NAILSWORTH’s very own The Olive Garden, a Mediterranean restaurant and pizzeria, was our choice for a bite to eat on Saturday lunchtime.

My partner and I came away well satisfied with good food and excellent service.

From the outside the restaurant looks deceptively small.

Inside, it is cosy rather than crammed, with tables on two floors.

For when the weather’s nice, there is a sheltered courtyard area plus a couple of pavement-side tables.

Having chosen to sit upstairs, we then faced another difficult decision.

What on earth did we choose for our meal from a very tempting selection of dishes, heavily based on Mediterranean ingredients?

One thing that stood out was the range of vegetarian options spread throughout the menu.

Whether it be starters and mains (with vegan options included), through to salads, pasta and pizzas as well as breakfasts and sandwiches, meat-free diners are well catered for.

And our waitress, pleasant and attentive throughout, offered two more tempting options with a soup of the day (sweet potato with red pepper and thyme, served with a cheese scone) and a homemade quiche of the day.

We resisted a starter but went straight for the mains.

I ordered barbecue marinated chicken breast (butterflied on a salad of leaves, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, Spanish olives and sautéed potatoes) while Terry went for the traditional homemade moussaka with Greek salad.

There was a wait of over 20 minutes for the food, but we thought that was fair enough for freshly-cooked dishes which arrived nicely cooked and hot.

And we were able to pass the time admiring the décor

It was unfussy, with a rustic feel by virtue of wooden furniture, exposed beams and fireplace.

Not to mention we were able to look at the range of local artwork on display.

My dish was nicely-cooked with a good bit of warmth coming through from the spicy marinade, while Terry enjoyed his moussaka, although he felt a bit more Feta cheese would have made the salad truly Greek.

Both were generous servings and two clean plates at the end of the meal showed how much we’d enjoyed them.

This is a relaxed and friendly restaurant with an excellent varied menu, with our meal costing a reasonable £28.90.

If you’re after an extensive choice of food, including vegan and vegetarian options, look no further.

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