Olive tree - an ode to greek gods in leeds

On days when you wake up with  hunger pangs and want to try something new,  look up random restaurant deals on websites and you could be pleasantly surprised . On this deal happy Saturday we discovered the Olive tree. This establishment is in the quieter part of town and the entrance is rather modest with a risk of being mistaken for a boutique coffee shop. The restaurant itself is not high on design and looks like an extension of a family dining room with the exception of a good sized bar area.

When we dine in a group, we order at least one fallback which was on this day hummus (not to be confused with Hamas-  the Palestinian resistance movement ).  If you are used to the Tesco grab and go variety one whiff of this hummus will leave you wanting for more. Of course one might argue that hummus is barely rocket science and any blender happy cook with access to chickpeas, olive oil and a selection of Mediterranean spices can whip up a hummus in less than a minute . But this mildly flavored hummus is a reverence to precision where the whole is more than the sum of its ingredients. Served here with a generous basket of pita bread.  Try as you might you cannot wax eloquent about pita bread. Its still just pita bread. 

The Greeks love of mezze comes through in the dolmades. Vine leaves stuffed with minced lamb, rice and a mild  hint of mint served with an yogurt based dip. The dolmades seem to be a variation of the middle eastern dolma or stuffed vegetables. A version of which traveled to India with the Persians and comfortably settled in with the Bengali palette and thus was born potol'er dolma or pointed gourd stuffed with desiccated coconut, shrimp, fish  or minced mutton .

Ordering a main in this establishment is no mean feat. With so many options to choose from and  many of the favorites being on offer. For the decisively fishy people,  aim for the Solomos - a pan fried hunk of rosy salmon served with a sauce of white wine and cream. It comes with a side order of the most delicious sauteed potatoes and all you want to do is dip them in the sauce and lick. and  then hope that no one saw you.

Both our friends opted for a generous helping of moussaka the fancier cousin of the humble cottage pie. Try as you might you cannot fault it. The Explosion of robust flavors in your mouth coupled with cheesy potato is the stuff that calorie counters nightmares are made off.  It always helps to have dainty eaters as friends for the attainment of left over nirvana. 

Having first ordered for the spiciest dish in the restaurant , I chickened out and opted for the Kota Me Feta ke Spanaki or grilled chicken breast stuffed with spinach and a hunk of feta cheese. This turned out to be a safe bet and very mildly spiced . The accompanying rice was flavorful and served with a salsa like sauce. This was also the best presented dish on the table irrespective of the tiny little chip on the plate. 

The chalkboard was chockablock with traditional Greek desserts and even Boris Johnson's favorite Rhubab crumble but  the sugary sweet Baklava beckoned... eat me eat me. Now I have it on good authority (read wikipedia ) that Baklava is of Turkish descent but borders are quite porous when it comes to desset  . Fair warning , the portion size is quite big and best shared with two or more sweet toothers.

As a greak establishment it serves up a hearty fare in a familial almost homely surrounding. And simply because I have been dying to say this in this post , i'll  call this my big fat Greek eating.