Re-reivew of Oliver's on James

I have to say I have been to this restaurant in 2010, group of four and found the food to be ordinary and service adequate. I recently went back for a work Christmas lunch (3 course) and somehow ended up here for dinner a few days after.

Christmas Lunch:
Prawn cocktail, surf and turf, barramundi, the gnocchi.
Oh I hate to go on and on but the gnocchi is best. Yes it is vegetarian but the flavours infused in it - you could feel it melt in your mouth but still have the gnocchi chewy texture. I had this for dinner later on when we came back for dinner too!

My friends tried the lamb fry, that was an experience - if you like it already, it tastes quite traditional - so I've been told. The arabiata pizza is really huge. I think the portion sizes were all enough to feed two people.

All in all I've tried bites of most of the mains by this point. We also tried a few of the side salad, and cooked vegetables.

Dessert was the only disappointment, the shortbread was more like shortbrick. But the fudge brownie was to die for. Again serving size was huge. Definite value for money.

Serving staff are mostly backpackers/travellers so you get an interesting smattering of accents and familiarity - a couple of the staff were really chatty and relaxed. Services was prompt, the removal of dishes were a bit slow but by then the restaurant was filling up and they were quite busy. Oliver's revival is great to see! I like seeing a restaurant reclaim it's decent position.

The food tasted really quite good. But teh value for money is the reason I'm giving it 5.

The restaurant is also on the Entertainment Book.

Vote: 5 out of 5 stars
Photos forthcoming.