The
Green Olive
Louise
Elgin celebrates a good neighbourhood
diner in Maida Vale, W9
Good
neighbourhood restaurants are worth
celebrating. Where I live in W9 they
are few and far between which, as
I’ve said before, is bizarre in what
must be not only a very residential
area but also an affluent one at
that. With its wide streets, beautiful
white stucco houses and lush communal
gardens, most residents of ‘Media
Vale’ are hardly short of a buck
or two. Yet, they are let down by
a shortage of good local places to
dine out. Tucked down a small street
a stone's throw from Little Venice's
picture postcard canal is The Green
Olive, a small and intimate restaurant
offering a modern Italian menu.
Split
over two levels, the dining rooms
are a mix of simple but elegant surroundings,
with bare brick walls and wooden
floors all adding a rustic feel.
The tables are a little close together
in places so, if you are dining a
deux it's best to request a round
table of which there are several
on the ground floor, - my preferred
place to eat - the other dining room
being downstairs. There is a new
chef in the kitchen too, Carlo Salodini,
has cooked all over London, more
recently at Little Italy in Soho
and Artigiano in Bayswater. Carlo
has introduced a new menu and I felt
duty bound to try it!
After
some very good bread and olives to
nibble on whilst choosing our starters,
my guest commenced with sautéed king
scallops and prawns with a cherry
tomato and mild chili dressing, this
was pronounced delicious, the scallops
and prawns plump, flavoursome and
tender, with good presentation all
round. Her only negative remark was
perhaps the tomato and chili sauce
could have had extra oomph, but then
that, I feel is a question of personal
taste. I had a starter size portion
of linguine with fresh white crab
meat, rocket and cherry tomatoes
in a light spicy sauce, which was
good without being outstanding. We
were drinking a highly palatable
Sicilian wine (Grecanico Dorato-
a Sicilian grape variety) at a very
reasonable £21.00 a bottle, which
I would highly recommend, La Segreta
Bianco Planeta, 2004. It was rich
in colour with a good depth of flavour
and was light and dry on the palate
whilst being highly refreshing at
a very fair price. In fact, a perfect
accompaniment to my next course,
grilled cod with panzanella salad
and basil dressing. The cod was very
moist with a wonderful interior -
and panzanella salad, a Tuscan specialty
- a superb concoction of parsley,
tomatoes, black olives, bread, vinegar,
celery and cucumber all finished
off with a hit of lemon, altogether
a first rate light combination with
the fish. My guest tried the pan-fried
fillet of lamb with potato gratin
and thyme jus. She said the lamb
was tender and well flavoured with
a good jus but the potatoes were
a disappointment being a little on
the cold side and lacking in flavour.
Spoilsports
that we were, we didn't have room
for pudding, (somehow managing to
resist the hot chocolate tart with
vanilla ice cream), instead, finishing
with a wonderfully refreshing glass
of limoncello (an Italian very lemony
liqueur, best served over ice in
my opinion!), which was a highly
cleansing and refreshing end to our
meal. The Green Olive is what Maida
Vale and Little Venice needs more
of, local, reasonable priced restaurants
that are on tap for those nights
when one wants to get out of the
kitchen and enjoy a relaxing evening
with a few drinks without having
to travel to do so.
Louise
Elgin. June 2006.
A
two-course meal with wine and water
is about £40.00 a head.
The
Green Olive 5 Warwick Place London
W9 Tel: 020 7289 2469
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