Oliva

03/21/09

The food was good the ambiance loud crowded, service bad!

by dreamnducer

I had been going to this place with a friend for a while adn really enjoyed the Tapas, drinks and small live latin music band on the weekends. I decided to bring a professional group I organize and the placed turned on me. We were 16 people, when we asked they said they would split the bill in two for us but in the end decided not to and gave us one huge bill we had to split ourselves creating issues within the group, the service was poor, the place very crowded, the host rude, and the music over the speakers made it impossible to hold a conversation at less then shouting volumes. Bottom line, go here to eat, drink, not talk, don't bring more than three people with you and wear earplugs if you cherish your hearing.

• Pros: Tapas and main dishes were tasty
• Cons: Service for a group was terrible, noisy, music too loud.

03/06/09

Expected so much more...

by EmC651

After reading great reviews of Oliva and hearing about the place from friends, I was excited to try it out. I could not have been more disappointed. Not one dish we had was special or interesting in any way. As a past reviewer mentioned, it's also extremely crowded- it was impossible to get out from where I was sitting to use the restroom without having the woman at the table next to us get up, move her chair, move the table out, and crawl around...only to repeat the process on the way back. I really cannot understand why so this place attracts such a crowd! In the end, our bill came out to well over 50 dollars a person- for mediocre food, which we had to eat yelling at one another to be heard. Not worth it. The only positive thing I can say is that we had great service from a very sweet waitress who was patient with our larger group and even brought us a shot at the end of our meal. Still, I won't be making a return visit...

• Pros: Sweet Waitress
• Cons: Everything else...

02/21/09

Amazing tapas and a great lively atmosphere.

by mellowny

Oliva is my favorite tapas restaurant in the city. The food is amazingly tasty. When you go there, you will notice that there is no salt or pepper in sight, and that is because the food is perfectly flavored if you appreciate the taste of a wide variety of spices in your food. I cannot count the times that I have been there. Since discovering it with my boyfriend a few years ago, it quickly became our special treat when we wanted to go out. They also have a band that plays almost every day, and it does get very loud in there, but it creates a wonderful and fun atmosphere. The staff is friendly and pleasant, and they do not pester you with the constant ?how is everything?? that one tends to get from most other restaurants leaving you to enjoy your meal, your company, and the lively band. I love it there.

02/09/09

If you plan to drink, then you'll probably like this place. Don't go for the food!

by yippee1999

First off, the accompanying photo makes this look like a totally different place. The place I went to was very dark, very "heavy looking" (not light and bright as the photo suggests), and extremely cramped.

I only went here at the suggestion of a friend, but the location alone should tell you this probably isn't going to be a place where the focus is on the food. They try to really pack diners in...so much so that, not only are the tables touching but, if someone on the other side of the table needs to get up, it involves literal "checkerboard" type moves, where the table must be pulled out, and then pulled sideways, and maybe another chair moved as well, all so that the person can go to the bathroom. Then they need to move everything back (as otherwise the aisle are impassable). And then they need to do this again when the person returns to their seat!

The food was extremely "basic", bordering on poor IMHO.

If your goal is to find a "fun" restaurant where you can have somewhat raucous conversation with friends, and drink, and you don't mind being cramped, then you may like this place just fine.

I on the other hand go out to eat to partake of good food, and nice ambiance, neither of which I found at this place.

I'd never go back there.

Someone else here said in their review that many other Oliva reviews seem to be written by people associated with Oliva. Check out the review entitled "Great things come in small packages". The wording of that review seems straight out of a marketing writeup for Oliva. Why the individual even provides subway directions in their review... how strangely and uniquely "considerate" of them, eh? And interestingly enough, the author of that review currently only has ONE Citysearch review on file...for Oliva! Hmmmm....

