Olive Moroccan Restaurant Pop Up At The Gate Inn, Swanwick

Wednesday 27 Sep 2023 by Sticky Beak
See Recent Dining Out Reviews

Us Brits love summer; we flock in droves to our nearest pubs’ beer garden, eager to soak in the warmth whilst supping ice-cold bevvies and catching up with friends. Summer lovin’ doesn’t just extend to drink, either; food is very much in the equation! I was feeling hot-n-bothered and, frankly, couldn’t be razzed with getting my derriere in the kitchen to do dinner, when I spied a post from the lovely Jacqui at Olive Moroccan Restaurant saying she was doing a pop-up event that evening at The Gate Inn at Swanwick – with speed that Usain would be proud of, I got His Nibs to agree that going out would be much more preferable than the food I’d cook up.

Despite only being a couple of miles from The Gate Inn, we’ve never visited this lovely little pub before; not that we haven’t been meaning to, more that we hadn’t got round to it. Fledge was going out to Boo Burger in Derby, so she offered to drop us down to The Gate Inn, which made His Nibs’ day as he could now have a couple of cold pints.

The Gate Inn has a lovely sized Beer Garden, decked out with picnic-bench style tables and seats, and they were occupied with fellow sun-loving folk who were lapping up the early evening sun. We made our way inside and got a lovely greeting from Jacqui, who then introduced us to landlady Michelle and her team. We snagged a table around the corner, commenting on how deceptively spacious the interior of The Gate Inn actually is; it’s definitely got a TARDIS vibe to it. The Man Bird returned from the bar – clutching a pint of Moretti and a glass of sparkling water – with a smile on his mush: the drinks had cost just over a fiver, which is cheaper than the cost of the Moretti in some places!

For this event, Jacqui had prepared a set menu, comprising of Olives, Carrot Hummus and warmed Flatbread to nibble on, followed by Falafels, Meatballs (in that scrumptiously rich sauce she does), Tabbouleh and Mujadara. Then there was still-warm Cous Cous, Vegetable, Lamb or Chicken Tagine to enjoy, with cubes of wickedly indulgent Baklava to conclude the meal with. I’ve had the vegetable tagine a few times and it is crammed with goodies; on this occasion there was Sweet Potato, Spinach, Broad Beans, Carrot, Chickpeas and ordinary Potato in Jacqui’s amazingly flavoursome, Tomato-based sauce. The Man Bird also managed to wangle a bit of the Lamb Tagine too: he absolutely loves this, and with good reason – the lamb was super-tender and had a great depth of flavour to it!

Needless to say, everything was absolutely flippin’ delicious, super-fresh, and abundant in portion-size. A couple of chaps came to the bar and asked what was happening, and when they were informed, replied “oooh, we’ll have a bit of that!!”. It was nice to see people tucking into something they’d maybe not had before and responding in a positive way, and there were also a couple of tables that have visited Olive Moroccan in its Belper home, but had travelled to The Gate Inn - a voyage of discovery for others, too.

I don’t know how Jacqui manages to do it (other than the fact she’s kitchen magician!), but her Moroccan salads always taste so much better than ones I do! The myriad colours are matched by clean, vibrant flavours that burst over the tongue and they compliment the wider range of dishes that Jacqui offers back at Olive Moroccan restaurant. It’s always odd, cooking in someone else’s kitchen, and Jacqui was no different to the rest of us as she confessed to feeling the flutter of nerves in her tummy; you’d never have known though: the food was as scrummy as ever. When we’d finished the last chomp of the Baklava, we sat back with sighs of happiness and tummies that were full. The price for this feast was £25 per person if going for the meaty option, or £23 per person if going vegetarian.

Even more good news, these foodie pop-ups are going to be a regular feature at The Gate – yay! Thursdays are going to be the night for them and Michelle has got a Pizza night lined up and Derby’s Bustler Street Food faves, ‘Let’s Taco About It’ are also in the near-future . Guess where Imma be on the next few Thursdays?!

Michelle and her team are a lovely bunch, so we were really happy to discover another great pub in our area. For more info on their events, ring 01773 607474 of visit their Facebook page, The Gate Inn Swanwick. For more deets about Olive Moroccan Restaurant ring Jacqui on 07864 953341 (you definitely need to book a table as the restaurant is on the cosy side) or visit their Facebook page: Olive Moroccan Restaurant.