Jamie's Italian is as relaxed as its namesake, if not as bubbly

It's hard to forget the excitement and energy at the opening of Jamie's Italian three years ago, with staff trained to an extreme, polished to a shine and greeting Jamie Oliver as the celebrity he is. They screamed, they took selfies and they believed themselves part of a seriously exciting new eatery in Canberra.

Jamie's, quite obviously, has settled into a somewhat less swish Canberra vibe since then. The no-bookings rule appears to have gone the way of such big-city rules in Canberra, where queuing for dinner is not really a thing. Service is more relaxed than precisely snappy. And the vibe, while just as egalitarian as its celebrity founder, is not as bubbly.

We've always been enthusiastic about Jamie's, though. The emphasis on freshness is welcome, and we hope this remains core to the thinking of whoever is in charge at any given time. Freshness is crucial to simplicity – simplicity only works if the ingredients and their handling are tip-top.     

We're happy to see some of that tonight – the big hunk of proper parmesan that is grated directly and generously onto dishes at the table, the great little salads that come with the kids' meals, the fresh greens that are piled on top of the ravioli. The bread, though, is not fresh. When we mention it to the guy serving us, he discounts all the bread dishes from the bill, and offers all five of us free desserts. So clearly, Jamie's is very clear on the crucial importance of fixing mistakes; good to see.

The dining room feels good, with its informal layout, booths, and mix of natural and sparkly low lighting. Tonight, the front is entirely open to the footpath, where more tables are arranged, and the feel is so relaxed that even the music is barely audible. It's like a lazy summer afternoon in the backyard, with no sense of the frenzy of those opening weeks.

The menu is informally arranged, with snacks, pastas, pizzas, salads and mains, which arrive in an equally informal order. The bread arrives first; the menu refers to "beautiful extra virgin olive oil", although we're not tasting excellence in the olive oil tonight. Shortly after the mains arrive, then the bruschetta, essentially all turning up in no particular order and as it's ready. Given the randomness of our dining style and the chaos of our general situation, kids and all, this is fine with us.

The kids' meatballs and spaghetti ($9.50 small serve, $12.50 bigger serve, including a drink and dessert) are spare, rather than luscious and rich like the adult versions of the sauces. The meatballs are dense and quite dry, the tomato sauce light, and the spaghetti plentiful – probably just the way kids want it. Alongside there's a little bowl with salad leaves, grapes, whole cherry tomatoes, shaved carrot and slices of red pepper – undressed and fresh, perfect for young palates.

The bruschetta has strangely soft bread underneath – if it's toasted, it's only lightly toasted and has softened from the toppings. Unusually, there are sun-dried tomatoes with the fresh tomatoes, and a good pile of whipped ricotta. With better toast, this would be good, although it's not cheap, at $12.50 for one slice.

Big rounds of fresh ravioli ($25.50) are stuffed with zucchini and mint, and the dish, served on a long plate, is smothered in basil pesto, plus peas and toasted pinenuts. The menu refers to broad beans also, which aren't obvious, and there's the surprising addition of crisps on top, along with a pile of clean, fresh greens. The saucing is generous. The freshness is good. There's not a lot of bite or lift, but it's an enjoyable dish, and we love all the greens.

The best of the night is a truffle pizza ($25.50), spare with the toppings, but oozy. The crust is excellent, bubbly on the edge, thin in the middle, and it's simply topped with white sauce, soft red onion, mild fontina cheese and a gentle note of truffle. There's an egg cooked on top – the umami richness works well with the truffle. 

The Italian steak ($28) is thin, tender and charry,  and comes served with chips.

Our pick of the desserts is the chocolate brownie ($12.90). It's sweet, but with compensatory darkness, squishy, warm and highly moreish. The chocolate sundae ($11.50) is a crowd-pleaser, served in an old-fashioned sundae glass, with caramel, ice-cream, decent chocolate sauce, and sticky caramelised popcorn on top. Jamie's uses Serendipity ice-cream, which looks to be a decent choice, but it would be better to see ice-cream made fresh in-house. The tiramisu ($10.50) has been spooned from a big tray, which I like, and has a surprising orange flavour. It's more of a structured tiramisu than a luxurious one, and not our favourite of the desserts.

It's cruisy tonight at Jamie's, relaxed and pretty good, the low sparkly lighting taking over as the natural light goes down. Jamie Oliver told us when he visited in 2014 that he employs secret diners to visit his restaurants every week, and he said that would be happening also in Canberra. I'm not sure things are as snappy as that kind of regime would suggest, but Jamie's reportedly bought back his restaurants from the troubled Keystone Group late last year, and that might just bring a new spring to the step of this popular place.