July 2010

On his website Jamie Oliver says “I should have been Italian.” It is his passion for produce that ties him to Italy. Take a look at the classic cookbook The Silver Spoon and then go and eat at his new restaurant in Glasgow and you will see the link. Fresh, unadulterated produce rules and his passion for it is infectious. Add Glasgow and its love of ‘La Dolce Vita’ as the latest venue for his chain of restaurants and ‘the job’s a goodun’.

We visited on the first Saturday of service and the restaurant was buzzing. Two hundred and thirty three covers and one hundred staff were all equally excited to be here.

Italian hams hang from the rafters, breads (including Sardinian music bread), Amalfi lemons and fennel line the walls, marble topped work surfaces, two ‘pasta exuders’  and rustic wooden tables all set the scene for a beautifully thought-out menu and list of specials. Our party of six ordered bottles of Prosecco and Barbera and got stuck in to the menu.

There are no self-conscious, awkward questions about provenance as all the dishes   are explained by friendly well-informed staff. Most of the produce comes from either Scotland or Italy whilst the flour comes from Jamie Oliver’s Four Station in London.

We ordered a combination of nibbles and antipasti; the meat plank (£6.65 per head), crispy squid with really garlicky aioli (£5.10), smoky mozzarella arancini (£4.75), the
worlds best olives on ice (£3.60), herby marinated whitebait (£3.95) and a selection of Italian breads (£2.95).

The glossy, green Umbrian olives were enormous, fleshy and juicy. I thought they were best at room temperature on the meat plank rather than iced. Spectacular presentation did nothing for the flavour and was a slightly pretentious touch that was out of character.  The fennel salami and pistachio-studded mortadella were first class in the flavour stakes and perfect with the Barbera. The buffalo mozzarella literally quivered it was so milky and tender. The chillies and capers, the mayo, the fish, the olive oil, the bread, all the freshest flavours of Italy were here and utterly delicious. Ripe, salty pecorino on Sardinian flatbread with chilli jam also featured on the meat plank.

For mains I chose the scallop and squid ink linguine (£7.95/£13.50). The pasta is made fresh daily. We were seated close to the two red pasta exuders and watched the waiter make tagliatelle. Staff know exact proportions so the waitress could tell me my dish contained 75grammes of pasta. It was actually angel hair pasta which was so skinny and fresh it dissolved in the mouth. The combination of sea and chilli flavouring excited the palate. Thumbs up also for a special of line-caught mackerel, ‘spag bol’ made with the leanest meat, and the shell roasted king scallops (£15.25), which were described by my friend as “soft and buttery, complimented by the salty pancetta and cut though with a spicy tomato sauce.”

Dessert was lemon polenta cake (£4.95) for three of us and a Tiramisu (£4.95)for my friend which was divine, all cream and cocoa. My only surprise was that she shared.

Our 4 hours plus at Jamie’s Italian passed all too quickly. I think I can safely say that it lived up to our party's high expectations and we were unanimous in our desire to return asap. The food, the wine the ambience, all combine to make Jamie’s Italian a genuinely exciting addition to Scotland’s restaurant scene. An Edinburgh branch is planned for 2012.