Jamie Oliver is a restauranteur juggernaut, with 5 Jamie’s Italian restaurants in Australia alone (Melbourne unfortunately missing out), the guy is doing something right. I had visited Jamie’s Italian in Glasgow a few years ago and was excited to get the chance to try it with Nathan and it seemed the perfect location for lunch with a friend when we arrived on Good Friday.
Nathan, is a bit of Jamie fan, we have loads of his cook books and have watched all his TV shows so he was very much looking forward to trying the restaurant out.
We had tried to make a booking online the night before and although we weren’t able to get a table, a pop-up window informed me that they try and keep tables open for walk-ins and that we should still try and see if we could get a table. We ventured down Pitt Street and arrived at about 1pm and were told a table for 3 would be available in 20 minutes and that we could have a a drink on the balcony upstairs while we waited.
We were seated fairly quickly and while we waited for my friend Emma to arrive we were able to observe the bustle. Seated on the mezzanine we got a good view of how large the restaurant is and were able to see some of the open kitchen, which I always enjoy.
After eyeing many a table being served planks of meats and cheese we decided to order the Meat Plank, which Jamie Oliver is well known for. Served balanced on two cans of tomatoes, this was a variety of cured meats, cheeses, pickles and crunchy salad. I found that having some salad between each of the cheeses and the meats was a refreshing palate cleanser.
For our mains, I ordered the small portion of the Lamb and Ricotta Tortellini which, at $14.50, seemed a very reasonable price for a lunch dish. It was a beautiful pasta, not at all heavy, seasoned well and the tortellinis were cooked to a perfect al dente. The tomato style sauce that it was served in was heavenly and complimented the lamb and ricotta well. I really enjoyed this and wished I had ordered a bigger portion (I will know for next time).
Emma ordered the Burger Italiano which was of gargantuan proportions. Emma found that although the burger was cooked well, she would have preferred to have more onion rings and thought a side of fries would have been nice.
Nathan had the special they were offering that day which was a roast pumpkin salad with blue cheese dressing bitter leaves and grains. It was beautifully presented on a platter which I think showed off the colours of the various ingredients. As Nathan likes blue cheese, he really enjoyed how strong the dressing was and found that it was a great dish for lunch, given that it light but still filling.
Overall, we had a great time and considering how busy the restaurant was, service was fast and friendly. The restaurant is well located and Emma found that it was a quick taxi drive from Circular Quay and it was easy walk back to our hotel. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we would definitely eat there again.
Jamie’s Italian
107 Pitt Street
Sydney, NSW
(02) 8240 9000
https://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/australia/restaurants/sydney
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