Jamie’s Italian Manchester Review

Anyone who reads this blog will know that I love food and wine, in particular Italian food and wine. So when I was invited to pop along to Jamie’s Italian Manchester and take a look at their new Summer menu, I could hardly say no! So off we went, on a lovely Manchester Summer’s evening (it was actually sunny!), stomachs suitably empty and ready for some grub. We arrived at the stunning building at the top of King Street in the city centre (a former bank) and was greeted by smiles at the door. It was a Saturday evening and the place was heaving and buzzing with atmosphere, sounds from the kitchen and smells of yummy food teased our nostrils as we were shown to our table. We had the perfect view for people-watching, from the mezzanine level over-looking the main floor. Look at the grand setting…

It’s always a test of service when a restaurant this size is packed full of customers, and I have to say, from the word-go, the service was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. We were offered our menus right away and a few minutes later, we were ordering our drinks.

We opted for Jamie’s Italian Wine, which is delivered from Italy to the UK in eco-friendly cartons. Look at the pretty cartons all lined-up…

We went for a carafe of the Bianco which complimented our entire meal nicely (and was refreshing on a warm Summer’s evening).

Cheers!

Now onto the food menu – the best bit! There’s a great selection in the new Summer menu and I could’ve happily chose a number of things. I was close to ordering the My Caprese Salad, but got swayed by the specials when our waitress read them out.

I couldn’t resist the gorgeous-sounding Bruschetta with Prosciutto, Ricotta and Pear, drizzled with Honey. And I’m glad i didn’t as it was a lovely, light starter packed full of flavour. The salty meat sat perfectly against the smooth, creamy ricotta, crisp pear and sticky, sweet honey. It comes served on a wooden board and is just the right portion I’d say to start you off.

Hubby went for the blokey option…The Meat Plank. This was a gorgeous selection of cured meats, cheeses, pickles, olives and a beetroot and carrot salad. It comes served literally on a plank, balanced atop two tins of Italian tomatoes. A really nice touch, reminding us of the authenticity of the ingredients used at Jamie’s Italian.

A lovely, fresh start to our meal and we both wolfed it all down. Next onto the mains. Again, there were quite a few things on the menu I wanted to order, but being a pasta-lover, I thought I’d regret it if I didn’t choose a pasta dish. So I chose the Squid and Mussel Spaghetti which was squid-ink spaghetti, with mussels, squid and octopus in a white wine, caper and garlic sauce. Boy was this delicious! I love the black colour of that spaghetti which makes the colourful seafood stand out even more. The ceramic dishes are gorgeous too and feel really Italian.

To be honest, when this arrived, I was worried it might be a bit fishy in taste (I know that sounds ridiculous as I ordered a seafood dish), but it wasn’t. It was perfectly balanced and the liquor the dish is nestled in was light and zingy with just the right amount of chilli. I would definitely order this again any day of the week. And here’s me trying to eat the spaghetti in a lady-like manner (but making a bit of a mess).

Hubby went for the Crispy Soft-Shell Crab which looked absolutely stunning arriving on its own platter atop a chilli, fennel and sea lettuce salad with a zingy salsa. I of course had to have a little taste and it really was scrummy. Crispy to bite into, but soft, sweet crab meat against the zesty, fresh salad. Very moreish!

Of course we couldn’t resist a side of Polenta Chips, which come dressed with Rosemary Salt and Parmesan. Mmmmm.

The mains were seriously good and they certainly didn’t scrimp on the portion size – good value for money I’d say. And I consider myself a pasta-aficionado (or obsessive…one or the other) and that bowl of pasta certainly hit the spot! Next onto the desserts, just to finish-off this lovely Summer’s Italian meal perfectly. Again, definitely a couple of things I would have happily tucked into…

We both wanted the Amalfi Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, but apparently so did everyone else in the restaurant – as sadly they’d run out. My heart sank…only to be quickly restored when I noticed the Epic Homemade Brownie on the menu, which came served with salted caramel ice-cream and popcorn! Er don’t mind if I do.

We shared this as it’s seriously naughty, sticky, gooey and delicious (we fought over the popcorn though!). Hubby had a Cappuccino and the meal was finished-off perfectly. And what a meal it was – 3 courses of Italian authenticity. A perfect Summer menu, packed full of choice and flavour and in solid portion sizes (which is what we all want from our meal really isn’t it). The food speaks for itself, but the setting is also worth a mention. The fit-out of this restaurant is seriously awesome, with the bar and kitchen visible and the fresh, Italian ingredients hanging on show to whet your appetite. Even though in Manchester, you can certainly pretend you’re in a restaurant in Italy for the evening.

And there’s even a little gift-shop on the main floor, selling all the finishing touches for your meal that you enjoyed while eating your meal…the Jamie’s Italian napkins and tea-towels were a favourite of ours and you can buy them at a reasonable price. You can also buy the wooden planks that much of the menu is served on, as well as Jamie’s cook-books and other bits. I had to stop myself from buying one of everything.

And finally, it’s rare that I mention the toilets when I write about my trip to a restaurant, but the toilets at Jamie’s are so worth a mention (those of you that have been will know what I mean). They’re so cool! Victorian in style, tiled and huge. They’re down-stairs towards the old vault of the bank (which incidentally, is a private dining room). So you can even enjoy this part of your evening 😉

All in all, I’d say Jamie’s Italian Manchester is the perfect option for an authentic Italian meal, for couples, friends, girly-nights-out or work-lunches. There’s plenty of room and it has a friendly, informal atmosphere but still with the attention to detail and service that makes it a special meal out.

I would highly recommend a visit and if you haven’t been for a while, pop back in as the new Summer menu is certainly worth a try. Have you been to Jamie’s? What did you think?   [mc-sign-up-list]