The Olive Tree, Beech Terrace, Calne.

(01249) 812508

With a long winter upon us, we four reporters from Chippenham decided to cheer ourselves up with some Italian sunshine at The Olive Tree in Calne.

We were surprised to find the door locked when we arrived at the restaurant, and wondered if our evening would end before it started, but the waiter rushed over to let us in and told us the wind was causing trouble.

The Olive Tree opened in March and was tastefully decorated for Christmas with bells and baubles in the windows, which overlook the river. We were impressed with the wooden menus and the bells that chimed every time a meal was ready.

For starters, Katie chose tomato soup (£3.95), Rachel went for her all-time favourite starter, an insalata caprese of mozarella and tomatoes (£4.55), while Joe and I shared bread with oil and olives (£3.95).

The soup was served in a deep bowl with two floating dough balls, and Katie said it was spicy but flavoursome, while Rachel’s favourite came up to her expectations.

We were astounded by the high number of olives served with the appetiser, and there was plenty of bread and dipping oils to go with it.

Having studied the menu online, we all had decided what to order in advance.

I opted for a cajun chicken pizza (£7.95), and was presented with an enormous pizza loaded with chicken breast, red onion and roasted pepper. It was delicious but too big.

Rachel also chose a pizza – this time with chicken and spinach (£6.95) – which she said was one of the nicest pizzas she has ever had.

In a bid to be healthy Joe went for ricotta and spinach tortelloni (£7.95), which turned out to be just as calorific as a pizza, smothered in a bubbling layer of rich cheese.

Katie enjoyed her homemade lasagne (£6.95), with lean mince topped with a three cheese sauce.

The three of us who went on to order dessert were spoilt for choice.

I decided on the delicously decadent chocolate brownie dream (£4.55) – a bowl of brownie pieces served with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Joe very much enjoyed the bite-sized parcels of his chocolate profiteroles (£3.95) and, after narrowly turning down creme brulee, Katie opted for vanilla and chocolate ice cream (£2.95) with whipped cream.

The service was friendly and attentive and the bill, with two soft drinks each, came to £62.25.

Finalist of the Wiltshire Business of the Year Award

Selection of Italian wines and beers

Outdoor dining during the summer

Open Tuesday to Friday noon - 2pm and 6pm-10pm, and Saturday noon-10pm

Disabled access

Our Eating Out is an independent review carried out by the Gazette without prior knowledge of the owners.