We are very lucky to live, quite near, the very beautiful Cambridge City and so when Hubby and I have a date night, that is usually where we go. At the end of April we took a trip to Cambridge to experience the new Jamie’s Pizzeria which sits on top of Jamie’s Italian, it was a nice evening to celebrate Hubby’s new job and eat yummy pizza. It was also nice as Jamie Oliver is my husband’s favourite chef and we absolutely love his recipes, this was our first trip to one of his restaurants. We were both very excited.
At first we didn’t realise the restaurant sat on top of Jamie’s Italian, so it took us a while to find it. We stared at Jamie’s Italian thinking, well it must be around here somewhere. Then we walked around the side of Jamie’s Italian, were the Jamie’s Pizzeria entrance is and walked up the stairs to be greeted with a very rustic, back alley style Italian Pizzeria. I said to my husband that I actually felt like we had walked from Cambridge to Italy. It had a great atmosphere, it felt full of history and there are things all over the walls and sides that just felt very Italian. I have never been to Italy but that is the feeling I got. I loved all the oranaments, the lighting, the different chairs at all of the different shaped tables. It was great. Even the toilet had the same rustic feel, old Thomas Crapper style sink and taps, it just felt like we had gone somewhere very different.
The menu itself was one side of A4, now comparing this to other menues we have seen lately it was a shock. There is a limited choice of meals, drinks and desserts. But actually this wasn’t a problem. It was nice not to have to sit there for hours deciding from hundreds of meals, that all sounded equally as yummy as the next. I loved the rustic menu style too, the old paper style and it was laid out very neatly, so clear where to make your choices. You can view the menu online if you want to make your choices before you visit: www.jamieoliver.com/italian/restaurants/cambridge-pizzeria.
What did we eat?
For starters we chose the hand-stretched garlic bread, this decision was based on the fact we saw another couple order it and our eyes (and bellies) lit up with excitement. It looked very impressive and it certainly lived up to its look. We chose the olive and sundried tomato tapenade and Westcombe ricotta and lemon dips, which were yummy. A great combination mixed together too with the extremely delicious garlic bread, it had a crusty texture on the outside and a light, bouncy texture inside. Perfecto!
For my main, I went with a vegetarian option, obviously, the waiter explained which of the choices were vegetarian. Mushrooms being my favourite thing, it wasn’t a difficult choice: the Funghi Misti. It had a real tang to it and also a hint of aniseed, which I think was the Chervil and Tarragon. The Porcini mushroom sauce was really nice, full of flavour and it just complimented the other toppings perfectly. I saved a quarter of it and had it for lunch the next day it was so yummy.
For Dean’s main, he went for the Special Pizza off the specials board, it had some of his favourite ingredients on it: chilli, olive and fennel. It looked quite fiery but Dean said it wasn’t “blow your head off” spicy, which is always good to know. He really enjoyed the signature dough, although it did get tricky to eat the very middle of the pizza as it was so full of toppings – not a bad thing!
Our desserts were very pretty, it was really well plated and they were both mouth watering. I wasn’t sure we could eat all of it, but they were light enough to just be the perfect amount!
Hubby had the Tiramisu, I loved the way it came out with a spoon shape left on the plate, surrounded by chocolate sprinkles. A great idea – I will use that next time I host a dinner party. I am not a fan of tiramisu but I have to say it looked amazing and hubby was really happy with it.
I had the Epic Chocolate Brownie, which was warmed through and gooey. It was quite possibly the best brownie I had ever eaten and it definitely was epic. The warmth made it just that extra bit special too, especially when you had the contrast of the vanilla ice cream on top. I didn’t get a spoon shape left on my plate, but I did get a crushed up Amaretto biscuit, which again, I think I will use at my next dinner party. Such a great idea.
We both had a lovely meal and will definitely recommend it, it’s somewhere to go and experience something a little different to the high street restaurants. Make sure you are hungry though, there was so much food we left with a box of pizza for lunch the next day.
How do I find it?
Jamie’s Pizzeria is located in Cambridge City centre: Wheeler Street The Old Library, Cambridge CB2 3QJ. You can book a table online or by calling: 01223 654094.
