The South Brisbane / West End part of town has changed dramatically over the years, and whilst I am too young to remember it as being too much else than what it is today, I often hear stories from the 90’s of people avoiding the area at night as if it were a plague. Crime, fights and homelessness were rampant in the area, and the local Terminus Hotel (now called The Fox – and it’s far better these days) was often a place for fist to meet face, and chair to meet chest as people sought to ’sort out’ their differences.

In line with CBD growth over the years, both commerce and retail has been pushed across the river into South Brisbane and eventually into West End – turning the area from a dingy, dark place into a vibrant, trendy & cosmopolitan space with plenty of dining options for every taste. Residential areas are also appearing, with many  apartments currently under construction opposite the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. It’s as if South Brisbane and West End are slowly becoming The Valley, and New Farm(albeit about 10 years behind).

Which brings me to Oliver & Co. As part of the aforementioned growth, a series of new commercial tenancies were built on Melbourne Street, between Merivale and Cordelia Streets. Roche Mining and Colorado took the bulk of the office space, but the groundfloor retail areas were taken by Era Bar & Bistro, as well as Era Cafe, a bottleshop, French Twist, and, at the time, Fresh on Melbourne (FOM). FOM was one of those places that could have been so much better – but I figure as newcomers to the area, it took a couple of rethinks to get things right.

FOM initially started out as a fresh food produce-style retailer – much like the James Street Markets in The Valley – with a number of smaller, separate businesses all operating under the one common name and banner. But after a few weeks, it was clear this formula wasn’t working in South Brisbane. Fruit & veg didn’t sell in the anticipated quantities and a lot of it was simply thrown out at the end of the week. A few months later, the fruit & veg section shrunk in size, as the focus shifted to more non-perishables. After almost 9 months, the fruit & vegetable section got so small that it was hard to find – right up in the back corner of the store. Fresh on Melbourne became anything but.

Eventually, the business closed down and, as far as I know, was sold to someone else. Regardless, it’s now open once more – branded as ‘Oliver & Co’ – and the transformation is amazing! The internal design is fantastic – a mix of modern deli styling and old fashioned rustic timbers. The strong smell of coffee in the morning or the mouth-watering smell of fresh pizza’s in the afternoon – there’s something for everyone at Oliver & Co. Let’s take a look…

Yogurt & Salad Bar

The front section (opposite the cash-registers) features a yogurt, soup (in winter) and salad bar – with reasonably priced eat-in or takeaway salads, soups and yogurts in a variety of styles. I can recommend the chicken & avocado salad as well as the apple & cinnamon yogurt. The thing I like about this area is that you can ask them mix-and-match salads to your liking. They also make fresh juices and accept EFTPOS (although there’s an ATM about 10 meters away if you prefer to use cash).

Pizza Bar & Mini-Cafe

A little further along on the outer edge is the pizza bar and mini-cafe. I say mini because they generally only do your standard coffee’s, hot drinks and a small selection of cakes & slices for the sweet tooth. The pizza bar also comes highly recommended – with a great variety of toppings to choose from. Prices are fairly reasonable, around the $10 mark. If anything, they’re a little light with the toppings – but considering that the pizza’s are “plate-size”, most people wouldn’t want a heavily-laden topping, especially if they’re having a pizza for lunch during the working week. You can telephone ahead and order pickup pizzas, but in my experience it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference… at one stage I was told to pick them up in “15 minutes”. I arrived 15 minutes later only to find that they hadn’t even been put into the oven yet.

Pasta & Hot-food

Inside, you’ll find the pasta and hot food section, with a bit of everything. You’ll generally be able to find 2 or 3 different curry’s, some quiche, lasagna, baked potatoes stuffed with mince and of course… the pasta! The concept here is great, but keep a good 10 minutes spare in your lunch break as your pasta dish will be cooked fresh on the spot. You begin by selecting your type (penne, fettuccine, etc) and flavour (pumpkin, black pepper, etc) of pasta, followed by your desired sauce (cream, tomato, etc) and finally your toppings (eg: meatballs, vegetables, grated cheeses, etc).

Sushi is also offered in this section as a new addition. Note that on weekends, they only tend to do the pasta and sushi – the other hot food is mostly only available during the working week.

Butchers Block & Grill

The other business inside the Oliver & Co complex is Butchers Block & Grill, which offers a great selection of meats – including ready made stir-frys (just cook and serve with rice), quality steaks and skewered meats – along with duck and some unique sausage flavours including bush tomato & cracked pepper.

They can also cook up some great lunches options for you – again, all done while you wait, so make sure time is on your side. You can get steak sandwiches, chicken burgers, bacon & egg rolls, etc for breakfast and lunch. One of the ladies here is particularly friendly – on multiple occasions, she’s gone to the effort of personally crumbing another chicken fillet for me when they run out of chicken schnitzel; talk about great service!

Other offerings

Amongst all of the above, you’ll also find a selection of fresh fruit & vegetables, a massive variety of cheeses, plus the usual staples such as milk, bread and everyday cooking supplies such as sauces, cooking oils, herbs, breakfast cereals and packet foods – they’re even beginning to stock items like dish-washing liquid, nappies and deodorant; you could almost pop in here after work to grab something on the way home.

Parting words…

All in all, Oliver & Co is a great change from the old Fresh on Melbourne – more variety, better use of space and a bigger focus on lunchtime food options as opposed to the old layout of just “a butcher” and “a fruit & veg place” that offered little to eat “right there, right then”.

We here at LeisureReviews.com.au visited Oliver & Co last Sunday for lunch, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we enjoyed excellent meals and great service (check the comments below for more). We all tried something different – some of us pasta, some soup, some salad, some coffee & cakes – and that’s the great thing about Oliver & Co – there really is something for everyone. As if to retain a portion of its former name… it’s all about fresh flavours, made with fresh ingredients, fresh on the spot as you wait.

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