Jamie Oliver’s appeal has always been in his lack of pretension. Though many celebrity chefs have traded on their working class cred, it always seemed a little more authentic with Oliver, who has graduated from The Naked Chef to shows about education policy and healthy school lunches for children. His relatable charm is present in the design of Jamie’s Pizzeria, his first restaurant in India. Squeezed between two global chains whose logos glare far more brightly, Jamie’s, with its green walls, chalkboard, and wood-lined windows, already looks like the old neighbourhood favourite. This is quite an achievement given that it’s located in Ambience mall.
The menu keeps it simple, too: a few appetizers and salads, a pasta of the day, and twelve pizza options. Half the dishes incorporate a little local spice: a fried okra and lotus root hors d’oeuvre here, a paneer pizza there, and many, many, items that feature chillies. We’d come back for the decidedly un-desi courgette pomodoro, however, an earthy pizza topped with marinated zucchini and roasted potatoes, with lightly pulpy tomato – no jar marinara here. The polpette schiacciata forgoes the sauce, topping its melting globs of mozzarella with mutton meatballs and wide peels of roasted onion. The draw here, though, is the crust: clearly handmade and hand-rolled, it has just the right amount of doughy stretch and crispy edge, and its own flavour. This sets it apart from the capital’s myriad (though justifiably loved) thin-crust establishments. The reasonable price doesn’t hurt, either.
Jamie’s has no liquor license yet (the greatest proof of its local bonafides) but will serve Kingfisher on tap, and wine.
Jamie’s Pizzeria, 3rd floor, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. Rs. 1,500 for a meal for two (without alcohol).
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