With recession hitting everyone and practically all businesses these past few years, one gets to hear more of high-end restaurants shutting down than opening up in Karachi. In fact, of late, by and large the only eateries that have ventured to establish themselves are either of the open-air café ilk or compact coffee shops with limited overheads. In such a backdrop, it was surprising to say the least, to hear of a European fine-dining restaurant opening its doors in Clifton, on the ground floor of a building that also belongs to the owners of the restaurant.

Situated next to the Russian Consulate, with ample parking space available, Olivetto is a spacious eatery spread over a split level, which also boasts a lounge area where one can partake of desserts and hot or cold beverages. With louvered windows, wooden chairs, square tables draped with black table covers, lots of paintings, and flower arrangements, the dimly lit eatery has all the trappings of formal dining.

The stapled menu proffered to our party, though, is a definite no-no and doesn’t gel with the ambience of the place. One hopes that the management will replace it at their earliest. However, the cuisine on offer is delightful, to say the least, and by and large did not disappoint, regardless of what we ordered.

Starting our meal with complimentary dip and chilled veggies and an appetising bread basket — this boasted olive bread as well as bread sticks accompanied with flavoured butters — the tone of the evening was pretty much set. From the soups on offer, we tried the Seafood Chowder and did not regret it. A rich broth, it was devoured immediately and left us craving for more.

From the salads section we tried the Roasted Beef Salad with rocket dressing. Basically made with iceberg lettuce, it is true to its name, for the rocket leaves are used so sparingly they appear like garnishing. But, thankfully, the light dressing compensates for the sparse rocket leaves, making the salad quite appealing. Out of the appetisers on offer, we opted for the Caprese Flatbread, comprising strips of bread with pizza-style topping of cheese, diced tomato and capsicum, which was freshly baked and filling.

From the entrees, a friend and I ordered Chicken Mushroom Risotto, served at very few restaurants, and cooked to perfection. A generous portion, it is a perfect dish for a famished person. Another friend ordered Stuffed Baked Chicken smothered with creamy, spicy sauce and served with asparagus and sun-dried tomato risotto. Although one couldn’t see too much of the asparagus — perhaps it was in the risotto — the dish was scrumptious and the sauce delectable.

The fourth in our party ordered Cannelloni Pasta stuffed with chicken, spinach and mushroom and served with creamy, spicy tomato sauce. This dish was perhaps the only one that didn’t come up to expectations as the pasta was too thick — more like a chapatti — and was undercooked, although its filling was quite tasty. The last in our party selected Pan-fried Red Snapper with blue cheese sauce. Since blue cheese is a bit of a tricky ingredient and not everyone has a penchant for its over-powering smell, it is best that only those should opt for it who are familiar with, and enjoy its flavour.

To wash down the meal we ordered a ‘pina conada’ (a typo, one wonders?) which was as smooth and chilled as it should be. We tried the crème brulee from the dessert section, and enjoyed its thick and creamy texture and thin sheet of caramel topping.

And the best part about our meal throughout was that the service was quick and efficient, in spite of the fact that we had landed there really late for our meal. Thumbs up indeed for this eatery!