Beautiful setting, quick and efficient service including advice about what to choose. Simple food but cooked with finesse and accompanied by a very decent wine. The bill was very reasonable and all in all a thoroughly enjoyable lunch. Have knocked off a star because it was very noisy- the music spoils the ambiance rather than adding to it and because the choice of veggie food is surprisingly limited. Otherwise superb!

I think this is a real shame, the restaurant seems to be going downhill because the management and staff are losing the vision of customer care. I have eaten there four times in the last year and have had a pretty mixed experience. Some fantastic food, some mediocre.

I have to say though some of the waiting staff are absolutely atrocious. The waiter on Saturday forgot the plates, the drinks, the bread and had to be reminded on each occassion.

The menu is a bit static also.

I hope you are reading these Jamie becuase they are letting you down!

Great setting and decent atmosphere, although this was slightly spoiled by being sat at a table near the busy bar area where I was constantly jostled. The anti-pasta were very good; pasta nachos and arancini. However my main course was terrible!! Cockle linguine with extra sand from Heacham beach - not a pleasant taste sensation. Overall very disappointing. The manager was kind enough not to charge us for my "grit filled" main - very generous of him.

I expected a lot more from this restaurant and certainly will not be visiting again.

I love Jamie and his ethos and was so excited to visit my first Jamie's Italian, but my oh my, what a disappointment!

The building itself is superb and a unique dining experience, but that and some delicious green, green olives which were the best I've ever had are where the positives ends.

Firstly, the music was so loud that the waiter full on shouted at us and I still couldn't hear what he was saying properly, so just nodded along. Not at all what I was expecting, I don't go to cheap chain places for that very reason! Anyway, the menu itself is not especially exciting and no 'V' signs for what was suitable for veggies, this has been a basic for the majority of eating establishments for decades now! We went for lunch but there didn't seem to be a dedicated lunch menu with things like bruschettas or fresh salads or something light, so we ordered the smaller size of the main. The waiter did alert me to how small this 'small' would be but I thought it would come with a salad garnish or just be very big bits of pasta, but no, I had a small bowl with five bits of pasta in...for nearly £8! It was about 4 monthfuls, was slightly undercooked, under seasoned and nearly cold.

For pudding, I asked if it was suitable for vegetarians (ie. no gelatine) but the waiter had no idea, went and asked, and was told they didn't know and couldn't gaurantee it! Huh? Not knowing the ingredients or dietry/allergy information is basic surely? So I opted for something else and had to laugh at the 'scoop of ice cream' which came in a tiny terrecota finger bowl and was about a tea spoon's worth.

In short, Jamie's Italian is all style over substance, uninspiring food served on silly, faux boards and baskets instead of good, honest, tasty and affordable food served simply - which is what I expected from Jamie!

I won't ever bother visiting one again, and for the style of food and amount given, you'd better off at a coffee chain for lunch!

I've been here twice, because we thought we might simply have been there on an off night, but our experiences were identical. Our meals were poor and to be blunt we felt ripped off.

The starters were fine, which you'd expect as they were simple. The mains, though, on both occasions were frankly shocking. Overcooked, drowned in salt and on the second occasion served lukewarm. We're not fussy diners but we'd never go back, and many of our social group feel the same way even though we all live in the city.

Our teenage daughter was there recently with friends and two of them sent their food back because there was so little sauce on their pasta dishes. The waiter gave them a lot of stick for this but having seen the photo that her friend took of his portion, they were absolutely right to ask for a decent amount of sauce.

The venue is fantastic and so worth having a drink in, but the food is, frankly, second rate and trading simply on Jamie Oliver's reputation. A real shame because it's an opportunity missed. There are other chains in Cambridge which at least don't pretend to be something they're not and actually offer better food.

