“I Had Pasta With Jamie Oliver, Here’s Everything We Talked About”
Jamie Oliver has been part of British food culture for more than two decades. Now he’s returning to the restaurant scene with the reopening of Jamie’s Italian in London — the restaurant group that once defined the UK’s mid-market dining before its collapse in 2019.
I’ve never met someone who’s seen some of the worst that an industry can throw at you come back with such renewed fervour, with such a zest for life, such excitement, such pure optimism.
Mallory, Junior Food & Drink Editor
A familiar face returns
Talking to Oliver ahead of opening Jamie’s Italian, the mood was so relaxed. In front of us: a bowl of pasta, which he just cooked with his mate and head of global training, Ben, who’s been with him for 15 years. Around the restaurant, pictures, posters, and memorabilia of a life so well lived look down on each table. Baby pictures, cookbook covers, and pictures of Jamie and his wife, Juliette, on their first date were framed to spur walks down memory lane as we did our best to stay on topic.
“Get in there, girl,” he laughs, worried the pasta was going to die on the pass. “Mangiare! Mangiare! Mangiare!”
Baby pictures, cookbook covers, pictures of Jamie and his wife Juliette on their first date were framed to spur walks down memory lane as we did our best to stay on topic.
The food
The dish was squid-ink pasta with squid, mussels, clams, and tomato; it is one of the menu’s standout plates. The pasta is made fresh on site twice a day.
“It’s a really incredible expression of the seaside. And the black pasta… It’s mysterious. It’s magical.”
The course may look dramatic, but the flavour is balanced: sweet tomatoes, seafood stock (which he explained was how any good pasta gets its flavour), anchovies, and a gentle chilli kick.
The menu follows a simple idea: classic Italian dishes people already love, alongside a few surprises.
“You’re going to get the things you know — bolognese, carbonara, arrabbiata,” Oliver says. “But I also want to reel you in with things you don’t know you love yet. This is my carrot. ”
In all honesty, eating this dish with Jamie Oliver was a pinch-me moment. Not necessarily because of his fame, memories of his face on my TV or on my mom’s cookbook shelf as a kid, but because of the sheer kindness and playfulness which he embodied. I’ve met a lot of chefs, I’ve talked a lot about the passion that must go behind cooking any dish, but I’ve never met someone who’s seen some of the worst that an industry can throw at you come back with such renewed fervour, with such a zest for life, such excitement, such pure optimism.
Even a simple discussion about pasta, a couple of twirls of a fork and a few mussels was one of the most exciting experiences I’ve had over a plate of food. The pasta was brilliant, yes, but it was made more so by the light that filled the room alongside it, and by the passion with which one of the most globally known chefs spoke of and unto it. Everything felt so sparkly… because he sparkled about it.
In all honesty, eating this dish with Jamie Oliver was a pinch-me moment.
The restaurant
Jamie’s Italian has always positioned itself in the middle of the market — good ingredients, lively atmosphere, but at a price most people can afford.
“My job is to be the best of mid-market,” Oliver says.
Much of the produce is British, while staples like Parmigiano-Reggiano are sourced from Italy. The wine list also aims to deliver value, with bottles that would typically cost far more in fine-dining restaurants.
The space itself spans three floors, designed to suit different occasions — from date nights to birthday dinners with friends.
“We want people to bring their granddad, their teenage kids, their mates,” he says. “It has to work for everyone.”
The comeback
The reopening also marks Oliver’s return to a brand that ended painfully. He launched the first Jamie’s Italian at 28 years old and ran the group for 13 years before the restaurants collapsed.
“I had nine of the best years on the planet,” he says. “Then I had two or three years of hell where I lost them all.”
Seven years later, he sees this new opening as a comeback — but also a chance to rebuild something carefully.
“When you lose something that meant that much to you, it takes time,” he says. “You go through the autopsy — What could you have done? How could that have been better? How did that happen? Why did that happen?”
When you lose something that meant that much to you, it takes time. You go through the autopsy — What could you have done? How could that have been better? How did that happen? Why did that happen?
Jamie Oliver
Why now?
Oliver also believes the timing matters for the wider restaurant industry. The middle of the market, restaurants that sit between cheap chains and high-end dining, has become increasingly squeezed. “You’ve either got really affordable or really fancy,” he says. “But the bit in the middle — that is Britain.”
With restaurants continuing to close across the country, he hopes the reopening brings some energy back to the high street.
“People are spending their money carefully at the moment,” he says. “So we’re trying to invent an experience that feels amazing but still affordable.”
It’s really important that this bit is really healthy and dynamic and buoyant, and that there’s innovation and there’s competition as well… The bit in the middle — that is Britain.
Jamie Oliver
Looking ahead
The doors officially opened last week. For Oliver, it’s a chance to start again with lessons learned and a renewed focus on what made the original Jamie’s Italian work in the first place: good food, good atmosphere and a restaurant that feels accessible to everyone.
“Hopefully,” he says, “we’ll fit in. We want this to be bounce-back time. Not just for me, but for the whole industry.”
I am a restaurateur that’s had the best of the best and the worst of the worst. This is my comeback story.
Jamie Oliver
