Monday 27 August 2012

Olive Tree, Tower Street, York

Image from the Olive Tree's web site

A dated Mediterranean restaurant, the Olive Tree has prints of naked Greek gods on its walls and the staff wear white shirts and even ties. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant place to eat near the centre of York. There is a lengthy, largely-Italian a la carte menu with pizza, pasta and other safe dishes, such as chargrilled fillet of salmon and roast lamb. There is also a set menu, which is about £12 for two courses, but the dishes are smaller. You seem to be able to pick and mix from the two menus. Among the starters, the salmon roulade (£6.85) with cream cheese is chunky and refreshing. It is served with a slice of crusty garlic bread and a small salad. For a main course, the Moroccan lamb stew (from the set menu), containing chickpeas, olives and couscous is tasty enough, but could be a lot bigger. The service is friendly and attentive - the waiters keep bringing you jugs of tap water, while the compact wine list is keenly-priced with bottles starting at about £16. 7/10