Review: Greek Olive

We were invited along to dine at Swindon's Greek Olive, here's how we got on.

If you want a true taste of authentic Greek cuisine then you won’t be disappointed!

Greek Olive offers its diners a wonderfully friendly atmosphere and a great selection of traditional home-cooked dishes.

When we arrived at Greek Olive, it was all smiles from the staff as we were lead to our table for two. The restaurant is cosy and very welcoming and we were looking forward to tucking in.

As we sat down and were handed the menus, we were offered a few nibbles including warm toasted bread, plump olives and creamy humus, as we ordered our drinks.

The homemade humus was very good, it had just the right balance of lemon and garlic and was extremely tasty.

For starters, we were treated to a variety of dishes recommended by our waiter and the chef.

Warm pitta breads arrived with a selection of freshly made dips like aubergine, humus and tzatziki. The aubergine dip was new to me but it was definitely my favourite. It was rich and flavoursome –and delicious with the pitta.

Amongst the other dishes were feta stuffed flaky filo pastry covered in honey and sesame seeds, baked feta topped with Mediterranean vegetables and crispy fresh calamari with dips. Each dish was full of flavour and had been freshly made in their kitchens. They were generous helpings too – and it took all our strength not to completely fill up on these!

For mains we enjoyed a sample of three of their most popular dishes Lamb Kleftiko, Beef Stifado and Chicken a la Gree.

The lamb dish was slow cooked on the bone with feta and vegetables. It was a great example of traditional home cooking, Greek style. It arrived still wrapped up, so when you pulled back the foil you were met with the wonderful aromas of the slow cooked meat. The lamb was so tender, and literally fell away from the bone. Of all the mains this was top of our list.

Beef Stifado is a dish I have had a few times, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. Tender pieces of beef were served up in a delicious rich sauce with onions.

The chicken dish was moist and creamy, and the mushrooms and wine complimented the delicate chicken flavour extremely well.

All of the dishes were served alongside Greek-style seasoned roast potatoes and fresh crisp salad. On a cold November evening these beautifully cooked plates were the perfect winter warmers.

We enjoyed a lovely glass of their house Crete red wine to accompany our meal.

After having a few moments to chat and enjoy our wine, we were presented with two delicate looking desserts. A Baklava and a Galaktompoureko. The Baklava is a Mediterranean dessert made up of layers of filo pastry filled with butter, nuts and honey. It was crisp, sweet and simply delightful. The Galaktompoureko was a semolina based creamy pudding. Again, with filo pastry and a lovely sweet syrup. It was the perfect end to a wonderful meal.

The staff at Greek Olive were very attentive and all the food was delicious. It’s clear they have a lot of passion for what they produce and for making their diners.