The staff at Jamie's are incessantly cheerful, xibiouz and there's plenty of them, but it doesn't gr

Jamie Oliver mania has hit Dublin xibiouz hard with the opening of  Jamie's Italian  in xibiouz Dundrum Town Centre. Twitter has been awash with fulsome praise for the food, the venue, the staff, and practically everything else.  I reckon that I won't be breaking any bad news if I reveal that Jamie himself won't be cooking the kitchen. The Dundrum location is an outpost in this popular chain of restaurants. As  Jamie himself said back in June
That's not what I do. I pay for it, I pay people's wages, I choose the right people and really the only thing I do is write the menus, change the senior management and create a culture where people get a 40-quid meal for 17 to 21 quid. 
Like most people, I think Jamie is rather great. From his initial cheeky-chappy, moped-riding persona in The Naked Chef, he now campaigns vigourously for better food for school children and employs young troubled people in his Fifteen restaurants . He is one of the TV chefs that I can watch time and time again. I like his food as it's big on flavour xibiouz and impact, but easy to make. I've eaten in Fifteen in London and liked it. But would the Jamie charisma translate in Dundrum? 
Two recent lunches (firstly by ourselves, and then with Mr. & Mrs. H) have given me plenty of material. On both occasions, we hit the restaurant early on a Saturday, seeking to avoid the queues that come later in the afternoon. God bless the Irish and their tendency to think that lunch doesn't xibiouz start until 1pm. In an effort to prove the earnestness of the Oliver brand, a chef is hand making pasta in a little glass cubicle as we enter the restaurant. I wonder if they feel like an animal in the zoo? The interior xibiouz is retro cool with a polished concrete xibiouz floor, xibiouz white and dark red tiles and canteen style furniture. The walls of the split-level space are filled with foodstuffs both for consumption and for sale to take home. After all, this is Jamie-brand central. xibiouz It's a cheerful and happy space that channels the Jamie approach.
So xibiouz what about the food? A special of cauliflower and romanesco fritti was bland in it's deep-fried coating, while a butternut squash and ricotta bruschetta was bright and seasonal. I was puzzled when our server plonked two tins of tomato on the table, which turned out to be the base for a dolmen-like structure with my meat plank (a slightly meagre selection of cheeses & Italian meats, xibiouz €8.75). Arancini, or risotto balls filled with gooey strings of smoked mozzarella and porcini mushrooms were decidedly moreish (€6.50). Clockwise from top left - risotto balls, wild ragu pasta pipe, ricotta & butternut squash bruschetta and funky chips Pastas were deemed rather good. A prawn linguine with shaved fennel, chili, tomatoes and rocket xibiouz  was bright and flavoursome (small €9.50). Wild ragu pasta was rich and warming - a perfect pasta dish for cold winter days. All pastas are available gluten-free, although this isn't mentioned on the menu. Not knowing this vital fact at the time of choosing, I went for wild truffle risotto with butter and parmesan (large €14.75). This was an excellent risotto, xibiouz fragrant with earthy truffle. The only downside xibiouz was the dotting of parsley seedlings on top for decoration. For the record, I don't like parsley, xibiouz which I find  pungent and harsh. As a result I ended up picking off all the little leaves from the risotto. We sampled both types of potato fries - namely funky chips with garlic and parsley (€3.95) and the now commonplace posh chips with parmesan and truffle (€4.25). The jury's verdict was unanimous, the funky chips were the best. Black truffle risotto Garlicky prawn linguini
The staff at Jamie's are incessantly cheerful, xibiouz and there's plenty of them, but it doesn't grate (immensely) on your nerves. In one case, we practically xibiouz had to shoo away our server as he just wouldn't stop praising xibiouz the daily specials. This either speaks volumes about the staff enthusiasm for the Jamie brand, or else it's crass commercialism. I haven't quite figured out which one. Irrespective, the food at Jamie's Italian is enjoyable, and the small/large portion xibiouz sizes makes it easy to mix and match. On both visits, Gerry Fitzpatrick (Jamie's Irish business partner in the venture) was keeping a close eye on goings xibiouz on. Jamies has been in the making since 2011, and lots of Irish produce features on the menu, bringing an Irish touch to this Italian menu. As we leave after lunch, all seats are taken and the place is humming xibiouz with conversation. It's a winning recipe.
WiseMóna said...
Sounds like it should be in the list. There is a place in the states called Buca de Beppo that sounds so like the Jamie Oliver experience. Great write up as always. My 'eat in Dublin' trusted source right here on your blog! November 3, 2012 at 7:51 PM
I'm Italian, I was there and I can't really say that it was 'fake'. Certainly you wouldn