Eat a lot: Oliv, Mitte

Yesterday I met my friend Anna for lunch at Oliv. Rumour had it that Oliv's quite good, and Google Reviews confirmed those rumours, giving the place a 4.2 out of 5 stars.

Promises promises.

The venue, both outside and in, has a déjà vu feeling about it. The olive trees and plants near the door reminded me of a London flower shop. The 'no prams' sign and steep coffee prices (€3 for a flat white) made me wonder if I had wandered into a newly opened The Barn by mistake. The whole of it suggested a certain worldly sophistication that seems harder and harder to get away from, in Mitte or elsewhere in the city.

(Anna and I wondered whether the 'no prams' thing is a clever way to keep babies out rather than prams. We brought one in (a baby, not a pram) and weren't sent away or looked at funny, so maybe in the case of Oliv, it is a space issue, after all.)

Wooden blocks serve as seats, the kitchen is open for all to see staff doing their thing (or in our case, dropping their wares on several occasions). The menu, in German and English, was minimalist and non-specific. Sure, you pay €10,40 for a plate of lettuce and cold vegetables, but no details on the kinds of vegetables or the types of lettuce leaves were given. When I asked what kinds of quiche they had, the answer was brief too: tomato, broccoli or courgette. 

 

Call me old-fashioned, but with prices like that, I like to know what I am getting.

When peeking inside the kitchen, I realised the minimalist description wasn't actually far off. They were making quiches (a tomato and an aubergine one) and indeed, the base and filling looked identical, with a simple topping of a single veg on top. Minimalist indeed. But then, why tinker with a good quiche?

The quiche tasted fine. A buttery base, a nicely seasoned filling and some broccoli on top. Nothing more, nothing less. For dessert we had more flat whites, a German crumbly Blechkuchen with plum and an apple crumble in a little glass pot. They were fine too, though not above the level of an average Backshop. I didn't ask how much they cost, just to make sure it wouldn't spoil my appetite for something sweet.

It's hard to rate places like Oliv. They're nice enough and clearly appeal to the Google crowd, hence the 4.2 stars online. But they are so familiar, in every way, that you forget what you had and how it tasted as soon as you walk out the door. Actually, I am sure I have been to the exact same place before, but cannot remember if it was called Oliv then. What I will remember, this time, is the bill. There is much better food to be had for that price in this great town. All you have to do is ignore the obvious.

Oliv, Münzstraße 8, 10178 Berlin, 030 89206540, website, open Mon-Fri 8.30am-7pm, Sat 9.30am-7pm, Sun 10am-6pm, cash only