The Olive

Miss food hunter spotted The Olive on Urbanspoon sometime over the period of the Brisbane flood recovery and has been really keen on visiting since Middle Eastern cuisine is one of her favourites. Finally, the day arrived when we stepped foot onto their newly refurbished restaurant. Miss food hunter has been patiently waiting for their doors to reopen....

The interior is large to the extent that it looked a little sparse and cold, perhaps due to the tiled floors...Our young waitress brought us water immediately while we perused the menu. Orders are taken at the counter where the barista and sweets display are.

The display cabinet was filled with an array of delectable baked goods, many of them are home-made for instance, the Apple & Raspberry Crumble, the Key Lime Tart, Cranberry Pistachio & White Chocolate slice and the assorted Muffins were generous in size!

And so, Mr food hunter had the Mixed Plate ($16.50) which consists of Lamb, Chicken, Kafta (spiced lamb with mint) served with hummus, tabouli, pickled, olives and lebanese bread, accompanied by a Corona. The meats were seasoned well and grilled tenderly- perfectly. The salad (Greek style? not tabouli) was so fresh and well-balanced in dressing that the flavours were actually bursting in your mouth. It was a big serve of hummus dip and the marriage altogether was delicious! The lebanese bread could be warmed though.

Miss food hunter's Lebanese Roll with Chicken, hummus and tabouli was also a winner though the tabouli was substituted with fresh garden salad instead. Nevertheless, the well-marinated chunky grilled chicken morsels in combination with the hummus and salad all wrapped in a well-pressed warm flatbread was satisfying and filling. This large roll comes in at only $9.90!! If only there were more than one pickled pepper....should have to hunt down for some!

The Olive specializes also in Creole cuisine, which is unfamiliar to us really. Judging by the dinner menu, we will certainly be back to uncover this! Maybe next time, it would be the Curry of Seychelles or the Creole Grilled Reef Fish.....Hmmmm!

The Olive
92 Hyde road
Yeronga
Opens daily Sunday to Tuesday         6am to 3pm
                    Wednesday to Saturday  6am to 10pm
http://www.theolive.com.au/