Jamie Oliver’s invasion of the food world has stopped short of Birmingham in the past but for no longer! Jamie’s Italian restaurant, which is named simply ‘Jamie’s Italian’, will be gracing the slopes of Birmingham’s Bullring this autumn.
Jamie’s Italians have been springing up all over the country in the last few years and there is now an exceptionally pleasant Jamie’s in Cambridge, Bath and now Birmingham. These are all decked out in stylish décor, but each one has great interiors that have all been lovingly decorated with food. Huge cured hams, giant Italian cheeses in nets and sausages hang from market place like ceilings and huge boxes of pasta are put on display in the restaurants as an encyclopaedia of pasta shapes and get people salivating.
With this kind of food knocking around, it’s no wonder that Jamie is famous for saying he should have been born Italian. Jamie’s Italian serves Jamie’s own take on the basic meals that everyday Italians would eat and he basks in the freshness of simple ingredients such as tomatoes, olive oils and fresh fish. Fresh pasta is made daily for the restaurant and Jamie aims to keep the entire menu seasonal.
The menu includes a range of traditional pastas, steaks and fish but even though Jamie’s names for his dishes aren’t exotic, they are full of authentic and complex flavours. Jamie’s ‘Fish baked in a bag’ is a prime example of a delicious meal with a very unflattering name. This is definitely a place not to skimp on the starters or sides too, with nibble dishes like battered Parmesan coated courgette, music bread and rustic cured meat boards.
Jamie’s Italian will be open on the 8th November at St Martin’s Square in the Bullring.
Area Culture Guide 