it was purely accidental that me and my friends found ourselves seated at Olio, a new italian restaurant. we were supposed to have dinner in cafe ceramique’ where we have been waiting for at least 20 minutes before finally giving up politely to the head waiter. it dawned on me that the table turnover was really slow because their patrons were taking time to complete their ceramic projects right on the dining tables!

I had been curious about Olio having spotted it at the stars avenue mall where its located. you could see inside the restaurant from as far back as al malek road, as it was behind large glass windows. it looked spacious with a curved, open-plan seating situated in the concourse area of the mall. there were no walls so it felt a bit like al fresco. the tables were neatly set with dinnerware and cloth napkins – quite commendable as it lent a classy ambience. lighting was warm white and bright enough to allow you to peruse their well-designed and colorful menu. the large tinted windows offered an interesting view of the malek road’s hustle and bustle.

For antipasti, we had the bruschetta – fresh & crispy italian bread with a selection of toppings and hearty zuppa di pomodoro (tomato & basil soup),served at just the right temperature . we also ordered the thin and light pizza margherita, and paired it with a wonderful chicken ceasar salad. for the main courses, we selected penne arabiatta, chicken cacciatore and a tortellini- fresh pasta stuffed with ricotta which earned good marks as it was sumptuous and “al dente.” the dishes were well-prepared and we were satisfied with our choices.

The service was friendly and waiting time was reasonable – the only glitch being that our waiter’s english was challenged and we had a small mix-up when we were ordering. he sort of informed us that they had a complimentary salad bar, which prompted us to cancel our order of chicken ceasar salad. we approached the salad bar and checked with the maitre’d who explained that it was not so and apparently our waiter was only trying to do his job by recommending the salad bar. the poor chicken ceasar salad had to be re-ordered!

With the requisite flavored coolers, juices and sodas, the total tab just came to about SR 330 – quite reasonable for a full and tasty dinner for 4 people. i would come back again to try their other offerings – maybe the salad bar?

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This post was submitted by saga_talk.

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