15 replies to this topic

[Addie]

If last night was anything to go by...the Olive Tree deserves to have a wonderful season. My husband and I were fortunate enough to be included in a *menu sampling* evening and the food was memorable....for all the right reasons! There were just under 20 people sampling the different dishes and the overall verdict was extremely positive.

The evening started out with a sampler plate of mezes, a nice variety all of which we thoroughly enjoyed. Next was a Caesar salad with grilled chicken breast....it was crisp and tasty and would make a lovely lighter dinner option. After that the serious dishes started arriving saffron kebab, honey chicken, fancy madam.....rolled beef dish which was excellent, two wonderful Ottoman dishes, steak with a sampling of the four different sauces on offer (one young lady at our table finished off the mushroom sauce with a spoon...my favourite was the Roquefort) and a fish dish with béchamel sauce....finally finished off by two desserts...stuffed figs and pancakes and bananas.

Not every dish was to every ones taste, after all not every one likes aubergine, though personally I do and I found VERY little that didn’t suit my taste buds. The chef, Osman Bey did an amazing job and was asked to come out of the kitchen to receive a standing ovation from the very satisfied guests!

Wonderful evening!!

Addie

[zehra]

lovely, mouth watering Addie, at times like this remember to take some photos and add here into your post please...

[Addie]

Zehra...I agree...but being me...I forgot my darn camera!!! Addie

[sunny]

Sounds like an you had a really gourmet meal.

[Ken]

Coskun, who used to be the head waiter at Star restaurant in Cesme, has become the owner of the Olive Tree restaurant. He has transformed the Olive Tree restaurant into something really special. Coskun, with a few volunteers from the expat community in Cesme, cleaned every inch of the restaurant. In the kitchen, they drug out every appliance, everything within, and scrubbed it to the metal.

In the garden, Coskun installed wire mesh to keep the cats out. If you went to the restaurant before, you might have been bothered by cats. Well, no more. Coskun then scrubbed every inch of the garden's concrete floor. He installed new lighting, planted flowers, and created a bar for those customers who prefer to congregate in the garden.

If you visted the Olive tree restaurant before, well, it's not the same. Coskun has transformed it into something very, very special.

Come and see.

[sunny]

Will do.

[Agamemnon]

Sounds positive, what prices are they charging for a meal with wine there these days?

[babacoos]

50 cl. house wine is 12 tl. 1 lt.house wine is 20 tl. And most meals are around 20 tl.Most expensive wine is like cabarnet savignon or merlot are 40 tl.

[Ken]

And it's good, too... I'm drinking some right now! Thanks Babacoos. Whoever reads this needs to go there and see what Babacoos has done with it since last year, I think it's the best restaurant in Cesme right now.

Turkey Central is doing a new website for the Olive Tree, and it's not quite finished yet, but if you need to find the Olive Tree Restaurant while you're in Cesme, here's a map:

Olive Tree Restaurant, Cesme Map

[IanK]

Hello All.
My wife and I visied the Oive Tree one evening in late June this year and had a very nice meal there.
We both had fish one a Sea Bass and the other a Sea Bream, neither of us is very good at getting the meat from the bones but we asked for help and got it .
Thoroughly enjoyed the meal which we felt was great value for money and better than we had overlooking the harbour earlier in the week.
WELL DONE
Ian and Marjorie

[sunny]

Glad you enjoyed your meal.
It was good to see you again .

[clearblueskies]

Did this restaurant belong to Mustafa? is he still there

[Addie]

The Olive Tree is owned by Coskun....no Mustafa there. When was he there last that you know of?? A woman had it for several years before Cos took over.

Addie

[Ken]

As I understand it, a man owned it before the lady you're speaking of. Some local expats told me he used to recycle the food!!! The lady who owned it afterward did a good job with the place from what I hear, I never had any complaints whatsoever and I ate there regularly when she owned it. But I know a main complaint was that she didn't do anything about the cats who regularly invaded (she's a huge animal lover). Since then, Coskun has put up wire fence all around the garden wall to keep the cats out, and now there's not one to be seen. Not to mention, of course, the complete refurbushment of the entire place.

The last time I was there, the Olive Tree was chock-full, Coskun had barely enough time to exchange a few words with me he was so busy. He's such a perfectionist... and with the job he is doing, I think he's going to be fantastically successful. He's definitely earning every bit of his success, and it shows. Anybody who hasn't been to the Olive Tree should have dinner there just once.

[Devilhawk]

Where is the Olive Tree located? If its in one of the places that I plan on traveling too, I am definitely going to eat there.

[Addie]

The Olive Tree is in Cesme, about 90 kilometers from Izmir.... we are about as far west as you can get in Turkey.

Addie