Sept 2013 – Jamie’s Italian opened at VivoCity in Singapore in July, one of the hottest restaurants of the year.

Décor – The décor was industrial chic – a mixture of wooden tables, cupboards & wall-paneling with red leather and pastel blue steel chairs. What impressed me the most was the use of industrial lamps with antique chandeliers like the one at the restaurant’s foyer. The vintage crystal lightings gave the place its warmth and glam. The “planks” blended in as wall décor – check them out in all sizes in front of the open kitchen!

Now for the Food –

Meat Plank – an antipasti of Cured Meats (San Daniele Prosciutto, pistachio Mortadella, Bresaola & hot Soppressata), Cheeses (Buffalo Mozzarella & Pecorino with chilli jam), Pickles (Curly green chillies, green & Gaeta olives & caper berries) and Crunchy salad – shaved root veg with chilli, lemon & mint.

Beautiful presentation and tasty, but the portion was tiny, marginal even for two ladies’ sharing an appetizer.

 Crispy Squid – fried squid with garlicky mayo & lemon dip. Crispy with seasoned just right.

Black Angel Spaghetti – Squid ink pasta, scallops, garlic, chilli, anchovies, wine & capers. The pasta is hand-made everyday. Delicious and the best dish of our order! For ladies, I recommend ordering the small portion as a main dish, if you plan on having appetizer and dessert.

 

JI Warm Brownie – Chocolate, raspberry & amaretto brownie with vanilla ice-cream. Extremely rich brownie with hazelnuts and lots of fudge, hardly any flour. I would give this a miss the next time.

Creamy Panna Cotta – Lovely wobbly panna cotta served with a fruit compote. Smooth with generous topping of berries and sauce. Highly recommended!

Homemade Italian Lemonade – This was excellent. Best lemonade in Singapore!

According to the server, the house signature dishes are: The Planks, Baked Mushrooms, Crispy Squid, Prawn Linguine and Jool’s (Jamie’s wife) Favorite Silician Tuna Fusilli.

We were fortunate to be seated next to a large party who ordered a wide variety of the main dishes on the menu, so we had a better idea what everything else looked like. The Pink Snapper Acqua Pazza (pan-fried whole pink snapper with olives, garlic, wine, capers, parsley & baby plum tomatoes) looked fabulous!

As you enter the restaurant, check out the bread station – the loaves are huge!

Of course, we couldn’t leave Jamie’s Italian without taking a look at Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks!

Updated Nov 2015 – Jamie’s Italian now has a second branch in Singapore, at Forum Orchard Road.

All photos were taken by Mrs. King.