For dinner I found myself back in Wallingford. While I’ve covered quite a few Wallingford restaurants recently and have wanted to visit other parts of town; there are two reasons why I decided on dining in this neighborhood again so soon. One was because of a restaurant that I had noticed opened just last week. And two, well, I was feeling particularly drained of energy at the end of my Thursday workday. So as a light drizzle fell from the sky I arrived at The Golden Olive on 45th Street.

The Golden Olive celebrated their grand opening on July 5th. While there are other Mediterranean eateries in the area I had high hopes that a newly opened restaurant would have something exciting to offer. Unfortunately that was not to be the case. Once inside the restaurant, having taken a few moments to review the menu, it struck me that the offerings were much the same as most Greek restaurants. Greek burgers, gyros, souvlaki, Greek salad and Italian pasta dishes given a Greek spin. Rather disappointing for someone who was expecting a bit more but I made a selection and waited for it to arrive.

The service was quick and I was promptly served my order of Mediterranean Shrimp Scampi ($12.99). More like Mediterranean shrimp spaghetti my dinner arrived as fettuccini noodles covered in a fresh tasting tomato sauce dotted with medium-sized shrimp and sliced mushrooms. The shrimp were fine, though a tad overcooked but the mushrooms were totally bland and tasted like they came from a can. The fettuccini was cooked al dente and was helped by a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The cheese melted and mixed with some of the pasta water still clinging to the noodles to make something of an Alfredo sauce. All of this was piled with tangy, briny feta cheese crumbles on top. In my opinion it was the addition of the feta, along with the parmesan, that helped to keep this dish out of blandsville.

It’s a shame that The Golden Olive choose the route of bland, cookie-cutter Greek food for its menu. In a neighborhood with two other Mediterranean restaurants one would think you’d open a Greek restaurant with flair to help it stand-out. As it stands my prediction is that The Golden Olive will sink into the background with the other mediocre Seattle Greek eateries.