Bread and Olives

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The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2011) edition.

In a prime spot for office workers, shop staff and even shoppers who fancy a quick bite, the simply named Bread & Olives seems to be doing a deserved roaring trade. It doesn’t look like much, its dark green shopfront filled with old-fashioned wooden shelving and a few bench seats, but its owners’ restaurant experience (in the kitchen of A Room in the West End, among others) ensures the food is good quality, as well as living up to the healthy aspirations they developed working in the cafes of Melbourne. The breakfast options include an upmarket bacon roll prepared with smoked pancetta, while a lunchtime soup (for example, a broth of very finely chopped mushroom and almond) and two hot specials (including an aubergine and tomato bake or a roast pork belly stuffed with rosemary and pear) rotate daily. Thickly packed sandwiches are served on wholesome brown bread, while superfood salads can be calorified to your taste with helpings of cheese and cold or cured meats.

• High point: Even basic lunch staples are made with an emphasis on quality and health
• Low point: The premises are a bit plain