Fat Olives in Havant

Staying in the area and wanted a special place for a birthday lunch. Absolutely fantastic atmosphere, food and service. Just a shame I don't live closer or I would definitely be a regular visitor. Thank you for a memorable and delicious lunch. I love the history of the place too. Keep up the great work!

Visited here Friday for lunch. Superb food and service and good value. Definitely worth a visit

A little historic gem, in beautiful Emsworth. Has a very reasonable set menu price. Ideal for a special occasion. Or just a treat! With perfect, fresh homemade food & a good wine selection. We particularly like the cosy feel. It's like a home from home experience. But switched up a few notches!!

This is a lovely restaurant with really excellent food served in a professional but friendly and unfussy way. The menu is small but with delightful options that make deciding what to have a challenge in itself. If we lived nearer it would certainly be our go to restaurant. Booking is essential and you may have to wait a while, but it's certainly worth it.

Gorgeous gorgeous food.. very high quality, melt-in-the-mouth experience. Worth every single penny 👌 highly recommended. Service was also amazing.. experts in their field too. Superb.

When I told my brother I was headed to the south coast he raved about a restaurant he eat in 20 years ago. He couldn’t remember the name but he remembered the slogan of tasty people, friendly food. A Google search later and we were delighted to discover they were still in business! No mean feat considering the challenges we’ve all faced. The food we had was fantastic, from the home made walnut bread and queen olives, to the gorgeous soup and beetroot cured trout starters. The mains were equally delicious and we even shared a dessert (which we never normally eat) and didn’t feel uncomfortably stuffed, just brilliantly fed. Julia was a delightful host and my recommendation is to ensure you get a booking! Not easy as it’s very small, but so so worth it!

Fantastic Restaurant with delicious culinary delights, genuine service, in a very relaxing atmosphere…we are extremely fortunate to have “Fat Olives” in Emsworth ,especially with such a caring team running it. Thanks so much for being there for us!

Our first time at Fat Olives. Food looks pretty but no stand out flavours. This was an anniversary dinner for us and our biggest takeaway was the complete lack of atmosphere and feeling of ‘special’. Service pleasant but not engaging. It felt like the back room of a pub, pretty sterile and boring. No table cloths, paper napkins, no candles on tables, lighting dreary. This felt like going back to the 90’s. Food was OK but not memorable. We wouldn’t recommend..it needs a revamp and a rethink because they clearly have a skilled chef.

I took my wife to Fat Olives for lunch to celebrate her birthday. We've been meaning to visit for ages, so I took this opportunity and what a choice. Wow!!!! The food just melted in your mouth and the presentation was wonderful. It was nearly full which speaks volumes. I fail to see why this restaurant is not Michelin Star. Say no more. I highly recommend you visit Fat Olives if you are in Emsworth. Thank you for a great experience.

Excellent menu, quaint setting.

Fat Olives is always a treat and always sublime.

We love this intimate, friendly restaurant. For a special occasion like an anniversary, perfect ❣️👌. Staff are always so lovely & the food is divine. I find I have to book well in advance 🙂

What a wonderful place. We had lunch here and had the 3 course taster menu. Excellent value for money and the food is fantastic. The service is perfect. They are very attentive without being intrusive. They know what you ordered when serving. This small independent restaurant is a true gem and well worth a visit. There's a car park opposite behind the pub.

Lovely dinner. Great food and service.

We had a wonderful lunch here. The restaurant is nice and intimate, with a small courtyard if you prefer to sit outside. The food and customer service are outstanding and the set menu at lunchtime is excellent value for money. Plus, the toilets are immaculate!

Lovely location for an enjoyable lunch with friends. Small family owned restaurant with a perfectly formed lunch menu we all enjoyed.

It’s really not hard to sum up the Fat Olives… quite simply it’s the kind of restaurant that every community would or should want at its heart. Here you get delicious, deceptively simple dishes that let the high quality ingredients shine, cooked perfectly and served by people who care and know what they’re doing. Places like this in England that offer this quality at this price are rare. The people of Emsworth are lucky.

Went here for a birthday treat dinner and were expecting good things given the many excellent reviews and beautiful food photos. We both left dissapointed. The food was trully bland and boring. Presentation nice enough and the quality of the ingredients was great, but for the prices that should both be agiven. What you're expecting though is some elevated flavours, or at least flavour! The atmosphere generally felt quite old fashioned and dated and this was reflected in the food. Really no excitement or pizzazz.

