Double cut pork chop with sweet potato puree, roasted corn and pineapple BBQ.
A little over three years after its opening with its signature open kitchen and Mediterranean cuisine, the social and interactive dining experience at world-renowned Chef Todd English's Olives restaurant in the Atlantis Casino remains a feast for the senses.
It's a restaurant at which executive sous chef Mychal Harris has seen become extremely popular since it opened as patrons flock to partake in the menu that offers seasonal, fresh ingredients to create pastas, signature wood-fired flatbreads, fresh fish and shellfish, succulent meats and decadent desserts.
It's a restaurant that he left for awhile, but couldn't help but return to. The draw of being in a restaurant setting which has a food philosophy of simple ingredients, common foods prepared in uncommon ways, layering flavors, spices and surprises called to him.
"I've seen this restaurant grow from its infancy to where it is now, and it never fails to amaze me to see how far this restaurant has come in a few years time -- from doing approximately 150 covers to almost 800 covers in a night. It means a lot to me to seeing that I actually put time and effort into something that has grown into such a great restaurant."
Having started out as head chef and been promoted to executive sous at the wildly popular restaurant he said means a lot.
"I worked hard to get it. It wasn't an easy road, but I did it. It was a feat and a great accomplishment."
For those people that may not have graced the doors to Olives as yet, the chef says they're missing out. They are indeed.
There aren't too many places that on island that offer a raw bar, offering up the seas delicacies -- little neck clams, spiny lobster, shrimp cocktail, oysters.
For me the seafood tower, which has everything listed above including tuna tartare and conch ceviche is a must do. I always have to have it.
When Bahamians do come he said they tend to gravitate towards the pasta offerings, and admits they have an "awesome" seafood fra diavolo that's chockfull of shrimp and healthy pieces of chopped lobster in a spicy tomato sauce.
Being a pizza-loving culture, their flatbreads menu is coveted, with the Bronx Bomber (roasted tomato, pepperoni and mozzarella) the frontrunner with the Te's Classic Chicken Pesto (basil oil, pulled chicken, caramelized onions and fonina) a close second on the five-flatbread menu.
Personally, I love the fig and prosciutto (fig gam, gorgonzola and rosemary) and would order it for every time. The sweet and savory is a perfect combination.
With a varied menu that is simply too enticing, you almost want to try everything, it takes a number of visits to dine your way through, that's if you don't go back and order what you've already enjoyed.
Leaving it up to the chef to make a suggestion, he said he's a fan of their tuna tartare, which can be had on any good restaurant's menu, but which he said everybody makes differently.
The Olives version involves spun cucumber, ginger glazed crispy shrimp, sesame dressing and whitefish caviar.
"Ours is pretty unique because it has pretty bold flavors -- and the 71-90 fried shrimp provides a surprise at the bottom, so you get a mixture of flavors."
The "crab n slab" (a six-ounce jumbo lump crab cake, seared tuna, avocado and grilled corn relish, and cilantro lime aioli, Harris said is a must-do.
"I would suggest trying the bowl of clams. I myself wasn't a fan of clams, but when I tried the bowl of clams I was like this is really good," he said.
We all know the chef will never steer you wrong.
His choice from their four-salad offering would be the classic wedge -- brown sugar cured bacon, egg, cracked black pepper and bleu cheese dressing.
"Everything tastes better with bacon and brown sugar," said Harris. I concur. It's a salad that is not for the faint of heart due to its hearty portion. It's literally a wedge of lettuce, with a slew of additions that make this a delicious experience -- but there's something for everyone in the other offerings as well.
Olives offers a selection of fish from waters around the world -- yellow fin tuna, native grouper, snapper, whole branzino, and wild Nigerian shrimp -- that you can opt to have simply grilled on plancha and served with the sauce that sings to your tastebuds -- a pineapple ginger vinaigrette, roasted tomato butter sauce, salsa verde or lemon caper scampi butter.
Their Akaushi Wagyu Beef offering is not to be sneezed at. If you leave it to me, I would opt for the Tomahawk ribeye any day of the week, but cowboy steak, New York sirloin, filets and a skirt steak are also among the offerings.
While he says they offer good quality steaks, the double cut pork chop with sweet potato puree, roasted corn and pineapple BBQ calls to the chef. He loves the mix of flavors it has going on. He's also partial to the tomato risotto with diver scallops. But he says people also love to order the Te Surf & Turf (eight-ounce filet with grilled six-ounce lobster tail, whipped potato and grilled asparagus.)
With a decadent menu that hasn't changed much since they've opened, because it's been such a hit, especially their signature sharing warm cookie plate, which has been a pleaser since day one, when perfection is achieved, you don't do too much else to it.
If you're in search of a new experience outside your regular, then Chef Todd English's Olives at the Atlantis is a must. And if you've done it before, but haven't visited in awhile, it's definitely time to make a return visit.
Shavaughn Moss, Guardian Lifestyles Editor
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