Founded in 2008 by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his mentor, chef Gennaro Contaldo, Jamie’s Italian has since grown to over 60 restaurants all around the world.
If you are a fan of Jamie Oliver’s rustic Italian food, this restaurant is available at both VivoCity and Forum The Shopping Mall.
The restaurant at VivoCity harboured a welcoming and cosy ambience, along with an open kitchen too.
It also has a counter that sells Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks, a well-stocked bar, and its wall was decorated with photographs of the chef and his team. Talk about a one-stop shop for anything related to Jamie Oliver.
We were invited to try the revamped menu, which included a lot of truffle-centric dishes.
For antipasti a.k.a starters, we tried a selection of crostini in small tasting portions. The Salumi Crostini ($15) came with whipped buffalo ricotta and aged balsamic, which neutralised the salinity of the crispy salumi (Italian bacon).
I enjoyed the sweetness of the balsamic roasted cherry tomato on the Tomato Crostini ($15), which tasted a lot like a Caprese salad along with the artisanal ricotta and refreshing basil leave.
Crab & Avocado Crostini ($15) was quite delightful as well, thanks to the aromatic fennel and zesty yoghurt that uplifted the taste.
Caesar Salad ($26.50) consisted of the classics such as chargrilled chicken, crispy romaine lettuce, red chicory, onions, parmesan, and of course, the ciabatta croutons.
What I liked about Jamie Italian’s twist would be the addition of toasted hazelnuts and chervil, which combined well with the classic Caesar salad. The leaves were also well-coated with an exceptionally tangy and delicious home-made dressing.
If you have room for sides, try the buttery and smooth Truffle Mashed Potato ($7.50), made from Russet potatoes and shaved black truffle.
The crusty Truffle Flatbread ($10) was sprinkled with parmesan, but there wasn’t a lot of truffle taste present for this one.
What’s Italian food without pizza? We tried a white sauce based Truffle Shuffle ($26.50), made with a Truffle bechamel sauce, topped with fontal cheese, balsamic onions, gooey free-range egg and shaved black truffle.
This meatless pizza was quite decent overall but I would prefer that the onions were excluded because the sweetness overpowered the taste of truffle.
Truffle Ravioli ($26.50) came with freshly minced black winter truffle and crispy sage, which added a minty aroma to lighten the creamy dish.
The filling to pasta ratio for the ravioli was quite decent and definitely not stingy. Made with a vegetable stock, this dish is meat-free and perfect for vegetarians.
Penne Arrabbiata ($16.50 for small, $24.50 for large) came in a fiery tomato and garlic sauce, and it was quite spicy thanks to the Bird’s Eye chillies.
The penne was al dente and well coated with the sauce. Served with a spoonful of pangrattato (bread crumbs), mix them into the pasta for an interesting texture.
Lastly, we had the 280g Rib Eye Steak ($46.00) from New Zealand. It came laying on a bed of greens with grilled Portobello Mushrooms, lemony gremolata and a side of chips that came with raw slices of garlic.
The taste was smoky, and that’s about it. I felt like the seasoning could be improved and for its medium-rare doneness, the white piece of fat wasn’t rendered properly and it resulted in an overly chewy bite.
For a celebrity restaurant, I have to say that the Ribeye I had did not do any justice to Jamie Oliver’s name. However, the other dishes were pretty delicious for their respective prices, and I enjoyed the crostini and pasta dishes.
Expected Damage: $25 – $35++ per pax