I was with a party of 9 in the private dining room on 28 07 11.
I have to say that the service was average.When the meals were brought to the table the waiter shouted, who chose the the meal he was holding. When the orders were taken in sequence this should have been noted and the meals delivered to the table in that order. It like being at Joe's Cafe on any high street.
Also some of the group wanted expresso's. These were presented in Mugs, when asked why, the waiter said "they had no expressos cups left". This is hardly the image of a top restaurant
The dining room itself was fabulous, it was such a shame that the service was not as good.
The food was good, although I will not have the same it was very bland. Rice balls to start and risotto for main.

Enjoyed a great meal here this evening. Plenty of staff who were all very helpful. Great food served pleasantly and quickly. Great atmosphere and by the time we left at 7 30 pm, it was buzzing! Will definitely be back!

Very poor. Jamie should be ashamed.

A group of myself and family members visited Jamie's in Cambridge for my sisters birthday. We were all very excited! And not let down! It was great! We went on a Sunday night and didn't have to wait for a seat, we were sat straight down. First impressions were a clean, vibrant and bustly restaurant with a busy, chatty atmosphere.
The waitress who served our table was very friendly and efficient. We had the bread basket to start with and devoured that fairly quickly so had another, these are a must while you're looking at the menu, a really lovely interesting combo of breads.
We all ordered different foods from the menu, and were all extremely happy with our foods presentation and taste.
I have been to lots of really lovely restaurants, and although this isn't the poshest, most romantic, it is superb, if you want a lively, chatty environment with great food and a nice big glass of wine with friends and family.
Can't wait to go again.

I have to say I was extremely excited about Jamies Italian. Having lived in cambridge for 3 years now, I find that there are not enough top restaurants (I previously lived in London).

I visited twice during the opening month and found it pretty terrible. I was hoping that this was largely down to it being new and having teething problems etc.

2 months later I visited again, and I have to say it has got worse if anything.

Wait times are extremely long (Whether busy or empty), service is nothing short of abysmal, the staff are terrible, and I dont believe the offer as a whole is particularly good value for money.

The food itself is pretty good, not as good as I expected from Jamie Oliver, but better than average. But it is nowhere near enough to bring me back.

I think it is pretty sad for the food lovers out there, and a real letdown from Jamie Oliver.

Definitely give it a miss, or go with minimal expectations!!

My pasta was excellent.

My wife's fish was excellent.

The calamari was tough.

The ice cream desserts were a disgrace.

The restaurant is horrible and I shall never return. The service is "slop the hogs" style.

A friend and I decided to have an special meal for our birthdays and decided on Jamies - what a mistake. We were told we would have to wait 45 minutes and to wait in the bar. We tried to get a drink but there was only one person serving who was making coffee for a customer, which he spilt whilst serving hence he decided to make another - we didnt even get an apology for having to wait for 15 minutes for a drink or any further assistance called. Eventually our buzzer went to notify us of a table - we prepared to walk through to the main room but was shown to a table in the bar area which in itself was awful as people were passing backwards and forwards. I asked for the Nachos with 'fiery sauce' - hardly! It was watered down Salsa. Next was our grilled chicken! The portion was extremely small - one thin piece of breast and a leg - that probably being because it had been cremated rather than grilled - it had no flavour whatsoever and was extremely dry. The fact that it was served with a pile of rocket was even more lacking in taste and the cheapest salad ingredient you can come up with - this did not even have a dressing on it and they wanted £13.50 for this! We did not complain at the time because we knew we could put our views on the web as this would be read by many rather than not have the information passed on within the Restaurant. I have to say the wine was nice but compared to going next door to the Bath afterwards and paying £8 for a bottle was a pleasure in comparison to £25 in Jamies. I have now found that several people have said their meals were bland and the pasta was stuck together etc. Come on you people make it known that we are paying for a name and not good quality food. Come on Jamie get your Restaurant in order. D Wesleycambridge

Went to Jamies on 29th jam 11 .it was very busy and we were warned the wait would be over an hour which was fine.we had been given vouchers as a christmas present from the kids and were really excited about going to jamies .we were taken to our table which was next to a curtain every time someone came in we were greeted with an icy blast.undaunted we ordered our food the starter was extremely average the spaghetti bolognese was awful very bland in short our special treat was very disappointing.will tell the kids it was great but will not be going back

