On our first day in Edinburgh, the weather started to turn nasty in the afternoon with huge wind gusts and rain. It was the kind of weather where you saw the trash bins and sidewalks littered with the remains of broken umbrellas. We were already in the "new town", which faces the "old town". New town was built between 1765 and 1850 and many of the original buildings still stand. Our hotel was a bit of a walk from there so we decided to find Jamie's Italian while there. I had made a 7:45 PM booking and we thought we should see where it was before making the trip back up the hill in the weather. We decided it was not that far of a walk and we could always grab a taxi if the weather remained bad. After cleaning up in our room and taking a short rest we were ready to brave the weather and head back to Jamie's. Once outside, the weather had changed, the sky was clear and the moon was almost full. It was a beautiful evening for a stroll.
We arrived at the restaurant at the appointed time and had to wait for about 15 minutes for our table. The place was packed and the staff was hopping. The bar here is larger than the one in Leeds and we scored a table without stools. Dan tried to order beers at the bar, but they were very busy and he gave up knowing we would get buzzed as soon as he ordered. We were finally seated and were happy with our table. The restaurant is much larger than Leeds, with three levels of dining in an open space.
Our waitress took our beer orders, Messinas (3.95 pounds) for both of us and our starters. Dan ordered a meat plank (£6.85) that had fennel salami, pistachio mortadella, prosciutto & schiacciata picante, buffalo mozzarella with chilli & mint, pecorino & amazing chilli jam, green chillies, best green olives, Gaeta & caper berries and a salad of shaved carrots, beets, lemon and mint. I ordered the Tuscan Bean and Capezzana Olive Oil Bruschetta (3.75 pounds) which was braised beans & creamy mozzarella on grilled sourdough, drizzled with stunning Capezzana Special Reserve 2013 olive oil. We also ordered the Italian Bread Selection (3.75pounds) with homemade rosemary focaccia, sourdough, crispy "music bread", ciabatta & tortano with olive oil & balsamic . All were amazingly good.
For dinner Dan ordered the Tagliatelle Bolognese (9.95) a ragu of British beef and pork, with herds, Chianti, Parmesan and crunchy breadcrumbs. He also ordered a glass of the House red for 6.95 pounds and I ordered another Messina. The sauce was incredible with the house made pasta. I ordered the best meal though. The Turkey Milanese (12.25) was one of the best things I have ever eaten! A large fried turkey cutlet stuffed with prosciutto and fontal cheese, topped with a fried free-range egg and a generous amount of shaved truffle! The flavors were so perfect together, the lemony crunchy turkey and black truffles dipped in the egg yolk was out of this world. I also ordered a side of the yummiest Braised cabbage (3.45) with crispy pancetta and Parmesan crust.
At this point we were stuffed and I remembered I had not shown the waitress my Gold Jamie's Card. With the card she brought us a couple of tasters and some chocolates for Christmas. I even got 10 pounds off the meal for using it the first time. It was a perfect meal, with great food and good service!
They are located at The Assembly Rooms 54 George St. Edinburgh, EH2 2LR 911-9131-49
No comments:
Post a Comment