Welcome to Olive Tree Restaurant (The)

My husband & I went here for our 3rd anniversary and I'm quite disappointed that I chose this restaurant for such a special occasion. The food was average, to say the least. I'm quite certain the ravioli my husband chose for his entree was from a packet, a bland paste inside an equally bland pasta casing, drenched in store-bought napolitana sauce. My penne chicken wasn't quite so bad, but there was nothing fantastic about it and I could easily push it away to save room for mains. The dry chicken Involtini was stuffed with the same saffron rice my risotto cake was made from, and served on what tasted like powdered mashed potato. The slab of Tiramisu towered over the 3 profiterole's on my husbands plate, but was the only thing I liked.

The service was ok, no introductions from the waitress but she was friendly. She came back at the right times, didn't hover although we were the first ones there, and topped up our water when it was low.

The restaurant is very nice, lovely decor and music to match. It was a little warm though, and I was getting a bit uncomfortable towards the end of dinner and glad to leave.

We will definitely not be going back. The food ruined our good evening, and we left feeling full but very unsatisfied. With the Entertainment Card it came to $100, and we don't think it was worth even that. To be completely honest, I've had better food at Sizzlers.

I'm afraid I must disagree with most reviewers here. The food was disappointing to say the least. My girlfriend and I both chose the prawn cocktail and, whilst the prawn count has gone up to 5, it does little to compensate for the lack of taste in the dish. Whatever dressing was used had absolutely no taste whatsoever. This, coupled with the fact that the prawns were not fresh and so lacked taste, meant that the dish as a whole was possibly one of the worst starters I have had for a long time. It was a similar story with the mains and dessert - stuffed chicken breast and Snapper followed by Profiteroles and apple, mango and coconut crumble. All were as bland as the starter which made for a very uninteresting meal.The wine, however, was good

Service was very good, our waitress was attentive and food was brought out promptly.

There was a nice ambience about the place, although I was surprised that it was as busy as it was, given the quality of the food.

We were pretty disappointed with The Olive Tree overall. The food needs seasoning and an injection of taste in general. The wine, service and general feel of the place went some way to make up for this, however, the idea was that we went out for some good food which, unfortunately, was not forthcoming.

We dined on 29th March and found it to be a very pleasant experience.
We were promptly seated in the front part of the restaurant and given iced water straight away and not long after the garlic bread, which was hot and crusty. As we ordered from the $49.95 set menu, one of my guests and myself ordered the prawn cocktail, which although only had 4 prawns, was tasty and zesty. My other guest ordered the fettuccine, which was superb and creamy.
For a main my 2 guests ordered the catch of the day, which was red snapper on mash with salad. The serving was huge and my guests said it was cooked to perfection and the fish flaky.
I ordered the chicken involtini, which again the serving was big, consisting of a 2 chicken breasts stuffed with a risotto filling on a bed of spinach and creamy almond sauce. It was magic.
For dessert my guests both had the mango and coconut crumble, which was warm and served with ice cream. I had the Tiramisu, which was also lovely. We topped the meal of with a bottle of reisling and coffees.
Overall the ambience was intimate with low lighting and tea lights. The service was friendly and prompt considering there was a wedding party in the back room.
The meal itself was faultless and the courses well spaced out so one didn't feel rushed.
We will definitely be coming back again.

Gillian and I went to The Olive Tree on Wednesday 18th April, I have been before but a long time ago, in fact I turned up to their old location in Outram Street before "finding out" that they moved to a new location 25+ years ago. Still a restaurant in business all that time is probably doing something right.

We were greeted at the door with a friendly smile and taken to our table, the restaurant was less than a quarter full at 7:30pm. Having shown us to our table the waitress very promptly returned with menus and a jug of iced water. We were intending to "make a night of it" and had taken a sparkling red wine, a still red and a half bottle of sticky white. The waitress told us we couldn't have the sticky because they were BYO wine only. I told her the sticky was a wine. She said she knew that, but we were not allowed to take sticky wine. I asked what sticky wines they had on the menu, because that would affect my choice of dessert. Not surprisingly they had no sticky wines on the menu and advised we could have port. Not liking port and feeling somewhat aggrieved, I said we'd order from a menu without dessert. She returned a few minutes later saying the owner had given us "one off" permission to have our sticky wine with dessert if we still wanted to. What an unnecessary palaver. It certainly made us wary of what was to come.

