Oleana

The food at Oleana is exceptional. Everything has several layers of spices and flavors that all work amazingly well together and each bite exposes new tastes. The food is unique and fresh and perfectly balanced. In the summer many come for the gorgeous garden, and even on a cool night the lamps keep you warm and blankets are on hand to fight the chill. Everyone deserves to eat at least one meal here in their life. Pros: amazing food and flavor, fabulous setting Cons: not for the ""play it safe"" , comfort food eater more

After wanting to try Oleana for a long time, I finally got my wish! My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to score a table on the patio for a terrific spring evening meal! Because we both wanted to try a little of everything, we decided to split the Vegetarian Tasting Menu plus a couple of appetizers. At our waitress's recommendation, we ordered the Lamb & Eggplant Dumpling with Garlic Yogurt & Everything Green and the Spinach Falafel with Tahini, Yogurt, Beets & Cress. Both were absolutely delicious! Our tasting menu started off with a Cucumber Spoon Salad with Sorrel Ice, which was one of the most unique and refreshing dishes I've ever had--perfect for a warm spring evening! After that they brought grilled asparagus with a honeydew melon salsa and goat cheese. This was hands down my favorite course! Next came a dish of fried zucchini in a creamy tomato sauce. Scrumptious! And then Spicy Fideos & Chick Peas with Green Chard & Orange Aioli. This dish was very complex and almost overpowering. It was actually my least favorite of the tasting, but at that point I was so full I could barely eat another bite--that was, of course, until our dessert came! Sesame Ice Cream, Sesame Cashew Bar & Roasted Pineapple with Pineapple Granité --Oh my god, was I in heaven? I almost swiped the entire plate and at the entire thing myself, it was that good! For all that, two glasses of wine and two bottles of sparkling water, our bill only came to just over $100! I thought it was a very reasonable price for everything we ate! I would absolutely recommend this restaurant to everyone! Pros: Delicious food, friendly service Cons: Difficult parking, few tables more

Sit on the patio in the summer and be transported to Europe. Freshest locally sourced ingredients, wonderful staff and amazing Mediterranean food. Love it! Pros: locally sourced more

The experience I had at Oleana was truly divine! The evening started by chatting with a friendly floor manager (who kindly explained to us the phone line problem that particular evening, which made reservations a bit complicated, but not impossible). While waiting for our table, me and my date enjoyed a lovely glass of wine from the bar area in the back. The restaurant itself is small, cozy, and so comfortable, almost as if you're in a large dining room of a wealthy friend who also has an excellent, reserved, practical sense of decor and design. Our table was placed in a nook at the southwest corner of the restaurant. While it was a little close to the people to my left, the area was extremely romantic, and so perfect for the evening!\r \r All in all the food was surprisingly delicate, fresh, and flavorful! For the pret a manger, we had the spicy carrot puree and the Armenian bean and walnut pate. The pate sounds so simple, yet it is one of the most divine meal experiences I have ever had the pleasure to receive! Then for the appetizer, we had crab cakes with egg lemon sauce. I like the crab cakes, but the egg lemon sauce was a bit thick and bland. For the entree, I had the scallops, which were absolutely perfect. Extremely flavorful and the perfect tenderness. The waitstaff was friendly and professional!! All in all, what a perfect experience!!\r \r \r Pros: Great ambience, professional waitstaff, excellent food Cons: Changing menu (which is not a bad thing, but recommendations to others might not be available certain days) more

I took my girlfriend here to celebrate our anniversary and on the whole I cannot say we were disappointed.\r \r I had booked the reservation through opentable and requested that if at all possible, we'd love seating on the patio. We were initially seated in the main dining room but the hostess soon came over (without our prompting her) to offer an outside table that had just opened up. We eagerly took her up on it and were pleased to be seated outdoors where it was romantically lit and very peaceful. \r \r Our waitress was excellent in making recommendations from the menu for food and drink. We loved both our pret a manger (warm buttered hummus) as well as our lettuce-wrapped duck appetizer, a special from that night. Both dishes were elegant and extremely flavorful without feeling overwhelming. The meal went a bit awry when we received our entrees - the apps set the bar quite high and the entrees simply didn't stack up. The trout special I ordered was not bad at all but was somewhat vapid when compared to the apps. The same can be said of the veal and parmesan meatballs my girlfriend ordered. \r \r The meal was capped off by an unexpected and delightful surprise as our waitress brought us two bon-bons with a candle and wished us a happy anniversary. She did this only because I mentioned in the e-reservation that we were celebrating our anniversary that night and I had hoped they would help make it a memorable evening. It was a very thoughtful gesture and who doesn't appreciate it when a restaurant strives to go the extra mile like that? We also appreciated being allowed to sit outdoors for quite some time after finishing our meal and work on our wine. I know this doesn't take extra effort from the restaurant but plenty of places hurry you out at the meal's conclusion.\r \r We were a bit underwhelmed by the entrees but enjoyed the restaurant as a whole, certainly enough to give them a second chance. Pros: Great service, inventive and flavorful appetizers, lovely ambience. Cons: Entrees seemed to be of a lesser quality than the other items ordered. more

