finally got there

I've heard great things about Jamie's Italian and tried to go here for dinner a couple of times without booking, only to be told to wait up to an one hour for a table for two. At which point, I turn around and don't look back. If you're patient enough you can have drinks at the bar with your table buzzer in hand, but generally I'm too hungry to wait that long.

It seems that an early dinner works in your favour... third time lucky, we arrived at 6.30pm to find absolutely no queue, and a table for two in the middle of the restaurant.

Jaime's Italian was conceived over four years ago, and has since launched 30 restaurants around the world; with Sydney CBD opening early 2012 and forming part of the The Keystone Group. From the exterior it looks quite small, but don't be fooled. It has two stories and can house up to 200 patrons! The interiors are very Jamie Oliver - rustic, natural, precise, minimalist. The seating area does seem quite tight, but this seems to be an issue more for the waiters.

The menu has a vast selection of Italian dishes: antipasti, ravioli, pasta and risotto; all of which focus on using sustainable, seasonal and regional ingredients. The wine menu is extensive with a large range of Italian wines, but the 'Espresso Martini' and 'Blueberry & Basil Smash' caught our eye (I'd miss the later next time around).

We went with the waitresses recommendations and ordered the prawn linguine, buffalo ricotta ravioli and the one of the specials - Jamie's signature porchetta. The meals were delicious, fresh and cooked to perfection; however I felt they were on the smaller side... especially for some of the prices we paid. My favourite was the ravioli - perhaps because it was light, extremely tasty and melted in the mouth.

The dessert menu wasn't huge and I think it lacked a bit of creativity. The only dish that caught our eye was the 'Epic Brownie': warm fudge brownie with salted caramel ice-cream & caramelised amaretti popcorn (it was actually suppose to come with ameretto ice-cream, but the waitress suggested we try the salted caramel). The various textures worked, but the flavours just didn't gel all that well for me. Maybe we should have kept the ameretto ice-cream...? I guess it was only $10 though, and in restaurant standards that's really cheap.

  

Would I recommend it? Yes, although it's definitely not the top (or even middle) of my list. Would I line up? Absolutely not.

Restaurant: Jamie's Italian, Sydney
Total price: Approx $120 (for 2ppl including cocktails)
Hours: 11.30am - 11.00pm
Must order: Buffalo ricotta ravioli