Eatery Hopping: Jamie's Italian, Edinburgh
If you keep up with the antics of any other UK-based bloggers, you may have seen various reviews of Jamie's Italian restaurants around our little island. Then again, you may not. Either way, you're about to see another one - mine!
When I very first started with my blog, I wondered for a little while how these people had managed to be noticed by the chain, and sort of resigned myself to the fact that I would not find myself in a similar position any time soon.
Then, when I had totally forgotten about it, I received an email asking if I would be interested in reviewing their new Evening Favourites menu! This must be what fame feels like. I've made it, guys. I've hit the big time.
A couple of weeks later, I duly made my way to the restaurant with Mum, my guest of choice for the evening. We were seated and presented with our menus when, in an odd turn of events, it turned out that the Evening Favourites menu had been discontinued a few days previously. This wouldn't have been odd if not for the fact that I had been specifically asked to review said menu. Unflustered, our waitress disappeared off before coming back with a couple of the no-longer-in-circulation Evening Favourites menus, and said that yes, we could order from this one tonight. (Sidenote: I delayed publishing this review because we got the impression the Evening Faves menu would be returning after a hiatus while it was revamped, but alas it is no more. There is, however, a Christmas menu!)
The appeal of this menu in particular is that it offers a two- or three-course deal. Two courses are £14.95, or for £18.95 you can have all three. So obviously we were going to have all three.
We started off with some Pinot Grigio (yes, Mum went for the most expensive wine on the list (but also don’t worry, it’s still not particularly pricey)) and a fruity tooty mocktail for me. If I remember correctly, it was lemony and gingery and very enjoyable.
For starters, our selections were truffle tagliatelle, and the primavera bruschetta. Sidenote: if you were unaware, bruschetta is not pronounced ‘brushetta’ as people seem to assume, but ‘brusketta’. Along those same lines, chorizo is ‘choreetho’. Anyway. The bruschetta was completely delicious, topped with lemony courgette and various other yummies, and in actual fact quite huge. This would easily do as a smallish main. The tagliatelle was, while not the most attractive dish in the word (when is pasta ever photogenic please), apparently very scrummy too. Wins all round!
With the mains, however, I was a teeeeeeny weeny bit disappointed. Mum enjoyed her Jamie’s burger very much indeed, and I pinched a good few chips which were extremely tasty (and I’m not even a huge chip fan). I had gone for what seemed to be the only vegetarian option for mains, which was a heritage tomato salad with some mozzarella, a few capers and, apparently, basil, although there wasn’t any noticeable amount of it (and no, it was not a caprese salad). It was nice, but it wasn’t amazing. I think it would have been much more suited to being a starter instead, in a smaller portion.
Even the most avid of tomato fans probably wouldn’t be over the moon with a giant plate of tomatoes for their main course (because that’s basically what it was). Don’t get me wrong - the tomatoes were lovely, but I was ready for something else after about two tomatoes-worth. I wouldn’t necessarily pick this one again, partly because #funfact tomato skins are actually indigestible so will make you feel bloated and slightly uncomfortable after an entire platter.
Only when we saw the menus again to look at puddings did I spot the other surreptitious veggie main - the veggie equivalent of Jamie’s burger, written as an aside to the normal burger. Missing it was entirely my fault but please, guys, make it more obvious on the menu! I have menu regret for it, big time.
We were back onto the right track when it came to our puddings - having been not totally overwhelmed with desire by any of the puddings on the evening favourites menu, we decided to order from the à la carte puddings menu instead. Mum went for the epic brownie, which she had been eyeing up ever since we first looked at the menu online, and I can testify that it was every bit as epic as it purports to be. I went for the polenta cake, which was truly scrumptious and I would definitely order again.
We followed up with some peppermint tea (#digestion) and prepared to roll ourselves back home. The three course option definitely is a fantastic deal, but I’d advise that you only go for it if you’re a) very hungry or b) have a huge (and I mean HUGE) capacity for food. Otherwise, two courses will fill you up very nicely!
So all in all, out of six dishes, we had five hits and one miss. Pretty good going, I’d say! I would definitely return, but I might ask for the bruschetta as a main, or maybe have the veggie burger. Then again, the evening favourites menu is no more, sadly, which means I’d be choosing from any of the pretty extensive options on the main menu. Little idea: a few more veggie dishes on the evening favourites menu would be an absolute dream.
Thank you so much to Jamie’s Italian for inviting us along - you are total babes. I highly recommend a visit!
