Review: Jars, desserts and coffee by Lister Square

Jars is a new coffee and dessert specialist on Lister Square, and that means it’s just around the corner from the Meadows and a tennis ball throw from the festival-beating heart of Bristo Square.

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Uninvited, Girdy popped into @jars_uk_ on Lister Square. Cakes in a cup! Generous ramekin of “Made upstairs” fresh cakes. He’s got his eyes on their sandwich and protein smoothie selection for the next visit! Full review on the blog..

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Jars have been open for two days. I’ve had two Jars, and my family, who live nearby, has been there twice! That’s a strong start! In part, that’s due to curiosity about what Jars actually is.

Situated where there was once a Butta Burger and a Homies Pizza, the owners have now transformed the building into a bakery and restaurant combo. The upstairs bakery means everything is super fresh and we sit downstairs at spacious tables for two, three or four in the cafe-like venue.

Jars serve William & Johnson coffee, which is excellent, and even has a MyProtein smoothie selection. I’m all for 23g of protein, but that makes me want to know the macros of the whole drink because I’d want the smoothie itself to be less than 230 calories. That gets me into the headspace of wondering how many calories are in the titular cake jars.

I took myself to Jars to sample the cakes (which are in large ramekins), but what caught my eye were the large deli sandwiches also sold at the counter. I must try those when/if I go back.

Jars’ cake ramekins

The cake Jars are impressive. I was worried they’d be expensive and small but at the time of writing the most expensive is £7.50 and some £6.00.

I think “ramekin” is probably a harsh word to describe the plastic tubs the cakes are in, but “jar” is a generous one. My fear that they’re small is unfounded. These are average size and very fairly priced.

I went with the Chocolate S’mores, which was as sweet as you’d expet and the Red Velvet Cheesecake because it looked like a shark was swimming through custard. I’d have both again but my next trip will have a Tiramisu in a jar and/or a Rhubard Crumble and/or a Sticky Toffee Pudding and/or a Zillionaire Shortbread in the interest of diversity.

My two cake jars were delicious; I liked scraping the cake rim off and digging into the tub. Everything felt gooey, fresh and cleverly designed. Each layer was a taste blast.

I could also go with a salad jar for about £5.5, er, but maybe in the summer!

Based on how fresh the cake jars are I’m confident that the schiacciata sandwiches will be great, and my eye is very much on the £9 pastrami, beetroot, and horseradish may one.

Jars’ staff and vibe

I went to Jars at about 7pm on Sunday night, and before the restaurant had really started to beat its social media drum to say that it was now open. As a result, I had the place pretty much to myself.

I can say that the staff are friendly, fast and smart. I asked some questions and got speedy and intelligent answers. While I was there, people came in and asked questions – often, “Was this a Butta Burger?” and “Will you be on Deliveroo?” Each was kindly and professionally fielded.

I’m also curious about a Deliveroo or Just Eat future for Jars? The cake hangs over the rim of the ramekin so I don’t know how well that will travel.

I think we’ll have to see what/if crowd Jars pulls in. It could be sustained by Edinburgh Uni students meeting their for treats and perhaps even with their laptops out. It might also become a bit of a tourist spot if it does well enough on Tripadvisor and Google Maps, with people taking the two minutes it takes to walk off the popular path to find this specialist.

Not all vibes are good vibes, though, and whereas I’m sure the business wants to be busy, we’ll have to see if it can still be as friendly and as clean as I found it if it becomes popular among school kids.

Things to do near Lister Square

If you’re attending an event in the Edinburgh Futures Institute then take the chance to visit Jars, equally, you are allowed to pop into the fancy new building to take a look around.

Near Jars, there are the Meadows, the McEwan Hall, and the culinary attractions on Forrest Road. Potterrow, which doubles as Pleasance Dome during the festival, is also close by, as is the National Museum of Scotland.

There are many reasons to be in the area and many places to go after a trip to Jars.

Overall

A promising start to a novel cake specialist! I’m glad they’ve got a wider choice than just cakes in cups, but I’m also glad they’ve got a good choice of cake!

I think the prices are spot on, and people will come to check Jars out without feeling they’re paying over the odds for an experience. We’ll have to see if cake can make this somewhat awkward location work.