Olives Cafe

Is it hyperbole? Olives Cafe in Norwich has a reputation for serving some of the best breakfasts in the whole of the United Kingdom. As you all know by now, I do my research whenever I get recommended somewhere to explore and noticed that not only do they do your usual Full English breakfasts, Olives also have some of their own specialty breakfasts and that is what I will be trying today.

A wet, windy and miserable day started off on a bad note as I managed to spill an entire cup of coffee down me during my arduous three hour drive. No matter, I swapped my pair of jeans for a pair of chinos and off we go. I will win zero awards for my fashion sense. As soon as I saw Olives, I knew I’d be in for a treat. I loved the exterior of the cafe and inside it was your typical cosy, homely eatery. The service was very friendly and I even told the server that I’d travelled all the way from Kent to try one of their breakfasts!

I ordered their Big BBQ Breakfast which included pulled pork, fried eggs, caramelised onion sausages, streaky bacon, bubble & squeak, beans, tomatoes, toast and fried bread (£15.95), I also decided to add on black pudding and white pudding (£5) and a pot of tea (£1.50).

I know what you’re all thinking. ‘Gary, what on earth are you doing? Pulled pork doesn’t belong on a breakfast.’ Usually, I would agree with you however after have so many English breakfasts on the channel, I was desperate to give this one a go and after 10 minutes, it had arrived. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a breakfast plate as chock-a-block as this one. Portions were incredibly generous.

So let’s begin… a good sausage makes the breakfast and these ones didn’t disappoint. You could really taste the onion and unlike your usual catering sausages, they were extremely meaty. I know a lot of people prefer back bacon to streaky bacon, I’m also part of that brigade however on this occasion, I was more than happy with it. Eggs were cooked how I like them (Mr Ramsay please take some notes), fried bread and toast good but the most interesting aspect on the whole breakfast was the pulled pork. A nice smoky flavour which you’re usually accustomed to getting from the bacon but on this occasion, it was the pork that pulled rank. Does it belong on a breakfast? I’m not sure, I would probably say no but I always appreciate new ideas. I added white pudding and black pudding to the breakfast for an extra £5.00, both delicious, even though you don’t tend to find white pudding on a traditional English breakfast, my Irish roots come out one way or another. The only two disappointments were the beans and the tomato but hey, it’s not a big deal whatsoever.

All in all, I really enjoyed my experience at Olives and I can see why it’s so popular. Is it the best breakfast I’ve had? No. Is it the best cafe I’ve visited? No. However, it’s certainly one of the better ones.

Total cost of the meal: £22.45.

Star of the show: The caramelised onion sausages.

Would I recommend it? Yes. A fantastic cafe.