First opened in Oxford, England in 2008, Jamie's Italian recently had a branch opened up in Adelaide on King William Street. It has proven to be extremely popular, with the restaurant frequently getting booked out months in advance, particularly during peak holiday periods, so it is highly recommended to book well ahead of time if you wish to dine there. You may however go for the option of getting a "walk-in" table. We went early, before the peak dining hours, and were able to get a table within ten minutes. The staff informed us that diners could put their names in the queue, leave their mobile phone numbers and go shopping at Rundle Mall. The restaurant will contact them when a table is available.
As suggested by the name, Jamie's Italian features a variety of dishes created by the famous chef, Jamie Oliver. Since we ate there before the peak crowds, the dishes came relatively quickly although this may not be the case if you eat there during the peak dinner hour. During our visit there, we ordered several pasta dishes, Crispy Squid and the Italian Bread Selection.
The pasta dishes that we chose to order were Prawn Linguine, Sausage Pappardelle, Jool's Favourite Tuna Fusilli, Black Angel Spaghetti and Tagliatelle Bolognese. My mother and sister were happy that all the pasta dishes have an entree size option. Black Angel Spaghetti was the most unique of the five, featuring spaghetti that was coloured with squid ink. One of the notable things about the pasta dishes is that they are made from handmade pasta, which gives them a unique texture compared to dishes made from dried pasta.
Prawn Linguine
Black Angel Spaghetti
The sauces served with the pasta dishes were delicious, with their flavours complementing the pasta perfectly. My father thought the Sausage Pappardelle was a bit too cheesy for his taste. Ingredients used in the dishes were also noticeably fresh, with my sister enjoying the scallops in the Black Angel Spaghetti. She does not usually eat scallops because she doesn't like the slimy texture but she commented that the ones in her pasta dish tasted really fresh and nice.
Sausage Pappardelle
Jool's Favourite Tuna Fusilli
Tagliatelle Bolognese
Italian Bread Selection is excellent value for money, serving a variety of breads for only $1.50. It featured homemade Rosemary Focaccia, a breadstick known as Italian Grissini, Ciabatta and Music Bread which is similar to a thin wafer. All the breads were delicious, with the Music Bread having additional flavouring from being brushed with a mixture of olive oil, herbs and garlic. The breads are served with Rylstone extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic.
Italian Bread Selection
Crispy Squid had deep fried pieces of squid that were cooked perfectly and was served with garlic mayonnaise that helped to round out its flavour. Looking at their menu, they also had a good range of seafood and meat dishes that sounded delicious and we are considering paying the restaurant another visit to try them.
Crispy Squid
