Union Jacks

So it's Christmas, and Christmas is about one thing, right? And that one thing is eating. Well, and drinking, but in  this case let's focus on the eating element and pretend I was very well behaved around wine in December...

So, on the day enough Krispy Kreme's to feed a small army arrived in my office (don't ask) we decided to have an impromptu team xmas lunch at Union Jacks. After a breakfast of doughnuts, it would be the obvious thing to do. And this was when the existence of Jamie Oliver's newest (?) collaboration came to my knowledge. Jamie loves a collaboration, and this time he's gone in with someone I'd never heard of before, an American called Chris Bianco. Well, Chris obviously knows his pizzas, because this chilli-topped beast was a good one.

Anyone who knows me well will know I am a chilli freak, I love it hot, and I will put chilli sauce (or preferably jalepenos) on just about anything (savoury). Jamie and Chris have kindly names this pizza after me (the "Chilli Freak") and topped it with (supposedly)  different types of chilli. Although I only really saw one. But it tasted good and that's the main thing. If anything, for me it could have been a little hotter, and I had twice the amount of chilli's on mine as my neighbour did on hers. The pizza comes with a side of curd, a runny, yoghurty concoction which presumably you need to cool it down if you can't handle your heat. Needless to say, I left this well alone, but my colleagues told me it was tasty. You can pimp your pizza with slightly exotic foodie choices including oxtail and shoulder of pork, should you so wish, but I'd like to see a few more exiting topping options on the menu-maybe some grilled artichokes, olives, egg...

If you don't fancy a pizza, Union Jacks does lots of tapas-style plates too, which I'll try upon my return. The marathon bar ice cream sounded deliciously retro, and as I'm old enough to remember the traumatic (I still weep gently now every time I have to use the word "snickers") transition, I'll definitely be giving that a taste-test when I'm back in the Covent Garden area and feeling hungry.

Union Jacks has a distinctly Jamie feel to it, and is all exposed brickwork and piping, a bit "too cool for school." It's a bit overpriced for what it is, but it's not bad. Just don't expect anything too gourmet and you won't be too disappointed.