Plate to Palate | Restaurant review: Jamie's Italian is a mixed bag
House-made pastas were great, but fish and meat dishes missed the mark
queues at popular restaurants. In the case of Jamie's Italian (which accepts online reservations, although they are hard to come by), it meant pitching up at 11.30am on a weekday, because, we figured, office workers would be eating during standard lunch hours, and would then have to rush back to their desks. We were right and got a table immediately as walk-in diners.
We started with two "planks" (HK$79) — wooden boards with a variety of ingredients and dishes. The one with cured meats — mortadella, fennel salami and prosciutto — was far superior to the fish plank, which held too-cold beetroot-cured salmon, mackerel pâté, underseasoned crunchy cod and room-temperature shellfish in white wine sauce.
Pasta dishes can be ordered in small or large portions. We liked them all. Tagliatelle bolognese (HK$80 or HK$135) was good, if unexciting, and it was our least favourite. Penne carbonara (HK$85 or HK$140) had a generous amount of bacon and a creamy, eggy sauce that was not too rich. "Our famous prawn linguine" (HK$100 or HK$165) was delicious, with prawns that were small but sweet and well-cooked. Even better was the truffle tagliatelle (HK$75 or HK$125), as it looked unassuming but had a great flavour. The pasta is made on site.
Of the mains, the free-range chicken (HK$165) was a failure because the meat — even the drumstick and thigh — was dry. Gilt-head bream (HK$205), on the other hand, while just a tad overcooked, was enjoyable for its light white wine and butter sauce and a really excellent selection of sweet cherry tomatoes.
Service, for the most part, was helpful and knowledgable. The dishes came at a leisurely pace and we felt unrushed, although we were told we had a two-hour time limit on the table.
Jamie's Italian, 2/F Soundwill Plaza II — Midtown, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 39582222. About HK$275 without drinks. There's no service charge