After having been to Oleana once before I was extremely excited to go again. Unfrotunately my second visit left alot to be desired. I ordered the special (which was the pork chop) and my date ordered the flattened chicken with za'atar. His chicken was grizzly and chewy and my pork chop was so dry it was like eating sand. I was happy I ordered a glass of wine to wash it down with!!! To top it off....it was 25 bucks a plate (which I don't mind paying if the food is good.) I am really sad to say I wont be going back and will discontinue recommending it to my family and friends :( Pros: Great background music Cons: too expensive (not as good as I remembered) more

My girlfriend and I went to Oleana for our two-year anniversary because it came highly recommended by a friend. It seems like this place lives on hype, because our experience did not match our expectations in the least. I must admit that the food was very innovative, and featured combinations of flavors that I had never tasted. But where the food was inventive, the service lacked. I would only suggest the appetizers - we had the Sultan's Delight, and the hummus.The menu is very small, so I felt obligated to order one of the specials, a seared venison with beets and a huckleberry sauce. I didn't realize that once we ordered our entrees that it would take 45 minutes (following our appetizers being packed away) for our food to come. Yes, that means that it took this kitchen a full-hour to prepare our entrees. During this waiting period, our waiter did not once ask us how we were doing, or even attempt an excuse for how long the food was taking. When we finally did get our main courses, (her's was the swordfish, which does SOUND appetizing), the venison was just a shade over room temperature. THIS NEXT PART MIGHT GROSS YOU OUT. I can usually forgive poor service (although in this case, the restaurant was not full, nor were the chefs in a rush), but combining poor service with poorly prepared food should not be tolerated. The swordfish dish arrived, and my beautiful, unassuming girlfriend discovered a a long strand of hair which had been hidden in the spinach (?) Now, the restaurant is pretty dimly-lit, so she was not fortunate enough to have seen it before having to feel the strand of SOMEONE ELSE'S HAIR DRAPED OVER HER TONGUE. Had our waiter been any more understanding, the mistake could have been forgivable, but to have held a rather unconcerned gaze as he asked, ""oh, hmm, would you like me to have them make another?"" is almost as disgusting as an unsanitary kitchen. Needless to say, we did not have them prepare another, we did not feel like waiting another hour. Pros: Decor Cons: Snobby service, hair more

We were back to Oleana for a fourth visit, even though our first 3 meals were not particularly good. We just couldn't seem to convince ourselves that with all the hype, we hadn't just ordered wrong on our first tries. But this time our meal even was more disappointing than before. It isn't that we fear strong or interesting flavors. Our group of four dine out frequently in and around Boston. But these flavors just don't taste very good. Two of us had the swordfish entree, which sounded good on the menu, but was too unpalatable to finish. It consisted of a timbale of mushy elbow macaroni, on a flattened swordfish pancake. How could a restaurant do that to swordfish? No one at the table finished their entree, but everyone was still hungry afterward. We ended up walking to Christine's Ice Cream in Inman Square, where we all enjoyed our ice cream, much more than we had our pricey dinner. Pros: pretty outdoor space Cons: bad food more

Eline saglik (I'm sure I botched that one) Lady-Chef! more

Eline saglik (I'm sure I botched that one) Lady-Chef! more

This is a one of a kind in Boston. The food is absolutely delicious and unique. The menu changes but everything is good especially the ""Devil Style Eggs"" and the ""Sultans Plate"" The atmosphere is warm and comfortable; you can see the kitchen staff cooking and the servers are very nice. It's always busy so you really need to think ahead if you plan to go. If you chose to go by yourself you can eat at the bar. They have biodynamic and organic wines which are great. This place is a must for people visiting and Boston/Cambridge is luck to have such great food. I eat here at least twice a month for over three years now. Pros: Unique Very Good Food, Really Reasonable Prices, Comfortable Atmosphere Cons: Parking Difficult, Location out of the way, Always Busy more

