Situated in a stunning grade 2 listed building in Cambridge – Jamie's Italian will open on Monday the 22nd of February. The Jamie's Italian team are thrilled that one of their star Chefs Lorenzo has relocated from Jamie's Italian in Brighton to be head chef in Cambridge.



When each restaurant opens there is always a trial period where guests are invited to dine at a reduced price. This is an important step in the launch of any Jamie’s Italian as it gives all of the staff the opportunity to iron out any challenges to ensure that everything runs smoothly when the restaurant opens. I caught up with two of the diners this week - Ray and Heather Jolley who had lunch at the restaurant.

I said that Jamie has been tweeting about the fact that the building is very beautiful and Heather said "The old library is a beautiful building with a large dome in the center of the main eating area. Our first impression was a very busy, lively, light and airy restaurant with lots going on and we liked the fact that you could see the chefs preparing the meals. This was our first visit to a Jamie's Italian and I must say that I thought that it may not be the best place to go for a quiet meal. Our waitress was really friendly and knowledgeable and she said that there were quieter areas adjacent to the bar and in an upstairs room."

My favorite dish at Jamie's Italian is the chicken cooked under a brick and each time I dine there I cannot go past ordering this. I asked Heather what they ate and she said "Ray had the rose veal parmigiana which he really enjoyed and I had the carbonnara which was delicious: I liked the idea of a smaller portion being available as this has not been offered in any Italian restaurant we have visited. Then to dessert, we were very impressed with the tiramisu, absolutely amazing, never tasted anything quite like it and I loved the addition of orange & lemon zest which was delicious."

I then asked what made the place special: "The food was beautifully presented and we were amazed by the different flavors used, it was certainly much better than the many Italian restaurants we have frequented. We were impressed by her knowledge of the ingredients and she also offered help with the selection from the menu."

Would they return? "We will definitely go back and all in all a very enjoyable first taste of amazing Italian food, we will be recommending it to our friends."


For more information on Jamie's Italian