I was recently invited to review the new Jamie’s Italian Lunch Deal in Covent Garden. Naturally I was happy to oblige – I’ve been to the one in Bath and recall enjoying the food greatly. It was extremely nice to be invited as a blogger!
I took along a friend of mine and we booked a 12pm lunch, because I had to get back to pick the boy up from school. We were one of the first to arrive, but it soon filled up and had a good atmosphere – bustling without being distractingly noisy!
The lunch deal is great – £12.95 for two courses, or if you are hungry, you can get three courses for £14.35. That’s a bargain in my book. We both decided it was a bit early for three courses, and we wanted to make sure we had room for pudding, so we went for two courses.
I decided on the Italian Steak & Fries, which was £2 extra, but well worth it. A good sized, flattened steak with dollops of rich garlic butter and salty fries on the side. A wedge of lemon was a welcome accompaniment, cutting through the garlic with a pleasant zing and balancing the flavours nicely.
The portion was just right for lunch. My friend Lottie had been perusing the menu in advance and had already set her heart on the Gennaro’s Chicken Club – a brioche roll stuffed with chargrilled, marinated free-range chicken, crispy pancetta, spicy ‘nduja mayo, fontal cheese and tomato & rocket. Her opening opinion: “Mmmph, nomph, good!” The mayo was a delicate spice, not too burny, and the chicken was sliced so you could get evenly proportioned mouthfuls of everything. The burger doesn’t come with any sides though, so she said if you are hungry you might want to ask for a side of fries (she would have done had she realised before – as it was she helped me with mine!)
We soon polished off our main courses – nicely washed down with two Amalfi Tom Collins (£7.50 each, not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly drinkable and refreshing which is what the Dr orders when eating some big flavours!)
Lottie decided to go for the Strawberries and Frozen Yoghurt for dessert – a bowlful of fresh strawberries which had been soaked in elderflower and lemon and came served with baby basil, frozen yoghurt & poppy seed crisps. The poppy seed crisp was an instant hit “I don’t know what this is but it’s good. It’s like a poppadom for your pudding!” The fruit was really fresh and juicy, but very slightly on the acidic side, so if you get indigestion it might not be the one for you. We certainly liked it though.
Lottie also had a glass of the house Rose wine, which also seemed to go down very nicely!
I couldn’t not go for the brownie. I was quite surprised Lottie managed to choose something else. I have a real thing for any sort of salted caramel at the moment, so the Epic Brownie – a warm fudgy brownie with salted caramel ice cream & caramelised popcorn, was a crowd pleaser for one. It didn’t disappoint either! Gooey, chocolately brownie with a slick sauce and a delicious ice cream with just the right amount of salt. So good – the popcorn bits were just a crunchy little bonus! I would go back again just for the brownie.
It didn’t last very long I must admit.
We had a really lovely time – great food, great atmosphere and great service. The Covent Garden branch of Jamie’s Italian is perfectly positioned to pop in for lunch (or they have a similar dinner deal midweek) if you are shopping or going to see a show. Our lunch for two with drinks cost us about £25 each, which for central London is a bargain indeed for such good quality.
Disclaimer: We were given a voucher towards the costs of our lunch, but all opinions are our own.
