Jamie Oliver’s empire continues to spread with this Jumeirah Beach Hotel outlet, his second venture in Dubai, partnering the original Festival City branch. That takes the count of Jamie’s Italian restaurants around the world up to 40.

It’s safe to say that the British celebrity chef is doing very well. And when he’s serving up simple, homely food of this quality, it’s easy to see why.

The restaurant is rustic, cosy and informal. The chunky wooden tables, napkins that are like tea towels, and dishes served on chopping boards that are ideal for eating with your fingers all lend a comforting farmhouse feel. There’s a lovely terrace, with dense frangipani trees that make you feel like you’re in a tropical forest.

Onto the food and the fried strips of Portobello mushroom, coated in crumbly Parmesan cheese, was a wonderful starter, as was the fritto misto, served nicely in a terracotta dish. The prawn linguine is a popular dish at Jamie’s Italian, but we reckon the land and sea risotto (left) will soon overtake it.

A razor clam, a pair of mussels, several herby meatballs the size of Maltesers and two discs of thin and crispy bresaola beef on a bed of creamy, buttery, salty risotto was superb. This is a fitting addition to Jamie’s empire.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai. Sun to Thur noon to 11pm, Fri to Sat noon to midnight. Tel: (04) 2329969. Taxi: Jumeirah Beach Hotel. jamieoliver.com