fifteen

If you know me, then you know that Jamie Oliver is my food hero. I own everything he's ever written and I love cooking his food.

Going to his restaurant was just the icing on the cake.

We caught the train to Olde Street station and clomped down the cobblestone streets to his little place on the corner. It's a down a small street and quite unassuming.

You walk straight into the brasserie which is a more casual dining setting and head downstairs to the more formal sit-down restaurant.

I could see tourists everywhere and people who'd obviously come because fifteen was very much what Jamie was all about.

The food was very typically Jamie. Italian with a bit of English pub thrown in. He's always been particular about higher welfare and organic produce and this is reflected in the menu.

It's laid out in four sections

Antipasto

Pasta

Mains

Desserts

As soon as we ordered our drinks, mine a summer fruit punch (mocktail) and Mr Firhouse's a more alcoholic gooseberry cocktail the very attentive waiter bought out warm foccaccia and olive oil. It was made inhouse we were told and tasted lovely and herby.

We decided to share a main of crab bruschetta with chickpeas and chilli oil. It was divine and the crab was fresh and juicy with none of that overly fishy taste you get in poorly stored shell fish.

We opted to have a pasta and a main rather than one of each and Mr Firehouse went for the veal ragu with tagliatelle and me the duck. Sadly the duck was out of stock and I was given a chicken. Don't despair, everything served to us was a testament to the difference great cooking can make to simple food. The chicken was perfectly seasoned and caramelised (though the waiter was at pains to tell us it wasn't burned) and served with delicious roast veges. The tagliatelle was easily the best pasta I've had. Hot and perfectly al dente. None of the sliminess or over-softness of store-bought fresh pasta.

The food was generously portioned by not overwhelming which left plenty of room in our dessert pouch. Me, I went for the 15 chocolate tart with guava sorbet and passionfruit sauce. Nuwan went for a rasperry semifreddo with an almond tuille. Yummalicious! The pastry was short and thin (just the way I like it) and the chocolate rich and just a tiny bit bitter. The passionfruit and guava were a great way to balance out the richness of that deep chocolatiness.

Nuwan's semifreddo was also wonderful light and icy it went perfectly with the almond biscuit and we both enjoyed every drop.

I almost forgot that I ordered a lovely margarita with chilli. While the ladyboy cocktail at kuletos is still number one, this did do itself a great service by being beautifully citrusy with just a hint of chilli at the end. I was disappointed that my glass did not have the obligatory salt rim.

I left truly satisfied with a rolled up copy of the menu in my bag to prove it.