Jamie’s Italian - Milton Keynes

I like a good bit of Jamie. It’s true that the cheeky chappy,  Laandon geezer personality does grate after a while but there have been very few recipes which have turned out badly. In fact it is his most simple that usually turn out to be the most effective. His type of food is, generally speaking, my kind of food and that’s quite hard to admit because to align myself so much with a ‘celebrity’ chef isn’t very fashionable. But then again, one look and I don’t think anyone could ever accuse me of being fashionable.

Mrs P and I enjoy Jamie’s Italian for several reasons; the most important of which (past the frequently changing menu) is that it’s very child orientated, which for a decent quality high street chain is rare (by which I discount the oceans of culinary sink holes which vie for your hard-earned by claiming they are 'family friendly' by virtue of the fact that they offer a rusty slide in a nettle strewn garden or a BBQ sauce stained picture of a courgette dressed as a cowboy and a couple of broken colouring pencils). Secondly, Jamie's offers large and small plates of the same dishes, this is a great way to have a quick lunch or a decent dinner and is something which I sincerely hope that other establishments follow. It's true that his Italian restaurant vision is a full frontal barrage of Jamie’s television persona, even down to the ‘pucka’ cocktails or the ‘wicked’ specials board. But I encourage you all to look past this, then fight your way through the blatant money grabbing, corporate sell out shop section (you honestly don’t need a set of Jamie’s Italian napkins) and finally please try to ignore the ever-so-slightly-too-happy waiting staff and concentrate on the food.

Speaking of which, I hear you shout at your retina, LCD, OLED or perhaps VGA screens, what did you eat this time?!? Well, feast your eyes on this bad boy:

Sea bass with mussels and tomato, as well as a little bit of chilli, garlic, lemon and capers. Fish on the bone isn’t for everyone and there were a fair few bones to contend with on this occasion but the end result is a beautiful, moist taste of the Mediterranean. The tomatoes were sweet and juicy and they sat nicely alongside the mussels, although Mrs P. and the Child stole three of the little gems before I had a chance to defend my plate.

We see Pizza Express and Jamie’s Italian in a very similar vein closely followed by Carluccios (although that is a bit more pricey when considered £ for £) and unless the corporate requirements totally overwhelm the dining experience we’ll keep on going back. 

www.jamiesitalian.com