My son took me to lunch Monday 13th Dec. Food was nice, service was good but was made to sit in a draught by the door. Three of us went today Monday 20th Dec. No heating ( boiler not working )i would say we were served half the portion of food we had last week. Told the waiter, who was going to get back to us. Still waiting. Two pieces of bread in the basket ( which came when we had almost finished our meal. Lukewarm veg. My impression was (get them in and get them out as quick as possible)felt being sent to the bar first was a way of making extra money as there were so many empty tables in the dining room. Come on Jamie not good enough.

Worst restaurant (given the price) in Cambridge. My wife and I go out to eat in Cambridge at least three times a week and have been doing so for over 10 years. Therefore, we were excited to hear about the potential of this place. Unfortunately, the experience was horrible. We will not be back.

We went early on a Thursday night. Plenty of good tables were visible through the windows. All go so far. We went in to be greeted (if that's the right word) by an utterly indifferent host in black (FIRE HIM: HE WAS ON DUTY 25 November 2010 at around 18:00) who promptly assigned us to the worst table in the place - maximally in the flow of traffic and next to a table of children.

We asked about one of the nice tables that were free and were given some load of codswallop about how the servers for those tables hadn't reported for work yet. Apparently, in this universe, the satisfaction of the customer takes a back seat to their work schedules. I don't care if it's a kebab van: the work schedules of your employees is not my concern.

Eventually we got an alternate table. It was ok - the chairs are cheap looking and the gorgeous building has been badly let down by the interior design.

From them on, we were treated to an utterly forgettable meal. My scallops were theoretically 'nicely presented,' but this did little to hide the bland taste and unimaginative use of what I strongly suspect to be frozen and canned ingredients from the fish to the capers and the chili. The food was not so much cooked as it was assembled. My partner's fish was no better. Bland, bland, bland.

Vegetable side dishes consisted of vegetable slathered in utterly forgettable tomato sauce. Even the 'artisinal' 'Italian bread' was Sainsbury's quality - not fresh at all and made from cheap ingredients even though there are quality bakers about in Cambridge.

We will not be back. May this over-expensive consumerist rubbish return to the boardroom where it was conceived.

Arrived at 5pm Saturday afternoon with my wife as the first of two of a party of four. Asked for a table for four explaining other two would arrive in five minutes. Told by three staff at the reception, very young and emotionally immature, who looked very askance at us, which made us feel very uncomfortable, that this was not possible and would have to wait in the bar. Very hot, noisy and chaotic. Turning left into a cooler dining area leading to the bar we saw an empty table laid for four and asked of we could have it. The lady said ok. The floor beneath was strewn with waste food from previous diners. I ordered drinks from bar meanwhile my wife was then told to leave the table by the same waitress. Grape cocktail and lemonade (served in a can!) was £8.20. At the bar told I needed a pager so went back to reception whereupon told we could have the other table back. Went back to table which had now been given to someone else. Went back to the bar table with drinks whereupon the waitress, seeing my wife was upset and I was livid, came over to us and addressed my wife in her best mockney accent "is everything alright lovvie?"hot, noisy, dirty, disorganized, patronizing. Jamie Oliver I think you would cringe of you could see what is being done in your name. I wonder of you would be happy for your wife jobless to be treated this well? I went believing in the brand promise but this time you have stretched the brand too far. Really poor. In my 40 years I hav eaten in more than 1000 different restaurants and experienced really poor service but Jamies Italian is up there in the worst top five. If you enjoy indecisive, immature, arrogant and obstructive staff in a very noisy, chaotic, dirty and disorganized environment then I thoroughly recommend this establishment. We did leave and instead had a very pleasant meal with our friends dining al fresco at Carluccios round the corner.

Unimpressed. Food either bland, or excessively salty. the lamb was VERY off. White wine was warm.

