Food Diary - Jamie's Italian, Cambridge

Dinner at Jamie's Italian, Cambridge

So, during my visit to Hubby in Cambridge, we also ate at Jamie's Italian. For the first time.

I like watching MasterChef Australia and generally enjoy the episodes where Jamie Oliver turns up. But I can't call myself a Jamie Oliver fan. I don't own, and have not used, any of his cookbooks. His cookbooks have been recommended to me before - but I am generally sceptical of the people making those recommendations since they (1) don't cook; or (2) have only used his cookbooks a handful of times; and (3) don't know any other cookbooks. I don't watch his cooking shows, I have not eat at a Jamie's Italian, and the one time I ate at a Jamie Oliver restaurant was Jamie's Fifteen in London this summer (which was a tad disappointing).

Jamie's Italian is everywhere. And I've read that Jamie's Italian suffers from inconsistent food quality. DT and KH went to Jamie's Italian in Oxford and London, and did not particularly enjoy their visits. They considered their meals over-priced and meh.

We felt that Jamie Italian's in Cambridge was not bad. Though Hubby did agree that it is somewhat over-priced.

Jamie's Italian in Cambridge is housed in a Grade II listed building. Somehow the open kitchen concept with hanging cured meats and copper pots and pans seem to merge quite well with the ancient interior. (There's a standalone Jamie Oliver pizzeria next door.)

While getting my head around their new winter menu, I decided to get a cocktail - one of the specials for the day - an elderflower and pear martini, a mix of pear and St Germain elderflower liqueur with Bombay Sapphire and a sprig of rosemary. It was fragrant and refreshing. And yes, I see the famous Jamie's Italian napkin which he said people kept taking home as souvenirs.

Lobster al forno, Jamie's Italian, Cambridge

Mark chose the Lobster al forno - half a marinated and roasted lobster with silky Parmesan sauce and spaghetti pomodoro (£23.95). He was quite happy with the lobster, but not so much the spaghetti. We gave feedback to the waitress (when she asked) that the spaghetti pomodoro was a little bland, and it was probably better to serve the spaghetti and lobster in separate dishes.

I had the Osso Buco - free-range pork slow-cooked with saffron, onion, tomatoes and Trebbiano white wine, served with Sicilian-style orange gremolata (£14.65).

Not a traditional Osso bucco at all, but a modern remake of it - and a tasty one too. Though I did mention to the waitress (when she asked for feedback) that the saffron flavour could be a little stronger, and less orange in the gremolata.

If I were to be funny and offer a MasterChef worthy critique of the fish, it would go along the lines of "The orange gremolata really helped to lift the dish and balance the richness of the pork. However, the dish is a little heavy-handed on the orange peel." Let's just keep it simple. Thanks to the orange, you could get through the entire dish.

I ordered a kale coleslaw on the side, and I liked it. Crunchy and refreshing. Can't remember the price, but I do remember being able to make it at home. But then again, that's what Jamie Oliver is supposedly about - simple food that you can make at home.

Chocolate, pear and honeycomb pavlova, Jamie's Italian, Cambridge

Yeah so I have a bad habit of looking at desserts first. They sometimes influence what I choose for the mains. There was this one dessert that I wanted long before I even decided on mains: the chocolate, pear and honeycomb Pavlova (£5.45).

I think the menu described it as a light and fluffy meringue served with poached pears, whipped mascarpone, honeycomb and a drizzle of dark chocolate. No misdescription there. My favourite dish for this meal.

I love Pavlovas. Actually, I just love meringue-based desserts (except macarons). I think the Pavlova is the Australian/New Zealander answer to the British Eton Mess, which I also love.

Trio of ice cream with crushed nuts and seeds, Jamie's Italian, Cambridge

Hubby had the trio of ice cream (£4.95) - chocolate, lime and spiced prune. He only ordered the spiced prune because I wanted to try it. Muahahaha.

Yeah so overall, I think Jamie's Italian in Cambridge is okay. But I can see why people think it's somewhat over-priced.