I would give this place 10 stars if I could. Incredible food. Lots of thought has gone into creating these dishes. From the taste to the presentation. Everything was spot on! Can't wait to go back. Thank you 😊

An excellent evening with tasty food and a lovely relaxed atmosphere

Lovely restaurant with superb food and friendly service. I visited with three friends and we all enjoyed the whole experience. Excellent value.

Fantastic experience. Very friendly professional staff, top quality food,. Lovely surroundings in the 17th Century house. The Rose wine was outstanding. Highly recommended

The best dessert I’ve ever had! And the rest was delicious too. Lovely host.

I have always wanted to visit....put this way I won't be going back! First impressions.....quiet, minimal cover, no atmosphere, you could hear a pin drop, boring!. Waiting staff had no personality, tried to hold a conversation but nothing was given back. Menu was minimal, to a point I love a pudding but there was only 3 items on the menu and all 3 had diary, which is no good to me. Portion's were small, no side vegetables, my husband's venison was chewy and tuff and I thought it was over price for what you got. When we left we were still hungry.

The staff were lovely and friendly and the food was delicious - the venison in particular was so good as was the Cotes Du Rhone we had. We will definitely be returning!

We had a voucher as a Christmas present and we went for dinner last night. What a delicious meal. My wife had home-smoked chalk stream trout with fennel salads orange and treacle and I had sea bream. For mains my wife had venison loin (wonderfully bloody) and I had partridge leg stuffed with mushrooms. For dessert my wife had ginger Parkin with ginger ice cream and I had Fig and sherry pie with ice cream. We both enjoyed our delicious meal. The service was good. It is a small restaurant.

I think I've dined here half a dozen times over the last 10 years & every visit, including this one on January 25th, has been top class 👍.. there isn't much more to say ⭐⭐.. Thankyou & see you again..😊

The food in this intimate restaurant in the heart of beautiful Emsworth is really not to be missed. Lovely presentation, wonderful service and such tasty food. Try it, you will be delighted.

Fat Olives never disappoints, the most delicious food, beautifully served and wonderful discreet service, your wine glass is never empty! Four friends for our Christmas lunch, we all chose the same starter, goats cheese with pear and a walnut drizzle, divine! 2 beef, 1 duck and one hake, everyone was so happy with their choice, and the clementine sorbet with a chocolate marquis was superb. Thank you Julia, Lawrence and team for a fabulous lunch.

Another excellent Christmas get together with friends at Fat Olives in Emsworth. The food is always mouthwateringly delicious. Being gluten free is challenging in many restaurants when I go out to eat but as all of their food is freshly and beautifully prepared many of the choices on the menu are already naturally gluten free. Julia the owner is always on hand to give friendly expert advice on any of the dishes. An enjoyable dining experience in a friendly welcoming converted Fishermans cottage.

Excellent food and service. Tables are staggered forservibg times for maximum service. Food tasted amazing. Dining room is compact but cosy, you don't feel too squashed.

Such a lovely meal and whole experience we’ve had here. This was our second visit and is now our favourite restaurant. Service is so attentive, professional and friendly. Food is elegant and delicious. Great wines too. Ambience is also lovely- great restaurant for special occasion or a date night.

Best food I've had for a while . Very good value . Great service . Highly recommend. Will return

Saturday evening meal with a friend. Started with a warm welcome from Julia to her lovely little restaurant which is a stones throw away from the Quay in Emsworth. Seating times seem to be staggered so all tables were given the time and attention we needed. The food was beautifully presented and very tasty. We "started" with a little home made loaf of bread and butter made from milk supplied by a local dairy. Other dishes from local suppliers were also on the menu. I had the Haddock with curry oil followed by Ginger Parking and custard. Both dishes were a lovely surprise and I would gladly have them both again. Portion sizes are good, but if you are a hungry person you might want a starter too. Looking forward to our next trip there :)

I can't fault this place, if anything, since my last review, it has improved, which I didn't think possible. The food is fine dining at it's best, the front of house team are friendly, knowledgeable and hold a perfect level of service, class without being stuffy. I would highly recommend this place for romantic dining, and small groups.

Fantastic restaurant with great value and excellent service

Always a reliable treat to eat here. Consistent service, super menu locally sourced and friendly personal service. A definite 10/10 to the whole team here.

very delicious food. reasonably priced and pleasant service. a real gem. really must visit when in emsworth.