The evening was not all bad. Staff were friendly. Building is lovely. The buzz feels good, but there was enough wrong with the food to prompt me to post this review.

The most disgusting was the lamb lollipops - which were seriously off. The smell was noticeable from the next table (though my poor son ate one because he was too embarrassed to complain). We complained for him, and the chef removed lamb from the menu - though didn't offer us anything to apologise (my poor son is complaining of stomach ache now!)

lame

Apart from that, the meal was a mixed bag. Warm white wine. Some food very good. Some excessively salty. Some dramatically overpriced.

Overall, I am very disappointed. For the price, and the hype I would have expected "amazing", but instead I am writing to complain.

I don't think I'll be back in a hurry

Four of us had a meal, three courses, all main courses were luke warm we had two bottles of wine and beer, not a lot of it £184.00, wont be going back. Eaten everywhere in cambridge this is definetly one of the worse and very overated, and you just pay for the name.

Went here August 2010. Wasn't impressed. Very expensive, at £20 per person for a main with a side of chips and veg (and you need one each, as they're not big). Very average food and small portions.

Wine was OK, but expensive (£18 for cheapest rose).

Won't be returning. Can eat better at Carluccios or Strada, for half the price.

Not good value. Food is average, very unimaginative. I ate here three times over a two month period and there were always problems with the kitchen. First an "accident" that took all the pasta dishes off the menu for 30 minutes. Both the second and third times, the dish was not served as described but lacked 2-3 of the ingredients listed on the menu. I mean, I know profit margins in this business can be slim but this level of incompetence in the kitchen is beyond belief. For what it is, the food is very overpriced. This is plain Italian food served with an illusion of some kind of restaurant experience, more marketing than substance. Two stars only because the waitress had the gumption to tell the chef to cough up with the missing ingredients after the chef tried to deny they were missing.

I was looking forward to eating here as I had heard great things about the Brighton branch. I was a bit disappointed to be honest. It all started off quite frustratingly due to the inability to book a table or even put your name down to guarantee you a table for later in the evening. Once we were seated we nibbled on some olives, tapenade, "music" bread and stuffed peppers (which were all very nice indeed) while we waited for the other two diners to join us. The Anti-pasti meat plank was very nice, but not good value. The arancini were very hard and I couldn't taste any smoked mozzarella. I had the Flash steak for the main course and although someone had clearly tried to tenderise it to within an inch it was still very tough and overcooked. The chips on the other hand were grossly undercooked - pale and dry (and you don't get very many for your money). Other main courses went down well though. The wine was quite average but very expensive. On the plus side, the service was swift and professional and the decor is very nice. There are also some more unusual offerings on the menu which you don't see in any of the other Italian chains in Cambridge. All in all, I will probably spend my money elsewhere in future - I don't think the problems we had were teething issues which one can generally expect from a new restaurant. I think the poorly executed food is unlikely to change.

Very reasonable and absolutely yummy, chicken salad is a must!! Feels like a top end restaurant inside this beautiful building but prices match other Italian chain restaurants, but this is so much more than your average bella italia or prezzo!!

Have been excited to go to Jamie's Italian in Cambridge since it opened but only got the chance to go today. Went on a girly lunch, 6 of us all up for a nice rustic Italian lunch before going to see Sex and the City the Movie. When we arrived we were impressed with the decor and liked the atmosphere. We ordered a glass of Prosecco each to get us in the mood for a really nice lunch and were looking forward to a girly chatter as we had not all seen each other for some time. Unfortunately we spent the entire time discussing our huge disappointment with our food. None of us are large eaters but we were quite gobsmacked by the ridiculous portion sizes, all agreeing that we would not be able to bring our husbands back to eat there as they would just not be satisfied at all. We eat out a lot in our working and social lives and this can be anything from Clowns for a bowl of pasta and a coffee or Claridges for a special occasion. I had squid for a starter which took all of 3 seconds to eat because I only had about 4 pieces of soggy battered squid! Looked forward to my pasta which was not too bad, albeit average and something I could have cooked at home possibly better. My friend had a vegetarian ravioli which consisted of 6 pieces of Ravioli, another friend had carbonara which tasted of nothing, we sent it back and the replacement was good, so what went wrong the first time?. We decided that we wanted to go to a Costa coffee for coffee and a cake at the end of the meal as we had no desire to spend another penny in Jamies Italian, >£120 later, 6 ladies left feeling disappointed and sending texts to our respective spouses not to expect to go there anytime soon! The film however did hit the spot - I want to say that I have never left a bad review for anything ever before but feel that Jamie needs to make some changes. We are still Jamie Oliver fans but will not go back.

