m and i spend a lovely weekend in cardiff – catching up with family – enjoying the exciting heineken cup final ( my what a game! ) – and visiting st.fagans (ah what wonderful childhood memories! )
and on the last day of our break we decided to shelter from the mental weather and treat ourselves to lunch!
i have fancied testing out a jamie’s italian for a while – i hold assorted opinions of the man himself – but i get where he is coming from – most of the time…. however after reading a review of his restaurant at the westfield centre in london on chilli and chocolate i was not entirely convinced!
but i had to give this one a go – and it was raining to flipping hard to look else where!!
so into jamie’s italian cardiff we went!
( check out the awesome welsh dragon painting )
the lovely lady on the reception desk informed us there was a short wait – and directed us to the bar
we ordered our drink – and i was faced with what was most possibly the nicest, easy drinking cocktail i have ever had – the florence fizz – limoncello, pomegranate juice, elderflower and prosecco – beautiful!
we where offered the option of paying at the bar – or adding it onto a tab – but to do this we would of had to part with a bank card – not something i like doing at this day in age – so we just paid with cash!
our short wait seemed to fly by! – we where wrapped up in the exciting surroundings – enjoying watching the chef whipping up starters – and lusting after the hanging salami/chorizo/cured hams
we where seated on the second floor by our host, and our waiter took no time before informing us of the specials and presenting us with menus
it took a long time to decide – the menu has some very yummy sounding options!
eventually we decided – on three!!!
starter no 1 – seasonal meat platter plank
very yummy, enough for a light starter for one – as no flat breads or anything – presented very nicely! popped on top of two cans of tomatoes!
starter no 2 – devonshire crab with chilli, lemon and zesty mayo
not the highlight of the meal by any means – though nothing was wrong with the dish – the crab lost of bit of it’s flavour and natural gorgeousness with just a touch too much mayonnaise
starter no 3 – marinated sardines – these pickled sardines where really nice – very fresh tasting and the chilli and lemon where beautiful!
a very nice dish of a fish we just dont see enough of at the moment!
as my main course i decided on – prawn linguine – a good dish with succulent prawns and a tasty sauce
it was m who ordered the stand out meal of the day – scallop and squid ink spaghetti
this was such a beautiful and tasty meanl – the spaghetti had a fabulously fishy flavour and the thin slithers of scallop meant they didnt disappear in a few mouthfuls
i would eat this every day of the week!
we rounded the meal off with – the ultimate chocolate brownie
a nice was to finish everything of – i hadnt tasted amaretto in a chocolate brownie before – intense but it added a lovely dimension – though it would probably be best to share!
the bill
( excluding the first beer and cocktail )
1 sml sparkling water £2.00
1 limonata £2.35
1 brownie £4.95
1 macchiato £2.00
1 sardines £3.75
1 meat plank £8.85
1 crab bruschetta £6.95
1 prawn linguini £12.50
1 squid ink pasta £13.90
total £55.25
over all – we had a lovely experiance in jamies’s
the food wasnt perfect – but it was very nice – and not bad value
the true benefit of going somewhere like jamie’s shines through in the general set up of the restaurant and the organisation of the front of house staff – service was great – and the atmosphere very charming and lively
