I don’t often do restaurant reviews. I’ve found that sometimes when you turn on your inner reviewer, you can turn her off again, which makes the times when you’re not reviewing quite hard work.
However, the other night I went out to Jamie’s Italian for a friend’s birthday and was so blown away by the food, the service and the excellent value, that I just had to share.
Jamie’s Italian opened on Park Street in Bristol in February. Located in what was Blackwell’s bookshop, it’s a sprawling warehouse style venue on different levels, and has been decorated to absolute perfection.
I’m a big fan of the current industrial trend, and Jamie’s has it down to perfection, from the exposed ceiling to the bare metalwork, the pendant lamps, the oblong tiles in the bathroom – one friend actually started to glaze over at my raptures.
The food is excellent too. It takes something special to impress me with Italian food – I cook a lot (really, a LOT) of pasta at home, and generally resent paying 20 times the amount just to have someone else do it for me. Even Theo Randall at the Intercontinental Park Lane hotel in London failed to impress when I went a few years ago.
A way with flavour
But Jamie’s food was interesting, it was tasty and there was an option with the pasta of having a large or a small size, which always fills me with joy because I have a ridiculously small appetite.
There was great variety too, from rabbit to squid ink pasta, though the classics were well covered too for those preferring something more traditional (with a twist of course).
I decided against a starter but did manage to pinch one of my friend’s Olives On Ice – fat, juicy (but not too soft) Kalamata olives served very beautifully with wafers of thin, crisp bread and a small bowl of tapenade (£3.75).
For my main I chose the smaller portion of the Pumpkin Panzerotti (£6.55, or £10.35 for a large). Thepumpkin, ricotta and parmesan-filled pasta parcels were perfectly cooked, and served with a creamy chilli and rosemary butter and crushed amaretti biscuits.
Alongside that I chose the Crunchy Salad (£2.25), which consisted of shaved root vegetables with a lemon, chilli and mint dressing – delicious, and perfect for breaking up the creaminess of the pasta.
Wonderful wine
It was when I was ordering the wine that I began to realise that my waiter wasn’t some kid earning his beer money.
I was debating between the merlot and the shiraz and when I asked for his advice he explained that my main was a fairly sweet dish and that the peppery-ness in the shiraz would be a much better match than the sweet cherry flavours in the merlot.
And he was right too. The Villa Francesca 2008 Shiraz di Sicilia was round and just fruity enough to suit me, but with that peppery finish that stopped it from being sweet.
The best bit was that the waiter didn’t sound in the least bit patronising, so I was left feeling I’d learned something, rather than feeling stupid.
Understanding your customers
He proved his worth again when it came to desserts. I was just pleasantly full and regretting that I wouldn’t be able to squash in a sweet, when he suggested an Affogato – a scoop of vanilla ice cream with an espresso to pour over it.
It was the perfect combination of pudding and coffee, and the sweet bitter combo was just what I needed to finish off the meal.
When the bill came I was surprised to find that my share came to just £22.80 for a main and a salad, two glasses of wine, and a coffee dessert. Considering the excellent standard of the food and the service, not to mention the setting, I think that’s fantastic.
I will definitely be visiting Jamie’s Italian again, and I would highly recommend that you do to. Next time I might even brave the rabbit…
- Jamie’s Italian, 87/89 Park Street, Bristol, BS1 5PW. Tel 01173 700 265. Opening times noon to 11pm Monday to Saturday, noon to 10:30pm on Sundays.