Review: The Super Lunch Menu at Jamie’s Italian

Last Updated on September 13, 2017 by HodgePodgeDays

This week I was keen for a bit of culture and had plans to visit an exhibition in Manchester, it seemed rude not to stop for a bite to eat while I was there, so I headed to Jamie’s Italian on King Street to check out their new Super Lunch Menu.

The menu is very nicely priced at £12.95 for two courses, or three courses for £14.95. It is available 12-6pm from Monday-Friday and seemed to be incredibly popular when I visited. The menu is short but I felt there was enough to choose from and I’m a slightly fussy veggie.

I opted to start with “Jamie’s Spring Ribbolita”, a chunky soup with spring greens, cannellini beans, chilli, garlic and extra virgin olive oil, finished with Bella Lodi (black parmesan) and served with homemade focaccia. The soup was delicious, really chunky, riddled with fresh veg and beans and well seasoned, it’s rare I don’t have to add any seasoning to my soup and it was perfect, I couldn’t fault it.

My dining companion chose the Frito Misto – crispy fried sustainable fish and squid tossed in fennel-spiced flour with garlic and lemon aioli. It looked good and was a decent sized starter portion. Although I felt that the aioli lacked the garlicky punch I was expecting and my squid loving friend couldn’t find any squid, we think the table next to us which were having a double portion of the same probably had our share.

Moving swiftly onto the mains I chose the Spaghetti Primavera made with fresh pasta, wild garlic pesto, green beans, peas, sweet basil and Bella Lodi. I was impressed with this simple but delicious dish, I loved the wild garlic pesto, a seasonal treat I can’t resist, the primavera has got summer written all over it. Beautifully presented and full of seasonal veg, it was perfectly seasoned and almost plate-lickingly good. 

My diet concious chum plumped for the Super Food Salad, Avocado and roasted beetroot with fennel, quinoa, black rice, curly kale, sprouting broccoli, fresh herbs, pomegranate, toasted seeds, spicy harissa and cottage cheese. This salad looked good, but I’m not a great lover of quinoa, the avocado with the harissa was inspired and my companion really enjoyed it. It’s a great salad for ladies (and indeed gents) who lunch. 

I’d selected my lunch based on what I fancied and my friend chose something more slimming. On a pause between courses I hopped onto the website and discovered that my rich and delicious dish of carby pasta was 676 calories, and the healthy salad was 725 calories. It was clearly time for cake!

Pud arrived and between us we shared custody of a dainty bowl of strawberries and frozen yoghurt (fresh strawberries soaked in elderflower and lemon, served with baby basil, frozen yoghurt and poppy seed crisps) and an orange blossom polenta cake, served with whipped crème fraîche, fresh orange and pomegranate.

For me the stand out was the orange blossom polenta cake, it was impossibly light and delicately citrus, set off beautifully by the whipped crème fraîche. The strawberries and frozen yoghurt was small but just enough if you want something a little bit sweet at the end of your meal. I’m not a great fan of strawberries, but I enjoyed the little pud.

At just £14.95 for the Super Lunch Menu I can say it’s excellent value and the food was so good I’m planning a return visit again soon. For me Jamie’s Italian in Manchester is a great daytime venue.  It was busy and almost all of the tables were full, so they’re obviously doing something right. 

The Super Lunch menu runs from Monday – Friday, 12pm – 6pm.

We were invited guests of Jamie’s Italian, Manchester. Nevertheless all images and opinions are our own.