  We were thrilled to be invited along to review The Jones Family Affair.  Read on to find out more!

The Jones Family Affair is the newly opened sister restaurant to Belgravia’s Jones Family Kitchen. We arrived on a wet and windy evening and were ushered into the warmth by the restaurant’s friendly staff. This is a relaxed, comfortable, stylish place where it’s easy to forget about the outside world and get down to the serious business of drinking cocktails and eating good steak.

The Jones Family Affair has a very tempting cocktail list. After much dithering, I went for a G+T – the Ramsbury single estate gin with Franklin and Sons tonic, served with chunky slices of grapefruit and orange. It was an excellent choice, crisp and refreshing.

My companion was in more of a whisky mood so chose from the highball menu. The combination of Compass Box King Street whisky with Blood Orange and Bitter Lemon Shrub and soda made for a long, cool, citrusy and slightly spicy drink.

Cocktails in hand we started to scrutinise the food menu. My dining companion was delighted with her choice of starter – the Pan-fried Scallops and Black Pudding with smoked orange, truffle butter and samphire. She declared both scallops and black pudding juicy and well cooked but couldn’t detect a big burst of flavour from the promised truffle butter. 

I picked the Heritage Beetroot Salad partly because I was going for such a meaty main and partly because I love beetroot. I was expecting something not too filling but this was an unexpectedly huge dish (I’m not complaining) – beetroot of multiple types, prepared in multiple ways. Crisp raw pickled striped beetroot, honey sweetened cooked deep red beetroot, orange beetroot, pureed beetroot, the list goes on. It was served with lamb’s lettuce and goat’s cheese mousse – a stronger goat’s cheese flavour would perhaps be better at cutting the sweetness of some of the beetroots and there wasn’t quite enough for the vast quantity of vegetable matter. Overall a delicious starter, so large that I had to surrender part of it to my dining companion.

There is a long wine list too, presented two ways – wines by style, turn the book round to pick wine by country. Lots of variety by the glass of old and new world wines and many more by the bottle. My companion tried the organic Urlar Pinot Noir from Wairapara NZ deep almost earthy, fruity red that went down well with her burger. Meanwhile I naughtily went for a white even though I was planning to have a steak – Cave de l’Ormarine Les Prades Picpoul de Pinet – a crisp dry easy-drinking glass of wine.

The steaks at the Jones Family Affair are cooked in a Josper charcoal oven and come from grass-fed English longhorn cattle dry-aged for at least 28 days by North Yorkshire-based farmer and butcher, The Ginger Pig. I couldn’t resist trying their Filet steak. It was tender, well seasoned and cooked rare just as I like it. The Bearnaise sauce made whole experience even juicier.

I was torn between the fries and the dauphinoise. This is a good place for a potato lover like me – they also serve new potatoes with fresh mint, truffle fries, triple cooked chips and mash as wells a baked sweet potato. In the end I went for the fries.

There’s also a decent range of vegetable sides on offer for those in need of greens. I picked the wilted spinach, which was nice and peppery and went well with my steak.

My friend enjoyed her Jones’ Chuck Burger with mature cheddar. The burger itself is made of slow cooked oxtail, cooked medium rare and deliciously tender. The brioche bun was packed with shredded iceberg lettuce and tomato.

The pickle – dipped in black and white sesame seeds – was served on the side. While this looked pretty, she would have preferred her pickle in her bun with the rest of the ingredients. 

Meat might take the starring role on the menu here but there are plenty of options for fish lovers and vegans too.

Amazingly we both had room for dessert. My companion chose the Chocolate and Peanut Cream Cake a rich concoction also involving
hazelnuts, cashew, cocoa, cherry and a very ripe strawberry. This dessert combined layers of dense thick set chocolate, one of them infused with cherries, peanut chocolate soil top and bottom.

The Pear Tatin with Madagascan vanilla ice cream is just the sort of pudding I like – a lovely mixture of lightly caramelised pears, toffee sauce, light pastry, good ice cream. This was good variation on the classic apple tarte tatin, beautifully presented with pear crisps dusted with icing sugar.

As much thought has gone into the atmosphere and decor of the restaurant as into the menu. There is a lot of visual interest here. Art and interior design are both particular passions of the owner. The plan is to showcase work by up and coming young artists. 

The Jones Family Affair is a welcome new addition to the London steak scene and excellently placed for pre and post-theatre dining as well as long, boozy and filling lunches and nights out.

The Jones Family Affair
​​Address: 40-42 William IV St, London WC2N 4DD
Tel: 020 3750 2121
Email: reservations@jonesfamilyaffair.co.uk