It has been sometime since we visited Fat Olives in Emsworth but the food and service have remained constant, from the homemade bread and butter!! to the small but excellent wine list. We both started with brown shrimps with chive butter on a homemade crumpet which was full of flavour and very moreish. We followed with beef medallions which were cooked medium rare with an excellent caramelised exterior complemented by a flavour packed jus, buttered carrots and layered potatoes. My wife had the sea bass fillet which was clearly very fresh, snow white and separating into chunks with a lovely crisp skin. We both managed the chocolate mousse banana cake dessert with homemade malt ice cream. The whole meal was washed down with an excellent Gruner Veltliner. Service was attentive without being fussy and was perfect for the two up two down 16th century fisherman's cottage which houses the restaurant. Ask a question about the menu dishes and ingredients and there is no "I will have to ask the chef" but an immediate knowledge of how the dish has been prepared. Overall a faultless example of fine dining without pretension.

Always fabulous food and friendly staff. Saturday lunchtime, 3 courses, we braved the outdoor seating (as we requested) and were rewarded with a lovely sunny afternoon with 2 delicious vegetarian starter and main followed by a stunningly delicious strawberry parfait! Companions ordered bream, duck and lamb, all of which were also excellent. I’d thoroughly recommend a bottle of the Raimes, especially for a late 30th Anniversary celebration… but to be honest I’d choose for any occasion. Julia bravely dodged the occasional few raindrops to offer the usual magnificent service.

Our first time here and what a find! A sunny day, so a walk on the shore preceeded our meal. We sat in the courtyard which is totally enclosed, but had a great view of the kitchen and they seemed very tight and efficient. Front of house was very good with 3 different table options before we went outside. The food was great especially the jus on the pork belly, glad I kept some bread back to wipe my plate it was that good! Confit duck was so good all the was left was a whitened bone. Thank you Fat Olives for an amazing meal will be back for puddings soon

Excellent fixed price lunch with sufficient variation of choices. Staff polite and helpful, wine nicely chilled and reasonably priced. Definitely worth a visit. If you visit on a weekend in the summer, parking is a little tricky and the wardens are on the ball.

Absolutely delicious food, lovely friendly service and comfortable seating.

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This restaurant was recommended by friends and we weren’t disappointed. The place was intimate with lots of character and some of the ingredients were locally sourced .The food was delicious and service great. Will definitely be returning.

We had a fantastic anniversary celebration at Fat Olives. We can’t fault the service, the intimate environment or the menu. We are three courses and every one of them were delicious! Unusual recipes and beautifully presented - in fact, we decided that this should become an annual treat!

Great restaurant offering varied menu, great food in a lovely dining room. Will return!

Great food, lovely peaceful atmosphere

Visited today for my 60th birthday and what a treat it was! The food and service were lovely - as was the ambience and all 5 of us really enjoyed our lunches. The three-course set lunch is exceptional value for money at £29.95 for such high quality food - and you you get home-made bread and local butter too. The wine is reasonably priced too so a great place for a long lunch with friends or family. I’d definitely return again!

Every dish we had was beautifully presented, high quality, cooked to perfection and extremely delicious! Lovely restaurant, nice ambience, staff were all friendly and attentive. Pace of meal was perfect too, we hate being rushed and we felt that everything was timed brilliantly. Thank you for a wonderful great value fine dining lunch.

Another wonderful visit to “Fat Olives”…always such a warm kind welcome, with culinary delights of the highest quality, and so very well presented with delicious flavours to really enjoy. Many many Restaurants could learn so much from “Fat Olives” in every aspect of their business, with their attention to detail including their “small room” facilities. A Restaurant and Team to be very proud of…we are really looking forward to our next visit. Thanks lots!!

I feel a little bit guilty writing this review as so much of the dining experience at Fat Olives was perfect. The restaurant itself is very well presented - clean, stylishly designed, and light and airy. The staff were great - very friendly, welcoming and efficient. The thing that let it down slightly for me was the food, or more specifically the taste (or lack of) of the food. Visually it was perfect and it was cooked very well. My disappointment was that it was just.....bland. A touch of salt here, and a squeeze of lemon there would have made a world of difference. I had the mackerel starter. The fish was perfectly cooked, but served on a circle of pink sauce that 'looked' like it should have packed a punch, but didn't really taste of much at all. It needed something that could counterbalance the oiliness of the fish and it just didn't get that from the sauce. Likewise, the Moroccan lamb looked very visually appealing and was melt in the mouth, but the Moroccan spicing was mild to the point that you had to go searching with your taste buds to find it. The whole dish felt just a little disappointing. What is frustrating is that the food was so close to being perfect, but the seasoning was just too 'timid'. Perhaps the locals prefer their food like this, and who am I to argue, but for me, everything just needed more punch. Having said that the selection of cheeses were tangy and flavourful, so I don't think it was my sense of taste that was at fault.

