One of my favorite places to eat in NYC is Fig and Olive Restaurant. With three locations around town (also in Westchester, NY and West Hollywood, CA) and delicious food and wine for lunch or dinner, I can always find a good reason to stop in for a meal!
Laurent Halasz, founder of Fig and Olive, expresses the restaurant’s philosophy best: “At FIG & OLIVE, I want to highlight our menu’s core ingredient of olive oil, which we use in place of butter in our dishes. From a sweet and delicate olive oil from the French Riviera that pairs well with a Steamed Lemon Sole Papillote to an assertive Spanish Picual or a Tuscan olive oil that holds its own with Seared Salmon with Fennel and Green Olives, and a green-fruit Provence olive oil that we serve with a Green Apple Sorbet. Our cuisine along with an elegant white, green and terra-cotta décor immerse our guests into the essence of the Mediterranean region in which I grew up.”
This philosophy serves Fig and Olive very well. Featuring a communal table and tasting bar backed by a beautiful display of olive oils, the entrance to the restaurant immediately stresses that treasured ingredient at the center of each dish. The warm and intimate main dining room provides a view of the open kitchen where more bottles of olive oil from around the world are on display.
Of course, the true star of the show at Fig and Olive is the food. For lunch, you absolutely can’t go wrong the the Prix Fixe menu. Served Monday through Friday, you choose three courses for one set price: crostini, soup or carpaccio, and a main dish. Following the meal, coffee or tea is served with biscotti. Choosing what to order from the prix fixe menu provides quite a challenge. Crostini choices include Prosciutto, Ricotta, Fig, Olive, Walnut or Manchego, Fig, Marcona Almond, among others. Follow that with a Cote d’Azure Fish Soup or Beef Carpaccio and a main course of Grilled Steak Skewers and Couscous or Pumpkin Sage Ravioli.
The regular lunch or dinner menu includes temptations such as the Fig and Olive Club Sandwich, the Riviera Shrimp and Salmon Salad, assorted cheeses, Rosemary Lamb Chops, Trio De La Mer Bouillabaisse, and Filet Mignon from grass fed beef. In other words, the menu boasts a range of dishes to appeal to any tastes, all expertly prepared and elegantly presented. Desserts range from Raspberry Sorbet to Chocolate Pot de Creme to Marzipan Cake with, of course, various coffees, teas, and dessert drinks.
If you’re looking for a pleasant lunch or sumptuous dinner, you really can’t go wrong at Fig and Olive for food, service, and atmosphere! They are also on Facebook if you’d like to keep up to date on events and menu changes.
