A girls’ lunch at Jamie’s Italian

I spent a day in York yesterday with two of my closest friends, Imogen and Bridget. We’ve been friends since we met at university and have been through a lot together, but the past I would say even five years, life has got in the way and we just haven’t seen each other all that much. With eight children between us, managing to find a day where we could all meet up on our own was nothing short of a miracle, and I have to say we made the most of every minute.

We started the day catching up over enormous cups of tea, moved on to the gorgeous shops in York and treated ourselves a bit on the way. I love how they talked me into splashing out on a new dress from Whistles, but talked me out of spending a tenner on two hair little bands! We are all so used to going shopping with the kids, that the automatic response kicks in which is ‘how much?! No you’re not having that!’ but then why not just say yes every now and again?

We even realised after about half an hour we were cooing over the children’s clothes and talking about bringing presents home for our littlies. So something had to give – and it meant it was time for some serious making up for lost time over lunch.

We headed to Jamie’s Italian which is down by the river, but still really close to the main shopping area. It was down a cute little cobbled lane and had outdoor space which we may have made the most of, had it not been pouring down with rain.

Jamie’s has recently launched a new Super Lunch menu which we were asked along to review. With two courses for £10.95 or three for £12.95, it’s excellent value for money and a great choice if you’re a little bit pushed for time and want to grab something in your lunch hour. As we definitely weren’t in a rush we took it easy, ordered a bottle of soave and set about putting the world to rights.

We all ordered fritto misto to start, which was sustainable fish and squid fried in a lovely light batter, with garlic and lemon aioli. It was so lovely and fresh, I have to say it was my favourite course of the meal and something I would certainly order again.

For main, I ordered a superfood salad which again was delicious – so much so that I only remembered to take a photo of it while I was half way through! Bridget had the steak and fries, which looked really good and our lovely waitress told us it was pretty much the same meal as you would get on the main menu at a higher price, so it was excellent value for money.

Imogen chose the chicken club, which looked really impressive and tasted just as good. We had to leave room for dessert, of course, after checking out the sweet menu earlier we already knew what we’d choose. Who doesn’t do that?!

Anything with citrus in is always the one for me, so I had orange blossom polenta cake and it was really gorgeous. Pretty light as well, so good that I’ve been busy checking to recipes for polenta cake to see if I can make anything near as good at home.

The girls chose chocolate brownie, which came with a huge stack of popcorn and chocolate sauce, and apple and blackberry pavlova. I am feeling hungry just writing about these desserts, I really am!

The restaurant was busy but not too loud, there was a good atmosphere and we felt really at ease and relaxed while we were there. I’d definitely recommend that menu if you’re passing a Jamie’s and feel like treating yourself.

We’ve all vowed to book in our next meet up and just not leave it so long next time. It was so good to catch up with my girlfriends who are more like extra sisters than just friends. Next time, we need the rest of the gang there too (listening, girls?)

x Julia