All reader reviews by Gordon Riby

Jamie's Italian (Kingston)

This is a fairly recent addition to Kingston. My wife was somewhat intrigued by the place kept mentioning to me that we should go there one day, so today we did.

The food was ok - But that was it. You can get the same quality or alot better at Carluccio's, or at quite a few of the Italian restaurants you find around London, and for less money. Various gimmicks were employed in order to justify charging above the market rate for the food, for example the vegetable antipasti plank we ordered was served resting on top of two tins of canned tomatoes. The Lamb Chop "Lollipops" (or French trimmed lamb chops to you and me) my wife ordered was served on a block of wood and paper. She was not keen on the paper and thought the lamb was well cooked but low on flavour, unlike the richly flavoured lamb with garlic and rosemary you would find in better Italian restaurants. I would also add that I prefer my Tiramisu without honey...

Jamie's Italian was jam packed full of people spending their money thinking they are getting something special. People who probably would have thought the canned tomatoes novel and the restaurant "Proper Posh!" (as the truffle chips are descibed on the menu). Not for me at all.

Saturday, February 20, 2010
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3