ROUND I: Jamie's Italian - 237 Edward Street Brisbane QLD 4000

After waiting for a whole month, my fellow Food Extinguisher and I finally managed to get a table at Jamie's Italian. Having tried the popular restaurant by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in Sydney last year, I was really looking forward to trying it again in Brisbane.

As soon as we walked in, I was amazed by the casual down-to-earth decor which makes you feel like the food is specially home made. 

We ordered the Posh Chips ($7.5) as an entree and Lamb & Ricotta Tortellini ($26) and Truffle Tagliatelle ($24) for mains.

The Posh Chips were served in a quaint little brown pot topped with yummy parmesan chese, but it was cold and lacked the truffle oil punch that I was after.

The ricotta accompanying the Tortellini was deliciously light and creamy. However, the Tortellini was slightly undercooked which made it somewhat starchy and grainy. The Truffle Tagliatelle was the most enjoyable dish as the creamy pasta sauce was infused with the delightful truffle flavours. The Tagliatelle would have been perfect if the pasta did not clump together.

We then ended our meal with their Epic brownie. As the name suggests, the brownie was EPIC and the different flavours on the dish complemented each other very, very well. The brownie was fairly rich and moist, and I especially like the smooth dark chocolate fudge sauce which balances out the richness. Being a chocolate fanatic, I would enjoy it even more if the brownie itself had a stronger chocolate burst. The amaretto icecream leaves a delightful almond aftertaste which makes the dessert much more memorable. To top it off, the caramelised popcorn adds an extra crunch to the dessert, creating a variety in texture.

Verdict: 
Apart from the brownie, none of the other dishes were really that epic. It was a fairly pleasant meal but the standard fell short of that required from a celebrity chef restaurant. Despite this, we were very impressed with the service. The waiters were extremely friendly and took our feedback very seriously. I note that the restaurant has just opened and given the popularity, the staff may need time to settle in and adjust to the pace. I will defintely give it another chance and won't let the slight drawbacks stop me from going back again.

//EDIT: The second chance came a lot sooner than I thought: you can read it here.