Restaurant Review: Jamie's Italian

Hello guys! Recently, hubby had a week of holidays to coincide with our son's three day soccer clinic, so we used the time to explore the city's gardens, Glenelg and of course, go to some restaurants for lunch! This is roughly our fourth visit to Jamie's Italian, the restaurant chain of popular UK chef Jamie Oliver, and here's what we thought of it this time!

Drinks
We always get the Homemade Lemonade and Lime Bitters (containing fresh lemon juice, lime juice & gomme syrup) when we come to Jamie's Italian. It's just a ritual we have and it helps that they are very tangy and refreshing to drink!

Starters
We ordered the SuperLunch offer of three courses from a special selection for $30 per person, which is pretty great value for money. For Starters, I had the Truffle Tagliatelle. This is described on the menu as 'Our famous handmade pasta served in a luxurious, silky black truffle butter with aged Parmesan, nutmeg & more shaved black truffle.' I thought this pasta dish was absolutely delicious and I was also pleasantly surprised by the generous portion size, as I was expecting a much smaller amount for a starter. I'd definitely order this creamy, perfectly cooked pasta again!
Hubby ordered the Tomato Bruschetta, described on the menu as 'Slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, whipped ricotta, basil & extra virgin olive oil.' He thought it was OK, but perhaps was overpowered by too much ricotta cheese.


Mains
It took a really long time for our mains to arrive, and quite frankly, they didn't seem put together with as much care as our Starters. I was underwhelmed with the look of mine and didn't even bother taking photos, as it didn't look great. I ordered the Gennaro's Chicken Club, described on the menu as 'A soft seeded bun stuffed with chargrilled, marinated free-range chicken, mortadella, spicy ‘nduja mayo, fontal cheese, tomato & rocket.' My main complaint; the piece of chicken in the bun was quite small, and calling it chargrilled is putting it nicely. When the underside is black and the main taste is 'burnt' it's taking 'chargrilled' to another (not so pleasant) level.
Hubby ordered the Fish Of The Day, which is a responsibly sourced market special that changes daily. When we dined, it was barramundi, which he thought was unevenly cooked, as some bits were firm, some were soft and the flesh colour ranged from grey to white.
The waitress did ask how everything was and when I said 'the chicken is burnt' she did offer to get me a new dish, but I declined as we were running out of time, given how long mains had taken to arrive and the fact we still had dessert to come!

Desserts
If we thought mains took their merry time to arrive, dessert was either just as long or longer. We were seated at 12 noon, and at 1:50 we had to ask for our plates, as it was taking so long. Anyway, I ordered the Epic Chocolate Brownie, which is 'Rich chocolate sauce, salted caramel gelato & caramelised popcorn' with a square chocolate brownie. I've ordered this before and it's a favourite. It's deliciously chocolatey, the icecream is smooth and creamy and the caramelised popcorn adds a fun, crunchy element that suits the dish perfectly. Recommended!
Hubby ordered the Orange Blossom Polenta Cake which was 'served with whipped crème fraîche, fresh orange & pomegranate.' He said it could have had more flavour, but still this is a super-pretty dish that I'm bummed I didn't get time to photograph, as we were rushing at this point!

The standouts for me were the Truffle Tagliatelle and the Epic Chocolate Brownie. We have had better experiences on our previous visits to Jamie's Italian, but still the SuperLunch is a great deal and this is a fun place to dine. Make sure you check out the toilets, which are set downstairs in the old bank vaults. It's like being in jail!

You may also be interested in Lunch Series: Gondola Gondola

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Disclaimer: We paid for our own meals and reviews are honest and unbiased. There are no affiliate links in this post. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Have you been to Jamie's Italian in your city? What type of food do you like?