Walking in to Jamie’s Italian on Bunda Street – surely the most anticipated restaurant opening in Canberra for quite some time – one word springs to mind:
BIG.
Let’s start with the obvious. The Jamie Oliver name is big. Really big. So too is the new dining room – much larger than the old Kingsley’s Steakhouse it replaces. Finally, the servings are big. If you make your way back onto the sunny street without feeling full, well, we’d be surprised.
There’s a certain energy that permeates through the space. The mosaic-tile graphic design style of the menus is only the starting point. Brightly painted steel chairs run through the room. A massive chandelier looms over diners from the almost impossibly high ceiling while an army of staff that would surprise an Apple store ferry food from the busy kitchen to hungry customers.
There’s very much a causal feel. The aim is to provide a space where you can enter on a whim for anything from a snack and drink after work through to a large function with nineteen of your best friends. We get the feeling this is a venue that will very easily cater for large groups.
For those who have visited the Sydney restaurant or those further afield (London? Perth?), you know what to expect from the menu. A collection of delicious and generous ‘planks’ provide antipasti across a number of themes. Each element adheres to the Jamie Oliver philosophy that ‘you eat with your eyes’. The attention to detail is rather impressive with a broad range of colours. The beetroot-cured salmon is a particular delicacy.
So, what for mains? Well, this is an Italian-themed restaurant, so it’s hard to go past the pastas (served in entrée and main portions). The Mortadella and Ricotta Panzarotti was an indulgence, smsothered as it was with blue cheese sauce. The apple, lemon and parsley tops it off nicely though.
We were doing lunch at Jamie’s Italian for lunch, so unfortunately had to forgo desserts due to a lack of time and the deep danger of sinking in to a food coma (you’ll have to check them out and let us know).
The doors are finally thorn open next week. We’re sure it will be another attraction to the already-0busy North quarter of The Canberra Centre.
Buon appetito
Click here for more information and Jamie’s Italian’s brochure page.
