I should have been Italian.” Jamie Oliver’s love of the Mediterranean country is well-known. His passion for the landscape, people, and of course, food, is clear to see from his TV shows and books on the colourful, vibrant land.

His comment that he should have been Italian was made not off the cuff, but from the heart. “There is such diversity in lifestyles, cooking, traditions and dialects. This is why as a chef I find this country so exciting and it is what inspired me to create Jamie’s Italian.”

Driven by these feelings, the celebrity chef – who travelled around Italy in his TV series Jamie’s Great Escape – launched Jamie’s Italian, a group of ‘neighbourhood’ restaurants offering authentic, affordable, quality Italian food on the high street.

The first restaurant opened two years ago in Bath, and has since ballooned to ten, with locations including Canary Wharf, Brighton and Cambridge. Leeds is the latest to open, and the first in the North of England. Four more are planned for this summer.

A former bank in Park Row forms the setting for the restaurant. The building – which dates back to 1890 – has been sympathetically refurbished.

“It is stunning,” says general manager Amanda Duffy, “The builders stripped it back and we kept many original features such as brick walls and parquet flooring. And we found some interesting old tiles that we have kept.”

Imaginative lighting loops from lofty ceilings, with ornate plaster work, all the more eye-catching after being given, as Amanda says, ‘the Jamie treatment’.

Inside, the ambience is all-Italian. “It has a massive Italian feel to it,” says Amanda. “It is rustic – both in environment and food – and contemporary.” Downstairs is open plan with a lively, chatty atmosphere, while upstairs – with its bank of windows flooding the space with light – is calmer and quieter, with diners eating in stylish booths.

The menu, says Jamie, is inspired by “what you’d find ordinary people eating over in Italy.”

Rustic, simple dishes are created from ingredients sourced both locally and in Italy. “We make fresh pasta every day, for that day, and we make our own focaccia,” says Amanda. Ciabatta and sourdough are delivered to the 220-seat restaurant from Jamie’s famous London bakery, the Flour Station.

Every dish, from wild garlic tagliatelle to prawn linguine and seasonal meat antipasta is cooked to Jamie’s recipe. Echoing the Italian table, where sharing is commonly part of the eating experience, meat antipasta can be served on ‘planks’ – long, recycled wooden platters quirkily balanced on tins of tomatoes. “You can take time over them and really relax, chat and enjoy the meal,” says Amanda.

Popular dishes since the June opening include sausage pappardelle and spaghetti bolognese.

“They are all simple, traditional Italian dishes with a Jamie twist,” says Amanda. “Our huge burgers are also a big hit, built up with salad, home-made onion rings, pickles and gherkins.”

The team of chefs has been trained by famous Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo, who mentored Jamie in the 1990s and who has appeared on many of his TV shows.

Jamie’s Italian is already attracting regular customers. “We have had a fantastic response. It is absolutely buzzing on a night, with queues around the building on a weekend,” says Amanda. “The feedback has been amazing. It is such a lovely environment - I smile every morning as I walk through the door.”

As popular with families as couples and groups of adults, the restaurant has already succeeded in fulfilling Jamie’s vision of a wholly Italian experience.

“Since I was a teenager I’ve been totally besotted by the love, passion and verve for food, family life and life itself that just about all Italian people have, no matter where they’re from or how rich or poor they may be,” he says. “And that’s what I’m passionate about – good food for everyone, no matter what.”

  • Jamie’s Italian is at 35 Park Row, Leeds. Tel. 01133 225 400, or visit jamieoliver.com