Worked in the Cambridge's one. Despite the input of outsiders who are happy to tell porkies, the ingredients was too notch. 99% from the best sources in Italy. Nothing frozen, like Zizzi's pre-cooked vacuum packed mushrooms or frozen pizza doughs. Bella Italia is a joke. Worked there, risotto and lasagna, from freezer to microwave. All sauces frozen in packets, already in portions. Ask for one extra meatball. Can't have. The issue, as I could see, over 6 years ago, when I left, was due to people in charge without a clue how a restaurant should run.
The same happened to CAU. The food, if prepared as it was supposed to, would be great, but the approach on recruiting McDonald's level chefs, Pub level managers, and turning the places into a fast food business was a deal breaker.
Running a business which cooks all from scratch, and uses expensive ingredients, if not done properly, the customer won't be able to tell the difference between that or the nasty frozen lasagna from Bella Italia.
The service, supposed to be more attentive, but again, minimum wage monkeys running and trying to rush people out of their tables as kick as possible, only targeting the tips.
For example, anyone in Cambridge or visiting Cambridge, check out Aromi. Not a restaurant. But the guy does well. Very well. All fresh, good service, and keeping things simple.
Problem with Jamie as a person was the fact that he was adopted as a hero here. Not sure why. Just twisting his body over a salad when sprinkling salt won't make some awful combination taste better. But on thing he did well was to turn every bean on toast eater believe they're good enthusiasts just for watching him on telly.