Before giving this place a try I hopped onto YELP to brief and prepare myself. I was quite surprised that a restaurant branded by renown chef, Jamie Oliver has a 3 star average rating. With absolutely zero expectations, I gave the restaurant the benefit of a doubt. If the food was that mediocre then at least I wouldn't leave with a worse impression.
I was actually much more impressed after the meal was done. My wife ordered the Porcini Fettuccini and the Carne pizza for myself. The pasta dish had the perfect amount of mushrooms to the buttery sauce. The toasted garlic added a nice crunch to the hand made al dente pasta.
Now the pizza at an Italian restaurant are usually hits or misses. Typically, the crust is extra thick and the middle is as thin as paper. Good luck trying to pick up a slice without the centre dropping and having all the toppings and cheese slide off. Here's the secret to turn a pizza into an exceptional pizza. You ask for it to be well-done. The server mentioned that the pizza's were all made well-done. Well dear, then keep it in the oven a few more minutes. Let's just say the bottom of my well-done pizza was crispy. My toppings were pipping hot. The center, more-or-less held itself without dropping. The crust had some smokey charred bits, but it was a beautiful blended flavor from a true wood burning oven.
I give this place a 3.5 stars. If I didn't custom order my pizza, I would have had a disappointing wet pizza. The decor doesn't really fit the "Italian" theme which doesn't reflect what is served on a plate.