Jamie’s stays rooted to Italian tradition even as its new menu flirts with fusion food and sweet delicacies. Ankita Jain reports
Open the door to Jamie’s Italian and you’re greeted by the machines which make fresh pasta and pizza bread every day. The place with worn out doors gives an old world charm to the bistro. It is upbeat with red seating and dull yellow lights. Special menu for the day finds itself marked on a chalkboard hung on the walls. look closer and you will see tiny cans of olives, relishes and other products on display with an open kitchen.
The menu takes you beyond the normal pastas and pizzas commonly associated with Italian food into clever culinary avatars and playful flavoured combinations.
We start off with the authentic world’s best olives on ice, served in a glass full of ice fused with olives around. To tingle the taste buds, the flavour of achhar and papad is added with olives. Next up is penne arrabbiata; a bowl of pasta swimming in a pool of creams and sauces, topped with grated cheese lending an artistic finish. We sprinkle chilli flakes on the pasta, and enjoy the crisp result, enhanced by the accompanying focaccia bread. Also, the chicken in the pasta is soft and melty, and sweet corn adds to the flavour--a plate enough for two persons. A delicious mix of sweet and sour flavours transport us to Italy. Moreover, a live pasta counter dishes out homemade pastas including linguini (noodle-like), pappardelle, and tagliati which are ribbon-shaped pastas.
In between, raspberry mule, a concoction of vodka fused with fresh raspberry, lime and ginger that is served in a high ball glass. It is a drink for someone who enjoys vodka with a sweet taste. The chef also sends up a roasted pepper calzone, filled with creamy tomato sauce, roasted red peppers, red onions and mature cheddar. This is topped with crushed tomatoes, mutton meatballs, mozzarella and chilli. The thin crust bread in the pizza could have been a bit softer. And the wild mushroom crostini is made with a creamy mushroom sauce, rocket leaves, chilli, parsley and wild mushrooms. The food is distinctly Italian, but new techniques are skillfully used to give diners a touch of the unexpected even within the familiar.
The dessert section has been designed in a way to break even a dieter’s will power. How does one refuse an ultimate dessert plank featuring tiramisu with orange mascarpone and chocolate, seasonal pavlova with chantilly cream and seasonal fruit compote, baked cheesecake with candied citrus fruits and lemon, plum-almond tart with whipped cream, honey and fresh mint and epic brownie with warm fudgy brownie topped with ice cream and caramelised popcornIJ Epic brownie is a win-win of all.nki