It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words, like ‘What about lunch?’ – AA Milne
We are very serious about lunch, but we are not po-faced; there’s a big difference.
Long, luxurious and delicious lunches which start earlier and end later than you expect make for the some of the most memorable meals it’s possible to have.
As we’re currently Bath’s only Michelin-star restaurant you’d imagine the challenge of lunch is something we love to rise to, and you’d be right. But – just as a sidenote – have you ever wondered how hard it is to snag and then keep hold of one of those elusive stars?
It’s difficult to overstate how crucial is the quality of Chris Cleghorn’s ingredients. Of equal importance are the skill, originality and care with which his dishes are composed, and their flavours combined. Important to add, too, that the accolade is also for the consistency of the restaurant’s offering, for the fact that its quality is unvarying and predictable.
Browse our site to see that reliable high quality expressed as an array of lunch options. This reflects our belief that it’s a meal which amounts to more than a way to bridge the gap between breakfast and dinner: an event in itself, and one worth exploring and celebrating.
So, alongside the option of a ‘SIX’- and ‘NINE’-course lunch, we also offer a ‘FOUR’-course version for £75. And from Friday the 14th of October, we’re also offering a new ‘THREE’-course tasting menu.
In the minds of the all-knowing ancient Greek philosophers, ‘THREE’ was considered as the perfect number, the number of harmony, wisdom and understanding. We’re sure they would therefore thoughtfully approve of this ‘THREE’-course luncheon option for £55. (A tasting menu, of course, differs from the à la carte by virtue of the variety and size of its servings, which are ways to amuse the heck out of your bouche more than course-sized statements of intent.)
It would be remiss not to add that Chris and his team will be applying their star-winning skills to a variety of festive menus over the entire period, too, whether traditional, pescetarian, vegetarian or priced for the under-12s.
We’re not pretending that fine dining in Bath isn’t a rich and rewarding field (it is), or that if you’re looking for the best restaurant in Bath you’re not entitled to cast your net wide and enjoy hauling in your catch (you are).
What we are saying is that if it’s Peak Lunch you crave, you’re entitled to take into account the views of wise and objective judges. Those judges have decided The Olive Tree deserves a Michelin Star; so now all you have to decide is, firstly, do you deserve an Olive Tree lunch and, secondly, can you resist a Tasting Menu lunch this winter?
