Japes Soho London Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

There’s always the debate between thick or thin-crust pizzas. For me, I’m all for thin crust, and I was never really a fan of the likes of deep dish pizzas. However, that all changed when I came across Japes. Today, I can say I’m a hundred per cent fan of Chicago-style deep dish pizzas and I’ve got this restaurant in Soho, Japes, to thank for it.

Japes: London’s First Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza

According to the dictionary, the word “Jape” means Jape “an activity done to make someone laugh”. That’s the goal and drive behind Japes’ food – to make people laugh and simply have a good time. They specialise in Chicago-style deep dish pizzas and are the first and only restaurant in London doing this.

Located on Dean Street in London Soho, it’s no surprise that the restaurant gets pretty busy. Reservations are totally recommended though we managed to get a table walk-in both times when visiting at non-busy hours. Even then, the restaurant’s really busy.

The Food (What We Ordered)

It’s a no-brainer that the menu at Japes offers a variety of options for Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas. In addition to that, there are also a couple of starters and side dishes to choose from. More recently, they’ve also started doing burgers on their menu. Chicken is halal.

Margherita (£8.95)

Less is more and Margherita is the king of pizzas. I’m a firm believer that one doesn’t need any meat toppings for a good pizza. This Margherita pizza no doubt hits the spot and is all the proof you need for that statement. It’s incredibly saucy and cheesy – like Instagram-worthy of saucy & cheesy. The flavours were great as the tomato sauce was incredibly tasty and the golden crust carried it impeccably. Dreamy is the word for it.

Chicken Pizza (£13.95)

If you insist on having meat on your pizza, you can go with the chicken pizza option, which is the only meat option on the menu that’s halal (there are plenty more vegetarian options apart from the Margherita). Instead of a classic tomato sauce base, the chicken pizza comes with a buttermilk ranch base, topped with chicken tenders, mozzarella, carrot, mushrooms, and spring onions. We swapped out the carrot with jalapenos at no extra cost.

With the unusual toppings, it almost felt like a combo that could either work or go entirely wrong. Well, we’re super pleased to let you know that it worked perfectly and we really enjoyed it! Once again, it’s super saucy and cheesy. The flavours were well-balanced and didn’t feel overly rich. We enjoyed the little spicy kick from the jalapenos, which we think worked very well with everything on this pizza! All in all, a lovely surprise and really enjoyed it.

Coleslaw (£3.50)

You probably wouldn’t need extra side dishes because the pizzas themselves are filling enough! It was the other half’s idea and he loves his coleslaw. The coleslaw was nice and quite a creamy one, but we couldn’t finish it because – well – the pizzas were enough for our bellies!

Berry Lemonade (£3.80)

For drinks, we tried out the berry lemonade, which was nicely refreshing. The little touch of raspberry syrup gave it that beautiful pinkish hue and a lovely tinge of sweetness to the palate.

Restaurant Review Summary