Been there twice now, and cannot understand the negative comments. On both occasions, the staff were very attentive and friendly. We didn't have to wait long for the food, which was ok ( I agree that it's not exceptional, but still nice and reasonably priced).

I would definitely go back again. Very enjoyable!

Just come back from my first and last visit to Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Cambridge ‘jamie’s Italian’imagine asking for food with no nuts, because you may die and they get that wrong! ! ! ! Read on. We had to wait 30 minutes for a seat. Not bad considering the prestigious name attached to the venue. When we arrived at the table, the family of four next two us were already seated at 7:15pm. We placed our order at 7:35pm. We had the misfortune of having a none English speaking person as our waiter. Consequently the waiter we had could not understand part of the order of one diet coke or the burger well done. We had to wait 20 minutes until both of us were drinking. The wine for the passenger arrived immediately, but the soft drink for the chauffeur was a struggle. After two reminders he finally managed to get it right. The well done burger arrived, and drew the attention of the neighboring diners. It looked impressive, but was not cooked to order. Once cut open it oozed blood. The burger that was returned was far less impressive. Less salad and chillies, (the joy of complaining) but at least the meat was cooked as requested. The chips that were requested did not materialize. A different portion was presented. Begrudgingly we left a tip of 15p, but only because I did not have the correct change! At 8:20pm the family of four next to us got their main course. They had more time obviously than ustherefor dine here once to say, ‘ooh I ate at Jamie Oliver's place’ (but should have gone to Mcdonald's.)Jamies Italian is for;people who have all the time in the world to eatpeople who accept that the customer is wrong, because the chef is always rightpeople who don't mind if the waiter gets the order wrong. On more than one occasionpeople that like nostalgia. School dining hall noise and chaos, but with much slower service. Do Not Dine Here;if you are not one of the above! ! ! ! ! ! Try t

Restaurant is beautiful, food was good, service was good. However, having been there twice now, I don't think I will go back. The meet and greet staff on the door are so unbelievably rude, patronising and pretentious! They clearly think they are rather special! Between our group of friends, we have now totted up that this restaurant has lost 17 potential tables due to these staff being so rude! We will not be going back!

Had lunch there today. Not terribly impressed. Starters took so long to arrive (45 minutes), we were given complimentary bread basket while we waited. English wild boar salami was amazing, but "specials" were very disappointing. Scallops had burnt breadcrumb topping, and the chicken salad was totally overpowered with sliced red chillies which weren't mentioned in the ingedients. Service was impeccable though.

Went to Jamie's last night and had an excellent meal. Not the place for a romantic meal for two as it's large and crowded but the atmosphere is great. The staff were friendly and helpful - thank you Norma! - and the service was prompt. What I really liked about the meal was the quality of the ingredients - from the bread to the excellent Valpolicella and antipasti. All presented very well and the portions were a good size. The salads were fresh and our main courses very tasty! Will go again definitely.

We were very excited to have a renown restaurant in the center of Cambridge and had planned for weeks to go and enjoy. But I have to say that this is one of the worst restaurant experience I have had so far.

Decoration:
Good. Surprisingly spacious. (This is the only plus in that place.)

