Myself and my friend Siobhán don’t see each other often so when we do meet up it’s usually for a 5 hour food and wine fest.  As Dundrum is handy for both of us, we inevitably end up sampling the delights of the eateries in the Pembroke District area of Dundrum town centre. Last night, we decided to try Jamie’s Italian which opened to much fanfare a few weeks ago.

I tweeted the restaurant (@jamiesitalianireland) beforehand to see what the gluten free options were and got a reply very quickly to confirm GF pasta was available. On arrival, I was impressed with the decor and the efficiency of the staff. I was a little early but the girl in front of house assured me she’d keep a table for two for me while I waited in a small seating area. A friendly barman came to see if I wanted to order a drink, which I duly did. I am no wine expert but they had a reasonably priced list of wines by the glass and bottle. I had the house red, a Merlot, which was lovely.

When Siobhán arrived we were seated very quickly by a pleasant waiter who seemed really enthusiastic. I’d had a look at the menu online already and already knew I wanted pasta, Siobhán went for the same. Coeliac wise, the waiters knowledge was good. Once I mentioned it he confirmed there was GF pasta and knew to mention I couldn’t have the ravioli as it was premade with normal pasta. After that, the knowledge dipped a little. I asked about whether the chips would be suitable  which got a blank look so I gave an explanation about the oil being used and cross contamination. Eventually, the penny dropped and no, the chips weren’t suitable for coeliacs. We paired our pasta dishes with a rocket & radicchio salad.

Our dishes arrived very promptly, Prawn Linguine for me (with GF fusilli instead) and Carbonara for Siobh. The food looked, smelled and tasted good – my main is pictured above. Despite my dish being tasty, it lacked any sort of wow factor and really felt like something I would knock together myself at home. The prawns, of which I counted 5 weren’t particularly large and there was a very small amount of veg in the dish, a few bits of cherry tomato, a few bits of fennel and a handful of rocket. If it had cost a tenner with a glass of wine thrown in, I would be singing its praises but what I was served really wasn’t good value for money. What made it worse was that it didn’t fill me.

To fill the gap (and also obviously as I wanted to enjoy it) I had the pannacotta for dessert which was the only option available apart from ice cream for me. It was really nice and a good sized portion.

Overall, this place is a bit of a ‘does what it says on the tin’ and kudos to them for offering gluten free pasta as an option, it is great to see. The staff are very efficient and there is a nice atmosphere in the place. I wouldn’t choose to return simply because I was disappointed with the value for money. Two bowls of pasta, a side salad, two desserts and a bottle of the house red came to €69 (ish). Bear in mind that neither of our mains included much in the way of meat or fish.

A similar meal in the neighbouring Cortina’s or Siam Thai would cost similar but you get so much more for your money and most importantly, a full belly!