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| I Love NC |
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| Andy Thornton |
The staff were very friendly and the restaurant doesn't have a formal air about it. The waiters are quite chatty and willing to serve as we were offered some water and we ordered a bottle of the house white wine (£16.90). The specials were quickly listed to us and it was difficult to remember what each of them were, but they were written on blackboards located around the restaurant.
The menu explains that Jamie's Italian wine is made from Sicilian grapes, is shipped in eco-friendly Tetra-Pak cartons and it is then decanted into a carafe which can hold up to 1 litre. The white wine is very nice and refreshing, especially in the summer months, with notes of peach and floral tones. This is not a dry white wine and it's not too sweet either.
We ordered some "World's Best Olives on Ice" (£3.75) and the Italian bread selection (£3.75). It was a long wait before we received these items but it was worth the wait.
The olives were served on ice, as suggested in the menu, along with some olive tapenade and "music bread". These were some of the best olives we'd ever tasted and asked the waiter about them, who was extremely knowledgeable about the food he was serving us. These delicious, bright green olives are called mammoth olives grown in a town called Castelvetrano in Sicily, Italy. Wikipedia claims they are this bright green colour as they are picked "at the right time". Unlike many olives, these olives were not bitter at all and tasted extremely fresh. These olives were truly delicious and we wouldn't pay a visit to Jamie's without ordering them again.
The Italian bread selection consisted of rosemary focaccia, sourdough bread, crispy "music bread", ciabatta and tortano which were all made in their bakery. These breads were served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Although the breads were very tasty and the variety of breads means that you may try some bread that you hadn't previously tried, it wasn't anything new or life-changing.
For mains, Mario ordered one of the specials: sirloin steak marinated in garlic, chilli, parsley and some lemon zest served with chunky chips and coleslaw made with yoghurt (£15.95).
Mario selected the option of having the steak cooked "chef's choice", which turned out to be rare. The steak was deliciously juicy and he thoroughly enjoyed the garlicky-taste on the steak, which was consistent throughout. He didn't feel the need to season his meal at all. The chips were really crispy and tasty and he says they were "fried to perfection". The coleslaw was nothing special but was a lovely refreshing side to the meat. Along with his steak, Mario ordered a glass of the house red (£4.70). This wine has strong fruity flavours and was a lovely accompaniment to the meat.
I ordered one of the specials as well, which was described as an "amazing homemade meatball on a bed of oozy polenta with flash greens". (£11.95)
The beef meatball was very tasty and not dry at all. The meat wasn't too finely ground so it wasn't mushy like some meatballs are. The meatball was in a tomato sauce which was sweet with a bit of a chilli-kick, although that could have been from the vegetables. The vegetables consisted on cabbage and courgette interspersed with some chilli for added flavour. The chilli wasn't too hot or overpowering and the veggies were cooked well and still had bite to them. I was worried after I ordered this meal as I'd not had positive experiences with polenta in the past. I was pleasantly surprised as this polenta was very tasty! It was well seasoned and went very well with the rest of the meal. I can't say I was pleased that it was described as "oozy" on the specials board and if I'd have known that before ordering, I may not have ordered it! That could just be because I hate the word though...
Next came dessert and although we were both full, we still managed to find a bit of space for pudding.
Mario ordered the raspberry frangipane (£4.95) which was served with crème fraîche ice cream and a thin berry coulis.
The dessert was a light, crispy shortcrust pastry base with a delicious almondy-frangipane filling dotted with caramelised raspberries over the top. It had a strong taste of almonds which was complimented by the raspberries. The crème fraîche ice cream was a refreshing change from the standard vanilla and it was a nice-sized dessert to finish off the meal.
I ordered the ice creams which consisted of 3 scoops of whichever flavours you choose from the variety they have available on the day topped by a choice of 4 toppings. (£4.95) There was a diverse mix of flavours to choose from and I selected vanilla, panettone and honeycomb topped by crushed honeycomb and butterscotch sauce.
Usually when I have ice cream for dessert, I select vanilla. Not only is it my favourite flavour but you can usually tell the standard of ice cream by how good the vanilla is, and I was not disappointed. Although it wasn't dotted with vanilla seeds, the flavour of the ice cream was very tasty and powerful. It was difficult to taste the honeycomb ice cream due to the toppings I had selected but the crunchy crumbled honeycomb had a lovely level of bite and wasn't too sticky. The panettone ice cream was extremely delicious. As Mario said: it tasted exactly like cake. There was glacé cherries and raisins in the ice cream which added to the authenticity of the flavour.
The meal came to £66.90 which we felt was a reasonable price that reflected the quality of food that we had enjoyed. Service charge is not included in the total unless there is more than 6 in your party, then a 10% tip will be added to the bill.
To book a table, call 0115 822 1421 or book online at http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/nottingham .
