Jamaica Patty Co

Jamaica Patty Co is a Jamaican bakery and takeaway on New Row, one of a small group of London shops whose entire purpose is the Jamaican patty: a golden, flaky pastry folded around a seasoned filling and eaten by hand. The Covent Garden shop runs across the ground floor and basement of its building on the pedestrian lane between St Martin's Lane and Bedfordbury.

The company is owned by Theresa Roberts, a Jamaican cultural advocate and art curator, and describes its patties and stores as an expression of Jamaican culture. Recipes are traditional home-cooked ones, and the kitchen is proud of its sourcing: the beef patties use lean ground beef from Oxfordshire and the chicken is free range. Sister branches trade at Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf and Farringdon, with a Stratford kiosk announced as coming soon.

Jamaican patties in Covent Garden, from mild to scotch bonnet hot

The core line-up runs from spicy beef, made with plenty of scotch bonnet peppers, through a milder beef, a traditionally seasoned chicken that is the least spicy of the range, pulled jerk chicken, curried goat made with prime cuts, ackee and saltfish, a vegetable patty with sweet potato and callaloo, and a vegan version of the spicy beef made with soya. Most are marked halal, no patty contains nuts, and allergen information is available in store. Beyond the pastries there are rice and peas meals, all of which are gluten-free, plus soups, cakes, coffee and cold drinks, although not every item is stocked at every branch.

What to expect on a visit

This is counter service geared to eating on the go, with the lane outside busy from lunchtime through to the post-theatre crowd. New Row is a two-minute walk from Leicester Square station and not much further from Covent Garden. For other quick bites in the neighbourhood see our list of takeaways in Covent Garden, or try the wood-fired slices at Homeslice in Neal's Yard.