Jacob the Angel: The Palomar team opens a new Covent Garden site

Brother and sister duo Layo Paskin and Zoë Paskin made a name for themselves as the masterminds behind London Middle Eastern restaurants The Palomar and The Barbary. This week, they opened their latest venture in Covent Garden, Jacob and the Angel, and Culture Whisper was there to check it out.

Located in Neal's Yard, a stone's throw away from The Barbary, Jacob The Angel is a marked departure from the Paskin sibling's previous projects; rather than featuring Middle Eastern flavours, their latest space is an English coffee house, serving breakfast, lunch and tea every day.

Layo Paskin and Zoë Paskin at The Barbary

The menu, which changes daily, has been put together by head chef Daniela Gattegno, who was sous chef at nearby The Barbary and before that Ottolenghi, Morito and Moro.

Expect to find generously filled sandwiches – made with bread so good it was among the best we'd ever tasted – seasonal salads, and a breakfast that includes chia, turmeric and medjool date bircher or whipped feta, honey and walnuts on sourdough toast.

Our lunchtime highlights include butternut squash, sweet onion and sage quiche as well as a chicken, rose harissa, coriander and whipped feta sandwich. In particular, we fell in love with roasted carrot and feta salad.

If you can only visit once during the day, take our advice and go at breakfast. Pick up an oat milk cappuccino and pair it with a coffee and walnut cake.

Unfortunately the space is limited and the queues long, so if you can't get a seat, get your food to go and head to the brightly coloured benches in Neal's Yard.

Although the food in Jacob The Angel isn't as boundary-pushing as what can be found in The Barbary or The Palomar, the café is a lovely addition to Covent Garden and the area's trendy renaissance. See you there.