OLIVE RESTAURANT, CASTLE STREET, LIVERPOOL

11th May 2016 Comments (0) Food & Drink 2

OLIVE DOES ITALIAN CUISINE: IT’S BARELY A MINUTE AWAY FROM MY MERSEY-RAIL STOP, AND IT’S JUST A FEW STEPS DOWN INTO A VERY COOL, ELEGANT, COMFORTABLE SPACE. WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?

His & Hers had an invitation to try the new spring menu: that proved compelling. The décor is tasteful: wood and olive green paint-work. The meeting and greeting works beautifully, and we were in a tranquil niche , drinking the excellent house red and enjoying the olives, in no time at all.

The menu itself is awesome. Already, because there’s only so much a person can eat, I have half a dozen reasons to explore the menu further. My starter was tiger prawns, in a garlic and creamy tomato sauce: and, whatever I write, it won’t do it justice. The prawns were succulent, and had a sharp enticing flavour, with a hint of garlic and lemon, and the sauce was a perfect foil: I felt tempted to order it all over again. My companion chose houmous and flat breads, and absolutely loved it.

My main was sea-bass with sun-dried tomato and herb risotto, and the fillet of fish was sublime: you can opt for 2 fillets and you probably should, because you’ll want more of that flavour. My companion opted for goats’ cheese and butternut squash risotto, and loved the combination of tastes, and said the cheese was better than good.

We relaxed, we chatted, we had a great time, spoke to one or two friends on a table close by, with a young daughter who seemed to be enjoying the food as much as we were. It’s Italian: it’s child friendly.

Reasons to return, almost immediately: the service is friendly and very efficient: there’s smoked duck salad, feta and pomegranate salad, salted caramel cheesecake, and chocolate brownies. All of this makes a powerful case for Olive. Try it and see.