Restaurant Review - Jamie's Italian
Monday 15 October 2012
With his new Dundrum Town Centre eatery, Jamie Oliver follows a list of U.K. based chefs into Dublin, most of whom hightailed it in jig time back to London. There is no point in pretending anymore that any of these guys are going to stir a pot in Dublin, and Oliver doesn’t. It’s a formula, so it very much comes down to who they line themselves up with here. Marco Pierre White is aligned successfully with the Fitzpatrick family in Dawson Street. So, that should augur well for JO’s line up with Gerry Fitzpatrick, of the same family, who has the very successful Chatham Brasserie. Oliver’s success has been based ab initio on his laid back casual ethos– the big trays of roasted vegetables and grub he stuffed in TV ovens as “the boys” arrived on their mopeds to tuck in with himself and Jools. Easy peasy entertaining struck a cord and has made him a fortune. His similarly relaxed restaurant theme is, of course, thought out and carried through with military precision, such as the tins of tomatoes “thrown” on the table as a base for charcuterie boards and platters.
My dining companions, Yannick Van Aeken and Louise Bannon, have been Sous Chef and Pastry Chef respectively at the World’s No 1 restaurant, NOMA, in Copenhagen, for the past six years, and can spot a soggy base or a burnt crisp at a thousand paces, but equally have a great respect for good casual and home food. They met Jamie when he dined at the NOMA Pop Up at Claridge’s in London during the Olympics where they were cooking.
On two levels with an open kitchen, just as in his Covent Garden branch, a long antipasti counter is overhung with a veritable fortune in haunches of Parma ham. The décor is soft industrial retro with subway tiling. Antipasti includes planks of meat or vegetables at €8.75 per person, or plates from €4.25, including mixed olives, crispy squid, Sicilian spaghetti fritters. We ordered three to share – a meat plank (€8.75), casually strewn on the tomato tins s of course, but with a meticulous arrangement of Parma ham, Mortadella, salami, Buffalo mozzarella, and Pecorino cheese dotted with sweet chilli sauce. A rosy sextet of squat red chilies (€5.75) stuffed with tuna, capers, herb cresses and anchovies, were morsels of delight, sprinkled with mini leaves, Balsamic and Extra Virgin olive oil, whilst a warm earthy pastry lined terracotta dish of baked chestnut mushrooms and smoked Mozzarella, topped with thyme, (€6.95) was plentiful and tasty.
With three chefs alone dedicated to making pasta in Dundrum, you can have anything from Penne to Panzerotti €8.45/€14.75 in two sizes. Mains €13.95/€21.50 offered seven viands from Jamie’s Italian burger to turkey Milanese, and slow braised Irish lamb breast. Fish dishes included Ligurian Fish stew, and a daily fillet of fish (€20.50) baked in a bag. It was whiting and had too many bad school memories of bony “whiting Fridays” for me. Seaside Risotto (€19.95) for Louise was a vibrant saffron yellow mélange of rice, infused with mackerel, prawns, clams, mussels, cockles, squid, gurnard, chilli, and white wine. It disappeared with indecent haste, so I guess that’s something from a chef from the No. 1 Restaurant in the world. Yannick also got through his Veal Saltimbocca (€17.95) smartly, a plentiful plate of Irish Rose veal pounded with sage and prosciutto, and criss crossed with a line of spicy tomato salsa. I had Irish Coast Fritto Misto (€19.95), which included a scallop in a shell standing proud, prawn, sardine, mackerel, white fish, and clams. It looked the biz and ate well. Between us we also shared a bowl of polenta chips (€4.50) fried and sprinkled with rosemary, salt and Parmesan.
A brace of desserts at €6.50 a pop, Sicilian cheesecake topped with shreds of candied citrus fruit, and Amalfi lemon curd slice with toasted pistachios and crushed berries – reminded me of the Queen song ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ – heavy base and a tad stodgy! With a glass of Organic Chardonnay House Wine (€5) for Yannick, and two homemade lemonades (€3.95 ea), our bill with optional service came to €119.70.
I don’t think Jamie will be exiting Dublin anytime soon!
Jamie’s Italian,
Unit 1
Pembroke District,
Dundrum Town Centre,
Dublin. 16.
Tel: (01) 298-0600
www.lucindaosullivan.com