To think Jamie's Italian failed due to being shit rather than brexit

[Ll81]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5377965/Jamie-Olivers-Italian-restaurant-empire-racks-debts.html#article-5377965

Brexit is going to cause lots of problems for many years to come, but it's just a cheap shot blaming brexit. I've eaten in his Italian places twice and it was pretty shit food and bad value. Brexit or not I'm sure it wouldn't make much difference to his buisness this quickly.

Last time I went my pizza didn't have cheese, when I queried with the waitress she pointed out that the menus didn't specify cheese, true but its a pizza, cheese is a fundamental ingredients

Nah I went to a flagship in the early days. It was shit then too

Agree it's the crapness of the restaurants - went to one as friends booked it, I would have walked out if I hadn't been with a group and we had a concert to go to.
I've never been again and wouldn't - overpriced, lukewarm, tiny portions of mediocre food.

hmmm. I went there around ten years ago and liked it quite a bit. I haven't gone back because their veg menu is pretty limited. I say I liked, but I haven't gone back in 10 years, so I didn't like it that much.

I did think it was overpriced. And I live in London so he isn't the only game in town.

Been a couple times to two different restaurants. Service was poor and food was overpriced and bland. It was all style over substance

Have to agree....love JO but had bad experience at his restaurant. Pasta was undercooked massively to the point of being raw in the middle. Waiter spoke to chef and came back and gave me patronising spiel about it being al dente. I know what al dente is.....,this was raw. 🙄🙄🙄

I've got more than a suspicion that the kids meals are of the peel and ping variety i.e. peel back the lid and in the microwave.

The adults pasta meals say that the pasta can be swapped out however theres no option for this on the kids menu. And although my kids are fairly adventureous when it comes to eating (we had kedgreee for tea ffs) I can't see either of them eating a wrap with cottage cheese in it or anything with crunchy seeds on it.

And the vegetarian options are fairly limited.

Been once. It was expensive and tasteless. We love Prezzo (with a voucher).

Its funny how the suspect supplier of steak to jd Wetherspoons was the same as Jamie Oliver's restaurants. Shows up what an overpriced outfit Jamie's was.

Last time I went my pizza didn't have cheese, when I queried with the waitress she pointed out that the menus didn't specify cheese, true but its a pizza, cheese is a fundamental ingredients

What the fuck are they on? Cheese is like 75% of any good pizza!

The one near me looks fab, the bar is actually nice (had to wait there for a table) but my god what a let down.

I say this as someone who quite likes JO and doesn't understand why he gets such a hard time.

Eighteen months ago dh and I were in York and ate at the JI there. Despite turning up at 9pm they were happy to accommodate us and the food was nice, if not especially grand for the price we were paying.

A few months later we were going to a show in London so we booked a table at the Piccadilly Circus branch. Awful food, poor service, and very expensive. I remember some discussion over the bill because we didn't add a service charge (Why should be pay for shit service?).

So no, brexit isn't to blame.

We had a works Christmas meal there in 2015. Never again.

Come back Delia, all is forgiven!

I like Jamie, I feel like he is probably a genuinely good guy But massively directed by his management team.

Can't deny the Jamie's Italian food is shit though, the staff crap and only marginally worse than than Gordon Ramsey's The Grill at the Savoy! I had a very boring and over cooked meal there.

I think i must be the only person who liked it, went a few times and enjoyed the food, I must have very low standards!

It's just so expensive - £15 for a prawn linguine - FFS!

I've never eaten in one because I've never heard a single good thing about them until a couple of comments on this thread. It's all been reports of poor food and bad service. The one in our town was an early closure.

Sounds like a decent concept, ill executed and poorly managed.

Lucky, that's Fifteen which is a whole different enterprise. No idea if it's still going.

Yes - was totally underwhelmed when we went as a family.

Service was lacklustre, food was very average (and certainly not a patch on the local Italian family owned restaurant we usually frequent) and the prices were extortionate.

Went once a couple of years ago and never went back.

I just checked out the menu to see if I was remembering the crap veggie options fairly - and they really are woeful. Two vegetarian pizzas: margherita and four cheese; four pastas, of which two are variations on tomato sauce.

Worst food ever! You have to pay me alot to return...yuk. Loved the food poisoning the next day!

Yeah, the Brexit excuse doesn't wash here, sorry. We ate in the branch in Brighton a few years back, and while the food was all right, it was nowhere near worth what they charged for it.

His more recent recipe books ain't all that, either. I know what I'm doing in a kitchen but some of the recipes just don't work.

It has absolutely nothing to do with Brexit and everything to do with the fact that his food is shit.

I’ve always had good food there, but the service is sooooo slow. Never again because of that.

Teeny portions, I was ravenous.