Olive & Oil
Published: 03 Jan 06
Category: Mediterranean
A good enough reason to feature in the name of Umhlanga's newest restaurant - Olive & Oil - which takes its cue from the variety of foods available along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
The thoroughly redecorated first-floor venue delivers a warm and friendly ambience, featuring natural tones from the cement tiles up to the lighting. Crisp white tablecloths lend a professional touch and best of all for a big restaurant like this is the special acoustic ceiling. What a treat when the noise of some 120 diners remains unobtrusive! Meanwhile, the veranda, along two sides of the restaurant, is a fabulous vantage point from which diners can overlook the goings-on of almost the entire village of Umhlanga.
The proud owners, Jacqui and Nicos Itopoulos, have used their invaluable experience in putting together a team of service-oriented waiters and managers, an appealing menu and a winelist that does not overtax the wallet. This family-friendly restaurant even provides an adjoining room as a play area for kids. Supervised on Friday and Saturday nights, parents and kids get a chance to relax and enjoy the food and the fun respectively, while hands-on manager Alfred Devlin checks on new orders, empty plates, spilt wine, arriving clients and playing kids seemingly all at the same time - bravo!
The novel idea of a bottle of complimentary water and a few Romesco olives from the Midlands supersede the bread roll of old. The starters that follow do make your choice difficult. Cheesy langoustine tails baked in garlic, cream, white wine and parsley topped with mozzarella got a lot of applause, but the fresh Saldanha Bay mussels served in a delectable and cleverly spiced creamy passata sauce with white wine, chilli and coriander won my vote (though six large mussels per helping is not exactly generous). The prawns wrapped in phyllo pastry served with a dill, sweet chilli and yoghurt dipping sauce are big and crispy. Although apparently the most popular starter, I did not find it that exciting. There are also mezze platters combining tastes from Greece, Italy, Morocco and Spain which can be served for two or three people.
Our main courses arrived in double-quick time. Moist and crisply grilled Cape salmon basted with a secret sauce came with the restaurant's signature roasted baby potatoes in their jackets with rosemary. Vegetables are served in a separate bowl and you may ask for additional veggies if you have any room left - the helpings are too big for most people to finish. The chicken and cashew nut stir-fry featured chicken strips marinated with harissa, imparting only the lightest chilli flavour. Paired with capellini pasta, a sweet and sour sauce and the freshest al dente vegetables, it was just the right food for a hot summer's night. The six pizza choices must also be good, given that a couple of happy diners found pizza to be the perfect accompaniment to a bottle of Bollinger Champagne.
Desserts are not a huge affair at Olive & Oil with standards like Crème Brûlée, ice cream with Bar-One sauce, cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake or crêpes filled with ice cream, Kahlua, nuts and Bar-One sauce. Coffees are good, as they should be in a Greek-owned restaurant, and the menu will change with every season and if and when supply demands.
Because the food is so varied, it is rather nice to have a variety of wines during the course of the evening. Helpful in this is a selection of nine different wines by the glass; and yes they do come in bottles and are poured in front of you at the table. The house wine, Savanha Merlot, is a very pleasant, gentle wine and lovely to drink with the harissa chicken stir-fry.
Enthusiastic Jacqui runs the show in the kitchen where her experience in producing nightclub food at the Edward Hotel kitchen in Greece helps her tremendously. Nicos concentrates on the front-of-house scene when he is not looking after their other restaurant, Splashes, at the harbour entrance. Compliments must also go to the 14-strong kitchen staff headed by Derek Khumalo, who has worked with Jacqui since the Hard Rock Café days.
Plans for the future include Champagne and oyster as well as cigar and Port evenings. Look out for news from Olive & Oil.
Average cost of a three-course meal: R110.
Address: 9 Chartwell centre, 15 Chartwell Drive, Umhlanga. Tel 031 561 2618. Open for lunch, Tues-Sun, and dinner Mon-Sun. BYO R15. Off-street parking.
