Westfield and Jamie's Italian

On Friday, I visited Westfield Stratford City for the first time. I do like to shop, but I wasn't sure if another shopping centre was really going to thrill me, especially as you can purchase pretty much anything online these days from the comfort of your home. However, I am impressed. I know Westfield is all shiny and new at the moment but with the exception of needing a few more pubs, most tastes have been catered for. There is a good mix of high street and high end brands, an impressive array of restaurants and eateries, a huge cinema, casino, bowling alley and for Christmas a temporary ice rink. I spent a very enjoyable morning wandering around (and making purchases!) before meeting hubby for lunch at Jamie's Italian.

Now, I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver so was dead excited about visiting one of his restaurants. It was very busy on a Friday lunchtime, so we did wait a little while for our drinks but generally the service was excellent. The food was good, hearty Italian fare. Hubby and I shared a meat and cheese platter to start followed by pasta each for mains. The whole restaurant is very 'rustic' and 'very Jamie'. The staff were most polite and knowledgeable. My dessert was the fabulous Italian ice cream bombe with hot chocolate sauce. Nom, nom! We also shared some very good Italian vino. I was seduced into buying some Jamie's Italian cloth napkins (the same ones they use in the restaurant) to take home, so our final bill was just shy of £80 and we had a really lovely time.

Given Stratford City's close proximity to Chelmsford, I will be visiting again very soon, or at least as soon as my credit card has recovered.