• Pros: drinks, if that's what you're into
• Cons: food quality, seating is too crowded

01/16/09

Oh Boy - What a disappointment!

by lovefoodwinesweets

I was sooooo disappointed at this place after reading the reviews. I took my husband there for his birthday. The food is just ok. We are tapas people - have traveled to Spain for many occasions. I have no idea why this is recommended as a great date place - If a guy took me there for dinner I would think he had no respect for either of us. The picture on the website is very deceiving.

The place was COLD, DIRTY and VERY small. I was looking forward to dancing since they do have a band during the week. You were lucky if you could fit at your table to eat, let alone think about dancing. Oh - and the service was TERRIBLE. We eat out alot in all different kinds of place. I can overlook a lot if the food is exceptional. There was nothing exceptional or special about the place.

If you want good tapas in a NICE atmosphere - go to Boqueria on W19th Street.

• Pros: They have a live band (jammed into a corner of the bar) during the week nights.
• Cons: Are evident by my review.

12/29/08

Great Serivce, Great Food!

by kgib1182

My boyfriend and 2 of his friends ate here on Saturday night and it was such a great experience! The food was to die for! If you like olives, try the stuffed fried olives they are unvelievable! The Sangria was great, the music was nice and the overall atmosphere was terrific...the only thing that stunk was the fact that we had reservations and a table wasn't ready when we arrived on time...but we went across the street for a drink and the host was nice enough to call one of us on our cell to let us know our table was ready...the host and the servers were fantastic...we never had to ask for bread, when we were close to running out, they were there with another basket...they certainly were not stingy with the bread! The food and service was excellent and I will surely be returning here again! Highly reccomend eating here...very small so make reservations!

• Pros: Service and Food
• Cons: Very small must make reservations

11/10/08

Nice Atmosphere

by amydams

A wonderful place with incredible food and a really good atmosphere. I've been there for both lunch and dinner and never been disappointed. The wine list is solid. The food quality, preparation, and presentation were impeccable. Prices are worthy of a special occasion.

• Pros: food,ambiance
• Cons: pricey

10/06/08

great experience...

by deannar

Great experience here. we had a group of 9 so they gave us this huge table in the middle of the rest with sweet cushy chairs. service was on the ball with getting drink orders, wine bottles and food orders. I didnt feel like we waited at all.

the food was great too! we had a bunch of the crab soups, tortilla and calamari, all of which were great!

i had the the grilled skirt steak which was delicious and tasted the roasted chicken and the ttoro, which were winners too!

great ambiance, great service, great food, check this place out??

• Pros: ambiance ,food, service
• Cons: none

07/14/08

I'm Torn!

by nolanspice

On the one hand, Oliva has great food. A little pricey , but it IS tapas. The entrees were delicious as they were flavorful and spiced just right. Great tasting wines and sangrias helped move the night along. Why am I torn, you ask? I cannot see how this place won for Citysearch's "Best First Date" place unless you were two deaf people! The music was up ridiculously loud and had you feeling that you were in a Basque club and not a restaurant. The dinner party I was with had to compete with the music to have conversations. We were yelling to the wait staff who only turned the music UP when we asked repeatedly to have it lowered. Some of us just gave up trying to talk and just ate. Also, the small space filled up very quickly. That's not a good thing when there's no AC and rivulets of sweat are running down your back...while you're eating...in a deafening environment. Good thing the food was wonderful.

• Pros: Excellent food, Tasty wines/sangria, Worth the price
• Cons: Music waaaaaaaaaay too loud, Crowds quickly, no AC

06/11/08

Terrible service and subpar food

by susanebachman

I was excited to go back to Oliva -- it's probably been 2 years since I last ate here, but I was very disappointed with everything that has changed. First, despite reservations, we waited (party of 2) for 45 minutes. When were were seated our server never acknowledged us and we kept having to flag her down. The host even walked around to get her. We never got the drinks we ordered (twice!) and the food was very, very salty. When it was time to pay we couldn't find the waitress to get the check! We asked all the servers for a check and it took 45 minutes until we got one! Don't come here, there is nothing redeeming about the experience and so many better places to choose from.

• Pros: Good area
• Cons: Terrible service. Salty food.