Has anyone eaten at one of these?
(
http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/food-menu)
Locations:
• OXFORD
• BATH
• BIRMINGHAM
• KINGSTON
• BRIGHTON
• BRISTOL
• CANARY WHARF
• GLASGOW
• GUILDFORD
• CARDIFF
• CAMBRIDGE
• READING
• LEEDS
• NOTTINGHAM
• COVENT GARDEN
• LIVERPOOL
• WESTFIELD
• PORTSMOUTH
• DUBAI
• SYDNEY
I go to my local one semi-frequently and it's absolutely the best restaurant in town. The thing is Jamie Oliver might be overreached in central London but these restaurants are perfect for the provinces, where the local Italian serves reformed ham and cheap pasta.
Points:
* ingredients are all of a very high quality - they deal with a supplier in Cornwall and get the fish daily. Cured meat etc. is all top-grade, the pasta is made by hand in the restaurant
* the standard of cooking is good - something like 'crispy squid' is genuinely crispy, not stodgy or oily (fresh oil) and comes with a nice garlic mayo
* the service is not great, the atmosphere is casual, not romantic or business-like, and there tend to be queues out the door every night
* the bank manager has been over the menu - £4.25 for the smallest glass of wine in a casual restaurant in the provinces is priced to maximise yield, my fish stew at £14.75 was not particularly big and the fish used not expensive varieties, but the flavour is unmatchable in your typical provincial restaurant
* they seem to have figured out how to 'chain' a restaurant - over two years the standards have not dropped despite having two dozen branches all over the country.
* it's going to the best dining choice in most of the towns it's in