Cuisine: North & South American

Cost:

Rating:

Where?: 34, King Street, Covent Garden, London. WC2E 8JD.

Closest station(s): Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Charring Cross.

Telephone: 0207 240 4008

Website: www.navajojoe.co.uk

As far as I have always been concerned Navajo Joe in Covent Garden is a bar, it appears however that they have now tried to position themselves as a restaurant too and push their culinary credentials. Being someone who is often too quick to draw a conclusion I decided that I should give Navajo Joe a go before I dismissed it entirely.

Having been seated I perused the menu; from that point onwards it was a poor culinary experience. The menu is a bizarre hodge-podge of North American, South American and Oriental – why sweet and sour pork balls, fajitas, red Thai curry and jambalaya would ever be on the same menu is beyond me. As I had thought Navajo Joe is not quite sure what it is, the staff don’t seem to know whether they are in a bar or restaurant either. The tables are mixed up so some are full of people trying to have a meal whilst other are crammed with cocktails and people trying to become inebriated. This mixture does not work.

The food that arrived at the table was edible, however was mediocre in every way. At £15 for main courses more could certainly be expected, this is not a fast food restaurant.

I would not eat again at Navajo Joe, it was never a great bar – however even its suitability for drinks has been negatively impacted upon by the decision to promote the food. I have little interest in sitting down for a drink and a chat with a friend when a neighbouring table full of tourists is sitting down to a three course meal of poor food. The saving grace for Navajo Joe is the bar downstairs, when it is busy and with a good crowd it can have a decent atmosphere.