Waiter/Waitress

Jikoni; Greater London; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career Progression

Unique Training

Competitive Package and Team Benefits

Job summary

Jikoni, founded in 2016 in Marylebone, is a warmth-driven restaurant and community-focused business. We celebrate multicultural cuisine and the maternal kitchen, serving guests with kindness and hospitality.

We are expanding with a new café and restaurant project at the V&A East Museum and plan further growth in Bloomsbury by late 2026, building the Jikoni Group. Join us to shape new channels and culture.

Qualifications

• Experience in a restaurant or hospitality setting is welcome.
• Ability to greet guests, take orders, and maintain a warm atmosphere.
• Strong focus on kindness, optimism, and empathy.

Responsibilities

• Greet and seat guests, take orders, and serve tables to ensure a warm atmosphere.
• Take payments efficiently and accurately.
• Maintain cleanliness and adhere to safety standards.
• Keep restaurant cleanliness by completing regular cleaning duties.

Job description

Founded in 2016 in Marylebone, Jikoni is a purpose-led restaurant and community-focused business founded on the belief that the purpose of a restaurant is to restore. We create warmth, generosity, and kindness through hospitality that transforms how people feel, drawing on multicultural culinary traditions and the wisdom of the maternal kitchen. Our approach, "Cooking Without Borders," celebrates diversity by sharing flavours, stories, and techniques from Asia, the Far East, India, the Middle East, and East Africa, bringing the nourishing, selfless essence of home-cooked meals to every guest.

Since our founding, Jikoni has grown steadily and has now opened a new all-day café and restaurant project with the new V&A East Museum in Stratford's Olympic Park. We are poised to expand to another vibrant new restaurant in Bloomsbury late 2026. These expansions will serve as the foundation for the Jikoni Group.

What we're looking for

We're looking for someone who is kind and leads with heart and curiosity.

• Emotional Skillset: You embody the qualities that define great hospitality: Kindness, Optimism, Self-Awareness, Curiosity, Integrity, and Empathy.
• Experience: any equivalent experience in a restaurant setting is welcome. If you meet most of the criteria and are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply.
• Values Alignment: You share our family values of Multiculturalism & Pluralism, Integrity, Hospitality & Seva (Selfless Service), Excellence, and Entrepreneurialism.
• Leadership & Ambition: A desire and drive to build and shape new channels of the business, contribute to a positive and supportive culture and build a career with us.
• Culinary Curiosity: A deep curiosity for our style of maternal cooking and immigrant cuisine and global flavours

Key responsibilities

• Greet and seat guests, take orders and serve tables to ensure a warm and welcoming atmosphere
• Take payments efficiently
• Maintain cleanliness and follow health and safety standards
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness for the restaurant by completing cleaning duties

What we offer

• Career Progression: Opportunities for growth in a dynamic and progressive company and working directly with senior management and directors to grow your leadership, business and hospitality skills while contributing to business with a positive purpose.
• Unique Training: Go beyond the kitchen with visits and hands-on training with our biodynamic farm partner and specialist producers.
• Competitive Package and Team Benefits: Delicious and wholesome team meals, a 51% team discount at our restaurants upon passing probation, 28 days holiday, a company pension scheme and private health insurance plans for all team members.

Everyone Is Welcome

At Jikoni, one of our core values is Pluralism, the idea that celebrating both our similarities and differences make our community richer and stronger. We warmly encourage applications from women and people of all backgrounds and lived experiences. If this role speaks to you but you don't meet every requirement, we would still love to hear from you. Please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments or accommodations we can make during the hiring process.