| |
| No picture available for this restaurant. If you have a picture, please email it to us |
|
 |
| Address |
Birmingham Middle Mall, Bullring Shopping Centre Birmingham
|
| Postcode |
B5 4BE Map |
| Tel |
0121 270 3610 |
| Fax |
0121 270 1985 |
| Website |
|
Full Restaurant Listing |
| An expansive 756 words from Setlist on Thursday, May 19, 2011
|
| Food: |
Value |
Service: |
Decor: |
Rating: |
Cost/head: |
Suits: |
| 7/10 |
: 8/10 |
8/10 |
6/10 |
74% |
£35 |
Small social group |
Long time lurker, first time poster. It's very exciting. We visited Jamie's Italian on a Wednesday evening, taking along a friend and hoping for a slightly better experience than some people appear to have had there previously. I don't know whether BP ettiquette permits mention of reviews in other media, but I read a rather scathing article published not long after the place opened and was keen to see whether what appeared to be opening-day nerves on the part of the establishment had been overcome.
As we approached, the heaving mass of people hanging around the bar area became apparent and previous jokes about stopping off at Burger King suddenly didn't seem as funny. However, the chap handing out the pagers assured us that it would be no more than a 20 minute wait, and to his credit it was almost exactly that - we got there about 6.45pm and were seated not long after 7pm. First impressions, as others have said, were of a rather dark space - the bar area is narrow and lies to one side of the entrance, although we were happy to sit outside with our drinks rather than shoulder into the scrum. The main body of the restaurant is also not very brightly lit, although it didn't appear too claustrophobic thanks to the high ceiling. The place is loud, however - again, not overbearingly so for us, but it was just about full when we got there and as a result (and thanks to a lot of reflective surfaces) the noise levels were considerable. There appeared to be smaller and more enclosed areas away from the main floor so I'm sure if quiet is the new loud for you, a move could be requested. The clientele were a good mix - we saw a couple of birthday parties, tables of business types, an older couple next to us and a family with a little child.
Service was friendly and pretty prompt. We didn't catch our waiter's name but he was lovely - a smiling and attentive presence. Smiling staff make the difference in this sort of environment - I know, it goes without saying, but after a horrendous experience at Bank a few years ago with horrible, snotty attitudes on display, it matters. And of course, it SHOULD matter to the restaurant. The only issue with the service was an unexplained delay between one of us getting their dessert and the other two receiving theirs - an apology but no explanation was forthcoming, but it was a significant delay. The member of staff who served us at the bar when we got there asked where we had come from, which I suppose was standard bar small talk (we're old, we don't get out much) but we wondered afterwards whether this was part of some sort of quaint lo-fi marketing survey ("Not enough custom from Coventry! Where's the Hereford trade? Pepper Stoke with flyers!").
The food was overall pretty good. We had a couple of nibbles - bread with olive oil and balsamic and marinated sardines with capers and onions - which were good. The fish was fresh and not overwhelmed by the dressing and the bread was tasty and moreish. Starters were a deep fried courgette flower in a good herby, tomato-y sauce, mushroom fritti with a lovely garlic mayonnaise and crispy squid. My mushrooms could have done with being a little hotter, but came with a sprinkling of parmesan and in a decent quantity - big field mushroom slices in breadcrumbs, they were, and surprisingly un-oily. Mains were prawn linguine for the guest (seemed to go down very well), wild boar sausages and lentils for the other half of the partnership and the seafood fritto misto for me - lots of it, hot and again not too oily, topped with fried vermicelli and with a thick mayo dip. Now I am not a fish person, so while I enjoyed it and ate it all up, a fish fan might have much more to say. The only food let down were the funky chips - they weren't funky and weren't my idea of chips, either. More like slightly soggy wedges, although McCains would have probably ensured more crunch and less brown. They didn't get finished. Desserts were tiramasu, walnut tart and Eton Mess (a version of it). With drinks, and a tip, it came to about £35 a head (we weren't drinking alcohol).
Overall, it was a pleasant meal and we would go again.
|
If you are the restaurant owner, we now offer the RIGHT TO REPLY
(see below):
RIGHT TO REPLY
If you are the restaurant owner and wish to comment/clarify any points made in this review please submit your remarks to info@birminghamplus.com |
| |
| REVIEWS
|
| SETLIST |
| REVIEWS |
| No.of reviews: |
4 |
| Average Rating: |
69% |
| Highest Rating: |
82% |
| Lowest Rating: |
58% |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
