British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver plans to open one of his chain restaurants, Jamie’s Italian, at the end of this year in the newly-revamped Siam Discovery mall in central Bangkok.
The original Jamie’s Italian, in Oxford, England, opened in 2008. It serves upscale versions of Italian comfort foods such as pizzas and pastas.
There are more than 65 of the restaurants around the world. In Southeast Asia, he has the restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bali.
He said of the Bangkok opening, “I’m hugely excited to be taking Jamie’s Italian to Thailand. Bangkok is such a vibrant, buzzing city with a really fantastic food scene. I have no doubt that it will be a brilliant addition to the Jamie’s Italian family. We’ll be sourcing lots of beautiful, top quality local produce, and cooking up some incredibly tasty food, and all at a reasonable price. I can’t wait for it to open.”
The design of the Bangkok restaurant will include elements like rustic wood refectory tables, industrial-style zinc tables and old school, comfy lounge chairs all sitting atop flowery floor tiles. The room will be lit with vintage fixtures such as brass spotlights, vintage enamel pieces and a glass chandelier, according to The Nation.
Artist’s rendering of the new restaurant
The restaurant will feature an open antipasti-creation station where guests can watch their meat and cheese boards being sliced and artfully arranged. Choices for the boards will include fresh, cured and pickled meats, mozzarellas, aged cheeses, jams and spreads, pickled vegetables, olives and more.
The restaurant specializes in homemade pasta, made on-site. Tagliatelle Bolognese is covered with a rich sauce of herby beef and pork, red wine and cheese. Prawn Linguine will feature local prawns in a garlic and fish broth loaded with rocket, fennel, lemon, tomato and chili pepper.
Pizzas are made by hand and include the restaurant’s signature Margherita, made with San Marzano tomato sauce, bocconcini, British Cheddar and whole, fresh basil. Funghi Misti is smothered in porcini mushrooms, roasted herbed mushrooms, chervil, tarragon and, of course, lots of mozzarella.