The food started arriving promptly. The garlic bread was done well, hot, crisp crust, soft buttery garlicky inners. Gillian's entree of the Tasmanian smoked salmon with caper mayonnaise was very well presented and superb tasting. My Caesar salad was also well presented but would have been more to my taste if it had contained anchovies either in the dressing or on top of the salad.

After our entree plates were cleared, the last of the remaining diners in the front part of the restaurant left. It's not a comfortable feeling being outnumbered by staff and every time someone came to the table it was a different person. They were certainly sharing out the work !! Actually we weren't alone in the restaurant, there was a largish group in separate rooms out the back, celebrating the end of a medical conference.

My main course arrived, I'd ordered a rare Sirloin steak. Gillian ordered the Seared Atlantic Salmon. The Salmon was crispy on the outside, gently pink and moist inside. A great taste. My steak was cold, not slightly warm, not cool but cold. It was overcooked and had probably been overlooked in the kitchen waiting for someone to "claim" it since the last table was fed quite a while earlier. When I was able to draw her attention, the waitress took it away and shortly returned saying I'd have my meal back soon. She added that she didn't know if they'd reheat the steak or not because it was her first night there !! Within a few minutes I received a beautifully tender, well trimmed piece of Sirloin. Blue rather than very rare and very much to my taste !! Very nice taste, well presented too with a great mash and some tomato relish.

I'm not normally a dessert eater, usually having cheese if anything, but I had the Profiteroles with my sticky white, they were freshly prepared, rich, smooth and very enjoyable. Gillian's Tiramisu was also very good. The sticky white was definitely the most expensive part of our meal but was well complimented by the desserts and coffee.

Normally I'd consider the attempt to give an old, cold steak to a customer completely unacceptable and I'd never return and probably notify the Council's Health inspectors. However, the remainder of the meal was really very good and I'm prepared to believe that it was a one-off mistake. We had an enjoyable chat with the Maitre 'D - Stella at the end of the evening.

With the Entertainment card, the cost of the meal with corkage and a couple of bottles of sparkling water was under $80, quite remarkable value really. We will give The Olive Tree another go fairly soon, probably on a busier evening.

I actually went to the olive tree, with the sole purpose of trying the menu to see whether I would book my wedding there.

You walk in and instantly feel the character feel of the place, its intimate and cosy. It's very quiet, and an elegant atmosphere.

Tealights are on the tables, and there are just a few tables in every room. There is a gorgeous long hallway, which leads out to the function room out the back.

The Olive Tree always seems to be busy whenever I phone or pop in there, which is a good sign to me.

The food, well first, it's excellent value. Either $44.95 or $49.95. Both options are quiet similar. I went for the $44.95 option, and my partner the $49.95 option, and we could not tell them apart, just slightly different options on the menu.

There is a lot of food, be warned. Make sure you go hungry.
"It" starts with garlic bread, which is very nice.

Next you get your entree, I had potato and leek soup it was salty but not overdone.
My fiancé had prawn and avocado salad which he said was nice.

Next were mains! I had chicken on risotto cake with a beautiful sauce (I cannot remember what it was!). There was so much, and I could not get through it!

My partner had a steak (which was large) and mashed potato on spinach from a vague memory!

Desert was tiramisu for me; I had heard this was really good, so I tried it. It was nice but very sweet, and I really do not like cream so I knew I shouldn't have gone this option, so I am not a very good judge!
My partner had the mango and apple coconut crumble and I think this was definitely the standout! It was gorgeous!

Then we topped it all off with cappuccinos! But we were so full we couldn't even drink them (o:

I'd like to comment on the service there, it is faultless. Being as I was considering it for my wedding I had asked around a LOT and I actually got a lot of mixed feedback about the service, food etc there!
Well the service was very attentive, but we never felt interrupted. We never felt rushed, and they always asked when we would like it to be served. Also the waiters were very quiet, which adds to the atmosphere.

Now the question you are wondering...did we book our wedding there? Of course! How could we not, everything is so perfect. The place is so stunning, and has an old world style charm which was exactly what we were looking for!

So my advice is regardless of mixed feedback, go there yourself and be the judge, because I obviously think it is exceptional to have my wedding there!

