Food review: Jamie’s Italian, Birmingham

It’s all about Italy at the moment. The food, the country, the language. Pizza, pasta, Prosecco and passion.

After recently returning from a momentous holiday in Florence, withdrawal symptoms were setting in. So it seemed like a natural choice to pay a visit to Jamie’s Italian to get a much-needed fix before a night at the theatre.

We were early birds and arriving just after 5pm. It was quiet with a soft hum of diners as background noise and we had our pick of the tables and chose one away from everybody else and in a good people-watching spot.

The interior has a rather rustic, industrial, warehouse feel. The lofty ceilings make it feel light, spacious and airy alongside the basic-looking metal chairs and wooden tables giving it that oh-so-trendy edge.

Our waiter was great. Not overwhelming with niceties, just there when we needed him, polite, prompt, efficient and smiley.

We were given two menus, the main one and then a separate lunch one. This seemed odd but they were still serving this particular option until 6pm. It was a decent deal too: two courses for £11.95 or three courses for £13.95.

My frugal, eye-for-a-bargain, significant other pounced straight on the cheap eats. He reeled off his entire meal within seconds and left me panicking as the waiter approached and I was nowhere near to deciding.

We ordered wine to get things started. We’d been spoiled by the fine vino we’d sampled in Italy which was both delicious and reasonably priced. Over here it’s always on the expensive side and we glossed over the notion of a bottle of Prosecco. At £29.50 a bottle, gulp, it seemed a little steep.

Instead it was a crisp, refreshing zesty white at an acceptable £18ish which was perfect on warm summery – if a little drizzly – evening.

We were sharing starters: the tomato bruschetta and crunchy Italian nachos which arrived in just the right amount of time.

The brushetta was sweet and crispy. The toasted bread was loaded with big dollops of whipped ricotta, luscious cherry tomatoes and fragrant basil. It was a slice of heaven.

The nachos aren’t your run-of-the-mill tortilla triangles either. These are gorgeous, crispy ravioli pillows covered in sprinklings of soft Parmesan with a little pot of spicy Arrabiata sauce which was perfectly seasoned and full of Italian flavours.

They were devoured in minutes, hunger getting the better of us.

We enjoyed a break between courses, remarking on how delightful the wine was when our mains were proffered by our lovely waiter. I’d played it safe with The Julietta pizza. Jamie’s given it a fancy name in homage to wife Jools but the reality is it’s just your basic Margherita. The base was not too thin to be non-existant and definitely not thick enough to out-do the toppings.

It was yummy. Sweet tomato, salty cheese and aromatic basil creating the perfect combination. The sour-dough base was a winner too, with a nice chewiness rather than the thin and crispy sort that tends to mean hard flakes of bread fall off with every bite.

He’d gone for skirt steak (nothing to do with female cows!) with slaw and fries. It was quite a flat cut of meat but big enough and thick enough to fulfil the appetite of a six-foot man.

Cooked well, the meat was tender and tasty, accompanied by a creamy garlic and herb sauce that meant the whole dish wasn’t too dry.

The fries were skinny and fluffy, unseasoned and just right for a light but filling pre-theatre meal.

The slaw was an earthy mix of shredded red cabbage with a tart, vinegary dressing which I managed to shovel down effortlessly and with great gusto as he wasn’t quite so keen on it.

Almost full to bursting we had saved a little bit of space for dessert.

He’d already made his decision for chocolate brownies within seconds of seeing them on the menu. I trawled the list of treats feeling a little defeated by my two courses opting for a palate-cleansing lemon sorbet.

Toppings

Little did I know I could choose two toppings and Mr Wonderful waiter returned listing off my options.

I went for meringue and berry compote. A bit of crunch and a lovely sweet sauce to complement the tart and zesty sorbet.

The other Mr Wonderful in the restaurant was in seventh heaven when his dessert arrived. The brownie came topped with luscious ice cream and tasty toffee popcorn. There was a good slice of the moist cake which gave the whole delicious feast a satisfying send-off.

As we were still a little early to take our seats for the ballet we rounded things off with a coffee and peppermint tea while we let our dinner settle and took in the atmosphere of the restaurant as it was slowly filling up.

The bill came in at a little over £60 not bad for six dishes, wine and water.

There was a minor mistake on the bill but, after such an enjoyable meal, we weren’t going to quibble over an extra 80p for a coffee.

The carbohydrate-laced dinner was a big hit. And it set us up for the evening of culture and most importantly our next Italian adventure.