Review: Jamie's Italian Markthal Summer Menu
I heard that the Jamie's Italian in the Markthal is having a special Summer menu offer (until 21 August), you can get three courses for €24.50. It applies to lunch and dinner time. It was an offer I couldn't refuse, so I
went there around 15:00-16:00 last Saturday (without reservations). It wasn't too crowded, as we were almost alone on the second
floor. Near the end of the
meal, it did get more crowded as it got close to dinner time.
When I and my late lunch and early dinner mate walked inside the Jamie's Italian, we were nicely directed to a table near the open window on the first floor, so we got to enjoy a nice cool breeze during the whole meal. We couldn't decide on what to eat immediately, so we ordered some drinks first. I got the Refresher (pink drink, €4.50) and the other person got the Ginger & Mango mojito (yellow drink, €4.50). The refresher contains fresh lemon, elderflower cordial and cranberry juice, topped with lemonade. I really liked it, as it tastes like a refreshing lemonade, which is a bit flowery (not to the extent that you might get nauseous from it) and with a hint of cranberry. It has the perfect amount of sourness and lemony flavor and not too much raspberry (without knowing, you might think it is some kind of berry, not sure which kind). The Ginger & Mango mojito contains mango juice with mint, lime, and sugar, topped with ginger beer. I was afraid that it might be too spicy, but it is a refreshing mango drink with some lime and mint flavor and just a tiny hint of ginger. Both are non-alcoholic cocktails.
I discovered that the grill station of the kitchen is located at the back of the first floor, which is on the left of the touch screen cash register and herbs table (pictured underneath). I kept smelling the delicious grilled meat flavor and waiters kept walking past holding the most delicious looking dishes, making me want to order them the next time. If you are mainly ordering grilled meat and fried food, the waiting time will be very little as it is made right next to you, but most of the drinks and pasta's are made downstairs, so the waiters and waitresses need to go down and take them upstairs again, which can take some time.
Sitting on my side, I got an amazing view of the Lawrence church, but on the other side, you get a nice view of the inner market hall.
The prosciutto & melon dish has an interesting combination of flavors and textures: soft mini buffalo mozzarella, delicate basil pesto, salty prosciutto ham, and sweet melon. The prosciutto ham is only a bit salty and it doesn't have a very strong ham flavor. The cantaloupe melon was nice, as it has a mild, not too overly sweet flavor, but it was a bit too hard. I almost choked on it, when I took a large bite. The basil pesto flavor wasn't too strong, so I think most people will like it.
Underneath was also a slice of garlicky ciabatta bread, but it got soaked with sauce so much that it melted and disappeared in the sauce. I wish the bread could have been served next to chicken instead of under the chicken, as the small piece of bread that I ate, which wasn't covered with the sauce, tasted really good.
The arctic roll is a hazelnut and vanilla ice cream rolled up in chocolate sponge cake, topped with butterscotch sauce, and chocolate flakes. The chocolate sponge cake was frozen too hard for me to put a spoon in it and dig in, but I managed to eat it by placing it side-ways. On the top part of the arctic roll - in between the ice cream and chocolate sponge - is a thin layer of crunchy hazelnuts (and almonds?) and it was a nice surprise. I really like the abundant amount of crunchy chocolate flakes on top too.
In the middle, it has hazelnut ice cream (I thought it was chocolate ice cream?) and vanilla ice cream (again, want more vanilla flavor!). The butterscotch sauce was delicious, but there was too little or it was just too concentrated in a small area (frozen too hard or too thick to move around).
If you pick the cheapest choices, you only save €1.47, and picking the most expensive items - like I did - saves you €7.45 (free dessert!). For first-timers, I recommend this menu : the Porcini arancini, Prawn linguini, and the Epic brownie (savings of €3.45). The bruschetta sounds nice too, but I had a bad experience before with the crab bruschetta, so I didn't want to try it. The Prosciutto & melon didn't taste too bad, but I think you would want to try the Porcini arancini more. For the first time, I think you should try one of the pasta's instead of the meat dishes. I already tried the Prawn linguini, so I didn't want to order it again, but the pasta was great, the prawns small but crunchy and sweet, and the rich tomato sauce with a lot of prawn flavor can be a bit too spicy, but you can remove some of the sauce, before you take a bite. As for dessert, I totally loved the epic brownie, but the arctic roll could be great too - if it got more time to melt - and the orange blossom polenta cake looks beautiful in the pictures - but the taste might not suit everyone.
I think you get a pretty good deal with the Summer menu. Sometimes, you don't save a lot of money, and you are limited in your choices, but it has something for vegetarians and a little bit of everything that Jamie's Italian has to offer: interesting fried snacks, hams, mozzarella cheese, bruschetta, hamburgers, grilled meat, pasta's, and delicious desserts.