Another wonderful visit to “Fat Olives”…always such a warm kind welcome, with culinary delights of the highest quality, and so very well presented with delicious flavours to really enjoy. Many many Restaurants could learn so much from “Fat Olives” in every aspect of their business, with their attention to detail; including their “small room” facilities. A Restaurant and Team to be very proud of…we are really looking forward to our next visit. Thanks lots!!

I have been coming to Fat Olives for a number of years now and cannot fault the food, service and setting. Always a warm welcome, interesting menu and delicious food. I can honestly say I haven’t ever had a bad experience. I enjoy introducing friends as they are always equally impressed. See you soon Julia!

First time at Fat Olives , I cannot believe that this was the first time dining at this restaurant. My friends have been recommending it for a few years . This restaurant is perfect . Calm ,relaxed and serene atmosphere . The service is impeccable . Like dining in a Michelin starred restaurant , with more warmth friendliness. I won’t take you through what we ate , course by course . Suffice to say that everything we ate , was prepared with high quality ingredients and every morsel on the plate was divine . My new favourite restaurant

Went for lunch as a couple. We were really impressed by the food and venue. Great service too! We thought it was great value given the quality of the ingredients and the chef. Would definitely recommend and will be back to try the evening menu.

A small neighborhood eatery in the heart of this atmospheric town. Accomplished sourcing of fresh fish and meat and excellent skills behind the stoves. Friendly and warm service from the chefs wife created a relaxing and warm atmosphere. A small but interesting wine list complemented...

The food in this restaurant is amazing . You can taste each individual ingredient . The staff are attentive to the right degree . Making the service exceptional. . Lunch is our favourite.

This 20 seater restaurant run by a man and wife team continues to serve up amazing tasting dishes. A fixed price lunch menu offers great value and the wine list is excellent. I can’t recommend this place highly enough

Wow excellent food and service. Managed to get a last minute table due to a cancellation and so pleased we did. It was fabulous! I had mackerel and venison which was superb whilst hubby had the pigeon and lamb, also superb. Great friendly service and...

Fat olives is a fabulous restaurant, quaint and charming. The food was delicious. We had the three course lunch menu which is incredible value given the quality of the food. Service is slick and professional. We were the last table in but were not rushed...

Fantastic dining experience! We have been waiting for the opportunity to visit, and Fat Olives didn't disappoint. Attentive, friendly service and a nicely varied menu. Food was absolutely delicious! We will definitely be back.

This was our first visit, and... crikey, it was good! For so much to be achieved, by so few, and in so small a venue, is incredible! Top-notch food, with world-class service!

Great food in a nice atmosphere 👍

Beautiful and delicious food in a relaxed and intimate restaurant. The service was professional and unobtrusive. Everything was quality. Thank you we will be back.

I did not know food could taste this good. I highly recommend this establishment.

Delicious food and wine. Lovely presentation, service and setting. Feels intimate without being too formal. Would highly recommend!

Very cosy restaurant, with lovely, professional and welcoming staff. Our dinner was good, and beautifully presented, but it wasn't seasoned and there are loads of reviews all saying the same. We were brought a beautiful looking home made brown baguette with butter at the start...

We were very lucky to get a last minute booking, as we were in the area, and didn’t know local eateries. All the dishes were delicious. We only had 2 courses, but should have had 3, as they are not over large, and the third...

Very small and intimate restaurant. The service was friendly and efficient and the food was first rate!!

Starter was OK, main was nice. Strange atmosphere, overpriced for what it was. Staff were nice.

Ate here on November 9th😊👍.. We were the 1st diners of the evening, infact we were so keen we arrived about 3 minutes before Julia opened up..😊.. Warmly greeted as always, with a choice of at least 3 tables laid for 2.. After 5 minutes...

Hard to think it is 4 years since my last meal here. The three course lunch at £28.95 is in today's inflation ridden world good value. Service is attentive. My only slight moan is the small dining room lacks ambience. My starter of pork rillet...

Fabulous food, attentive staff together with a wonderful atmosphere made this a lunch experience I am very keen to repeat!

This is somewhere to go that is a bit out of the ordinary. There are only a few covers so you will need to book well in advance. The food and service could not be bettered and with a dearth of Michelin restaurants in the...

