Jamie’s Italian reopened last week, more than seven years after the chain went bust, with 22 restaurants closing and 1,000 jobs lost
Matt Jackson Trendswatch Content Editor
10:34, 16 Mar 2026Updated 10:58, 16 Mar 2026
Gary Hanna visited Jamie’s Italian after the chain relaunched(Image: Gary Eats/YouTube)
A customer who dined at Jamie Oliver’s new restaurant was left “seriously surprised”. Jamie’s Italian reopened last week, more than seven years after the chain collapsed, resulting in 22 restaurants shutting and 1,000 jobs being lost.
The chain has now been relaunched through a partnership with the Brava Hospitality Group, the firm behind Prezzo Italian. It seeks to provide traditional pasta dishes at reasonable prices. The first of the revamped Jamie’s Italian restaurants opened in London’s West End on March 9.
Now, content creator Gary Hanna, known as Gary Eats online, has paid a visit to the newly relaunched establishment. In a video, he remarked: “First impressions, I like the restaurant, you go inside, really, really fantastic, lots of seating, it’s on three floors.”
Gary notes you can even sit at the restaurant bar and observe the chefs cooking. He also highlighted that prices tended to be “a pound cheaper” than the other eateries in the vicinity, reports the Express.
The content creator was delighted with his burrata starter – a mozzarella and cream-based dish – along with the garlic prawns. He added: “Beautiful prawns, on the menu it says garlic-y prawns, there’s lots of olive oil and it’s not overpowered on the garlic, that is good.”
Gary Hanna visited Jamie Oliver’s new restaurant(Image: GaryEats/YouTube)
He proceeded to commend the “crispy focaccia,” concluding that the selection of starters he ordered were “surprisingly very good”. For his main Gary chose the pork and beef bolognese, after Jamie admitted he “got the basics wrong” when he first operated the chain.
Gary commented: “I know, I know, bolognese is not the most adventurous but in the past Jamie got the basics wrong, so I thought I’d go for something basic.”
He was taken with the presentation of the dish and believed it “smelled absolutely awesome”. “That’s lovely pasta. I do like that it’s made in house,” he expressed.
Jamie’s slow-cooked beef and pork bolognese(Image: Gary Eats/YouTube)
Initially, Gary found the dish to be “a bit on the bland side” but felt it ascended to a new level after adding parmesan. He noted: “That’s giving a nice degree of saltiness with the ragu. It’s clinging to the pasta beautifully.”
Aside from the food, Gary observed that the servers had “a smile on their faces” whilst praising the chefs for doing “an amazing job”. Having been left impressed with his meal, Gary proceeded to suggest that the chef “over-expanded” the first time around, “losing control of his empire”.
Gary was impressed with the burrata(Image: GaryEats/YouTube)
He stated: “What happens when you lose control, standards drop, you’re not able to produce the food, everything from the kitchen staff to the front of house, it starts dropping. Last time when I went to Jamie Oliver’s I was disappointed, I was very disappointed and that seems to be the running theme. Over-expansion goes wrong no matter who you are.”
Gary disclosed his total bill amounted to £44.63 including a service charge. He concluded: “All together, that has surprised me. That has surprised me, well done, it’s a new restaurant and it’s opened in style to me.”
Following the announcement of his new restaurant, Jamie expressed: “I’m beyond excited to be opening Jamie’s Italian doors once again – it’s been quite the journey, but I’m truly humbled by the support you’ve shown us over the years.”
Dining and Cooking