Jamie's Italian Oxford

Great decor. Good service. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE FOOD!!! Without doubt our worst family meal out since Skegness Butlins ten years ago. We'd seen the queues outside so thought we'd try Sunday lunch for our daughter's birthday. We arrived just before 12 and there was a queue outside even though the place was totally empty. So we queued – and queued – standing in the rain waiting to get in even though the place was completely empty! (I get it – a queue outside makes it look like the place to go – so thanks for using us as free advertising Jamie, really. And hey that's how we were caught so it really does work!). We did consider going elsewhere but eventually – and unfortunately as it turned out – we were allowed in. Staff very friendly, great decor but none of the dishes lived up to the jolly descriptions in the menu. We started with the breads – which was a small tin cup of squashed up breads and two bread sticks. This should have been free or part of the cover charge but not over £3. The buscetta with sun-dried tomatoes was OK but over-priced.Our daughter's carbonara was inedible and indigestible; thick strands of tasteless rubbery pasta in a tasteless sauce, hardly any bacon. We told the waitress who was very sweet and we assumed we wouldn't be charged for this dish but we were. As it was a family outing I didn't want to create a row but now wish I had. All the dishes should have been sent back. My wife’s bolognaise was bland with hardly any sauce which seemed to be a tablespoon of ground pork floating in luke-warm water. My ink linguini with scallops consisted of one scallop thinly sliced and the linguini in a tasteless sauce was so utterly bland I had to ask for extra parmesan. My son's pasta was so bland he couldn't remember what he'd ordered. On none of these dishes was there the slightest hint of olive oil, garlic or chilli. A very weird experience. Everything over-hyped and tasteless; fake food in a fake Italian restaurant. And at £60 we were left feeling totally fed up and ripped-off. A thoroughly lousy experience. After complaining they sent us £20 of vouchers to spend there again, still leaving us £40 out of pocket. Disgraceful that Jamie Oliver uses his name cash in and flog such mediocre food.

After hearing so much about Jamie's restaurants was eager to visit. Quite disappointed – i feel if it hadn't Jamie's name slapped on almost every visible object there the place would hardly sell anything! Sea bass (fish in a bag) was nice, and lamp lollipops were just right (although served most uncomfortable on a thick wood plank with three tiny saucers of spice fitted awkwardly on side), but overall the whole experience felt like a fast-food and II was very disappointed. Despite every blackboard boasting of “increadible / best ever / etc” descriptions of every single dish, overall the meal was average. Also the place is crammed and seating is most uncomfortable. Dark industrial-like feel to the whole place does not convey any comfort – like eating in a steel works. Won't be coming back to this chain.

My food had to be sent back to which the waiter informed me 'was a regular occurance and is being taken of the menu!" I was disappointed that a resturant owned by the great Jamie Oliver was just so average. On a positive note, my starter was lovely and the atmosphere was buzzing. The design of the resturant with bright walls down stairs and old frames of unusal decor was great. the waiters were attentive and friendly, but I won't be in a rush to go back.

We also went to Jamies Italian in Bath like the previous reviewer – i didnt want to like it as im not a huge fan of chains…but it's actually very good. It was a Tuesday lunchtime but was heaving. My partner noted it was mostly due to students and their parents. We only waited about 10min for a table and were given a buzzer to let us know when the table was ready. Staff were really friendly and not pushy at all. I had a mushroom ravioli dish (small but also came in a large). It was meant to have ricotta but i couldnt taste it. It was pleasant to eat though. Partner had deep fried squid to start and carbonara with pancetta to follow – both which he felt were delicious. Overall the bill came to £27 for the two of us – so essentially two starters and a main plus drinks. There is a really good selection of well presented food at reasonable prices, music is good and the atmosphere was great. I think it's going to be a very popular place as the only real rival is Strada – Jamie's done it again…

We went to Jamies Italian in Bath. There was a 45 minute wait for a table on a Saturday lunchtime, but it was worth it. The atmosphere it great, easy going – we had our baby with us, and it felt relaxed and his babbling milled into the background. It felt buzzy and modern. Service was great, friendly and reflected the ethos of the restaurant. Organic wime in carafe was nice. Food great, fresh with good vegetarian options. Toilets fab and clean.