Olives Restaurant

Olives opened last month, right at the beginning of Stampede. After one month in operation, things seem to be going well. Beautiful mosaics and chain mail curtains make the restaurant decor modern, with a classic twist. The light sweet fluffy appetizer bread complimented the house-marinated olives well. The sparkling water, Qvarzia, was not as good. This Italian brand didn’t have enough fizz, and after it defizzed, the water tasted like crisp, Canadian tap. For an appetizer, we shared the beef carpaccio. The portion was small, but super delicious. Smooth, melt in your mouth black angus, with just the right amount of arugula bitterness, virgin olive oil and grana padano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grana_padano)accompaniment. The house-made truffle parsnip ravioli was bursting with sweet, smooth marscapone finished with a swirl of mushroom cream sauce on a bed of asparagus and wild mushrooms. The pasta was quite sweet and almost would have made a nice dessert! The fragrant truffle oil made this dish. The halibut entree was freshly seared, arranged beautifully amidst a sea of temptingly colourful red currant brown butter and chanterelle mushrooms. Mmm Mmm!! For dessert, I could not pass up the chance to try their tiramisu. The presentation was gorgeous, with a trail of chocolate espresso beans leading to a tall glass of illy espresso tiramisu topped off with a dalop of espresso gelato. It didn’t disappoint! Very smooth, and the espresso crystals inside the mixture added just the perfect amount of crunch. Now all I have to do is go back at lunch to try their panninis and espresso.

10 of us ate. None of use quite got what we asked for when we asked for it. The appetizers were great but the steaks were under-cooked and the fish dishes were over cooked. All the portions were small. The sauce on the steaks were salty and the lardons and mushrooms were tough. Over all the meal was passible but over priced!

We spent over $400 on drinks but the waitress forgot our drinks and didn’t return to our table to ask if we’d have another one or pour another glass of wine.

If you’re thinking of trying this restaurant, be very careful. My experience there was horrible. The staff were rude. The prices were very high for the amount of food received. Four tortellini’s and a few twigs of aparagus do not equal $20.00, nor should the staff be rude and take two hours to serve their guests. Save your money and frustration and try somewhere else.