My British Holidays – Dinner at Jamie’s

In the last post on my British holidays, I mentioned not being able to spend an entire day at Hampton Court Palace, sadly. That was because we had dinner reservations that evening at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. The restaurant is located in Islington (north east London) so we were pushed for time, trekking back from Richmond-upon-Thames to our flat in West Kensington in time to change and still make it to dinner.

Even though we arrived in Islington on time, we had a little trouble finding the restaurant. Since he is a world-renowned chef, I figured Jamie’s restaurant would be big and extravagant and easy to find, plopped somewhere on the High Street. So I was surprised to find it sitting on what I would call a back street and looking quite modest.

If you weren’t aware, Fifteen is Jamie’s first restaurant which opened in 2002. Jamie’s mission for Fifteen is to give underprivileged youth a chance to receive professional training in the restaurant trade. I can report they are doing a bang up job. Our food was delish! As you’ll see from the photos, the dishes were modest in size, just like the restaurant, but huge on taste. Nothing too over the top here either, no dishes you can’t pronounce or ingredients you’ve never heard of. We loved the laid back feel of Fifteen and the staff were very friendly and it was quite obvious they enjoyed working there.

Unfortunately, I don’t have as many photos to share as I would like. I took some of them with my phone, sent them to friends and then promptly deleted them. Ugh! (Smacks palm to forehead.) One of the best photos was of my son enjoying his first legal drink thanks to Jamie (and the UK’s younger drinking age.)

7 CommentsLeave a Comment

1. That sounds really good! I remember watching Fifteen on the TV when Jamie was first looking to open the restaurant. Unfortunately due to finances we’ve never made it there….maybe I need to start saving

   Comment by Emma — August 27, 2010 @ 8:13 pm

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2. Emma, the good news is you don’t have to save a lot to eat a Jamie’s. The journey down to London will cost you more than the meal, certainly.

   Comment by smittenbybritain — August 27, 2010 @ 8:34 pm

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3. He has a restaurant here in Oz too but it’s in Melbourne. I really should make a special effort to go there by the sounds of this review!

   Best wishes,
   Natasha.

   Comment by Natasha — August 28, 2010 @ 12:55 am

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4. He’s got a few restaurants in other places too – Bath and Cornwall. My friend Anonymous loves the one in Cornwall (I can’t remember where it is). I’ve surprisingly never been to one!

   Comment by Gail — August 28, 2010 @ 7:29 am

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5. Gail, in my Bath post I mentioned that we ate at Jamie’s Italian there. Didn’t like it as much as Fifteen though.

   Comment by smittenbybritain — August 28, 2010 @ 11:42 am

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6. Much as I would enjoy trying Fifteen, I don’t think I would be able to tear myself away from Hampton Court to do it. But I’m so enjoying living–traveling–vicariously through you!

   Comment by Jean at The Delightful Repast — September 1, 2010 @ 2:33 pm

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7. I hadn’t heard of this restaurant – sounds yummy and a great concept. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!

   Laura, HappyHomemakerUK.blogspot.com

   Comment by Laura — September 13, 2010 @ 9:45 pm

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