Mum from The South: Jamie's Italian - Westfield Mall, London

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Jamie's Italian - Westfield Mall, London

We celebrated Mother's Day last year at Westfield Mall. Since it was my special day, I chose which restaurant to dine in.

I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver from his Naked Chef cooking days so it was a no brainer for me to choose Jamie's Italian, his dining outlet in Westfield Mall.

The Italian Bread Selection makes for a good starter especially if you're dining with a group. It is composed of homemade breads like rosemary focaccia, sourdough, their special crispy "music bread", ciabatta and tortano. This is served with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. What sets this bread selection apart is the fact that Jamie's Italian prides itself of baking its own bread.

Italian bread selection

I love mushrooms so we ordered this mushroom dish topped with smoked mozzarella with thyme and crispy bread. Definitely a one of a kind appetizer!

Baked chestnut mushrooms

Calamari is one of my favorite appetizers and Jamie Italian's Crispy Squid definitely did not disappoint. It has the right amount of breading complemented by the juiciness of the squid. Delicious!

Crispy squid

Lamb aficionados will surely love this delectable grilled lamb chops from Jamie's Italian. The meat literally fell of the bone and was delicately seasoned with herbs and topped with mint leaves. The charred bits were a bit hard to resist. If not for the "carcinogenic" properties of charred meat I would have finished the entire dish up to its last charred remains.

Unfortunately, the lamb chops was phased out from the menu on our next visit and replaced with a different lamb dish.

Grilled Lamb Chops

Another Jamie's Italian specialty is the roast chicken which was also cooked to perfection. You can taste the garlic and rosemary used for grilling the chicken. The grilled chicken was placed on top of the tomato, olive and caper sauce with a dash of chili. Definitely one of the best roast chicken I have tasted!

Free range chicken with a side of fries

The two pasta dishes of Jamie's Italian took some getting used to. The carbonara which I ordered for my son was not to his liking - the pancetta was a tad salty for him. The Puttanesca was not as flavorful as we expected. Presentation wise, the pasta dishes were excellent.