7 September 2009

The Fig and Olive@Chisholm Shops - A Very Welcome Addition

| deezagood
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For years my husband and I have have bemoaned the lack of dining choices at our local shops (Chisholm). While the newly renovated take-away is fine if you just want a burger, and Chinese is pretty good too (although customers are forced to walk past the cat-calling drunken bogans at the Chisholm hotel) – there isn’t much else on offer for families seeking more exotic fare (the Zucchini Brothers doesn’t warrant mentioning).

Acquiring a decent take-away has previously involved fighting the crowds at maxed-out Erindale, but not any more! We got a bit excited when I saw the signs go up for the Fig and Olive Turkish restaurant (right next to the Supermarket), sincerely hoping that the place would be a raging success – prompting other dining establishments to follow suite. I think we’re safe, if Saturday night’s crowds are anything to go by – the place was packed to the rafters with both dining-in customers and those waiting their take-aways.

The suitably-swarthy, smartly attired (and rather handsome!) young men serving at the tables/front counter were really lovely; friendly, informed and enthusiastic – what a nice change from the usual surly Canberra service. Although they were extremely busy, the take-away turn-around time was 12 – 15 minutes – a pretty slick operation already. The prices are reasonable (we fed our family of four for under $35.00, with pide left over for Sunday lunch), the decor is modern and funky and the food was bloody delicious! The only negative is that they seem to have underestimated their own popularity and there was not enough chairs for the thronging take-away crowds to sit on. The dining area is brightly lit and informal, more like a cafe than a restaurant … so while you wouldn’t go there for a romantic meal, it is perfect for families with small kids and casual dining (there were a number of family groups there on Saturday night).

In summary, a very welcome addition to the Chisholm scene – I do hope that other businesses look to their success and set up shop in the other vacant spaces dotted around the Chisholm shops. Well done to the folks at Fig and Olive!

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averagejoeaussie11:28 pm 01 Jun 11

Well said, Deezagood! For god’s sake, get a life will ya? How much did the Fig and Olive pay you – that has to be the most ill disguised pathetic grovelling cash for comment I have ever read. Did you need the dollars for a new Burka or something?
As for the comment about the Bogans at the Chisholm Tavern (yes, please note it is a tavern and not a hotel – a quick look in the dictionary will explain the difference); I own a successful business in Canberra and drink there regularly – I wouldn’t call myself a bogan or have the audacity to call anyone else names either. It gives the premise of superiority that you clearly don’t have after your other comments about Zucchini Brothers Pizza who must be doing something right as they ahve been around for 20-odd years at the same location. By the way, how long have you been darkening the Chisholm shops doorstep for?

The Chisholm Tavern renovations and new name sound really good; it would be great for Chisholm to have a stylish pub in its midst. I wish you all the very best with the revamp, Diulay, and sincerely hope that the nicer atmosphere might discourage some of the less polite behaviour that we have seen previously. Good on you!

Maybe that is because you are one of the dodgy people yourself DiuLay? Just kidding. All I know is that whenever I walk from my car to the supermarket on a warm summer evening, drunken men yell suggestive things at me – I find this very unpleasant.

Narrow minded people calling the Tavern clientele dodgy. Call in and get to know them, chances are you will find one of them is your neighbour. Far from what it used to be, they do a great meal for a great price, and I have never been bothered by any of the so called dodgy people there!!

junkett said :

MMM, making me hungry! It wasn’t that long ago I was bemoaning the lack of choice down south – good to see the turn around! Will have to take the family to try it out. Thanks for the review. (The Two sisters sounds nice too…)

Quoting myself, the boss and I made it to the Fig and Olive for lunch today. Tucker was tops and yes, very reasonably priced. If they work on their day time service staff (poor bloke from behind the counter had NO idea about serving to the table) and maybe a booze licence, happy days!

I’m still keen to give Two Sisters a go too but I can rate “Thai Som Tum” at Lanyon shops highly.

grunge_hippy said :

how does it compare to turkish grill at erindale? that seems to be the gold standard of turkish in the valley.

The Turkish Grill is very good too, but the Fig and olive is closer, more ‘casual’ from an in-house dining perspective and a bit cheaper I think. Also – service staff much friendlier at the new place (maybe this is due to the newness – the novelty of customer service hasn’t worn off yet!).

Miz – in a million years I would not take my small children (or any other civilised human being) to the Chisholm pub for a meal – I couldn’t care less about the calibre of the food … the clientelle are seriously dodgy at any hour of the day.

The Tav does a great mixed grill and other pub grub for very reasonable prices. Tip: go early to beat the hard boozers.

MMM, making me hungry! It wasn’t that long ago I was bemoaning the lack of choice down south – good to see the turn around! Will have to take the family to try it out. Thanks for the review. (The Two sisters sounds nice too…)

captainwhorebags9:54 am 08 Sep 09

It’s great to see that Tuggeranong is no longer a desolate wasteland when it comes to finding decent restaurants.

Sure, none of them are going to win Michelin stars anytime soon but gone of the days of having to drive into Civic if you wanted something other than Australian suburban Chinese food or fish’n’chips.

As for a quick plug, Two Sisters Thai at Kambah Shops is fantastic – great authentic food & attentive service.

grunge_hippy7:26 pm 07 Sep 09

how does it compare to turkish grill at erindale? that seems to be the gold standard of turkish in the valley.

How long will it be before the drunken bogans refer to it as The Frig’n Olive ?

Great review. I like Turkish, might have to try it out. Thanks.

we have only been there for a short time, about a week, but being up the road from the zucchini brothers, lisa restaurant, the chisholm club and now the fig and olive, we are starting to think that chisholm has about the same rap as kambah – there is a lot more going for it than people know, and most of the negative comments are about the tavern. i have now been to the tavern, and i don’t know what everyone is on about, it seems tamer than the kambah inn…

yet to try the fig and olive, but if deezagood had a good meal, then perhaps we will try it.

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