Oliva Bistro Cafe, A Hidden Gem

Oliva Bistro Cafe is located on Visayas Avenue in Quezon City, and area I’m not overly familiar with as I rarely venture there. The Club was invited to try out the food so on a rainy Friday night, we trooped  there. I was surprised at busy Visayas Avenue, teeming with a mix of residential and commercial places.

Oliva is owned Chef Kannan Jayaprakash Sreedevi and his wife, Eden Madridejos-Kannan. Chef Kannan worked for a number of years in a luxury hotel in Singapore. His training is really evident in the eclectic mix of cuisines from American, Italian, Singaporean, Indian, and of course, Filipino that Oliva serves. The place remind one of the coffee shops at most hotels.

We started off with some appetizers.

Vietnamese Style Fresh Spring Rolls (P145). Fresh tasting with just the right balance of noodles to vegetables. Nice and light starter to get the taste buds just right.

Buffalo Wings (P180). Tangy with a bit of spicy kick that’s just right, suitable for those with low tolerance to spice since even Irene could take it. I actually was not expecting much but this compares favorably well with our current favorite from Mad Mark’s.

Roti Prata with Curry Sauce (P80). Roti has become one of our favorites, ever since we were first introduced to it by my cousin in Singapore. Soft and chewy perfectly yet very flavorful, you can even eat it by itself but of course a dip in curry would greatly enhance the taste.

Tandoori Chicken Tikka (P195. You’ve got to love it when they make chicken boneless, makes eating them so much more convenient. This Indian dish is served with coriander chutney and yoghurt raita.

New England Clam Chowder (P95). Nicely presented in a somewhat over sized mug with a piece of bread stick on the side. The soup was creamy yet had a number of pieces of clams inside. I would have wanted more, but thats just my love for clams .

Baked Salmon Fillet (P325). I choose a pesto crust but you can also have it cheese crusted.I had it served with Pasta Oliva, their signature house pasta with sun dried tomatoes, garlic and of course olives.

I failed to get a picture of the Hainanese Steamed Chicken Rice (P190) that was Irene pick. She was excited to eat it that before I knew it, she had eaten half of it. She’s been thinking of it for a couple of weeks now, planning on a return trip just for this.

Osso Bucco Milanese (P325). A dominant piece of bone takes the center stage in this classic Italian beef stew. Tangy tomato sauce enveloping fork tender pieces of beef. This made me wish I had ordered a cup of rice to sop up the sauce.

 
Baked Prawns with Cheese and Garlic Cream (P345) The shrimp was a bit overcooked for me.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Candied Orange Peel and Honey (P80). A creamy dessert thats still light because of the added gelatin. The honey and orange peels gave it a bit of sweetness.

Halo-Halo(P80). We could not decipher why this halo halo was so good but Irene and I finished it in record time despite the not so smooth crushed ice.

Oliva Bistro Cafe is perfect for the whole family with different dishes catering to every whim and fancy. Prices are value for money, while service is solid. This is the perfect neighborhood restaurant every place needs, where you can just go and be assured of good food.

Oliva Bistro Cafe
Unit 101, Ground Floor,
No. 77 Visayas Avenue,
Quezon City
990.5342

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