A fantastic birthday treat at the best buffet in town... Brunch at Olive, Bandra

The best buffet at in town: Brunch at Olive

I had earlier written about being underwhelmed by Olive at Bandra. I found the prices to be too steep and the service uninformed for those prices.

I have also often said that I am against buffets in principle. I am against binge eating. I would rather savour individual dishes. Plus most buffet servings look like horse bucket food – congealed, unappetising and stale.

I eat my words today.

The Christmas brunch at Olive, Bandra, was out of the world. The best that I have come across in a long time. It was very expensive. 2000 Rs (40 USD) plus tax on Christmas and 1500 on Sundays. Madhumita treated us to it on her birthday. Felt bad about the erosion to her net worth. But what a spread. Mind blowing. A bon vivant moment if there ever was one.

A tremendous selection of Mediterranean food. Heaven if you dig this light and elegant cuisine the way I do. Fresh, visually appealing despite being a buffet. Constantly replenished. Jon, the customer service manager, who has come from Greece, said that the main difference between the food in the Mediterranean and at Olive was in the produce. The feta and the olives were more robust there.

The buffet included alcohol which was a bit of a waste for our table though a couple of us did taste the mulled wine folks in the UK were tweeting about. Warm with spices infused in them. There was a moderately good pizza with very nice cheese but the crust could have been less crisp. The macarons not a patch on those of Le 15.

Mezzes which were very sophisticated in taste. An indulgent, de-stressing and rejuvenating massage for your palate. Smoked salmon. Fresh mussels. Scallops and calamari fritters. Leg of ham with a crackling layer of fat. Enough to make you groan in sheer sensuous ecstasy. Olive with pickled red chillies which exploded in your mouth…the memories lasting long after like a passionate affair of the heart. A tantalising cous cous salad, so rare to get. Potato in chorizo. Poached pears. The rare pesto mix to satisfy my very picky pesto standards. The perfect creme brule. Dark chocolate brownies which streamed down your soul.

The way you would expect heaven to look when your time on earth was up.

At times reciting the menu says it all. And I had just eaten half of what was on offer. What more can one add? The spread at Olive made me finally understand the point of rap. Yo!

I didn’t have my camera but I took my friend’s Sony Cyber Shot. Similar to mine. Clicked tons of pictures. Couple of the staff got into the spirit of things. Returned to the table to find myself bang into the middle of some very girly talk. I scampered off to take more pictures.

Happy birthday once again Madhumita. Many happy returns of the day and here’s to many more lovely meals. And I still can’t fathom why you were scared about whether I would approve of the lunch. Am I that intimidating?

You can check this album on the Finely Chopped Facebook Page for these and more photos