First published in Bangalore Mirror
The name Oliver immediately reminds me of Charles Dickens’ character and his famous words “Please sir, I want some more.” Ironically, I came *this* close to uttering those very words, thanks to a little ‘bait and switch’. Allow me to explain. Oliver’s has become quite famous in the Whitefield area for their pizzas and when I heard that they had an expanded menu, I decided to check it out immediately. Unfortunately, Oliver’s had a twist in store for me and the said menu wasn’t yet operational.
But hey, there was beer, pizza, pasta and more waiting to be had, so we settled down. The ambiance is as casual as it can get – a nondescript alley that leads to a house converted into a friendly neighbourhood joint. At some point during the meal, thanks to the combined effect of the spirits, friends, and soulful Knopfler tunes, I looked up, hoping for a profound moment of star gazing, and end up staring at tarpaulin! Actually, on Friday nights, even these moments could be occasional, as the George Michael song you’ve been listening to suddenly gets a Savage Garden touch and Guns N’ Roses uncharacteristically begins asking questions about Alice. No, it isn’t the beer talking, it’s what happens when Oliver’s excellent playlist collides with the voices of people who think they are singers, all thanks to the karaoke nights at Opus next door! And it’s all good fun!
The starters on the menu have not been designed for a starring role, that’s for the pizzas and the beer, so you’ll be looking at the likes of Chicken Wings and Chilly Paneer. We began with a different-sounding Spicy Kim’s chicken. It was spicy as promised but had a rather strong thing going on with mustard. The Pepper Chicken was rather mild in comparison, had some salt bombs and was fried a little too much. Spicy Potato Wedges were up next and they probably should’ve spent more time in the kitchen getting baked. The Cajun Chicken Fingers, on the other hand, were superbly cooked and left no room for complaints.
Since Pizzas were the specialty, we decided to try out quite a few. The Spicy Louisiana had mushroom, jalapeno, corn and bell pepper, and didn’t really live up to its spicy description. But we were unanimous in our appreciation of the thin crust of the pizza – fantastically done. The Arugula Bacon was quite a star. Though I initially considered the leaves an unnecessary distraction from the bacon, its peppery, mustard-like flavour slowly won me over. The expectation from the Chicken Mexicana pizza, mostly because of its nationality, was that it would be quite fiery, but it turned out to be rather timid. All the pizzas come with a complimentary portion of cheese garlic bread. Yay!
From the pasta options, we asked for the Creamy Pesto with Chicken. It wasn’t as creamy as I’d have liked, though the pesto made its presence felt. My advice, have another pizza. We also tried a Mix veg in Ginger, Chilly Garlic sauce, with rice. (you also have an option of noodles) This was as Indian Chinese as it could get, and we almost asked for boondi and mixture! But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t tasty – in fact it was spicy, flavourful and had a perfect combination of veggies.
There are three dessert options, we tried the Banana Nut Cake first. Though it delivered the promised ingredients, it seemed to have come straight out of a routine bakery. Two of the layers were quite thin, but the ‘4 layer choco cake’ was quite delicious and made up a little for the disappointment of its fruity colleague.
A meal for two would cost around Rs.1600 (Inclusive of service charges and taxes) – a beer pitcher, a non veg starter, a couple of pizzas and a dessert. Oliver’s is the kind of comfort place you could rely on when in the mood for just some beer, pizza, good music and conversations with friends. The pizza, as I’ve told you, is awesome. The other outstanding aspect is the service, they do a great job of making you feel comfortable, right from the time they help you park a vehicle in that crowded space. This does add a lot to the character of the place.
Oliver’s, 2, Graphite India Road, (Next to Opus in the Creek) ,Whitefield. Ph: 080 69996767