From the same man behind Olivo, Oliveto, and Olivino, Mauro Sanna’s Olivomare stands as an enticing option for dining in Belgravia. Much like Sanna’s other restaurants, Olivomare puts the focus on Sardinian cooking, this time with a focus on seafood and fish. The menu is timeless, while the characterful interiors add a more modern element.
Walking into Olivomare, the first thing you’ll notice is a clutch of tables underneath an attractive cream awning. Head on in, and there’s a striking fish mural that occupies one wall. It’s almost an optical illusion, repeating fish illustrations in a tessellated pattern. Tables and chairs are simple and more modern, laid out beneath a ceiling installation of squiggly shapes.
Naturally, given the seafood focus and the founder’s Sardinian roots, you’ll spot lots of traditional coastal dishes and influence from age-old Sardinian recipes. It’s driven by seasonality, championing simple Italian cooking. In the way of antipasti, the Olivomare menu kicks off with the likes of moscardini piccanti (a spicy baby octopus stew typical of Sardinia); burrata with bottarga, cherry tomatoes and basil; and steamed mussels or clams with garlic and parsley.
Pasta dishes stretch from linguine with fresh sauteed crab meat, seasoned with garlic, chilli and parsley, to Sardinian pasta shells with a spicy octopus ragu. Other options may feature black tortelli filled with monkfish, Sardinian-style paella with fregola and saffron, and lobster spaghetti. Moving onto secondi, you’ll find more traditional fish cookery, including cassola di pesce, chargrilled yellowfin tuna with rocket, fritto misto, and grilled king prawns with a breadcrumb, garlic, and herb topping. To match, you’ll find a list of Italian whites sourced from coastal regions.
Thinking of dessert? We don’t blame you. To close your meal at Olivomare, you might encounter options like ricotta and amaretto cake with homemade hazelnut ice cream, homemade blueberry or Sardinian honey frozen yoghurt, and a wide range of gelato and sorbets.