Went for my birthday lunch, we had the set menu, food, wine and service were excellent. Will go again.

Had a fantastic fine dining experience and would highly recommend this restaurant

Due to a cancellation, we were able to book a table at this restaurant. It's not a big place, so we were lucky. Everything from local sparkling wines to the payment of the bill was what one will expect from a place like this. Starter...

We visited Fat Olives for lunch today and both chose the mackerel pate and gunard; absolutely delicious. Truly one of the best meals we have had in a very long time. Service was fabulous wine sublime and the desserts finished our meal of beautifully. Such...

Delicious food. Very nice staff. Very good meal and good coffee.

The food was cooked with a high degree of skill, well presented and the friendly service was much appreciated.

Absolutely beautiful meal with calm, friendly service. Food was so tasty - we both had pork belly and the crackling was perfect.

Excellent quality food, small friendly restaurant. The presentation of the food is only surpassed by the taste combinations. Well worth a visit if you can get a booking.

Had a beautiful lunch here would highly recommend,the cost for 2 of us was very reasonable.

First time back here in 20 years! Wonderful little restaurant in Emsworth serving high quality food in a friendly, relaxed manner. I had smoked eel followed by fantastic red mullet and a gorgeous apricot and almond tart.

Another wonderful meal in Fat Olives. The food is excellent, great value wine list and such lovely people. The beef last night was perfect. Can’t wait to visit again next month 😋

Excellent food. Excellent wine. Excellent service and Excellent value. A perfect place for a birthday dinner. Thankyou

This was one of the most memorable meals we have ever had. The restaurant is small and perfectly formed, with a great atmosphere. The service was very attentive and warm, but not over-intrusive. The menu was really interesting, making it hard to choose, and the...

Simply one of the best nouvelle cuisine restaurants, especially for its fish dishes, soups and desserts. Boyfriend and I enjoy restaurants that are creative but not too high tech or experimental with its approaches. For us, Fat Olive ticks all the boxes. The dishes are always seasonal, the ingredient always local and while there’s nothing traditional in the creative and refreshing flavors Simon serves, we always easily find simple comfort in the food. We’ve been several times for lunches and dinners, and verdicts are: FOR LUNCH - Starters: fish and soups are the way to go. - Main: the fish dishes always beat the meats (we’ve never had a vegetarian main). - Dessert: can’t go wrong with any warm cakes. FOR DINNER Everything we’ve ever tried is absolutely AMAZING. Go wild. Their wine offering is also a rare find for this neck of the woods. We’ve asked many times if we can just pop by for a few glasses because we are not able to find a bar in the area with the same quality wine list.

Food was absolutely delicious, very flavoursome and nice portion sizes. Timings between courses was spot on. Staff very attentive but not in your face. Will definitely be returning for another special occasion in the future.

Had a lovely set lunch here. There were 4 of us ,1 is coeliac and they looked after all of us really well. Highly recommend.

Enjoyed a wonderful meal out with my husband. From booking to leaving everything was made perfect. Staff were super attentive and friendly. I mentioned when booking that it was my husband’s birthday and that I am a coeliac. We were greeted with a “happy birthday”...

Visited Fat Olives on numerous occasions over the years and it is always fantastic. Service from Joules and her team is faultless and the food from Lawrence and the kitchen is always amazing, fresh and seasonal. A must visit place if in Emsworth but be...

Had the 3 course lunch very nicely cooked and presented

I went here for a delayed mother's day meal. We all had three delicious courses and a tasty bottle of Sauvignon blanc. The service was great too. Highly recommended.

The best restaurant in Emsworth by some considerable margin. The food is always outstanding, the menu is always interesting, and the service is always faultless yet friendly. Can’t recommend highly enough.

I was happy to introduce another of my friends to the pleasure of dining at Fat Olives, and she was duly impressed. The restaurant is an oasis of calm, with everything under control and lovely menu choices. We both had the pork belly for our...

This is our second visit to Fat Olives. The first, a very enjoyable lunchtime meal. We believe the minute you enter a restaurant your journey should start. We were politely seated and offered the wine and food menu. We choose a very lovely bottle of...

A great lunch with gorgeous food and very attentive service. Although the lunchtime menus is relatively small there is something there for everyone and I will return to try something else. The meal I had was high quality and I enjoyed it greatly. A delightful...

Another beautiful meal and evening at Fat Olives. Gorgeous setting and with the most attentive and loveliest hosts. Thank you again, everything was stunning and incredibly delicious.