Jamie's Italian
Price guide: Mid-range
11 Upper St Martin's Lane, London, WC2H 9FB
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#65 of 115
expert-rated restaurants in London- Recommended for:
- Backpackers / Students, Families with teenagers, Families with younger children, First-time travellers, Stag / hen parties, Nightlife, People watching, Shopping
Expert review of Jamie's Italian
You can’t come to London without trying a Jamie Oliver restaurant – or can you?
The best thing about Jamie Oliver’s first restaurant, the social enterprise Fifteen, is the pasta dishes, so this slightly cheaper, family-friendly chain is a logical and rather handy progression.
Food and drink:
The dishes have all the exuberance of his best-selling cookbooks but some of the pitfalls of mass catering – things like skin forming on the butter sauces, strands of pasta sticking together in rope-like fashion, and so on. But there’s much to like: Jamie Oliver is a master at improving Italian cuisine, taking classic bold flavours and combining them in ways that seem fresh – witness ‘posh chips’ sprinkled with parmesan and truffle oil.
Ambience:
The cavernous space is divided into several eating areas, some with retro and contemporary chandeliers adding a night-owl vibe, others more utilitarian. You’ll see plenty of food on display, from canned tomatoes to trendy fresh veg, and blackboards highlighting daily specials.
Service:
As you might expect, is of the chummy “Hi guys” variety but not over-familiar, and quite efficient. The problem is the wait for tables – it’s nice not to have to book, but when you’re queuing in a busy bar you kind of wish you could (and if there’s six to 14 of you planning to dine together, you can).
Location:
A shiny new development on the edge of Covent Garden.
Price advice:
If you’re the kind of person who just doesn’t want to pay a tenner for a plate of pasta, best avoid. Other main courses are £10.95-£16.45, so while it’s Jamie Oliver’s cheaper option, it isn’t cheap. You could keep costs down by skipping the side dishes (a tiny plate of pumpkin and burrata is £5.95).
Other useful branches:
The chain is expanding quickly and you’ll find outlets in Westfield Shepherd’s Bush, Canary Wharf and Kingston, as well as other UK cities – see website for details. You’ll also find details there of the original Fifteen outlet and his new meat restaurant-plus-butcher Barbecoa, which has been receiving lukewarm reviews despite its appealing ethos and sensational location.
More information on Jamie's Italian:
- Price guide:
- Type:
- Bar, Brasserie, Restaurant
- Food:
- Italian, Modern
- Address:
- 11 Upper St Martin's Lane, London, WC2H 9FB
- Telephone:
- 020 3326 6390
- Website:
- http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/covent-garden
- Serves:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Opening times:
- Mon-Sat noon-11.30pm, Sun noon-10.30pm.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Reservations:
- Not possible
- Free tags / Keywords:
- celebrity chef, tv chefs
