As you know, we love eating out and sampling the delights that Northern Ireland has to offer. We are extremely lucky to live only a few minutes away from a husband-and-wife run deli called Olive Bizarre which always serves up scrumptious food. John is in charge of the front of house and Ciara is responsible for cooking up the yummies. The deli is beautifully retro and looks out over the very picturesque Newcastle-Killough coastline.
We recently called in for a light brunch and found out that they host a very successful monthly bistro evening so we were keen to sign up! The bistro evening is a bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) event and runs the first Friday and Saturday of every month and they offer a new menu each month. We were certainly impressed and can’t wait to try it out again. Here’s our review of our bistro evening in Olive Bizarre.
Starter
We decided to share a starter so that we would have room for dessert, so we opted for the ‘Duck liver pâté with melba toast and spiced apple chutney’ (£6.95). The spicy chutney really packed a punch and was delicious with the smooth light pâté and the crunchy toast.
Main
For the main, Nial had ‘Caramelised pork loin, spiced cauliflower purée, potato gratin and cider soaked raisins’ (£12.50) and I had the ‘Braised daube of beef, mulled wine beetroots, spinach and horseradish crust potato croquettes’ (£14.50). The pork dish was moist and complemented by sweet raisins and warming cinnamon, perfect on a cold winter’s evening. The beef was tender and beautifully accompanied by the gentle heat of horseradish and the winter flavours of mulled spice. Both dishes were presented beautifully.
Dessert
For dessert, we both decided to have a tartlet, Nial opted for ‘Lemon’ and myself ‘Chocolate’. The lemon tartlet was citrus-plenty and topped with a sweet meringue, ice-cream and fragrant passion fruit to balance the sharp flavours. The chocolate tartlet was a dream for chocolate lovers and topped with a coffee flavoured ice-cream; rich and moreish.
If you would like to book a table at an Olive Bizarre bistro evening you can find their contact details here. We would strongly recommend it and it won’t break the bank. Plus you get to bring your own booze, always a nice bonus. Unfortunately we had the car so had to wash our food down with a tasty pink lemonade but we’ll be sure to try the BYOB next time.
If you’ve ever visited an Olive Bizarre bisto night we’d love to know what you thought of it. Let us know by commenting below or connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter.
