Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there. This year is my third mothers day. I can’t believe I’ve already had three. Time has gone so fast. This year I got my first present from my daughter. A plant and painted card with a picture of her and a lovely message that she made a Kindy. It was the sweetest thing ever. This year Marco and I decided to have a nice lunch without our toddler. She spent some time with her nonna and we had a relaxing lunch at Jamie’s Italian.

We have been to Jamie’s Italian a few times since it opened. I know it gets mixed reviews, but we have had good experiences every time. The food is always fresh with quality ingredients and cooked well. What I love about this place is that its real food, cooked from scratch. We have only been to the Brisbane location, but you can find the franchised restaurants in most capital cities in Australia and more across the world.

The Brisbane location just off the street level but actually has a second level of seating under the ground. The top level features the entrance bar and a beautiful marble bar with hanging Parma hams, garlic and chillis, where the antipastos are prepared. The lower level also houses the kitchen, so it’s also nice to sit in the hustle and bustle of the kitchen atmosphere. The rest of the decor is very industrial, yet homely. The walls feature exposed concrete and recycled wooden panels and the floors are polished wood. The tables are mostly wooden, with leather booths or red metal seat. The ambience of the restaurant really makes you feel like your in an Italian trattoria.

I have noticed the menu has changed over time to keep up with the current trends. However, the heart of Italy still shines through with their handmade pasta, classic antipasti and some traditional secondi dishes.

 

Today we came for the Mother’s day lunch menu, which included a selection entree’s and mains. The dessert tasting plank was optional, but we had to have that too. I was also given a glass of prosecco on arrival.

For our starters, we shared the Truffle Tagliatelle and the Tomato Bruschetta. The pasta featured silky black truffle butter with aged Parmesan, nutmeg and more shaved black truffle. It was decadent and the pasta was cooked. al dente. The Bruschetta had slow-roasted cherry tomatoes on a bed of whipped ricotta, finished with basil & extra virgin olive oil on toasted ciabatta. It was also really nice too.

 

For mains, I had the Venetian Fish (Barramundi) with aubergine, Gaeta olives, capers, heirloom tomatoes, pine nuts & steamed quinoa. The fish had nice crispy skin and the flesh was moist. I wasn’t that excited about the quinoa, but it went really well with the stewed vegetables. Marco had the Striploin Steak with herby garlic butter, horseradish, crunchy green salad & posh chips (baked). He really enjoyed this meal too.,

 

We weren’t sure about having dessert, but then the table next to us had dessert tasting plank. It included Baked Vanilla Cheesecake with Strawberry compote, Tiramisu, Smashed Meringue with Sour cherries, Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla icecream, chocolate sauce and caramelised amaretti popcorn; and Sour Cherry Frangipane. It was all so decadent and a perfect ending to a lovely meal.