Critic finds Ambassade de I'lle 'odd'

AA Gill at Ambassade de I’lle in south-west London describes it as “the oddest restaurant I’ve reviewed all year” describing the site’s recent makeover as “radical, ruinous and hysterical”.

Rating the food but decrying the interior and balking at the final bill, Gill gives the restaurant just a single star out of five.

The Independent’s Terry Durack at Vapiano, the help-yourself-eaterie, finds the theory better than the execution, describing Vapiano “more about the concept than the dining”.

Matthew Norman at the Guardian visits Jamie Oliver’s first Jamie’s Italian in Oxford and questions the no-booking policy and resulting long queue to get a table.

Although he questions the un-Italian concept of serving hordes of people as quickly as possible, Norman rates the food, atmosphere and pricing.

The critic adds that if Oxford’s early from can be replicated as planned elsewhere Oliver “will soon be driving a prize herd of recession-proof cash cows across the land.”

For these reviews in full and more see What’s on the menu? >>

Jamie’s Italian wins more critical acclaim >>

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Jamie Oliver recruiting staff for new Jamie’s Italian sites >>

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By Chris Druce

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