The Arcadia News features restaurant reviews each month.
If you have a question or comment, please see our
contact page.

Okay, I am the first to admit I can be a bit hard to please at times, but on a recent visit to Scottsdale Waterfront’s newest dining hotspot I found restaurateur Sam Fox’s Olive & Ivy running on all cylinders.         
        The north entrance of this new restaurant opens onto its Marketplace section with a walk-up area for ordering take away lunch and breakfast sandwiches, salads and luscious sweets such as cookies, brownies and tarts along with various teas, lattes, and smoothies. A wine area to the right boasts over 400 bottles of California and Mediterranean wines.
        One walks straight ahead to the dining area and bar, although the more southern entrance into those same areas boasts a curved drive for valet service right outside the door. Olive & Ivy’s interior is a delight of unusually shaped clear glass hanging lights above plush booths and intimate tables.
        The interior back wall of the huge space opens onto a large patio filled with plush wraparound sofas and tables with chairs arranged among potted trees and a tranquil fountain.
        We started the evening with an order of Young Garlic Soup with Sweet Shrimp Fritters & Italian Parsley Cream ($10), a smoothly blended concoction of subtle tastes that complemented the pleasant autumn feel of the November night. The deep fried fritters were on the side and an interesting accompaniment.
        For an entrée, companion ordered the Rare Tuna “Nicoise” with Red Wine Olive Jus ($26). The perfectly seared slices of fish were beautifully arranged in the middle of a mix of fresh green beans and tender halves of tiny white potatoes surrounded by a lusciously rich sauce.
        I could not resist the Braised Shortrib & Roasted Rib Eye of Beef with Slow Roasted Potatoes, Carrot Jus & “Bordelaise” Sauce ($32). The perfectly cooked slices of rib eye steak sat atop a delicious mix of those same tiny tender white potatoes in a sauce that was a rich concoction that was good enough to serve in a bowl like soup. Sitting in a tiny double handled iron pan the square shaped fat- and bone-free hunk of shortrib beef was nothing like the greasy short ribs most places present. Both beef servings were probably right up there among the tenderest hunks of meat I have ever had the pleasure to meet.
        Companion and I had not planned on dessert, but our waitress tempted us with the Triple Chocolate ($7) selection featured that night. A rectangular plate held a dish of creamy chocolate ice cream next to a pot of warm chocolate fudge sauce for dipping alongside a glass of decadent hot chocolate. Too sated to do anything but share a single dessert, we still managed to polish off each lovely decadent portion.
        We heard a hostess tell a fellow diner that the restaurant has live musical entertainment several nights a week. Olive & Ivy also has an interesting lunch time menu that would be perfect for some warm winter day on the expansive patio.