Tempting Tapas as El Olivo, Exmouth

Hello you lovely lot!
I'm still horribly slow at posting about things I'm afraid, so this post is about a meal we had a month or two ago, but it was soooooo good I promise it's better late than never! However, I only had my iPhone and the lighting was low the pictures aren't the best quality- sorry about that, I'll have to paint pictures with my words :-S

We had one of our oldest friends all the way from foggy old Laaandan town staying with us so we couldn't think of a better excuse to try out a new local restaurant to celebrate his visit.

El Olivo is an unassuming but attractive little Mezze-Tapas restaurant with a little obsession with olives located on The Strand in Exmouth. It's styling is intimate and rustic yet chic and the staff warm and friendly. It was a truly horrid evening with rain and wind battering us from all sides (Typical British summer) so the warm glow from the front windows was truly a sight for sore eyes. 

Photo taken on a slightly sunnier day!

The Menu is displayed on large blackboards on the walls and boast offerings such as Courgette Fritters with Herbs and Feta, and Chicken Thighs with Orange and Fennel. The fayre is Greek-Mediterranean with a large selection of olives and wine to help compliment the main dishes. 



To be honest it took a lot of control to not simply ask for one of everything, but we made our selections, including Calamari, King Prawns with Chilli and Garlic, Sliced cured Meats and Chicken Skewers to name but a few. We ordered a bottle of really quite fabulous Tempranillo and munched on some stunning olives as we chatted away. 

Nothing better than a good bromance...

When the food arrived we could barely stop ourselves wrestling it out of the waiter's hands it looked so fresh and delicious. You may notice all of the photos are after we had started digging in, I literally couldn't wait!

The aforementioned fritters were my particular favourite, although the baked feta with herbs was also an absolute winner. The boys devoured the meat plate leaving more cheesy delight for me! Each dish was fresh and uncomplicated allowing the flavours to do the talking. We ploughed through the offerings although the pace began to slow by the end and afterwards felt supremely stuffed! I have always loved tapas and have long had a firm favourite restaurant in Exeter for my Mediterranean fix, however El Olivo has certainly given it a run for its money. I like that unlike some places it boldly mixes different national influences, particularly Greek and Spanish rather than being purists. It makes the flavours more dynamic as they play off one another.

Excellent effort by all concerned I'd say!

For us El Olivo was a huuuuge hit and we will be going back for more as soon as our tummies have recovered from an almighty stuffing! Thanks guys!

Love
Mrs T
x