Staff:
Not friendly. We ordered our starters, they came quite fast, but when the waiter delivered them to our table, he dropped one of the olives on the table, and then left without even checking with us whether we wanna have a replace, or even an apology. And during the entire dinner course, a waitress kept on breaking glasses or dropping things nearby. She didn't seem to be bothered at all, as if this happened all the time.

Food:
Very disappointing. No exceptional especially the main course. Greasy, bland, even found a piece of small brick on the so called Brick baked chicken (Well, at least we could be sure that the chicken was baked on brick!). I, on purposely ordered a pasta dish which I had in a number of restaurants in Cambridge, and the one I had in Jamies's came to the bottom of the list.


Conclusion:
Not recommended. And will not go back again.

Took my Dad there for his birthday. Being fairly early on a Monday night, we got straight in, although the place was busy. Pleasant staff, beautiful building, although the décor was slightly confused - architecture in elegant classic style, paintwork to match, but mismatched chairs and benches, and rustic 'at home' style napkins. And nowhere to put your coats or handbags.

Anyway, I had the squid starter (~£5.50), which worked out about £1 for each piece of squid. Dad had steak main (£~16), and I had the 'fish in a bag' (£15.50) which was billed as coming with mussels and clams. It did - 2 mussels, and 1 clam (one clam shell was empty), and 2 small new potatoes. And my bass fillet had bones in, which I wasn't expecting from what purports to be a quality establishment.

None of the mains come with any sort of accompaniment, so I'd ordered green beans (£3.50 extra) and Dad had the Funky Fries (~£3 extra - for a small handful). We shared 500ml of an average wine (~£9).

Verdict? Squid slightly overcooked and rubbery. Steak - tasted wonderful, but even when medium-rare, was tough. Sea bass - delicious, but the dish was mostly fennel. Fries - delicious, but very small portion (it fitted easily in a coffee cup sized pot); green beans, slightly al dente for me, but good job I ordered them as it ended up being the main constituent of my meal.

Oh, and don't dare to ask for English mustard to go with your steak - "this is an *Italian* restaurant, sir!"... although they seem to have at least one traditional English pudding on the menu.

Overall, tasty food and nice ambience, but massively over-hyped and overpriced. Won't be going back, I'm afraid. Having to pay handsomely for side dishes which should come with the entree just pushed it beyond the realms of value for money. £60 for 1 small starter, 2 small mains and half a bottle of cheapish wine just wasn't worth it.

Loved the building from the minute we walked in. Very attentive and professional service. Very tasty squid though portion was hardly adequate. Parmesan chunks were disappointing through the lack of balsamic vinegar (a mere drizzle). Excellent main courses representing good value for money. Sausage pappardelle and truffle tagliatelle both delicious. Side order of funky chips were also very tasty, pity there weren't more of them! All in all a very enjoyable evening and we will be going back. Total cost was £43 which included a large bottle of sparkling water.

Our experience was a great service and tasting lovely food, fresh, simple and delicious. there was a letter to the Editor of a local Cambridge paper a few weeks back asking why Jamie did not cook English food, pies and roast dinners with Yorkshire puds etc., but Italian. Well, i think most people will agree that this is a much healthier way eating delicious food. Well done Jamie, you are a winner again. The only reason I rate this restaurant 4 star is becasue although it has a great atmosphere it is a little packed with tables being too close to eachother.

Unfortunately, despite the food being nice, a one hour wait for two starters was not the way I'd envisaged my first (and only) experience of Jamie's Italian. Nice decorations but the service left much to be desired as well. After the long wait for the starters, with very little of an apology from out waitress (unless you consider asking if we'd like any more drinks an apology) we were beginning to wonder what we'd walk in to. Another half an hour later we received our mains's. The food was nice, as expected, but when you have to order every side separately, then the cost makes it a must that the food is of a high standard. When you pay over £15 per main dish, you'd expect it to at least come with some sort of side. A handful of rocket was not what i was thinking. Unless of course you enjoy your steak as...well, just steak!

