Olive Kitchen & Cocktails

I feel the need to stick up for this place. I had gone there a couple of times when they first opened and about 6 mos after that, both times were poor experiences. The food was mediocre at best and it just seemed disorganized overall. HOWEVER, it is not the same anymore. My first visit back was 2 months ago when I met a friend there for drinks one day after work because it was close to our homes and convenient for both of us. We were impressed by the martini list for sure, but also by the friendliness and attentiveness of the staff. We shared a pizza and it was quite good. Based on this experience, my husband and I decided to give it another try for dinner, and again, great experience. Yes, there was a bit of a wait and the staff seemed busy, but I find that to be the case at most good restaurants on a Friday or Saturday night, so I wasn't bothered by that. We had a drink at the bar, and talked to our bartender who was quite friendly as well. She explained that they had made some management changes over the last 6 mos and I can definitely say it showed. The food was hot and tasty, the service was great, and the drinks were fabulous. Did you know they have close to 100 martinis? I don't know of any other place in the area that offers that. I would highly recommend you give them another try and don't pass judgement based on the older bad reviews. It really is a different place than when it first opened. more

My fiancé made reservations for my birthday at Olive because we have wanted to go for awhile... Our table was in the back room .. it was awkward because it was completely silent (no music).. There were 13 of us and we started with ordering drinks between to waiters.. The drinks took a long time to come back to the table.. and they kept forgetting about drinks so we had to ask again. The waiter accidently spilled a tray of water over my fiancé, which whatever it was an accident (but it did not help with the overall experience).. Each waiter took orders... so when the food finally came only one of the waiters food came... we sat there (not touching our food because we wanted to wait for everyone to get there food) for about 10-15 minutes before the rest of the food came out... the food was just okay.. but one meal (salmon) was so overcooked it was like jerky.. we finally asked for a manager which already knew about the overcooked salmon and was already going to take it off... But they still served it!!! ?? We ended up getting a small discount.. the manager never came and apologized to the table.. Over all BAD BAD service, ok food, and boring atmosphere... more

Good: Appearance of facility (light, clean) and staff. Quality of mixed drink.. Bad: Service was sadly lacking: 1. We were seated at the bar to wait for our table. 15 minutes at the bar - no greeting, no drinks, nothing. 2. We had to wait too long at our table for our drink order. 3. We had to wait too long for our meal order. 4. Wait staff never noticed that our drinks were empty for over a half hour with no food on table. 5. When food finally arrived, both orders were wrong. 6. After complaint, manager was not able to make things right... we went somewhere else for dinner.. Improvements: Staff training in quality service is needed. I don't see how this restaurant can survive long.. Other: Even though we kept our voices low, the people at surrounding tables were watching our exchange with the manager. Had he mobilized his staff to make us feel as if we had not been intentionally ignored, I'm sure he would have earned a return visit from us and saved his reputation with those around us. This experience was sad on all levels.. more