Celebrity Does Not Guarantee Quality
H has wanted to go for a meal in Jamie's Italian Restaurant ever since it opened in The Oracle a couple of weeks ago, so we decided to check it out. And I'm sorry to report it is one of the worst restaurants I've ever had the misfortune of visiting.
Let's skip past the unattractive decor which makes it look (and sound) like a mess hall in a prison, and get straight to the food.
I ordered one of the specials - a seafood pasta dish - with some garlic bread. When the meal arrived, it was cooling off rather rapidly. There was very little seafood, but an awful lot of pasta. The pasta was very underdone, and I soon ran into difficulty trying to cut into knots of the stuff that was raw in the middle. The moules smelt extremely strong, which was a bit off-putting. I tried one anyway, but had to spit it out straightaway - it was clearly off. And the 'slow-baked' squid was tough and rubbery. Even the garlic bread disappointed, with barely any garlic, but a very unappealing side dish of black oily grease to dip it into.
I've had unsatisfactory meals in restaurants before, but it's very rare indeed that I'm moved enough to complain to the manager about the food. In Jamie's Italian Restaurant, however, that's exactly what I did.
Jamie Oliver should be thoroughly ashamed of the culinary crimes being committed in his name. If you're looking for good Italian food in Reading, I strongly recommend going to Ask or Bella Italia, and avoiding this place like the plague.
Let's skip past the unattractive decor which makes it look (and sound) like a mess hall in a prison, and get straight to the food.
I ordered one of the specials - a seafood pasta dish - with some garlic bread. When the meal arrived, it was cooling off rather rapidly. There was very little seafood, but an awful lot of pasta. The pasta was very underdone, and I soon ran into difficulty trying to cut into knots of the stuff that was raw in the middle. The moules smelt extremely strong, which was a bit off-putting. I tried one anyway, but had to spit it out straightaway - it was clearly off. And the 'slow-baked' squid was tough and rubbery. Even the garlic bread disappointed, with barely any garlic, but a very unappealing side dish of black oily grease to dip it into.
I've had unsatisfactory meals in restaurants before, but it's very rare indeed that I'm moved enough to complain to the manager about the food. In Jamie's Italian Restaurant, however, that's exactly what I did.
Jamie Oliver should be thoroughly ashamed of the culinary crimes being committed in his name. If you're looking for good Italian food in Reading, I strongly recommend going to Ask or Bella Italia, and avoiding this place like the plague.