Jamie’s Italian restaurant on George street is a relative newcomer on the Oxford scene having opened only a few weeks ago in the location where the Cock & Camel pub used to be. We’ve been keen to have a look for a while but today was the first time that there wasn’t actually a discouragingly long queue outside when we walked by. Clearly there are more people who would like to try it.
We are quite partial to Italian restaurants and Italian food in general and I in particular am a fan of Jamie Oliver’s because in some ways he always seems to capture the spirit of Italian cuisine even better than some Italian practitioners themselves. Fresh food, simple tastes, etc. You’ve seen it all on TV and it works. So we were quite excited at finally getting to try Jamie’s Italian on George street.
Despite the fact there wasn’t a queue we still had to wait for 20 minutes at a very crowded bar and when we eventually got a table we also found ourselves at rather intimate range from the people at the tables beside us. They have crammed too many tables into too little space. The waiting staff would probably agree because it those who served us had to perform acts of medium to advanced contortionism to do it. As a consequence of the high density of customers and staff per square foot the restaurant is also very loud to the point where it starts to intrude on conversation.
The menu looks very ‘Jamie’ like. It contains many Oliverisms, usually delivered in the first person. Most of the dishes are Italianate. Where he has stuck to traditional Italian dishes the name has been jazzed up here and there, e.g. The Penne al Arrabiata are called ‘Turbo Penne’. Many other dishes are not strictly traditional Italian restaurant fare but on paper they look true to the Jamie ethos as covered in his books and TV programmes.
In actual fact the food was vaguely disappointing. We I started with a Genovese pesto dish that looked very promising on paper and that looked just as promising when delivered to the table, containing some extra vegetables and potatoes to make it more interesting than the usual plate of tagliatelle covered with pesto and some parmesan. Shame then that the pesto itself was not very convincing. With the best will in the world I could hardly taste the basil in it and finding any trace of pecorino cheese was just as difficult. Ultimately this pesto has little or no energy. Somehow not what I would have expected as a Jamie Oliver fan or of a restaurant that advertises ‘lush’ pesto.
Similarly the main course of Salmon on a bed of roasted vegetables couldn’t quite impress. The Salmon was nicely cooked but the roast vegetables were just nowhere near as good as roast vegetables can be. Desert of a banana chocolate brownie again nice enough but not very memorable and not a match for similar deserts at Chez Gerard’s or Carluccio’s.
Just below the deserts the menu also lists Jamie Oliver T-shirts and signed books.
The bill (including a 10% tip but not counting money spent at the bar while waiting for a table) came to about £35 a head which is a bit high for Oxford casual dining standards and a better dinner and general experience can certainly be had elsewhere and not infinitely far away in Oxford. There is something of the emperor’s new Parka about Jamie’s.
I looked up the Independent’s Restaurant review of Jamies Italian in Oxford and it appears somewhat more positive than mine. Have a look. The Independent’s reviewer took along Oxford locals who apparently ‘were down on their knees in gratitude’ for Jamie bringing this miracle of good food to Oxford. Given the quality of the food traditionally served on George Street I can kind of see the point however I really must suggest that they give Chez Gerard’s on the opposite side of the street a go. It is a more pleasant and comfortable place to sit and they serve better food for less money. Or take a short walk down to the Castle complex and try Carluccio’s. Both of those are Pukkah.
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