*Disclaimer: Jamie’s Italian paid for part of our meal in return for a review, but all photos, opinions and words are my own (well, some opinions are Mum’s (and it goes without saying that all are honest and un-swayed)).
When I very first started with my blog, I wondered for a little while how these people had managed to be noticed by the chain, and sort of resigned myself to the fact that I would not find myself in a similar position any time soon.
Then, when I had totally forgotten about it, I received an email asking if I would be interested in reviewing their new Evening Favourites menu! This must be what fame feels like. I've made it, guys. I've hit the big time.
A couple of weeks later, I duly made my way to the restaurant with Mum, my guest of choice for the evening. We were seated and presented with our menus when, in an odd turn of events, it turned out that the Evening Favourites menu had been discontinued a few days previously. This wouldn't have been odd if not for the fact that I had been specifically asked to review said menu. Unflustered, our waitress disappeared off before coming back with a couple of the no-longer-in-circulation Evening Favourites menus, and said that yes, we could order from this one tonight. (Sidenote: I delayed publishing this review because we got the impression the Evening Faves menu would be returning after a hiatus while it was revamped, but alas it is no more. There is, however, a Christmas menu!)
The appeal of this menu in particular is that it offers a two- or three-course deal. Two courses are £14.95, or for £18.95 you can have all three. So obviously we were going to have all three.
We started off with some Pinot Grigio (yes, Mum went for the most expensive wine on the list (but also don’t worry, it’s still not particularly pricey)) and a fruity tooty mocktail for me. If I remember correctly, it was lemony and gingery and very enjoyable.
For starters, our selections were truffle tagliatelle, and the primavera bruschetta. Sidenote: if you were unaware, bruschetta is not pronounced ‘brushetta’ as people seem to assume, but ‘brusketta’. Along those same lines, chorizo is ‘choreetho’. Anyway. The bruschetta was completely delicious, topped with lemony courgette and various other yummies, and in actual fact quite huge. This would easily do as a smallish main. The tagliatelle was, while not the most attractive dish in the word (when is pasta ever photogenic please), apparently very scrummy too. Wins all round!
With the mains, however, I was a teeeeeeny weeny bit disappointed. Mum enjoyed her Jamie’s burger very much indeed, and I pinched a good few chips which were extremely tasty (and I’m not even a huge chip fan). I had gone for what seemed to be the only vegetarian option for mains, which was a heritage tomato salad with some mozzarella, a few capers and, apparently, basil, although there wasn’t any noticeable amount of it (and no, it was not a caprese salad). It was nice, but it wasn’t amazing. I think it would have been much more suited to being a starter instead, in a smaller portion.
Even the most avid of tomato fans probably wouldn’t be over the moon with a giant plate of tomatoes for their main course (because that’s basically what it was). Don’t get me wrong - the tomatoes were lovely, but I was ready for something else after about two tomatoes-worth. I wouldn’t necessarily pick this one again, partly because #funfact tomato skins are actually indigestible so will make you feel bloated and slightly uncomfortable after an entire platter.
Only when we saw the menus again to look at puddings did I spot the other surreptitious veggie main - the veggie equivalent of Jamie’s burger, written as an aside to the normal burger. Missing it was entirely my fault but please, guys, make it more obvious on the menu! I have menu regret for it, big time.
We were back onto the right track when it came to our puddings - having been not totally overwhelmed with desire by any of the puddings on the evening favourites menu, we decided to order from the à la carte puddings menu instead. Mum went for the epic brownie, which she had been eyeing up ever since we first looked at the menu online, and I can testify that it was every bit as epic as it purports to be. I went for the polenta cake, which was truly scrumptious and I would definitely order again.
We followed up with some peppermint tea (#digestion) and prepared to roll ourselves back home. The three course option definitely is a fantastic deal, but I’d advise that you only go for it if you’re a) very hungry or b) have a huge (and I mean HUGE) capacity for food. Otherwise, two courses will fill you up very nicely!
So all in all, out of six dishes, we had five hits and one miss. Pretty good going, I’d say! I would definitely return, but I might ask for the bruschetta as a main, or maybe have the veggie burger. Then again, the evening favourites menu is no more, sadly, which means I’d be choosing from any of the pretty extensive options on the main menu. Little idea: a few more veggie dishes on the evening favourites menu would be an absolute dream.
Thank you so much to Jamie’s Italian for inviting us along - you are total babes. I highly recommend a visit!
*Disclaimer: Jamie’s Italian paid for part of our meal in return for a review, but all photos, opinions and words are my own (well, some opinions are Mum’s (and it goes without saying that all are honest and un-swayed)).
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