With young children it isn’t too often that we get to eat out. But when Jamie’s Italian in Guildford invited us along to review their new Super Lunch Menu, it was a fab excuse to go and dine out (as well as visiting our old stomping ground, where we lived when the husband was still studying). Having Max at school meant that there was just the three of us – lunch with just one child has got to be easier than two, right? 😉

I remember the exact location where the restaurant is from when we used to live there. It is such an iconic, spherical building, by the Priory centre and at the bottom of the high street. You really can’t miss it. So we headed there and we then seated upstairs. If you get the choice, then I think upstairs in the Guildford restaurant is the best. You get a better view, anyway!

The Menu

I’ll start with the kids menu. There was a lot of choice. Plus, I loved that there are little viewing glasses so that little ones can look through and move the slides to see what the food will look like. Always a help so it can hopefully avoid that annoying situation of them saying they want one thing and then want something else when it arrives at the table and they see it! Each kids meal comes with a salad and there are lots of healthy choices for drinks. I chose fruity water for Chloe, and thought it would just be flavoured water. It in fact, came with pieces of fruit in, which was a bonus really. She drank the water and then picked out the strawberry pieces to eat too.

The lunch menu for the husband and I, served between 12 and 6pm looked so good. There are different specials that we were told about too. So there is a lot of choice (and you can order form the ‘normal’ menu at lunchtime too. I was so impressed with the price point of the lunch menu, though. You can choose two courses for £11.95 or three courses for £13.95. Obviously, there are only certain dishes that you can have, but it was hard to choose as they all sounded good. I chose to go for a starter and a main, as I much prefer savoury at restaurants, and the husband chose the same. My starter was truffle tagliatelle and the husband went for fritto misto (crispy squid). The tagliatelle was just a light portion (perfect for a starter) but it was so delicious; really silly and creamy.

My main choice was the chicken club, and the husband chose steak and fries. The steak was a £3 supplement, which is fine, but I thought it was a bit funny that the chicken club didn’t come with anything. So you have to order a side of fries or a salad if you want that for about £3.50 extra. Not the end of the world, but I’d rather just have the overall price be slightly higher. The pasta dishes would have been just that, though, with no need for extras. So it does depend on what you pick I suppose.

The Service

The service we received was amazing. It wasn’t peak time being at lunchtime, but we were regularly checked on and water refilled. The waitress we had was able to answer any questions that we had and was attentive. I couldn’t fault the service that we received.

Overall?

Overall I was really happy with our meal and time at Jamie’s Italian in Guildford. The portion sizes were good, the price and value for money was good, and most importantly, the food tasted amazing! We have a lot of Jamie’s cookbooks, and like his little touches that are a little unusual perhaps, but they totally work. You could see this on some of the menu too.

Guildford is our closest Jamie’s Italian restaurant, and I would definitely go again when we are in the area. Especially at lunchtime, it is such a bargain! Have you ever eaten at one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants? Would love to hear what you think.

*thanks to Jamie’s Italian for having us. All opinions are our own.