Oliva — Restaurant in Municipality of Northern Corfu

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oliva: A Slice of Corfu Heaven (and Lamb!) Right on Our Doorstep!

Well, well, well, what have we here? Just when we thought our little corner of Corfu couldn't get any more charming, we stumbled upon Oliva, practically winking at us from the end of our road. And let me tell you, it was love at first sight – mainly because it meant a very short stumble home after what we hoped would be a good meal!

From the moment we stepped in, we were greeted with smiles warmer than the Corfu sun. The staff here aren't just friendly; they're like long-lost friends who genuinely want you to have a fantastic time. No awkward silences, just genuine hospitality that made us feel right at home.

Now, let's talk about the real star of the show (after the staff, of course): the location.

Picture this: a quiet harbour side, the gentle lapping of waves, and a view across the sea so delightful it almost made me forget my hunger. Then, as if on cue, the distant mountains decided to put on a spectacular show, getting glazed a glorious orange by the setting sun. It was the kind of view that makes you want to write poetry... or at least take a dozen photos before your food arrives.

And oh, the food! "Exceptional" doesn't quite cut it. Every dish was a work of art, prepared with local, fresh ingredients that sang on the palate. I kicked things off with a cured mackerel starter that was so fresh, I'm pretty sure it was still telling fishy tales. But the pièce de résistance? The slow-cooked Greek lamb main. Goodness gracious, that lamb was so tender and flavourful, I'm convinced it had been slow-cooked with pure joy and a secret ingredient called "magic." Honestly, if you're ever having a bad day, this lamb will fix it. It was every bit as tasty as could be wished for, and I'm pretty sure I heard angels sing.

All in all, Oliva was a delight from start to finish. The perfect blend of stunning views, incredibly welcoming staff, and food that will make your taste buds do a happy dance. If you're on Corfu, do yourself a favour and seek out Oliva. Just be warned: you might find it hard to leave, and you'll definitely be dreaming about that lamb for weeks! We'll be back, Oliva, you can...

Awesome service from the team and incredible attention to detail. We had a beautiful evening and were made to feel very special. Unfortunately the food wasn't as good as we had anticipated. The Sea Bass was kinda gross and would not recommend, the lamb dish would have been incredible if they had left out the cheese, blotted around the micro pasta element. The only way I can describe the cheese, is that it's kinda like gone off yogurt and was very hard to remove from the overall dish, which is a shame, as the lamb and pasta element was delicious, but i wouldn't necessarily say it's worth the price tag. The starters where delicious, the cerviche was one of the best I've ever eaten and I've tried them all over the world America's. Scallops were great. The bread was hit and miss, the sourdough was amazing, but the other granary bread was like shop bought Hovis. Desserts were hit and miss, the bannoffe pie was Newry perfect, just the shortbread base was so hard it was difficult to actually break with a spoon. The raspberry dessert was really bad and an assault on our senses. Last thing to mention is the free soup at the start, just don't give it out, it's basically cold heinz tinned tomato soup, and if it's not, they've somehow mastered the recipe. Honest and constructive advise to the restaurant, offer something else on the house at the start of meal, as the cold soup is not a good start. Big shout out the sommelier, he knew his stuff and was very easy to talk to. Overall the staff were great and the setting was beautiful, but the food was inconsistent and hopefully they will review some of their dishes and perhaps get front of house to taste the dishes pre-shift and not shy away from...

Man oh man! We were hungry and stumbled upon this gem. We ended up staying for a long time, enjoying the marina view, the breeze, and foremost, the food!

This is amazing food that still isn’t widely known. You get a passionate cook who understands food, his own roots, and the fresh resources Greece — especially Corfu — has to offer. We started with a salad featuring the fish of the day and some carpaccio. Both were splendid. We’re not big on fish, but this wasn’t fishy — it was interesting, fruity, and savory. For our main courses, we had two dishes: a risotto that took the basic Mediterranean tomato rice and elevated it to new levels. The lamb was perfectly cooked, and the additions on the plate were a tribute to Greek cuisine.

The highlight of the meal was the dessert — a deconstructed baklava that shows the whole Middle East how it’s done. I forgot what the second dessert was, but it blew our hats off! We ended up talking with the waitress, Glikeria (hope I’m spelling that right). She has a vision to make the service even better and high expectations, even though the service was already excellent. She told us a bit about Manush, the chef, his roots in mainland Greece, and why they both came to Corfu.

All in all, you get a great energy from a place still in the rough, still building itself. But you trade that for passion, hunger for the stars, and amazing food rooted in real understanding. I’d choose a restaurant still hungry to “get there”, paving and learning, over one that’s already “there” and stops innovating.

Wishing you the best, Glikeria and...