Sorry this is so long, but I was rapt and really wanted to say they are excellent :)

Hubby & I enjoyed an extremely rare moment together with a delightful dinner to celebrate our anniversary. I wouldn’t say it was intimate or romantic as we opted to sit on the verandah (small space for only 2 tables), which faces Emerald Terrace and hence the entrance. However, we just felt so relaxed dining there appreciating the nice cool breeze.

The set menu at The Olive Tree is just sensational. There are quite a few choices (at least 4) for each of the entrée, mains and dessert which would cater to different tastes and frequent diners. What I found rather odd, though, was that the menu simply showed 2 different set menus without the prices stated. However, since I had checked their website beforehand, I was aware that one is termed simply 4 Course Menu’ at $39.95 and the other, 4 Course Premium Menu’ at $45. Basically, the difference is that the Premium one has addition of a couple of entrees/mains not on the other. (According to the website, they do serve ala carte too but we were not presented with that menu).

We picked from the Premium and were served 4 pieces of garlic bread in a basket to share. The garlic bread was perfectly crisp on the sides and yet soft inside. For entrée, we had the Tasmanian smoked salmon salad with capers and the prawn & avocado salad. The salmon was simply lovely with plenty of capers & gourmet greens and the 4 prawns so firm and fresh was equally satisfying.

For mains we couldn’t go past the Atlantic salmon and the steak cooked medium rare in red wine with tomato relish. Both were served atop mash potato & spinach and simply delicious. Accompanying our mains was a bowl of salad drizzled with balsamic dressing shared between us.

For dessert, we had the tiramisu and the parfait ice-cream with pistachio & berry sauce. As with the previous courses, care was taken to ensure the dishes were beautifully presented. Thankfully, the tiramisu was nice & light as the parfait was a huge serve of 3 scoops. The pistachio nuts were also a nice gourmet change from the standard peanuts. And to finally complete our meal, hubby had a flat white and I had the cappuccino. Needless to say, we were extremely satisfied with our meal. The waitresses were friendly and attentive without being intrusive and we felt really comfortable dining here.

What a fantastic set menu at such an affordable price. On top of that it is in the Entertainment book with a further 25% off and no surcharges on Saturdays. A further bonus is that our card was deliberately not marked for us to utilise it again. Without a doubt we will definitely return. Now I know why jasmin23au is a repeat diner there!

I've been to this restaurant three times now and would like to come back again. A nice dining place from an intimate dining experience with your special person to a wedding function as it has a big function area out the back that is nicely done up for special occasions. This however is open on busy nights not just for functions. The set menu is great! Price is reasonable and the functions coordinator Stella is always happy and friendly to the point that she even remembered my name after a brief chat on my very first visit. On my last visit, I had the prawn and avocado salad for entree, garlic bread for starters and fish with mash and veggies for the main. I tried the profiteroles on my first visit and the tiramisu on my second and third visit. I was so full and contented with their nice flat white coffee they made for me in the end. All in all, I would suggest this to my friends as not only the ambience nice but food and service were both superb.

I attended a wedding reception on Saturday for a couple of close friends. I have a thing for the old cottage style houses that are decked out and refurbished. This place didn't seem like it could hold many more than 10-15 tables but there is a big back room which catered well for the situation.

The staff were helpful and attentive but when it came to the food, one young lady didn't quite know what was going on. When we asked how the chicken or fish was done, both responses were "on mashed potato". We were hoping for something a little more informative!

The decor is lovely in the back and front rooms and on the balcony/verandah.

So my Caesar salad entree arrived and it was very nice, it is hard to stuff up a caesar but I could still tell the ingredients were fresh. For mains I chose the chicken, which was herb-stuffed and set atop mashed potato with what I assumed was a chickpea and root vegetable jus.

At first taste, I expected some hint of a sweet sauce but it wasn't sweet at all, and extremely intelligently I might add. The dish was perfect, simple and very well presented but the simplicity ensured it wasn't flooded with flavours to try and accompany every taste.

Tira Misu was amazing and when added to the icecream dessert that was on my left, I not only felt extremely full but very happy with the whole meal.

I tasted the fish as well and that was as expected, very nice. I will definitely be back there to try the a la carte menu.

A quick apology to Adam's worse half for spilling a full glass of red all over her new, and expensive extremely ex-white jacket!