Jamie’s Italian is awful but don’t worry, there are some great new Mediterranean restaurants too
This week I talk about two Italians, one Greek, a talented Cypriot and an irritating Englishman. Prepare to read about two restaurants you should visit (Bancone and Zylia) and one you should reserve for your worst enemies (Jamie’s Italian)…
ZYLIA
Covent Garden is a part of London that you only go to for a specific reason and, with the exception of Adam Handling’s Frog, it’s rarely for a destination dinner. If you’re looking for a bite on the way to the theatre, quality options are limited to Crust Bros for excellent pizza, Maxwells for a retro burger and Sushisamba for solid sashimi. With this in mind, the opening of a Greek-Cypriot taverna offering outstanding, authentic cooking is a welcome addition to WC2.
Zylia is a celebration of both the shared traditions and distinct flavours of Greek and Cypriot cooking. There is a fun energy in the place, in part spilling in from the adjoining new Avenue foodhall opened by JKS in May, and helped along by a playlist that mixes traditional and modern music. Would it be allowed to jump up, have a dance and throw a few plates around? It certainly feels possible.
At the heart of the menu is a traditional charcoal grill, turning out signature dishes such as sheftalia (Cypriot caul fat-wrapped pork parcels), gigantic wild prawn saganaki and superb suckling lamb shoulder kleftiko. The wine list is relatively slight, mirroring the food menu (in a good way). Go with Zambartas Xynisteri 2024 (£55), a solid choice if you want an indigenous Cypriot grape from one of the island’s best producers.
The service is flawless and wonderfully friendly, the team guiding you through the menu with generosity and setting a tone of pure joy – what more can you ask for in a hospitality venue? It is evident that founders Nick Molyviatis (who also co-owns Kiln) and the charming Barry Karacostas have serious skin in the game and are going all-out to make this a success. Good luck to them.
BANCONE CITY
The Square Mile should welcome the arrival of Bancone, just around the corner from The Ned, with open arms. It’s the brand’s first foray east, bringing with it the counter dining and hand-rolled pasta which made the Covent Garden original such a word-of-mouth phenomenon back in 2018 (it quickly gained a Bib Gormand, which it has since retained). It’s backed by my friends David Ramsay and Jason Myers, alongside Will Elner (who learned his trade working for his dad at Joanna’s restaurant in Crystal Palace) and the formula has matured brilliantly.
The signature silk handkerchiefs – sheets of pasta draped over walnut butter and crowned with a confit egg yolk – remains one of the greatest sub-£15 plates in London. It’s perfectly paired with a glass of Frescobaldi’s Pomino Bianco (£15). The venue is a bigger beast than its West End siblings and joins Sartoria Liverpool Street to fill a premium yet accessible gap in the market for Italian dining in the City.
JAMIE’S ITALIAN
Meanwhile, in Leicester Square, Jamie Oliver has returned. It’s seven years since his restaurant group, which included Barbecoa and Fifteen, collapsed, leading to the loss of over 1,000 jobs and a mountain of unpaid debts, including over £2m owed to staff and some £40m owed to landlords, HMRC, suppliers and other creditors. During the same period, Jamie Oliver Holdings which covers his media interests, paid millions in dividends to… Jamie and Jools Oliver.
Mr Oliver has been popping up of late speaking on behalf of the hospitality sector, although I can wholeheartedly say he does not speak for or represent any restaurant leaders I know! And I’m fairly certain the public weren’t demanding the return of Jamie’s Italian, a maligned chain that probably lasted longer than its cuisine deserved. I braved a visit so you don’t have to.
The venue appears to be a repainted Prezzo, a sweltering and empty, unwanted advert for Oliverworld. As with many Leicester Square restaurants, the menu is too big. It reminded me of Garfunkle’s, a neighbour some time ago. I wasn’t expecting much, but the experience somehow under-delivered regardless. Starters had the whiff of freezer-to-frier, our mains took 45 minutes to arrive, and the pizza was floury and meek (there wasn’t even any chilli oil available to enhance it). Prawn linguine was a mix of cheap, frozen crustaceans and pasta that – if made in-house as advertised – should require some intensive retraining at the aforementioned Bancone.
These Italian restaurants are worlds apart in both execution and ambition. The City is lucky to have Bancone and Sartoria (and indeed Zylia) – let’s champion them and let Jamie stick to twizzling his turkey.
