——-12/05/2012——-
With what started out as a Mother’s day celebration turned out to be an eating marathon. After eating a yum cha brunch at Marigold, we had planned for a late lunch at Jamie’s Italian restaurant. We had a booking for 6 people at 2:15pm (they only take bookings for 6 or more people) but because there only ended up being 4 of us we had to stand and wait in line again. Even at 2:15pm, it was still another 30minute wait and even then they refused to seat us because all our party wasn’t there yet. So we had to wait an extra 15 minutes for one more person.
We were too late to watch the pasta making in the front window so there was nothing to do but stand around on the street waiting or if you were lucky enough to get a seat just inside the entrance you can order a drink while waiting for your table.
By the time we sat down it was 3pm and dinner was booked for 6:15pm, I rang my sister to push it back, I finally got to Jamie’s and there was a lot I wanted to try!
Seated and ready to eat!
Drinks~
Pear Bellini ($11)
Refresher with elderflower, lemon and cranberry ($6.50)
Strawberry & elderflower topped off with sparkling mineral water ($4.10)
Latte ($4.35)
Complimentary Italian Bread selection~
Homemade rosemary focaccia, artisan sourdough, ciabatta & tortano from our bakery with crispy carta di musica.
Don’t forget to ask for it if the waiters forget to bring one to you. A variety of bread served with extra virgin olive oil & aged balsamic.
Mains~
Pasta- All our beautiful pasta is freshly made right here every day with love.
Spaghetti bolognese- The old-school classic ragù of beef, pork, herbs, Chianti & Parmesan with crunchy herby breadcrumbs (main size $19.00) Really delicious, surprisingly not that tomato-ey and rather meaty. There was a nice balance between sauce and pasta.
Prawn linguine- Juicy pan-fried garlicky local prawns served with tomatoes, chilli, rocket & fennel (small size $16.00) Perfect al dente pasta with a simple yet very tasty sauce.
Turbo penne arrabiata- Curly penne tossed in sweet tomato sauce spiced with chilli, garlic & Parmesan with herby breadcrumbs (small size $10.50) This had a nice chilli kick to it.
Buffalo ricotta ravioli- Delicate parcels stuffed with creamed ricotta, lemon, mint & Parmesan. Pure heaven (small size $14.00) Subtle buttery flavours with a citrus twist.
Sides~
Crispy polenta chips- With rosemary salt & Parmesan ($8.50) These chips had a yummy crispy texture and went really well with the aioli that was served with the mushroom fritti.
Mushroom fritti- Our own-grown crispy fried mushrooms with garlicky mayo ($9.00) With a subtle mushroom after taste, these fritti are like little crispy chips.
Desserts~
Creamy panna cotta- Lovely wobbly panna cotta served with a compote of seasonal fruits ($8.50) A very jiggly dessert with a nice vanilla bean taste accompanied with stewed fruit.
The ultimate brownie- Chocolate, raspberry & amaretto brownie with vanilla ice cream ($8.50) As we were munching away on our panna cotta I noticed the table next to us were sharing a brownie. I leaned over and asked if it was worth ordering. “Order two if you can!” was the response, brilliant! But I thought I’d just start off with one. It was as gooey as it is in the picture, the perfect warm dessert during a cloudy cold day. A warm moist chocolate centre with a subtle berry taste.The ice-cream was very smooth and off sets the very chocolate-y and sweet brownie but by itself it wasn’t anything special.
and then we ordered another panna cotta… Strangely enough, not as good as the first one. It varied in texture and the taste in fruit.
You could ‘take a piece of Jamie’s Italian home with you‘ with a variety of merchandise available from Jamie’s endless book selection to the cute tea towels.
The good thing is that once you’re in, there is no rushing anyone out. The service was really friendly but just have to be assertive enough to flag down one of the busy wait staff if you need something.
If you don’t care when you eat and you want to try this place out without waiting in a line, I suggest coming around 4pm (we went on a Saturday) as there were some empty tables about.
Venue: Jamie’s Italian
Address: CBD, 107 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 8240 9000
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 