Myself and my fiance ate in James in Parnell on Friday night and found the entire experience off putting. We found one of our waiters very strange trying a mix of personalities between faux connoisseur and aloof metro foody. His attention was uncomfortable and intrusive. He was more salesman then waiter and was quite pushy with his suggestions of dishes to order. Also despite clarifying order quantities for each of our plates, an extra medium plate arrived which we returned. After which the friendliness of the service changed.The food was decidedly average in spite of the menu looked very interesting. The restaurant's dining concept is excellent however the cold, over-designed dining room betrayed its manifesto.After a couple of mix-ups with the bill and with what was actually ordered vs. Received we left with a very unpleasant experience of James.In my opinion this restaurant is best reserved for those who are more interested in the "cool" factor to which food and service are secondary. I am loath to leave such an honest account of our experience as there really aren't any positives here. Sorry James

We went as a group to James all very excited and we were all very disappointed with our out come. Our Pork Belly was black on the crackling, the Seafood Paella very over cooked and no flavour, I fact out of the 10 dishes, the only thing what was good was the tuna kebab. Service was very average, no warmth in the serving staff. Bar man was great nice and friendly. They was a couple at the bar when we first got there who left to go some where else to eat as they were told by people who had just eaten their that the food was average. They are only one month in so here is hoping they sort all out as the decore is fabulous. Maybe we got James on a bad day !

I've only been in for coffee at James but that has been enough to give them 5 stars!The service is outstanding and the coffee is the best I've had in a long time!I'm looking forward to dining at James in the near future.

James is a first class dining experience indeed! Well done to all involved ... Parnell has been calling out for a venue this sophisticated and I for one am looking forward to more and more visits to James over the coming year! It's not a casual dining experience (so not for everyone), so dress up, indulge and make the most of your meal!

Well done Giselle and Jamie. James looks fantastic, superb food and service. A great place to wine and dine. PURE CLASS. Jess.

wishing jamie and gisele all the best with the opening of James tonight - menu looks delectable and looking forward to my first visit to James in coming weeks. good luck folks!

looking forward to the opening of James - I've found the Parnell dining scene quite boring over the last few years so will be interested to see what James brings to the mix (and if it brings the punters back to the suburb!)