Mark Taylor reviewed Jamie's Italian in Bath in October 2008.

Food and drink: 9 / 10.

Service: 8 / 10.

Atmosphere: 9 / 10.

Value for money: 9 / 10.

It’s half an hour before the doors open and there are 30 people in front of me in the rain-sodden queue. To the innocent passer-by, it might look like we are waiting for a sale to start, but we are all looking at our watches, peering inside and waiting for Jamie’s Italian to open.

Jamie’s Italian is the latest venture from Jamie Oliver. The Bath restaurant opened on Monday and it follows on from the Oxford one which opened to huge acclaim a few months ago. There are 20 more planned over the next five years.

Three minutes after the doors open, the first people in the queue (there are no bookings apart from large parties) have been seated as waiting staff usher them to tables on the two- floor restaurant.

On the ground floor, chefs are making pasta by hand and slicing charcuterie. There are huge hams hanging from the ceiling near the open kitchen and the Scissor Sisters are booming from the speakers. It’s buzzy, noisy and bursting with energy. It’s pure theatre, just as restaurants should be.

The two main dining areas are very different. Downstairs, it’s darker, more intimate, with red leather banquettes, wallpaper printed with Vespas and a mix of exposed stone and wood.

Upstairs, there is a striking blue and terracotta floor that looks as if it has been moved tile by tile from a Tuscan farmhouse. The walls are lemon tart yellow and there is a 14-seat farmhouse table in the centre, which diners are encouraged to share. Doors lead out to a herb garden terrace overlooking the spires and rooftops of Bath – these will be the prized tables next summer.

On both floors, the open kitchens are a blur of chefs chopping, stirring and listening for orders on hands-free ear- pieces, linked to computerised screens above their heads. It’s a very slick operation, all overseen by Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo – Jamie’s mentor – who has been in the kitchen for the first few days of opening.

There are a few gentle reminders of its celebrity owner. The linen napkins are embroidered with the restaurant’s name, the chunky wine glasses are inscribed with “Jamie Oliver” on the bottom and the staff wear skinny grey ties with “J” at the tip. Even the aprons have pictures of Vespas. It’s all very stylised and branded but in a tasteful way.

Even on day two, service was well oiled and although a few waitresses looked a little like rabbits in the headlights, it is clear that they have been given rigorous training, from everything to explaining each dish to recommending the wine (the bottle of Fiano di Avellino Campania Vesevo 2007, we went for was superb, as was the prosecco we started with).

We were immediately offered a jug of tap water for the table, which was a nice touch and refreshing not to be forced into ordering expensive mineral water.

The menu isn’t huge, but it is perfectly balanced with breads and olives, followed by starters, pasta dishes and main courses. Provenance is key – the best olives, the finest olive oils and so on – but then Jamie has incredible buying power.

We kicked off with what were grandly described as “the world’s best olives on ice” (£3.50) and the seven gobstopper-sized green olives lived up to their billing. They were as good as either of us had tasted and the rich black olive tapenade served with them was also spot-on.

This set us up nicely for a selection of bruschetta (£5) consisting of a few slices of garlic-rubbed, chargrilled sourdough bread and small terracotta dishes of dips – lemony ricotta, a chunky tomato salsa, rocket and parmesan pesto and roasted peppers with pancetta.

For a shared starter, we went for the meat antipasti plank (£6.50 a head) – an enormous wooden plank beautifully adorned with slices of tip-top cured meats (beef bresaola, Tuscan fennel salami, pistachio mortadella and San Danielle prosciutto); a couple of slices of pecorino cheese topped with fiery, sweet chilli jam; the creamiest buffalo mozzarella imaginable; olives, chillies and a bowl of crunchy Italian coleslaw made with carrots, lemon, mint and yoghurt.

We bypassed the pasta section, although I can recommend the truffle tagliatelle and ravioli caramelle (stuffed with pumpkin and ricotta cheese and rosemary sauce) from a visit to the Oxford restaurant.

Instead, we turned our attention to the chicken “cooked under a brick” (£12.50) and lamb chops “scorched fingers” (£13.85), two of the highlights of the main courses.

Described as “a lovely free-range Devonshire red bird from the West Country, halved, boned, marinated and chargrilled with a warm tomato, chilli and caper salsa”, the chicken dish was faultless. The meat was tender and juicy beneath the golden, chargrilled skin, which was beautifully seasoned and speckled with fresh rosemary. The salsa was piquant and ideal for dipping the exemplary crispy polenta chips with rosemary salt (£2.95) which are already proving one of the most popular items on the menu with good reason. They are dangerously good, as was the perfectly cooked purple sprouting broccoli with chilli, garlic and anchovies (£2.50).

Meanwhile, across the table, three Welsh lamb chops had been grilled to pink perfection and served with the most divine mint sauce and a well-dressed tangle of peppery salad leaves.

To finish, an unbeatable warm Amalfi orange tart (£4.95) which was zesty and lighter than its ricotta, orange and candied fruit filling suggested, and an irreproachable tiramisu (£4.75) which was heavier on the coffee- soaked sponge than it was mascarpone and much better for it as it wasn’t overly rich.

We also shared a selection of superb ice cream (£3.95) – vanilla, strawberry and hazelnut, all of which were from the top drawer, especially the hazelnut one, which I could happily eat all day.

OK, so we gave the menu a proper work-out, but it still only just tipped the £100 mark, which seemed excellent value for the amount of food and drink and the quality. That said, it would be just as easy to slip in for a bowl of pasta and a drink for about a tenner.

And that’s part of the charm of Jamie’s Italian. It’s an informal place serving very good Italian food at credit-crunching prices that should appeal across the board.

I cannot recommend Jamie’s Italian enough. Just be prepared to queue and take a brolly. It’s well worth the wait.

Mark Taylor

Jamie's Italian - 10 Milsom Place, Bath.

Tel 01225 510064