Olive & Oil
Where: The Piazza, Ocean’s Mall, uMhlanga
Open: Daily 8am to 9pm.
Call: 031 561 2618
The Glass Guy and I went to explore the new Oceans Mall in uMhlanga this week.
After navigating the slightly confusing car park (PS, it’s easier to come in from the bottom), we admired the super swanky new Checkers, which had whole legs of Parma ham hanging in their charcuterie section, and selections of cheeses second to none.
So far all the restaurants in the centre are chains. There’s a Spur, a Tigers Milk that was packed, Black, a cocktail bar and eatery, the steakhouse Hussar Grill, and the new Olive & Oil. It looks like a speciality seafood restaurant called The Prawnery is about to open, and another which may be plant-based and possibly something that may be a bakery.
Olive & Oil have rebranded themselves and the new venue is a vast improvement on the old Chartwell Drive premises.
The inside was packed. It has a nice cosy feel, with discreet lighting giving the large restaurant a feeling of intimacy. A large art deco-inspired installation hides the pizza oven while photographic murals add the Mediterranean theme.
We sit outside on the slightly windswept terrace. We didn’t mind. Our waitress was excellent, she knew her menu and was happy to make suggestions, and was engaging generally. The GnTs arrived promptly.
The menu too has been simplified. There is a breakfast menu and a light meals selection that includes fish and chips and some burgers and quesadillas, as well as open sandwiches and salads ‒ ideal for anyone wanting a quick lunch.
Starters include four ways with oysters, including a gin and tonic version, a selection of Mediterranean dips, chicken livers and a couple of ways with calamari. Seared halloumi comes with pomegranate syrup, while spicy Spanish fillet is served with truffle potato skins. There’s a selection of boards offering a variety of meats and cheeses.
We shared the lamb and feta kofte, served with sumac, yoghurt and peppers (R69), which were very good, all the more so for a hefty kick of mint in the kofte. Crispy lamb riblets (R89) with minted yoghurt too were most enjoyable.
Pizzas and pastas have been pared down to a single page but all the favourites are there. And both are available in gluten-free options. I might try the artichoke risotto next time, or the gnocchi gorgonzola.
For mains I was tempted with the deboned 1kg flattie marinated in peri-peri and cooked in the pizza oven, but I couldn’t face all that food, or the leftovers. This sounds like one to share. Seafood options included kingklip cooked in a mussel sauce with Mozzarella as well as grilled prawns, langoustines and crayfish, when available. Steaks are rump or fillet available in 200g or 300g, with sauces that include truffle mushroom, creamy Gorgonzola or brandy peppercorn. The specialities menu includes a traditional paella or a roast lamb rump.
The Glass Guy opted for the “Best of Both” (R246) ‒ a surf and turf with 300g fillet topped with three prawns and covered in their gamberi sauce ‒ a creamy chilli sauce. It was one of the better steaks I’d tasted in a while. Cooked to a rare perfection, it melted like butter in the mouth. You could have cut it with a teaspoon. It came with decent chips, and I liked the spicy sauce that had quite a kick in the tail.
My slow-cooked pork belly roulade (R198) with apricot glaze, cauliflower purée and seasonal veg was the only fail. It came with two sticks of tough dried leather sticking out the middle. The moral of the story is if you can’t get crackling to crackle, don’t serve it because we all love crackling and get really irritated when it tastes like old shoe laces. The belly itself was succulent and pleasant with a slightly too sweet apple or apple cider sauce. The cauliflower purée lifted it.
Dessert is not perhaps the most exciting of selection. There’s baked cheesecake, chocolate brownies and the like. Churros offered some interest but unfortunately the main kitchen that makes these had closed by that point. Instead we shared a crème brûlée which had a thin dusting of burnt sugar. It cracked at first tap to reveal a lovely light airy custard. We enjoyed it with good coffees.
Food: 3½
Service: 4
Ambience: 3½
The Bill: R944 including a generous tip
The Independent on Saturday