The Olive Tree Restaurant

Hospitality & Romance

Godfrey Stevens Junior is a romantic who believes a restaurant can become a familiar and beloved part of the story of people's lives.

With the right setting, the right food and the right kind of service magic can happen - and when it does people form an attachment to the place and they want to come back to mark other special occasions.

Three months after taking over the managerial helm of The Olive Tree in West Perth , he is already delighted by the number of marriage proposals that have happened over his candle-lit tables.

The restaurant has been operating for 23 years in its Emerald Terrace location and, according to Godfrey, its well-established clientele has a great affection for the place with many conversations about bookings, including stories about first dates and anniversaries.

While looking at The Olive Tree from the road you might guess that the heritage style house is all there is to the restaurant, but walking down its central passage, past the cosy front dining room, a dreamscape opens up in the form of a cavernous room - with its ceilings draped in billowing white and its edges extended by dozens of huge gold-framed mirrors.

"People just love it," Godfrey beams, "it's romantic at night, fantastic for escaping from the world over lunch and lots of people book it out for special occasions. We especially love weddings and christenings when the couple has a connection with the place because it was where they had their first date or where they got engaged."

While the back room tempted us on the afternoon we visited to taste test the menu, we opted for the front verandah, where the soft spring sunshine was filtering gently across the tables.

Godfrey sat with us and explained that his driving passion is bringing the hospitality back into the hospitality industry.

He's angry about the way most restaurateurs treat their customers and says he wants The Olive Tree to be known as a place that understands that eating out isn't just about grabbing a bite, it's about being treated in a warm and respectful manner.

Since Godfrey and his team, which includes wife Hayley and restaurant manager Stella Alessi, took over they have been careful about what they have changed and what they have allowed to remain the same.

In Godfrey's words: "A lot of people already liked it, so we were careful and we took time to talk to the customers about what they wanted."

The menu itself hasn't changed much. But Godfrey is a chef, both at heart and by training, and so he reworked many of the recipes "tweaking the flavors to make them a bit more fresh and contemporary, and bringing higher quality ingredients into every stage of the cooking process." (and yes they met with the approval of our taste buds).

The winelist, on the other hand, has been completely revamped. It now features about 30 wines, mostly priced between $20 and $50 per bottle and while it includes a couple of the old favourites, most are from lesser known Margaret River labels.

Hayley, who enjoyed consulting on the winelist selection, explained: "Lots of customers are tasting these wines for the first time and absolutely loving them, and love trying something different, and we like supporting the WA vineyards in this way."

One of the special features of The Olive Tree experience that Godfrey hasn't changed is the set price menus. The restaurant offers a two-course business lunch for $25.50 and three courses for $29.95, both with a promise of prompt service in case you are expected back at the office for the afternoon.

The dinner menus are priced at $49 and $55 and include garlic bread, entrees, mains, desserts and coffee with six entrée and main options and four desserts to choose from.

As we speak, a gradual stream of relaxed and happy customers file past us, emerging from the enchanted back room, each one making a point of saying thank you to Godfrey on their way out.

Godfrey thanks them for coming, shakes hands with some of them and reassures others that plans for their upcoming special occasions are safely under control.

We ask if the place is so popular that it books out and he happily answers that it's a good idea to book, especially for Friday and Saturday nights. The restaurant is open every night except Sunday and Monday when it tends to be booked for functions of no less than 25 people.

By Kayt Davies