Jamie’s Italian – Westfield, Stratford City

The night before heading to Jamie’s Italian – I had sat salivating on my sofa watching his latest show ‘Jamie’s Great Britain’. Never in my 14 years of meat-free food have I ever eyed up a lamb the way I did that night. So, full to the brim of love for Jamie Oliver's food, me and my lovely man-boy headed off to Westfield to check out his latest Italian in the new Westfield in Stratford.

Having been to his Kingston-upon-Thames and Shepherds Bush branches before, I knew what to expect, but in all honesty, the buzz of the new restaurant really added to the experience. The staff were nearly as excited to be there as me – our waiter was warm and friendly and very attentive.

We decided to skip starters in aid of dessert. Then suddenly, the enormity of the task at hand dawned on me. What to have? There isn’t a huge range of vegetarian food on offer, but what they do offer is top notch. I’ve started eating fish in the last couple of years and rapidly rediscovered my love for prawns, so I went with a Prawn Linguine. Garlic, Fennel, Tomato and Chilli – it ticked all the right boxes and the pasta was cooked perfectly. (All of the pasta is made fresh on site and you can really taste the difference)

My partner went for Truffled Turkey Milanese which was brave as he hates mushrooms (but let’s be honest, they aren’t any old mushroom) We then both decided that the sides were too good to miss out on so we got some rosemary and parmesan polenta. Delicious. I must admit, every time I visit I get this, no matter what I order. I’ve not managed to perfect my own version yet – but I will!

After our mains our sweet tooth kicked in and we went for two (not one in true TGOC style) desserts. I went for the Almalfi lemon curd tart while Joe went for a Sicilian cheese cake. Both were amazing. (I  made sure I got a good chunk of his too!) They are the kind of desserts that make you make that un-lady like groan at the dinner table.

 Although these restaurants are a chain – they have a little something more than the usual. Whether it’s down to the beautiful presentation or the staff’s enthusiasm for what they are doing, I don’t know. But whatever it is, I like it.

Good for – Casual dining. A relaxed after work glass of vino and bowl of incredible pasta.

Bad for – Glitz and glam – although who is to say you can’t wear a cocktail dress here?

Price – Very reasonable – between £12-18 for mains with steaks being the higher end of the price list.

Service – Top notch.