Picture of Joanna's, SE19 1RX

Joanna's, SE19 1RX

  • 56 Westow Hill, SE19 1RX

Joanna's was a long-standing restaurant in Crystal Palace. It has now closed. According to a notice on its website as of January 2023, the closure was due to the "huge difficulties" caused by the "Current economic conditions".

The information below is retained for historical purposes.

Restaurant in Crystal Palace. It's been there since 1978, and the food has evolved over time from American to Modern British.

It's cosy inside, with a low ceiling, white-painted brick walls above wood panelling, hoop-backed chairs, dark varnished tables set with white linen napkins, and a wooden floor. Art in distressed gold-painted frames hangs on the walls along with large mirrors.

The tables are mainly for parties of two to four, but they can rearrange these for larger groups with enough advance notice. A private room at the back seats six. There's a small covered outdoor seating area too.

Kake visited on a Thursday lunchtime in June 2016. There were a few other customers in when I arrived around 12:30pm — one group of six and a couple at the bar — and a couple more arrived when I was there, clearly regulars. '60s music was playing, not too loud.

I went for one of the two vegetarian options on the menu (the other being a halloumi and aubergine burger) — butternut squash and kale tart with a cos lettuce, red onion, pea, radish, and parsley salad (£13) photo.

The pastry on the tart was quite thin, and indeed absent in places underneath, but this suited me fine as I prefer my pastry in small doses. The kale was cooked just right, neither overcooked nor undercooked, and seasoned well. The butternut squash was grated, which worked well. The vegetable content was high, with little if any egg custard, but held together well enough. The salad was nicely dressed, and a good mix of vegetables. The peas were cooked perfectly. The red onion was a little too aggressive, and I left most of it. Overall, the dish was pretty tasty, but perhaps not quite substantial enough for a main course.

A 10% service charge was added to the bill.

Child-friendliness: According to their website, babies and toddlers are welcome until 6pm; no mention is made of older children.

Accessibility: A small step to get in. No steps to the ladies' toilet (gents' not checked), but there are heavy doors on the way there, and access is quite narrow. The restaurant has its own small car park.

See also:

Last visited by Kake, June 2016.
Last edited 2023-02-19 15:37:35 (version 4; diff). List all versions.