Classic is timeless: Jamie Oliver Kitchen’s new outlet in Bengaluru stays with comfort food done well

Ever since the English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver opened his first restaurant in India in 2015, the brand has attracted diners, who have thronged it not just because of the name but what it brings with it—a classic dining experience.

“Jamie and all of us don’t necessarily believe in being hugely experimental… that’s not our game. We believe in doing classic things really well,” Jasper Reid, Managing Director of Dolomite Restaurants, India, tells YS Life.

Over the last nine years, Reid and his team have scaled the brand to 31 outlets in 16 Indian cities, distributed across three verticals—Pizzeria, Kitchen, and Kitchen Café.

The brand takes the idea of crowd-pleasing flavours cooked using locally sourced ingredients and presents with craft and hospitality.

“All food is a bit subjective, of course, but all food is individual. We’re trying to set a benchmark of this as the ‘real deal’. In essence, all classics are classics, right? That’s why we stick to them because they’re tried and tested,” he adds.

The brand opened its 31st outlet in India with Jamie Oliver Kitchen in Indiranagar, Bengaluru. The fine dining restaurant is only the third of its kind in India, with one outlet in Gurugram and another in Ahmedabad, which only serves vegetarian options.

Nestled amid a plethora of food establishments, the three-tiered restaurant relies on a classic décor with globe lights, wicker furniture, wooden tables, and padded booths. They all remind one of something straight out of the 80s.

The food on offer is from across cuisines, with Executive Chef Nitin Saxena at the helm in the kitchen.

His first offering was Crispy Falafel, which comes as a comfort snack. The chickpea coating paired well with the tahini sauce, whose bitterness is obfuscated just enough to make sesame seeds the king. However, the filling lacked moisture.

The vibrant Rainbow Salad, too, is topped with seeds. It offers a wholesome balance of the crunch of quinoa and red rice, the freshness of kale, lettuce, and carrots, and the kick of pickled cauliflower and blanched beetroot.

But Jamie’s Fried Chicken is unlike any other. It’s exactly what fried chicken is supposed to be—juicy, its crust peppered with garlic flakes and flavoured with a hint of spicy seasoning.

Unlike the fried chicken offered in many fast-food joints, it doesn’t drip with oil nor has an overload of seasoning. The heat comes from the peri-peri sauce, but just enough to make you go for the next bite.

In the bigger plates section, Sticky Glazed Chicken really sticks out with smashed avocado, sweetcorn, and chilli salsa rounding up a braised chicken, which, while though a little dry, entices with its sweet exterior.

Also, Sunshine Curry reminds you of a classic Thai curry that infuses the rich coconut sauce in a tender chicken whose coastal flavours dance around on the palate.

While the starters entice, what the Kitchen excels at is its array of pasta offerings.

The Creamy Greens Pasta is one such offering that gives a twist to the humble penne—one of the most popular pastas in India—by pairing it with caramelised onions and zucchini, whose bitterness balances the lush creamy sauce.

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Then, there’s King Prawn Linguini, which marries the earthy pepper with the tang of tomato with the utterly sweet king prawn and shrimp. The dish is swivelled in just enough sauce to not overpower the array of flavours on the plate, ensuring the king prawn is the king of the dish.

The Italian holiday continues with Pepperoni Pizza, which runs on the theme of Jamie Oliver Kitchen—comfortable and familiar, yet enhanced flavours. Pepperoni pizzas can often overwhelm with the grease of the meat, but the smoked pepperoni served in a pinsa romana dough masks it.

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For dessert, the restaurant has a few tricks up its sleeve—from the classic brownie and ice cream to Vanilla Cheesecake with baked mascarpone filling topped with spiced orange compote.

Its Lemond Curd Bar is a kind of dessert that jolts you awake. The set lemon curd doesn’t go wild with tang, but it’s the acidic sweetness of the raspberry compote that makes you revel in it for long. The salty crunch from the pistachio sprinkle completes a very balanced dessert.

The beverages menu, too, has a sense of familiarity, featuring classic cocktails like Passion Punch, bubbling with fruity flavours of passion fruit, orange, and vanilla; Spicy Senorita that scares you with a fat piece of green chilli, but it’s the tequila that bites; and the well-crafted Frozen Mojito, where the lemon springs a refreshing surprise.

“The idea behind making the cocktails is that they should be mood-changing and when you have a sip, it shouldn’t be very sweet and sour but nicely balanced,” explains JD, Beverage Manager at Jamie Oliver Kitchen.

The restaurant doesn’t offer signature cocktails but relies on fresh ingredients, innovative techniques, and presentation to stand out. While not on the sample menu, the restaurant also offers craft cocktails like Caramel Volcano, which blends burnt whiskey and caramel with burnt orange to enhance the flavour.

It also gives equal weight to mocktails and latte art.

From the eye-pleasing Guava Goodness Boba that reminds you of flamingos, Tiramisu Pick-Me-Up that creates tiramisu flavours in a liquid, to Indian Summer, which recreates the aam panna, but with a blue mango reduction—craft abounds but the flavour profile doesn’t go too off the centre.

It stays true to the heart of Jamie Oliver Kitchen—comfort and familiar flavours served with finesse.

Timings: 11 am to 11 pm

Cost for two: Rs 1,200 (without alcohol)