Come on down to Ollie’s House

After a lot of love from the Chelsea location, a second Ollie’s House has opened in Parson’s Green. Located very helpfully right next to the tube station, this laid back, friendly restaurant is exactly the kind of place where you could imagine accidentally spending a whole day. We visited on a Friday night and the restaurant was packed to the rafters; there were people making the most of the happy hour (both the drinks one and the gyoza one. Check out our article here for more of the exact details on those), families out for an evening meal, dates, people gearing up for a night out… It really felt like Ollie’s House was the place to be and after a wonderful few hours there, we totally understand why.

The whole place is chilled; the interiors are full of lots of wicker and greenery, lots of wooden tables, salmon hues and well volumed background music. It’s not surprising that a lot of this restaurant was inspired by the eponymous owner’s travels; ‘beach holiday’ is exactly the vibe and walking in feels like a wonderful tonic to the London outside. It’s the place for an exhalation of stress and city life- for the few hours you’re at Ollie’s you’re not in an ever-wintering capital city, you’re at a beach side restaurant in Bali.

To kick things off we went for a ‘twisted old fashioned’, the twist being a dash of maple syrup which, as cocktail purists, we were a little apprehensive about. We shouldn’t have been- the sweetness from the syrup took the edge off the booze and turned a ‘punch you in the face with a high ABV’ drink into its subtler sibling. We liked it, especially with some extremely moreish Asian crackers; snappable bites ready to be dunked in a spicy chilli jam. Sophisticated crisps and dips. The gyozas at Ollie’s House have been talked about a lot, so we had to see what the fuss was about. You can choose whether you want them fried or steamed, we opted for the latter and really enjoyed how juicy and flavourful these little parcels were. A lovely drink and nibble set up that had our mouths tingling whilst we browsed the menu for our next courses.

Shanghai soy noodles were exactly what we were hoping they would be- a pile of noodles with lots of vegetables, some crunchy and sweet cashews and the optional slow cooked pulled beef (if you’re a meat eater then we highly recommend getting this add on, it made the dish a savoury delight). We also tried the tuna tartare. The ratio of tuna to avocado was spot on and the spikes of chilli, ginger and seaweed broke up the richness of the dish nicely. Of course, when raw fish is involved there is no hiding when it comes to quality of ingredients and this plate showcased some topnotch produce. A side of stir fried Asian greens came in a very lovely sweet and salty sauce which made them a very pleasurable way of getting in those greens.

Finally was the signature cheesecake which was a very decadent number. Peanut butter, crumbly base, swirls of sticky caramel and pieces of honeycomb that reminded us of the inside of a Crunchy bar. What’s not to love? Unless you’ve got a sweet tooth and the capacity after a meal, we’d recommend this one being a double spooner, there’s some heft to this pud but two could tackle it… and we did. We found it especially delicious between refreshing sips of espresso martini, what a triumphant way to see off the meal.

Ollie’s House is a lot of fun. The menu doesn’t take itself too seriously, the cocktail list is easy and drinkable and the vibe is as relaxed as you can get- but that’s not to say the service is shoddy, because it really wasn’t. We were looked after wonderfully by the team who were ready with suggestions and top ups when we needed. All of that makes this restaurant the kind of place that you’re going to want to return to again and again. We know we do. Ollie, we will be back.