SIN: Oliva Italian Restaurant

Orgasmic lasagne with cream sauce; no, cream sauce with lasagne!

Thinking of having a candlelight dinner without costing yourself an arm and a leg? I went to Oliva Italian Restaurant with a friend of mine without knowing that the dim ambience for dinner would be a bit romantic, and so I had an unexpected candlelight dinner just with him haha... Well, not exactly, I actually brought Melon along that day. I apologise for the low quality of the photos taken.

Chicken Wings S$9.00

Taste: 7.5/10

Served piping hot unlike most of the others I had elsewhere, the chicken wings made a decent appetiser for the evening. I enjoyed the crispy skin which had a nice aroma of basil leaves, although the chicken meat could be juicier to give a more delightful contrast the former.

Salmone é Pesto Pizza S$19.50

Taste: 7/10

All the pizzas served in the restaurant are 9" in size. The thin crust pizza was alright, even though it wasn't crispy. The salmon slices were a tad salty, but was countered by the fresh rocket leaves sitting on top of the pizza. I suppose they could be more generous with the pesto sauce.

Oliva Styled Pasta S$19.90

Taste: 7/10

The specialty pasta was cooked with olive oil and white wine. However, it was too wet for my liking, and neither it had the claimed white wine aroma. Having said that, the addition of adequate garlic and chili slices allowed me to enjoy the dish. The prawn, scallop and green clams were of adequate freshness.

Oliva's Beef Lasagne (Creamy Sauce) S$15.00

Taste: 9/10

I chose to have my lasagne with what I'd consider to be lipsmackingly good creamy sauce since I don't enjoy tomato-based pasta as much. Thick and savoury, the sauce surprisingly didn't grow heavy as I finished the main course. The beef was moist and delicious, although it'd be much better if the meat could be nested in between more lasagne layers.

Flourless Chocolate Cake S$8.90

Taste: 9/10

Chocolate lovers, be prepared to get weak on the knees. The flourless chocolate cake was dense and truly chocolatey, made awesome with the chocolate sauce on top of it. Not only that, eating it together with the vanilla ice cream drizzled with strawberry sauce was able to send me to a state of dreamy trance.

Panna Cotta (Strawberry) S$8.50

Taste: 9/10

Just like my fetish for crème brûlée, more often than not, that for panna cotta (lit. cooked cream) has also led me to order one whenever I see it in the menu. The creamy concoction of cream, milk and sugar was married to a tad sweet, a tad sour strawberry sauce to give a couple of divine sensations on the taste buds.

Homemade Lassi (Mango) S$5.90

Taste: 8/10

While the restaurant specialises in Italian cuisine, it serves lassi (Indian yogurt-based drink), which happens to be my friend's favourite beverage. The one we had was slightly sour, but refreshing with all the mango goodness. It definitely helped to wash down the sinful dessert dishes.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 8/10

Ambience: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

I'll definitely be back for the lasagne and to try other dessert dishes they offer. Pika's advice: I'm not sure if the promotion is still ongoing, but you may get a voucher which will give you a free Italian Meatball Sandwich with a minimum spending of S$30.00 on your next visit!

Oliva Italian Restaurant

34 Arab Street

Singapore
(Tue-Sun: 11.30am - 10.30pm)

*Prices quoted are subject to 10% service charge.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)