There wasn’t a Turkey Twizzler in sight when RiverOnline had a sneak preview of Jamie Oliver’s new Italian restaurant, due to open in Kingston next week.

Ignore the giant glitter ball and the metal orange chairs and you could almost have been in a family run-trattoria in the Mediterranean.

The Meat Antipasti Plank starter (£6.50 per person) was almost a meal in itself, with its selection of succulent, finely sliced cured meats, a crunchy seasonal salad, a ball of soft mozzarella and a pungent hard cheese to round off the experience.

The Good Old Grilled Steak followed.  At £15.95 it’s a lot of money for an eight ounce sirloin steak with mushrooms and watercress.  But lightly grilled, the meat’s natural flavours were able to stand on their own without the need for any fancy sauces.

There were other nice touches.  The Worlds Best Olives (£3.50), while few in number, came on a bed of ice, and the most luxurious sounding item, the Truffle Tagliatelle (£7.85), received rave reviews.

Oliver’s stamp is all over establishment.  In Jamie’s hands, that old student favourite, spag bol, becomes ‘Jamie’s Italian Spaghetti Bolognese’ (£5.95 / £9.75), while a simple salad is re-branded ‘My Favourite Humble Green Salad’ (£2.35).  Even the napkins bear the Naked Chef’s name, making them a tempting target for trophy hunters.

With a two course meal with a glass of wine likely to set you back around £20, Jamie’s Italian is clearly not targeting the student diner.  With olives, bread and most vegetables costing extra, the cost could soon mount up, and once the novelty has warn off it is likely to be reserved for special occasions or visiting parents and their credit cards.

It will be interesting to see how the restaurant fares in these credit-crunched times.  Only a couple of minutes from the Rose, theatre goers are its obvious audience, and with the magic of celebrity stardust it should do well up to Christmas.  The real test will come when winter, and the recession, start to bite in January.

Jamie’s Italian is a five minute walk from the Penrhyn Road campus, at 19-23 High Street, Kingston.  It is open from 12 noon to 11pm Monday to Saturday, and 12 noon to 10.30pm on Sundays, and can be contacted on 020 8912 0110.