Jojo’s

I was visiting from Vermont and friends in Whitstable treated me to dinner. It was off the beaten path, full of locals and had I understand moved a while ago from the front of a standard house, where the concept started. The place is unlicenced, and provides a positive corkage charge to wine bought from Tesco… as a protest to that organisations take over of the UK! I loved this quirky feature, the design and style of the restaurant with old tables and chairs meeting modern lighting and colourful paint… and by god the food was good! Also they had not made the mistake of cramming as many tables in as they could, so one has space and the noise level was just right.
Portion size was generous and the whole place seems to have been developed to follow a Spanish tapas style with a Kiwi twist. It works! On a cold damp Friday night in January the place was packed… shows me that locals go there as most places have difficulty filling tables post Christmas.
Go visit but do book… they deserve the success and I want to go back!

My favourite, favourite, FAVOURITE restaurant in the whole world!
Jojo’s is a small restaurant with a big conscience. It is run by husband and wife team Nikki and Paul (although the restaurant is named after Nikki’s brother) All their meat is free range, the fish is all from sustainable stocks and most of the produce is locally sourced. And it’s all amazing. It’s basically Mediterranean-​y, tapas-​y small dishes with an emphasis on fresh, quality ingredients cooked superbly. You order from the laminate menus and also from the ever changing specials board, which always has some amazing treats. You then get to watch Nikki cook it in the small kitchen. The plates are tapas-​style sharing plates and although they will warn you not to order too much, you probably will, and will love it all. My favourites include the brilliant value Mixed Meze Sharing Plate (£25.95), Risotto Balls (£6.95), Sardines (£5.95), Lamb Cannon (£8.50) and pretty much any of the fish on the specials board — it’s always incredible. The Cave Aged Gorgonzola is my choice for after, but they have great puddings too. In fact anything you order is bound to be amazing.
It’s bring your own and there is a corkage charge of £2 (unless your drink is from Tesco, in which case it goes up to £5!) They do have loads of soft drinks though and sell Frank ethical water, and free jugs of tap water. Also they only take cash. And you NEED to book.
Basically I could eat here everyday for the rest of my life and never get bored. You need to try it!