Compared to the first time I lunched at Jamie's Italian, I left with a more satisfied feeling. I had some appetizers, a filling and meaty main course, and a sweet dessert. It had exactly the right amount of food. I was full - but not so much that my stomach hurts - and I also didn't get hungry very fast afterwards.
When I and my late lunch and early dinner mate walked inside the Jamie's Italian, we were nicely directed to a table near the open window on the first floor, so we got to enjoy a nice cool breeze during the whole meal. We couldn't decide on what to eat immediately, so we ordered some drinks first. I got the Refresher (pink drink, €4.50) and the other person got the Ginger & Mango mojito (yellow drink, €4.50). The refresher contains fresh lemon, elderflower cordial and cranberry juice, topped with lemonade. I really liked it, as it tastes like a refreshing lemonade, which is a bit flowery (not to the extent that you might get nauseous from it) and with a hint of cranberry. It has the perfect amount of sourness and lemony flavor and not too much raspberry (without knowing, you might think it is some kind of berry, not sure which kind). The Ginger & Mango mojito contains mango juice with mint, lime, and sugar, topped with ginger beer. I was afraid that it might be too spicy, but it is a refreshing mango drink with some lime and mint flavor and just a tiny hint of ginger. Both are non-alcoholic cocktails.
Jamie's Italian Markthal first floor interior
The first time I had lunch here, I was seated at a table near the entrance on the ground floor. This time, I finally got to see how the first floor looks like. The beautiful chandeliers and copper lamps are nice touches to the interior. There are also many comfy looking leather benches and assorted chairs. The one I got was a wicker chair, which was a bit painful as I was wearing a short and thin dress. I think I walked out of the restaurant with a strange waffle print on the back of my thighs.I discovered that the grill station of the kitchen is located at the back of the first floor, which is on the left of the touch screen cash register and herbs table (pictured underneath). I kept smelling the delicious grilled meat flavor and waiters kept walking past holding the most delicious looking dishes, making me want to order them the next time. If you are mainly ordering grilled meat and fried food, the waiting time will be very little as it is made right next to you, but most of the drinks and pasta's are made downstairs, so the waiters and waitresses need to go down and take them upstairs again, which can take some time.
Sitting on my side, I got an amazing view of the Lawrence church, but on the other side, you get a nice view of the inner market hall.
First courses
Porcini arancini €5.50
I had already eaten the porcini arancini before, but they have changed for the better. The last time, the fried risotto balls came with a tomato sauce and they now have a creamy, Italian cheese fondue sauce, which is gooey, not too heavy, but still full of cheese flavor. The mushroom risotto inside has a strong grilled flavor (or it got burned a little bit, but not to the extent that it tasted bad, it was rather tasty) and it isn't as lacking in taste and dry as before. It has a crunchy crust and the grated cheese on top and the cheese dipping sauce have a clear difference in flavor.Prosciutto & melon €8.50
The prosciutto & melon dish has an interesting combination of flavors and textures: soft mini buffalo mozzarella, delicate basil pesto, salty prosciutto ham, and sweet melon. The prosciutto ham is only a bit salty and it doesn't have a very strong ham flavor. The cantaloupe melon was nice, as it has a mild, not too overly sweet flavor, but it was a bit too hard. I almost choked on it, when I took a large bite. The basil pesto flavor wasn't too strong, so I think most people will like it.
Main course
We both had the chicken cacciatore, so I will only review this main course. It looked like half a chicken to me, but I think it is actually the back part of the chicken and the drumstick part of the chicken wing. Still, the chicken meat was very tender and it had a good chicken flavor (free-range chicken). It was nicely grilled and covered with a tomato & Chianti (red wine) sauce, a handful of rocket, 5 black olives (not seedless, so be careful biting into them), some delicious mushrooms, and grated Parmesan cheese. Normally, I don't really like tomato sauce, but the red wine, vegetables, and mushrooms seemed to have mellowed down the sourness of the tomato sauce and gave it more layers.Underneath was also a slice of garlicky ciabatta bread, but it got soaked with sauce so much that it melted and disappeared in the sauce. I wish the bread could have been served next to chicken instead of under the chicken, as the small piece of bread that I ate, which wasn't covered with the sauce, tasted really good.