The presentation and taste is all very well but if i go out for a meal I'd expect it to be a meal. Not rations of food. I think I could have put the tiramisu in my pocket and walked out and nobody would have even noticed.

Take me back to the Copper Kettle any day!

Graham - Trumpington

My daughter invited me to a meal at Jamies for Mothers Day on 15th March. Obviously on such a busy day we were prepared for a wait, we were politely invited to wait in the bar section and given a "buzzer" which would notify us once our table was ready. The table was ready sooner than the time given which was a nice surprise.

The food was very good which I had expected, but what amazed me most was the excellent level of personal service we received from the staff under the most busy restaurant conditons I have ever seen. The welcoming politeness started from the young man at the entrance desk and continued throughout. Our waitress maintained the most genuine smile throughout and could not have been more helpful.

I am sure the kitchen staff were working at the same frantic speed as the waiting staff because the food arrived without delay, but of course we did not see them so I would like to offer them my thanks as well.

Mavis Rodgers Peterborough

We were welcomed in and invited to have a drink in the bar while we waited for a table(about half an hour). At the table we were served by a very attentive and charming waiter-he didn't seem to know what salsa verde was, but I'd already chosen the sea bass special that incorporated it before his rundown-my mum had the other special(pork belly). Drinks and food arrived promptly and were absolutely delicious.-in a completely different class to De Luca, at least in my experience. I found the chocolate hazelnut torte a little disappointing-for anyone who's thinking of ordering it, you should know that it's a kind of sponge cake with a thin chocolate topping-I was expecting a rich tarte au chocolat with nuts through it. Should've asked, I suppose--. Mum loved her affogato. A great impromptu meal in beautiful surroundings-great value.

My husband and I went to Jamies last Tuesday lunch time and I have to say I thought it was really scrummy, however, Jamie when are you going to cater for Coeliacs? I would love to have something other than rissotto however lovely it was - just sometimes it would be good to have a gluten free pasta - food for thought!!! B and N

We went out to eat at Jamie's last night and am a little surprised at the comments below about not being English - we do after all live in a multicultural society and Cambridge is a university city which automatically draws from all walks of life - that aside we were actually served by 4 English waiters at the bar, the lady who seated us was English and our waiter was English long with the hostess on the door!

The food was amazing - I had the prawn linguine, my husband had both the risotto and the ravioli - both starter size as he could not make his mind up! The bread starter was great but the oil/balsamic although tasty and of good quality was not supplied in bowls big enough. We had to ask for 4 refills and each time the waiter took a while to see we needed him and then even longer to remember we needed more oil. The service was OK but the staff have a long way to go. Plates were cleared before both of us had finished, we had to ask for extra Parmesan as this was not offered. We had to pour our own wine and when we moved from the bar to our table we had to carry our coats (there is nowhere to hang them up) two glasses of wine and the rest of the bottle. We had to mill our own pepper as well - things you would not even have to do in pizza Express!

There was a distinct lack of space on our table, our coats were stuffed next to us and I appreciate that the building is old and the windows single glazed but the draught was dreadful. Anyway moaning aside we finished the evening off with an AMAZING tiramisu - huge portion and exceptionally tasty. I have eaten a lot of Tiramisu in my life and this was the best I have ever tried. The bill was £30 for food and £17 for drink which is extremely good value. I do think the service has a way to go.

I was really excited to learn Jamie Oliver was opening in Cambridge and couldn't wait to go. I love italian food and Cambridge has only ever had one good italian restaurant. The tables at Jamie's are odd i know its meant to be rustic but really!! they kept sliding all over the place. The staff were really sweet but non of them were English!! Which would be fine but they were not italian either! Saying that the food was great, starters, pasta wonderful. but not cheep! i think ill stick to deluca

A large party of family and friends had a very enjoyable time at Jamies Italian pre opening night on the 18th feb.All the staff could not do enough to give a very special ambiance to the evening.and of course the food was excellent.The building is a delight to look at too.We are already planning our next visit.
Thank you all

Jake & Sandra Flack
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