Kriya got a taste of Italy at Jamie's Italian

Over the last few years international chefs have seen South Africa as a key market to open beautifully designed restaurants and we were all super excited when we heard that Jamie Oliver was setting up shop in Johannesburg.

Jamie's Italian South Africa opened its doors towards the end of 2016 and really has captured the hearts of Joburg foodies with Chef Shane Smit at the helm. The restaurant itself is a beautiful 300 seater with 2 private dinning rooms, fitted with their own fully serviced bar. 

The menu boasts classic Italian dishes, that are easily recognizable however when you taste them you can immediately identify that Jamie Oliver twist.  All the pasta is made daily in store and you can taste that the ingredients are sourced for the best quality grocers and butcheries. Any one of the Jamie's staff will proudly tell you that their meats are free range and only very specific ingredients are sourced from overseas suppliers and the rest is home grown South African products.

With Jamie being so health conscious you can see that his flair has spilled over onto the kiddies menu as well. The problem with healthy food is that it is often difficult to get the kids to want to eat it, however Jamie has solved this problem by making it fun and interactive with a view finder menu and ingenious ideas like a "Shake Me" salad. (See the recipe below)

If this hasn't peaked your interest as of yet, the price per head most certainly will. When making a reservation at Jamie's you don't have to worry about breaking the bank. You are looking at an average cost of about R100 per person.

Kriya got to experience the restaurant first hand.

While I was there I was lucky enough to be shown the ropes by the head chef himself and he taught me how to make a simple yet creative salad and salad dressing.