Desserts
Epic brownie €7.50
The epic brownie was amazing. The brownie was warm and had a crunchy crust and a soft and creamy center. The chocolate flavor wasn't extremely rich, but still very good. If you like it sweeter and want more chocolate flavor to it, you can eat it with more of the chocolate sauce. For me, the brownie alone was already sweet enough. The large scoop of vanilla ice cream was soft and slightly creamy, but it didn't have a very strong vanilla flavor. I really liked the caramelized popcorn, as it was soft and crunchy, perfectly made. The caramel on top was rich in flavor, but not too overly sweet, as you only take small bites of them.Arctic roll €6.95
After tasting the epic brownie, the arctic roll paled in comparison. The smaller plate also didn't really help. I think it could taste a lot better, but when I got it, the roll seemed to be still frozen solid. I could have waited a bit longer before I ate it, but the other person's warm brownie and melting ice cream couldn't really wait.The arctic roll is a hazelnut and vanilla ice cream rolled up in chocolate sponge cake, topped with butterscotch sauce, and chocolate flakes. The chocolate sponge cake was frozen too hard for me to put a spoon in it and dig in, but I managed to eat it by placing it side-ways. On the top part of the arctic roll - in between the ice cream and chocolate sponge - is a thin layer of crunchy hazelnuts (and almonds?) and it was a nice surprise. I really like the abundant amount of crunchy chocolate flakes on top too.
In the middle, it has hazelnut ice cream (I thought it was chocolate ice cream?) and vanilla ice cream (again, want more vanilla flavor!). The butterscotch sauce was delicious, but there was too little or it was just too concentrated in a small area (frozen too hard or too thick to move around).
Service
- Every course, I got a new set of cutlery.
- A drinks and dessert booklet was provided this time. I found out that they had (non-alcoholic) cocktails too!
- A bottle of free tap water was offered, right after taking our drinks order.
- I took some time deciding what to eat and a waitress pro-actively came to us to talk about the daily specials and gave us more info on the menu, such as the option of small or large sizes for the pasta's. We still couldn't decide yet and she calmly left and let us keep looking at the menu for a while without rushing us.
- We asked if we could still order the Summer menu, which I mistakenly thought was a lunch deal and it was already late afternoon, when we were there. The waitress told us it is okay to order that during the whole day. She named three choices of every course patiently and personally checked in the system, if the vegan burger was still available, as she thought it was sold out, and if there was a alternative otherwise.
- The waitress talked a bit too fast sometimes, but I can understand it, as she needs to memorize a lot of things. The description of the dishes can be a bit long and as the summer menu card wasn't available, she needed to name and describe each dish in detail herself.
- The waiting time between courses were a bit longer than the previous time (I think it is because of where we were seated), but I amused myself with taking some pictures.
- The table in the middle of the entrance from the previous time I lunched there, seems to have moved a bit inside and not too close to the entrance opening anymore.
Jamie's Italian Markthal Summer Menu
Three different options per course.
First course
Porcini arancini €5.50
Prosciutto & melon €8.50
Tomato & Ricotta Bruschetta €5.50
Main course
Veggie burger €13.50
Chicken cacciatore €15.95
Prawn linguini €14.95
Dessert
Orange blossom Polenta cake €7.50
Epic brownie €7.50
Arctic roll €6.95 (not on menu)
What do I think?
If you pick the cheapest choices, you only save €1.47, and picking the most expensive items - like I did - saves you €7.45 (free dessert!). For first-timers, I recommend this menu : the Porcini arancini, Prawn linguini, and the Epic brownie (savings of €3.45). The bruschetta sounds nice too, but I had a bad experience before with the crab bruschetta, so I didn't want to try it. The Prosciutto & melon didn't taste too bad, but I think you would want to try the Porcini arancini more. For the first time, I think you should try one of the pasta's instead of the meat dishes. I already tried the Prawn linguini, so I didn't want to order it again, but the pasta was great, the prawns small but crunchy and sweet, and the rich tomato sauce with a lot of prawn flavor can be a bit too spicy, but you can remove some of the sauce, before you take a bite. As for dessert, I totally loved the epic brownie, but the arctic roll could be great too - if it got more time to melt - and the orange blossom polenta cake looks beautiful in the pictures - but the taste might not suit everyone.
I think you get a pretty good deal with the Summer menu. Sometimes, you don't save a lot of money, and you are limited in your choices, but it has something for vegetarians and a little bit of everything that Jamie's Italian has to offer: interesting fried snacks, hams, mozzarella cheese, bruschetta, hamburgers, grilled meat, pasta's, and delicious desserts.
Compared to the first time I lunched at Jamie's Italian, I left with a more satisfied feeling. I had some appetizers, a filling and meaty main course, and a sweet dessert. It had exactly the right amount of food. I was full - but not so much that my stomach hurts - and I also didn't get hungry very fast afterwards.
My other reviews of Jamie's Italian Markthal:
