Against our better judgment, we decided to try getting a table at Jamie's Italian for lunch on Sunday. When we arrived at about 11.45 (they open at noon), the queue was quite frightening. I wanted to give up, but A offered to stand in line while I ran a few errands (of the mooncake and shoe variety) in Vivocity. Sure enough, once they opened their doors and started seating people, we managed to get a table by 12.10.
They have a selection of antipasti planks, either meats, fish or vegetable, that come paired with cheese, bread, olives and some slaw. They charge per person, and I like that there isn't a minimum order - you can just order a portion for one no matter how many diners in your party.
The fish one comprised of some battered dory with an aioli dip, baked mussels and clams, a smoked mackerel terrine on toast with olives and pickled chilli, a carrot and beet slaw, beet-cured salmon and pecorino cheese with chilli jam. The baked shellfish and the mackerel terrine were particular standouts, though everything was quite tasty.
We'd heard that their pastas were good so we made a beeline for them. Again, I like that almost all their pastas are offered in 2 sizes - a smaller appetizer size, and a full main course size. This works perfectly for us, since we like to try as many items as possible. Also, pastas and risottos tend to get monotonous after a while, so smaller tasting portions are ideal.
Their crab meat risotto was quite good, with the lemony crab meat cutting through the richness of the risotto. The risotto itself was nice and oozy and al dente. I particularly liked the vongole tagliolini - it was flavourful yet clean-tasting at the same time, with a deliciously light white wine sauce.
The honeycomb canneloni that A ordered only comes in one portion size, probably because of the casserole dish that they use. There are 3 flavours of canneloni - aubergine and sun-dried tomato, pumpkin, and ricotta and spinach. This was super flavourful but really rich, and completely put us way over the edge.
Service was excellent. Everyone from the waiters to the busboys/girls were extremely professional - they were friendly, helpful and really knew what they were serving. They probably had to go through vigorous training, and it definitely showed.
Having been to Jamie's Fifteen bistro in London, I dare say that we're more impressed with the food here. I admit I had my doubts when he first opened, expecting it to be more of a gimmick than a decent restaurant, but I've been well and truly proven wrong. In fact, I already know what we're ordering next.
A says:
After a disappointing meal when we went to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen in London, this place turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The food was really good, and not super expensive. I especially liked the canneloni, although they could do with a smaller and cheaper portion size (6 instead of 9?).
What really impressed me was the quality of the service. Polite despite the rush and well versed in the dishes.
I'm not sure it's worth a long wait to get in, but if you want to go early or eat at weird hours, I highly recommend it.
Jamie's Italian
1 HarbourFront Walk,
VivoCity, #1-165-167
Tel: 6733-5500
Sun to Thurs: 12 noon - 10 pm
Fri & Sat: 12 noon -11 pm
www.jamieoliver.com/italian/singapore/home
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