A few weeks ago me and my Mum made a shopping trip to York. Usually when we visit the lovely city we go to Betty's for lunch, we get fancy cakes and drink nice tea, but after seeing the tourist filled queue we decided to give it a miss.
Mum recalled that Jamie Oliver had opened one of his restaurants in the city so while wandering around working up an appetite we had a look for it. Eventually we found it back where we started, just across the square from Betty's!
Tucked down a little alleyway in a yard where you wouldn't think to look if it weren't for the sneaky sign, we sneaked in the glass door and had a bit of a nosey at the items for sale. Baffled by the gigantic planks of wood and piles of napkins, we asked how long the wait for a table would be and miraculously, they had one available.
We rose up the floors, the restaurant feels a little like you could get lost, past the floor with what looked like the deli counter (this is where we sat on our second trip) right up to the top where the beams were high and bar was a marvel of old pipework. The atmosphere was wonderful, lots of bustling customers, with hardwood tables and metal utilitarian style chairs.
The menu all sounded delicious and we were presented with a selection of specials also. The pasta dishes were obviously what we were most interested in, and they handily come in two sizes so that you can mix and match if you like.
The presentation in this place is so fun and relaxed, but also really detailed. The napkins look like old fashioned glass cloths and have Jamie's Italian embroidered in them! You can buy them in the shop, which we did.
We ordered drinks and deliberated over mains for a while, before finally settling on a couple of sides and a couple of small portions of pasta. We didn't order one of the famous antipasti planks, but next time I definitely want to as they look so appetising.
Mum went for the Wild Rabbit Casareece, which she said was delicious. I couldn't steal much because it had a bit of a kick, but the little nibble i tried was rich with flavour and the meat very tender.
I surprised myself and chose the Wild Mushroom and Smoked Mozzarella Risotto, and I didn't regret the choice one bit. The rice was cooked to perfection, slightly gooey but not overdone, and the smoked mozzarella! I need to get some of that for cooking at home it was delicious and melted in to add the perfect finishing touch.
We tried a few sides, starting off healthy with a Rocket and Raddichio salad.
Then followed the not so healthy, The Posh Chips are drizzled with truffle oil and sprinkled with parmesan and are divine, I will be adding some to my shopping basket to try at home definitely. Crazily a woman at the next table over sent hers back for being too greasy without realising they were drizzled in truffle oil, I wonder what she thought made them Posh!
On our second trip, we also tried the Polenta chips, which I was really quite hesitant to try at first, but these were soft on the inside and crispy on the outer, perfect for soaking up any left over pasta sauce and I have already found the recipe online.
Finally we finished with some puddings. In our family dinner isn't dinner without pudding.
I went for the Chocolate and Espresso Profiteroles with bitter chocolate sauce. The sauce was a little too bitter for me, but the profiteroles themselves were lovely and pillowy.
Mum went for the Tutti-Frutti Lemon Meringue Pie which was refreshing, and sprinkled with little nuggets of pistachio heaven.
On our recent re-visit, both me and my sister had the Epic Brownie. Epic it certainly is, that is popcorn on top!
I have loved my meals at Jamie's Italian and would highly recommend you visit, the staff at York are so welcoming, efficient and courteous to any dietary requirements. I would warn though that on our second outing we went for full sized pasta portions, and while delicious you need to have a BIG appetite to finish them off!
Have you ever been to a celebrity chef's restaurant?
No comments :
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.