Japes brings Chicago-style pizza to London

Our new client Japes:

January is well underway at the Me:Mo headquarters.  As you can expect, this month is all about healthy food and drink for us PRs. The team have themselves been dabbling in a lack of food and drink (PR research) in their diet – Veganuary, Veggie January, Dry January, Damp January. We have however been very excited about a new client of ours called Japes. This next one sure isn’t fit for any one limiting or eliminating their dairy intake, as it features a hefty amount of cheese! Let’s take a look.

Japes brings Chicago-style pizza to London:

We all know that pizzas and waffles are the perfect combination. Bringing this dream to life, owners and partners Aleksandar Aleksic and Jovana Kostadinovic have launched Japes, which is located on 22-25 Dean Street in Soho. Japes is the first restaurant from the young couple Aleksandar and Jovana, who met when Aleksandar was competing in Canoe Sprint for the 2012 Olympic Games. They subsequently enjoyed their first date in a waffle house, which ultimately inspired their sweet offering.

But let us for a moment focus our attention on their pizzas. Inspired by Chicago’s various interpretations of this universally adored dish, Japes’ savoury menu features two varieties. More commonly known (but still brand-new to London) is the deep-dish, where the pizza is baked in a deep pan giving it its characteristically high edge, leaving ample room for cheese. Their pot-pie pizzas are made in a ramekin topped with dough and baked like a pie, before being upturned to reveal the cheesy mozzarella topping!

Signature dishes include:

Siena Deep Dish Pizza

Mozzarella, artichokes, capers, pine nuts, ham, tomato & pesto

Toscana Deep Dish Pizza

Mozzarella, prosciutto, rocket, parmesan

Bolognese Pizza Pot

Bolognese sauce, mozzarella & mushrooms

Ricotta Verde Pizza Pot

Ricotta, mozzarella, spinach, broccoli, zucchini

The Japes sweet menu certainly reflects their shared love for waffles. The owners are proud of the fact that all their original recipes are home-made and prepared right on the premise. “No additives. No Funny stuff. We’re 100% natural,” says their website.  All our waffles are topped with homemade sauces and ice-creams.”

Signature dishes include:

Monkey Peanuts Waffle

Fresh red berries and homemade peanut chocolate sauce topped with home-made vanilla ice-cream and ground cookies.

Stachiola Waffle

Bananas and grapes topped with home-made pistachio cream & ice-cream

The new restaurant also boasts a wide and eclectic selection of cocktails and hardshakes. Signature cocktails include their Aztec Negroni made with barrel aged Mezcal, antica formula and Campari, and their Japes Fizz made with Grand Marnier, Merlot apricot and Prosecco. The hardshakes are a grown-up version of their home-made ice-cream milkshakes and include an Espresso Martini made with chocolate ice-cream, vodka and coffee liqueur and aGrasshopper made with mint ice-cream, vodka, cacao liqueur.

A word from the owners:

Of the new restaurant Aleksandar and Jovana say: “We wanted to do something different, something unique, something homemade and something natural. When we came to London, we started to look for a similar place but couldn’t find it, and that is how Japes was born. At Japes, it’s all about surprises, and the various flavours that take your taste buds on a ride with every single bite.”

It’s been an exciting couple of months in Soho with the addition of Chicago-style pizza to everyone’s hit list.  Bloggers are going wild for the Insta-worthy pizzas, perfect for cheese-pulls. We’ve seen some lovely coverage from Kate Ovens, KS Ate Here, CertifiedNosh, London Food Fatty and many more!

Now let’s forget about those diets, stay tuned for more delicious food and drink PR news.