The newly-opened Jamie's Pizzeria by the UK based celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, seems to give its Indian clients the real taste of its light and thin crust pizzas.The USP of the restaurant lies in its affordable prices. Riya sharma checks in
Wooden colourful chairs with an open kitchen in the restaurant, large chalkboards displaying the specials from the menu and Jamie Oliver’s books kept on the drawers — we felt we have entered a small yet pleasing British restaurant when we took a quick glance of the newly opened Jamie’s pizzeria by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
The restaurant on the third floor of the Ambience mall offers a perfect setting for those looking for a quick grab after their hectic day of shopping or a relaxed day after a movie. The first part of the place has wooden chairs with an open kitchen in the middle, which is followed by a more private seating area in the latter half.
After having a look of the whole place, we were delighted to meet the manager, Alexander Troughton. He told us that this is the first ever standalone project of Jamie Oliver where he has opened Jamie’s Pizzeria besides the Jamie Italian which has two of their restaurants in Oxford and Cambridge.
He recommended, that we should definitely try their hand stretched garlic bread topped with garlic butter and rosemary served with an olive tapenade. The bread as opposed to what we usually have was crunchy and did not have garlic or cheese dripping in from inside. The sauce gave a refreshing break from the sauces that we are accustomed to but had a little tangy flavour. The next thing that we tried was fritto misto, prawns, squids & selection of local fried fish in crispy batter with chunky italian tartare sauce. It was crispy and fried perfectly, the sauce on the other hand was their in-house which tasted somewhat like our regular mayonnaise. It was complemented in the best manner with their homemade iced tea. The manager told us that there is a story behind the homemade iced tea and we were all the more excited to hear about it. He shared, “One of our employee told us about the recipe that runs in his family. We were more than happy to add that in our menu.”
While we were enjoying our appetisers, another quick grab from the salad menu— caprese salad having buffalo mozzarella, heritage tomatoes, sherry vinegar with the assorted with basil and olive oil was presented in front of us. The tomatoes were fresh as they believe in Jamie’s — to serve fresh food at affordable prices. The cheese was again like an icing on the cake which completed the taste for the salad.
While our interaction with the manager, we were told that as this is a comparatively small project than Jamie Italian as here their focus is entirely on pizzas. So, we were ready to taste the flavour of the pizza that has been in news since the time it announced its flagship restaurant in India. We ordered Delhi hot which is similar to their Cambridge hot and chilly freak. Delhi hot served with spiced mutton meatballs, tomatoes, mozzarella and chilli with the right amount of sauce spread and meatballs not ‘thrown’ but placed in the right proportion was a delight. The base was crunchy, thin and was light on our stomach. The meatballs on the other hand, were cooked on the right temperature and were soft as they melted in our mouth.
Chilly freak, with their secret chilly sauce, crushed tomatoes, jalapenos, with vegeterian parmesan were mixed perfectly with chilly and mint. Though it is super spicy as they told us but we think it would work for those who enjoy more spice on their platter.
“We believe in delivering the best and fresh at an affordable price. That is why, we have kept the price range from ` 200-500. We have retained some of the pizzas from our restaurants in Oxford and Cambridge, beside the spice, we know it is important to add the punch of flavours,” shared the manager.
What we liked most about the place is that they are preparing their own doughs and do not freeze them for later use. “We make our own dough every morning and evening to make it more crunchy and thin-crust, we use our hand- stretched technique. Though we are new in the market, we are learning about our Indian clients are we are open to all kind of suggestions,” he said.