Jamie’s Italian Adelaide

Rumours that Jamie Oliver would be opening another restaurant in Australia were finally confirmed late last year and foodies all across the State rejoiced.

Adelaide will become the fourth Australian city to have its very own Jamie’s Italian, which is scheduled to open by the end of 2014. If the success of the Sydney, Perth and Canberra restaurants is anything to go by, we can expect long queues and packed houses every night of the week. Something else we can expect from the popular brand is high-end interior design.

The new restaurant will be located in the previously vacant historic Westpac Bank site at 2 King William Street. It’s a building with ‘good bones’ – high ceilings, generous floor space and robust materiality – and this ensures an exciting fit out that will be a pleasure to experience. Australian design practice peckvonhartel are the interior designers working in collaboration with London-based Martin Brudnizki Design Studio to bring the Jamie’s Italian brand to Adelaide.

Their successful partnership realised the Sydney, Perth and Canberra restaurants and the Adelaide one will follow in the same vain. Although layout is still under wraps there are key signature design features that will most certainly be included in the new fit out. These contribute to the eclectic aesthetic of Jamie’s Italian, which is a dynamic mix of industrial grittiness, opulent luxury and contemporary cool. It finds its expression in the strong material palette that includes reclaimed timber, steel, tile, glass and concrete. A design feature that instantly springs to mind is the over-sized chandelier.

In Perth and Canberra it hangs in the middle of the space, while in Sydney it hangs above the pastamaking station at the front of the restaurant. It remains to be seen where it will be placed in the Adelaide fit out, but it will be sure to attract attention wherever it is installed. The pasta-making station is also a key feature and the decision to have it front-of-house brings a sense of theatre to the overall fit out.

In both the Sydney and Perth restaurants this station can be seen from the street (through the queue of people) and it does its job in attracting casual passers-by. In each of the other three restaurants a different local street artist was invited to paint a mural on one of the interior walls. Although nothing is confirmed as yet, it seems likely that peckvonhartel will follow suit in the Adelaide restaurant. The involvement of a local artist strengthens ties with the community as well as enlivening the space with extra colour and movement.

The choice of 2 King William Street as the location for Adelaide’s new Jamie’s Italian restaurant is a refreshing one. It re-activates and energises an otherwise dead corner of the CBD and provides people with yet another destination culinary experience.

Get prepared for the queues and always remember to enter on an empty stomach. pvh.com.au jamieoliver.com/italian/australia/home