Hubby and I had heard in advance about reservations being lost, cramped dining areas, food shortages on high-volume (holiday) weekends. But we had also heard about the phenomenal food, so we planned around the restaurant's shortcomings. We watched the weather for what was sure to be a gorgeous night, called for the earliest reservations they had (the ONLY way to get garden seating- and a bonus to actually see the garden in twilight), and we dined at a most leisurely pace allowing us to enjoy several courses and staff to attend to us.\r \r This meal qualified as one of the best in my life in a restaurant and SO romantic! Pros: What a gorgeous garden to dine in! Cons: Parking can be tough- but after this meal you may enjoy the walk! more

Even with all of the wonderful meat dishes I have had here perviously, my girlfriend and I decided to eat purely vegetarian last night and ordered the 5 course (+ dessert) veg. tasting menu plus a couple of other appetizers to share. The pumpkin falafel on a creamy beet mixture was incredible, walnut pate with pomegrante seeds...some sort of lightly friend cheese with roasted eggplant and pepper on top...the dishes just kept coming out!!! finally, the ricotta and bread pudding with kale and red wine was the kicker as our final dish, too bad we couldn't finish it as we were stuffed by then!!!. 6 out of the 8 we ordered were amazing and I would love to go back soon and get them again. But, somehow we managed to eat all of the incredibly delcious Panacotta for dessert...that little wafer oatmeal and butter crisp on the dessert was to die for. We wanted to kidnap the pastry chef for our kitchen. At $40 for the 6 course vegetarian tasting menu, it was a steal and highly recommended! great for dates, intimate, albeit a little cramped, but worth the close quarters. looking forward to it getting warm again someday in the distant distant future to sit again in the back patio! Pros: food, ambiance, great for dates, desserts!!! Cons: tight seating more

I typically don't enjoy Mediterranean food, but I was pleasantly surprised by the dishes at Oleana. When I went, it was warm enough to sit in the garden, which is quite lovely and has spacious seating. There are also plenty of fleece blankets for colder nights. I started dinner with the sangria, which was yummy. For starters, I enjoyed the spreads more than the appetizer that we ordered (the haloumi cheese, which tasted rubbery). My entree, the ricotta and bread dumplings, was delicious. The dumplings were light and finely textured. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to try the desserts, which are all ice creams, I believe. A big caveat - our server had a bad attitude. I don't frequent establishments for their poor service. I think that other people have made similar remarks. So for the young woman with the blondish hair - lighten up on your uppity attitude because it's really unpleasant, even when people are in a light mood. Pros: food, garden Cons: server more

We were two adults and a teenager at Oleana last week. The tables were all taken for the evening so we had seats at the cramped bar. We had delicious entrees, but there was really nothing else on the menu that interested us: there were appetizers, but not much that was not heavy-sounding or cheese-laden. The main course plates held exactly what was described on the menu and nothing more--no starch, no veg. The food was well-presented and imaginative (not such great teen food). Service, even at the bar, was quite good. Give it a try. Pros: Ambience, service Cons: Parking, sitting on barstools more

I ate at Oleana with a large group last summer and we all loved it. The service was great, the food was creative and delicious, and the prices seemed reasonable. Dining on the patio was especially pleasant. The most memorable part of the experience was the incredible Baked Alaska -- like another reviewer said, the depth and layering of flavors was out of this world, and it stands out in my mind as one of the tastiest things I have ever eaten. more

I don't mind spending some money for a great meal. But I must say this restaurant failed on so many counts that I can't imagine why it remains popular -- except for perhaps the outdoor dining. The entrees are too small given the exorbitant prices, and they try to put too many things together that simply don't work. (This includes the strange desserts.) Our waitress was frankly stand-offish, and the servers kept bumping into members of our party and rudely interrupting the meal just to fill water glasses. Wholly unacceptable. more

This place is just wonderful. Everything on the menu is delicious and the desserts are superb. My favorites include the hummus appetizer, the ricotta and bread dumplings, and the baklava. The decor is nice - it's cozy in the winter and romantic in the summer. The prices are reasonable for the delicious food. The service can be hit or miss but it's usually not bad. more

Went to Oleana for the first time, not expecting to like it. I now consider it one of the better dining experiences I've had in the Boston area. The waitstaff was attentive without being overbearing, the food was inventive with good portion sizes, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was warm and cozy. Definitely upscale dining without the pretension and a great value for the money! more

If youre in the mood for something different, try this place out. Food, service, and ambience were great Pros: food, service more