Jardin Du Jasmin is a stunning little natural Damascene café on Great Portland Street. Why I haven’t seen this little gem all over my Instagram feed yet, as the likes of Feya and Elan Café have been I don’t know. It has all the trappings of being an Instagrammer hotspot and is designed beautifully to embody the Jasmine Garden that its name describes. The installation ceiling is made up of a white trellis supporting a sea of delicate white jasmine plants, whilst exposed lightbulbs of different shapes and sizes give the room a beautiful twinkling light effect. To add to the garden-like ambiance, there are intricate white bird cages hanging from the trellis, and ‘windows’ on the wall that have square mirrors positioned to look like window panes, alongside white shutters, white windowsills, and small potted plants, to give the effective illusion of real windows. Apart from the greenery and the blue details on the tiled floor, the entire restaurant is white.  This, paired with the 50+ hanging lightbulbs, and the fact that the entire front of the restaurant is glass, give it a fresh open-air feel and makes you feel as though you have hopped on a plane and gone on holiday in your lunch break (don’t you wish?).

I have walked past in my lunchbreak multiple times looking to go in but it has always been completely packed, so one sunny Friday afternoon I was thrilled to walk past and spot a little window seat with my name on it. Ideal for people watching, and the perfect place to get a photo of the entire restaurant, of course.

You order at the till next to the salad bar, which is full of healthy and delicious looking salads like these beauties:

Halloumi, Beetroot and Lentils Salad: Grilled halloumi, beetroot, brown lentils, preserved lemons, spring onions & pomegranate molasses.

Tabbouleh: Parsley, tomato, spring onion, bulgur wheat, dried mint, lemon juice & olive oil.

Alongside these great salad options, there are a selection of sandwiches that come with a choice of salad, traditional Fatteh, Moussaka, and Lamb Kofta, as well as a variety of spreads and grains. You can choose two of the counter favourites with a choice of two salads, grains or spreads for £15.50, one counter favourite with three salads, grains or spreads for £13.00, four salads, grains or spreads for £11.90, three salads, grains or spreads for £9.75, or a sandwich with a choice of salad for £9.25.

I went for the Falafel sandwich which also contained tomato, pickled cucumber, hummus, tahini yoghurt, parsley & sumac with the option of adding Halloumi (a no-brainer surely), which I doubled up on as I chose the Halloumi salad (above) as a side. Let me tell you this was like no sandwich I’ve ever had before: it was like flavour fireworks going off in my mouth (if you’ve watched Ratatouille you’ll know what I mean, if you haven’t what have you been doing?) The sweet and tangy Halloumi and lentil side salad provided the perfect accompaniment. If we agree to call this glorious dish a sandwich, it is definitely the best sandwich I have ever tasted, and the pickled cucumber addition alone is enough to make me go back and order it again.

This Instagrammer’s paradise really delivers in both the décor and flavour departments and it is safe to say that Jardin Du Jasmine is my new go to new lunch spot!