Food:
Wine list
Ambience:
Service:
Value:
A good enough reason to feature in the name of Umhlanga's newest restaurant - Olive & Oil - which takes its cue from the variety of foods available along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
The thoroughly redecorated first-floor venue delivers a warm and friendly ambience, featuring natural tones from the cement tiles up to the lighting. Crisp white tablecloths lend a professional touch and best of all for a big restaurant like this is the special acoustic ceiling. What a treat when the noise of some 120 diners remains unobtrusive! Meanwhile, the veranda, along two sides of the restaurant, is a fabulous vantage point from which diners can overlook the goings-on of almost the entire village of Umhlanga.
The proud owners, Jacqui and Nicos Itopoulos, have used their invaluable experience in putting together a team of service-oriented waiters and managers, an appealing menu and a winelist that does not overtax the wallet. This family-friendly restaurant even provides an adjoining room as a play area for kids. Supervised on Friday and Saturday nights, parents and kids get a chance to relax and enjoy the food and the fun respectively, while hands-on manager Alfred Devlin checks on new orders, empty plates, spilt wine, arriving clients and playing kids seemingly all at the same time - bravo!
The novel idea of a bottle of complimentary water and a few Romesco olives from the Midlands supersede the bread roll of old. The starters that follow do make your choice difficult. Cheesy langoustine tails baked in garlic, cream, white wine and parsley topped with mozzarella got a lot of applause, but the fresh Saldanha Bay mussels served in a delectable and cleverly spiced creamy passata sauce with white wine, chilli and coriander won my vote (though six large mussels per helping is not exactly generous). The prawns wrapped in phyllo pastry served with a dill, sweet chilli and yoghurt dipping sauce are big and crispy. Although apparently the most popular starter, I did not find it that exciting. There are also mezze platters combining tastes from Greece, Italy, Morocco and Spain which can be served for two or three people.
Our main courses arrived in double-quick time. Moist and crisply grilled Cape salmon basted with a secret sauce came with the restaurant's signature roasted baby potatoes in their jackets with rosemary. Vegetables are served in a separate bowl and you may ask for additional veggies if you have any room left - the helpings are too big for most people to finish. The chicken and cashew nut stir-fry featured chicken strips marinated with harissa, imparting only the lightest chilli flavour. Paired with capellini pasta, a sweet and sour sauce and the freshest al dente vegetables, it was just the right food for a hot summer's night. The six pizza choices must also be good, given that a couple of happy diners found pizza to be the perfect accompaniment to a bottle of Bollinger Champagne.
Desserts are not a huge affair at Olive & Oil with standards like Crème Brûlée, ice cream with Bar-One sauce, cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake or crêpes filled with ice cream, Kahlua, nuts and Bar-One sauce. Coffees are good, as they should be in a Greek-owned restaurant, and the menu will change with every season and if and when supply demands.
Because the food is so varied, it is rather nice to have a variety of wines during the course of the evening. Helpful in this is a selection of nine different wines by the glass; and yes they do come in bottles and are poured in front of you at the table. The house wine, Savanha Merlot, is a very pleasant, gentle wine and lovely to drink with the harissa chicken stir-fry.
Enthusiastic Jacqui runs the show in the kitchen where her experience in producing nightclub food at the Edward Hotel kitchen in Greece helps her tremendously. Nicos concentrates on the front-of-house scene when he is not looking after their other restaurant, Splashes, at the harbour entrance. Compliments must also go to the 14-strong kitchen staff headed by Derek Khumalo, who has worked with Jacqui since the Hard Rock Café days.
Plans for the future include Champagne and oyster as well as cigar and Port evenings. Look out for news from Olive & Oil.
Average cost of a three-course meal: R110.
By Mechthild Yorke-Mitchell
Address: 9 Chartwell centre, 15 Chartwell Drive, Umhlanga. Tel 031 561 2618. Open for lunch, Tues-Sun, and dinner Mon-Sun. BYO R15. Off-street parking.
Food:
Wine list
Ambience:
Service:
Value:
