The Olive Tree in Castlebar legal

04/08/2025: Make a reservation for this restaurant. Excellent choice on the menu, great staff, great atmosphere and very reasonably priced. Service is swift and efficient. Staff are very pleasant.

03/08/2025: Al Muretto is a strange name, Google translating as "At the Wall"? I am sure there is a story there. But this place certainly doesn't hit the wall. This place is very good, serving some good Italian comfort food. Another strange thing was the opening times, 4-10 all week, except on Sunday, where it's all day. We visited on Sunday and really enjoyed ourselves. But we were disappointed to visit a few days later, for seconds, and find it closed. It's hard running a restaurant in Ireland, so I understand, just sad there is no lunchtime opening during the week. I would go right now if I could. One of the best ways to judge an Italian restaurant is the spaghetti Bolognese, a simple dish but very hard to make well. I think they do an assassin spaghetti type Bolognese. Hubby ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese and really enjoyed it. The only criticism I have is that the Bolognese is offered with Penne or Spaghetti. Personally I am not into either, I love the soft texture of tagliatelle and would have preferred that option. Also the sauce was mixed with Parmesan, which was nice, but perhaps too much as it was too cheesy. Wifey tried something more exotic. Wifey tried the Risotto Allo Scoglio, a seafood risotto. Wifey loved this, and still raves about it. I too liked it, but seafood is not my go-to. But Hubby was impressed as it all cooked to perfection, some of the softest calamari I have ever eaten. Honestly there were so many other dishes we would go back for. Things I would love to try, the calzone, chicken and mushroom penne and risottos, the lasagna, the Veal scallops... Every time I look at the menu there is more I want. And the desserts are great too. Wifey went with an orange cheesecake, and while she enjoyed it. It wasn't for hubby, I didn't think it worked at all. Cheesecake should only be lemon... Maybe rum and raisin only. But Hubby had the tiramisu and it was divine, the mascarpone was so moreish. The only down side was I almost choked on the cocoa dust, you have been warned. Hubby and Wifey would recommend, and would go again and again. What makes this place really good for Families is the range of adult and children's dishes. On the table next to us was a family of three, the young boy ordered a pizza, and by God it was bigger than his head. He only finished half, I hope he had it the next morning for breakfast champions, before school. On a separate visit. I had the Calzone, often described as a Pizza in a Cornish pasty. Sadly this was not good. The main flaw with this is that they used the shredded pack pasta, which doesn't melt. So when it was served to me all the mozzarella was still cool, and the Calzone was not really hot to begin with. A disappointing dish and I would not recommend it.... However I must say this is a once off and would highly recommend every other dish here.