Olivar
It’s been a while since a restaurant has really knocked my socks off, but this cozy little French/Spanish restaurant in Capitol Hill has managed to do just that! Olivar is owned by chef Philippe Thomelin who has worked at some notable local restaurants like Cascadia and Harvest Vine before. The interior is quite charming, though the Russian Murals on the wall really confused us. Apparently it is a historic building which was decorated by renowned Russian artist in 1931 so they kept the original decor on.
Though it is a tapas place, most of the plates are pretty big shareable sizes. They also have a nice, not-so-expensive selection of wines as well. Apart from the regular menu, they have a good number of daily specials written on the chalk board. I give high marks to Olivar for service as well, our waitress was super friendly and extremely patient with us, a bunch of noisy girls on a girls night out. One person in our group only drink cocktails, but Olivar only serves wine. When we suggested Sangria as am alternative, our waitress brought a generous portion for her to taste before deciding. Service was a bit slow, but it goes with the casual laid back atmosphere there. People go to a place like Olivar to spend a nice night out with great company and great conversation, not to dine and dash. Chef Philippe came out towards the end of the night and made his rounds around the restaurant and introduced himself.
Anyway, it is all about the food for me normally, and Olivar has some of the best in town. I loved everything we ordered. We had the steamed mussels in a spicy chile sauce, patatas a lo pobre – potatoes with pepper, quail egg and chorizo, seared scallops with creamed butternut squash served with the thinnest cut fries, rabbit wrapped in pappardelle which tasted very much like a minced meat patty we have back home, tuna tartare served with a raw quail egg and crispy grilled pork belly with capers, cornichons, egg and parsley.
I am absolutely in love with Olivar, I can’t wait to go back and taste all the new specials. Yeah, there are way too many Tapas places in Seattle now, but this is one of my favorites. On a related note, Cascadia closed down and guess what’s going to replace it? Another Tapas place, right opposite our home! I can’t wait for that one to open, but Olivar will still be worth a drive to Capitol Hill if they keep up with the taste and creativity!
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I have to remember this when next I am down in that part of the US.
Oh..all of them looks lovely..wil try for sure..
I don’t think I have ever read a restaurant review with so many positives
If only I could dress up plates like that… I might actually get some enthu back
Seems like a great place.
Hi – I visit your site often and just recently started blogging, I had 2 ‘burning” questions about when you do your restaurant reviews – do you tell the owner/patron/staff that you are doing a review of their establishment and – do you do the same when you take photos of the food? Just curious, I was taking pics of a restaurant dish once, and I was “stared down” by some of the other guests and most of the waiters
!
I need to try this place. Speaking of tapas/small plates, have you been to Poppy?
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