Mediterranean Cuisine is exquisitely delicious, vibrant, is built around fresh, wholesome fruits, vegetables, whole grains and breads, legumes, seafood, nuts and seeds and olive oil. The area that spans the Mediterranean Sea – including Italy, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Israel -- there are a wide variety of dishes, influenced by everything from European pastas and wines to Middle Eastern yogurts and flatbreads, the building blocks of the Mediterranean diet are foods that are low in saturated fat, rich in healthy oils.
I am crazy for Mediterranean food as the flavors are rich and the health benefits for people choosing a Mediterranean cuisine is immense as this type of cuisine uses the powerful flavors of the many herbs and spices to season foods. Using herbs and spices allows you to cut back on added salt, sugar, and fat when cooking.
Olive bar and kitchen is perhaps one of the best fine dining places that has brilliant indoor as well as outdoor ambience and one can find extraordinary hospitality and scintillating food. Chef Sujan S, (who is no less than a magician when it comes to creating food that will bring forth amazing flavors and leave you mesmerized) joined Olive, I was sure to be bowled over!.
I was invited to try the new winter menu that had been designed and prepared by Chef Sujan. (Chef Sujan Sarkar started his career with JW Marriott Mumbai and then moved on to Hilton hotels, UK in 2004. After spending some time in Jamie Oliver's fifteen restaurants, he started working under Peter Tempelhoff (Relais & Châteaux Grand Chef) and then Galvins at window restaurant under Andre Garrett and Chef Cris Galvin. By the end of 2008, he took over Automat restaurant in Mayfair as the Head Chef and following year opened Almada Restaurant in Berkley Street which use to be the celebrity hot spot of London. He has a Chocolate diploma from Barry Callebout and has done a Study tour of Mugaritz, El Celler de Can Roca and Osteria Francescana. )
Enter the restaurant and you will instantly fall in love with this place. Simple yet elegant sitting arrangement with small Whitestone on the floor and outside you will feel enticed having great food under the shade of an old banyan tree overlooking Bougainville and since the seats are spread apart – It gives you space to look around and enjoy your meal.
Warmly greeted by staff we were comfortably seated at a reserved table. We had been informed that chef Sujan will join us soon and In the meantime we were offered drinks. We started with wine.
And then what was unveiled to us was the new winter Menu……
We started with Wild Mushroom Tortellini, stuffed morel and mushroom Consommé'. The stock had excellent flavor of mushroom and was very high on taste and the grated parmesan cheese on the top of it made it flavorful. We were very impressed with the dish and this had actually set the tone for the rest of the day and I was already excited and knew that it’s going to be a lifetime experience.
Next was Olive signature seared Tuna nicoise which is actually French inspired salad serve with karamata olive and boiled quail eggs, green beans and tomato. It was simple yet brilliant looking dish that had nice flavor. The hard boiled eggs with large olives and hint of black pepper gave it exotic taste I was very impressed with the preparation as well as the presentation.
Next came the Wood oven roasted baby pumpkin & green beans Mascarpone labneh, apricot puree and pumpkin seeds. I can never imagine that pumpkin can be delicious too. The bubbly mascarpone labneh with apricot puree gave it aromatic taste and quinoa and popped amaranth gave it crunchiness.
Next was Garden vegetable Primavera with homemade spinach fettuccini, winter vegetables, pesto, pinenuts. Homemade fettuccini with pesto had great flavor and pinenut was giving crunchy taste to it.Chef had asked us not to gorge on the past as there was more of exciting food pouring in…
The next to rock our palate was the stunning, slow cooked Pork belly with carrot puree, mustard glazed apple, crackling. A brilliant looking dish, cooked with perfection with extraordinary hard work behind it. Crackling or the crisp fatty skin of roast pork is very time taking process and it takes almost 3 days to make such crackling. A perfectly cooked pork with carrot puree which actually helped to mellow down the sweetness of pork. I was fully satisfied and was extremely delighted after having this. Probably one of the best pork belly I have had in a long time.
Braised beef cheek with roasted baby veg, white onion puree, red wine jus. Baby beef cheek marinated in red wine sauce, slow cooked make it extremely delicious. Cheeks are the hardest meat of beef and not easy to cook as told by chef. But it was super soft and perfectly cooked with can come only with slow cooking.
Truffle mashed potato not only looked gorgeous about was extremely delightful to eat too. It was fluffy, light and extremely delicious. Chef told us that these potatoes are from Mumbai that’s why they are not sweet in taste.
Pan seared Reef cod with sautéed baby potatoes, broccoli, green beans, sun dried tomatoes, red pepper emulsion. Fish was flaky yet cooked perfectly. And those sautéed vegetables were just right as an accompaniment with the fish.
And then came the desert. The presentation stimulated us visually and later our taste buds. Mile Feuille of strawberry with strawberry sorbet, strawberry and mascarpone mousse ,signature Pear tarte tatin, caramel sauce vanilla beans ice cream and Petit four. Strawberry mile Feuille was brliiantly presented, never seen mile feuille been presented like this. It was crunchy because of the creame crunch, and the ice cream and sliced strawberry to give fruity taste. Pear tarte tatin is a french classic upside down pear tart with flaky pastry crust. It was excellent. Petit four are oven-baked little cakes with strawberry and cookies presented in cute small wooden box. A perfect way to finish your meal with an appetizing sweet taste!
After finishing the meal, it was clear that we were not only impressed by the way Chef Sujan had prepared the food but we simply loved the way it has been presented as well. I must say I had one of the finest meal at a very brilliant place. Chef Sujan is indeed a magician who not only knows how to make simple food extremely delicious but he also knows how to present it in an elegant, enticing and aesthetic manner!
For more pictures please click the link belowhttp://maneeshsrivastvaphotography.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/olive-bar-and-kitchen-mehrauli-2/
