As stuffed as a Stuffed Olive!

Last night I went out with three girlfriends I used to work with to a lovely restaurant in Northampton called The Stuffed Olive. As the name suggests, it's a restaurant specialising in Mediterranean cuisine located on a busy street rather than in the Tuscan hills!

We arrived at 8pm to find the place buzzing and the big front windows open to the night air which was an authentic touch, but a shame that the outlook was the local Sainsbury's rather than a balmy sea or blue-tinged Italian hills!

We were given huge menus with a good choice of dishes. Meat eaters, fish lovers and veggies were all very well catered for and at first my friend Lynda thought the whole of the main course choices were vegetarian! She soon spotted the meaty options though so she relaxed a bit! We spent ages perusing the menu and I would have liked the freebie olives and bread to have been provided as we made our choices but they arrived after we'd given our order. I think I've made Lynda a convert to olives as I managed to persuade her to try a stuffed olive (what else?) and she was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. For my starter I chose the scallops served in their shells and topped with garlic, ginger, chilli and parmesan cheese. I love scallops and when they arrived they were big and juicy and delicious! My main choice was the stuffed chicken which was beautifully cooked, moist and tender and served with lots of vegetables, cheesy mash and a mushroom and white wine sauce.

The service was a bit slow between our starter and main course but it wasn't a problem as we enjoyed a bottle (or two!) of Chilean Merlot and had a good natter. The restaurant was very noisy, which was my only gripe, and with the windows open to the very busy street outside, the atmosphere was great but I wouldn't recommend it for a romantic evening a deux. 

We went the whole hog with the menu and three of my friends chose cheese and biscuits while I abandoned my diet big time and enjoyed a very moreish chocolate cheesecake. We were almost the last to leave and it was heavenly to be chauffered home by Keith for a change!

The Stuffed Olive