Lunch Date

One of the reasons why we decided to watch a movie in Gunwharf Quays was because we wanted to try out this new Italian restaurant.

  The Jamie's Italian is owned by one of the celebrity chefs here in the UK, Jamie Oliver. 

I received an email giving us a 50% off on lunch (excluding drinks) for this week. It was too great an offer to miss. 

We booked a table for 1pm and we timed it well coz our movie ended a few minutes before. 

We were happy to find that our table was ready when we got there. I love the interior of the restaurant. Some of the materials used such as the stunning mosaic floor were reclaimed. It was hard to imagine that the place was a sportswear shop just a few months ago.

There is no way that you'll miss these display of antipasti as you walk in the restaurant. They also have all their breads on display and you get to see them as they are prepared before serving. 

They also sell Jamie Oliver food products, cooking gadgets, recipe books etc and these are displayed throughout the restaurant.

We didn't have to wait long before they arrived to get our orders. Our waitress was lovely and was very attentive. She knew the menu and confidently answered our questions. 

The food was a lot better than the pics. Papa E had crispy squid that was served with garlicky mayo & lemon. I had baked chestnut mushroom with crispy bread and smoked buffalo mozzarella. 

For mains I had the Angus sirloin steak with grilled mushrooms and dressed peppery watercress, cooked medium. I also ordered chips with fresh garlic and parsley which we shared. 

Papa E had the prawn linguine. Pan fried garlicky prawn with shaved fennel, tomatoes, chili and rocket with fresh pasta. 

 And we were not going to leave without trying out at least one dessert. We settled on Warm chocolate, raspberry and amaretto brownie served with vanilla ice cream. 


Our verdict: Papa E loved the crispy squid. We also think that the pasta was excellent. Adding fresh garlic and parsley to the chips have added wonderful aroma & flavours =) The steak was fine, but I have to say that I've tasted better. 
Unfortunately there was a big group of noisy girls there that made it extremely hard to hold a proper conversation. Especially when there was already a loud-ish music playing in the the restaurant. Good thing that we have been warned by friends that the place could be a bit loud & busy (since it was really popular).
Because of the name, the food were quiet expensive for what they are. Nevertheless, Papa E and I still had a good lunch. Although I am not sure if we would go back even if we're lucky to be given another voucher. x