Oleana – No.18
October 18, 2019
Funny. Â We had a few “yuck!” comments about the fish head picture from the last restaurant. Â Please note, the comments were from non-fish eaters. Â I promise, no disgusting photos on this post (although I can’t promise for future restaurants). Â We’re off to No.18 – Oleana, for some Middle-Eastern meze.
The restaurant feels really cozy as soon as you walk in, with a couple of separate areas for dining. Â There’s even an outside garden with seating, which looked really pretty as the trees were hung with fairy lights. Â It was actually a cold evening when we went, but to prove the restaurants popularity, there were still people sat in the garden, with outdoor heaters to keep them warm; Still…burr.Â
Have you ever found yourself eavesdropping the table next to you? Â Of course you have. Â We were seated next to an adorable older couple and couldn’t help but flap our ears. They have been going to Oleana every week for over 10 years; That’s quite an accolade, and to be fair, we had to reserve our table a month in advance. Â High expectations.
Meze/Sharing food – something Clark and I love to do is share food and get to try lots of different things. Â It was difficult to narrow it down to just four dishes as everything looked interesting and delicious. Â But we managed the tough task.
The Dishes - Fatoush
I’m not normally a big salad orderer, but this was too tempting. Â Apple, Radish and Pomegranate Fatoush. Â I know, what’s Fatoush? Â Oleana very smartly put a glossary at the bottom of the menu for such questions. Â Fatoush was not on there, but basically it’s a bread salad. Â Fresh pitas are a staple in the Middle-East and delicious when they are fresh, but what of the leftover pitas? Â They created whole dishes based around day old bread where they fry or bake the leftover pitas to become the main part of a dish. Â Dah, dah….Fatoush. Â Delicious, and elevated even more when served with whipped ricotta for a creamy texture.
Scallops and Brussels
Scallops with chickpea stew, cauliflower aioli and fried Brussel sprouts, topped with little crispy flakes of chorizo – genius. Â Perfectly cooked scallops and probably the best Brussel sprouts I’ve ever had….we put it down to the amount of butter they were probably cooked in. Â I used to hate Brussels when I was young, but I have discovered in my wiser years that actually I love them. Â Apparently when Brussels are overcooked, not only do they turn mushy (yuck), they release excess sulphur which makes them taste bitter. Â So, it’s not that I hated Brussels, I just hated Brussels that had been boiled a tad too long (sorry Mum…love your cooking).
Honeynut Squash
Honeynut squash – I’ve never heard of it, so of course we had to try it. Â The fact that it came with gigantes (a large white Greek bean – not to be mistaken for butter beans), oyster mushrooms, goat milk labne (a thick yoghurt) and Basturma crackling, was just a bonus. Â I know, I know, what’s Basturma? Â Back to the glossary. Â Basturma – air dried beef with Armenian spices. Â Great combination; soft sweet squash, creamy slightly tart labne, full flavoured mushrooms and then the crunchy Basturma. Mmm.
Lamejun
The final dish – Lamejun. Â Loving the glossary again. Â Lamejun – a flatbread with a ground meat topping. Â In this case it was ground lamb. Â Alongside it some spicy roasted shishito peppers and more of that delicious labne.
We were having such a lovely time we didn’t want it to end, so what do you do? Â Order dessert and dessert wine. Â And who can resist a preserved lemon ice cream.
I know I crucified the sprouts , but I know better now ,that meal sounds very nice xx