Olives

Oysters and tuna tartare were delish!!!

SO I am a HUGE Todd English Restaurant FAN!
I have been new to the BOS area for almost a year now, and I haven’t found one restaurant I am in love with until I visited Olives in Watertown!
His restaurants like Olives NY and CaVa are superb, but I believe Olives in BOS is way better… I know, right? By far in my food critic mind is this thee best restaurant in the BOS area…
I had the Yellowtail Tuna Tartare, can you say absolute YUMM with the crispy rock shrimp on bottom and the best meatloaf as in KOBE SHORT RIB EVER in my MEATLOAF life!
My boyfriend had the scallops and totally agrees on this restaurant being superb trying to take credit as if he found this place when really I did the research and found this hidden gem all by myself.
MAZEL and CONGRATS to Todd for this excellent 5 stars, I give restaurant!

Being from Washington, DC, we fell in love with every aspect of Olives (food, wait staff, etc.) until their DC restaurant closed. But now with two boys in Boston-​area colleges, we chose to make Olives in Charlestown our meeting place when we would travel north to visit our kids. Over the past school year, we visited Olives on four different occasions. During each of those times, we found Olive’s to be consistently inconsistent. First and foremost, it is important to point out that this has got to be the loudest restaurant on the planet. Full or half-​full, it is almost impossible to carry on a reasonable conversation without resorting to yelling at one another across the table. That said, the food was sometimes brilliant but the menu staples (like butter nut squash Tortelli) would sometimes disappoint and make you wonder how Olives ever reached the status that they now enjoy. The last two trips produced under-​cooked pasta and led me to believe that the cooks were just not paying attention in the kitchen. Our final trip this past week will be our final trip as the wait staff grew increasingly unprofessional, capped off by a waiter attempting to deliver a molton chocolate cake to our table that looked like it was thrown on the plate at the end of a long night, expecting us to buy off on the fact that it was «molton» and that is the way it comes out. But mistakes do happen (even though this one occurred as a result of us sending back the first cake that was entirely overcooked). What sealed the deal for our family to never return was the arrogance of the delivery and the smirking that took place among the wait staff when we asked to have the situation rectified.
Todd, if you expect us to spend our money in your restaurant, then we expect to be treated with the same respect that we treat you and your staff.

I liked the quality of ingredients in the food here. The salad was so simple and delicious, it reminded me of those I had in Italy. Their pizzas are creative with a few vegetarian options. They were also accommodating with swapping toppings.
The downside is that it’s very crowded. I could barely get my jacket off, and the table was so small there was barely enough room for the food, let alone contact with my boyfriend.
I would go back and probably will go back, but maybe on a weeknight.

Im about to start a discussion on «Celebrity Chef» Restaurants and the average joe’s expectation thereof, because after having visited a number of celebrity chef establishments, all I can say about our dining experience at Olives is «MIP» (missing in perspective…). I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to plunk +$ 200 on a meal, I’m an average person with above average taste and expect my money to be handled with a bit more respect. And so the story begins with a google coupon for 1 appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert = $ 45. Not bad. Last time I was at a Todd English establishment was for a buffet lunch at Mohegan Sun, and it wasn’t bad for the money… So out we trek from Hudson into Charlestown on a beautiful spring afternoon, with my «picky little foodie» in tow.
One of the hostesses was really nice and down to earth, the other remainder snooty «higher than the most» were just there for looks or maybe waiting to hook their wealthy husband of the future. The restaurant has a tremendous appeal for the affluent and the affluent want to be, with a hopefully we will be treated as people for the rest of the population. Maybe because Im a bit overweight? Or maybe because I don’t look like Im a Bostonian? Who knows. Our server Gina however, was a darling, very enthusiastic about the menu, and cordial. Bus boys were on target, not missing a single beat on the old scratched water glasses which they filled with warm and chlorine flavored tap water (no lemon no ice, no asking, but the tall diva at the hostess stand had her bottled, lemoned and iced glass while standing in the sunset… but I digress). We sat in a nice corner with our son, a perfect spot for me to observe the ambiance and clientele and figure out who had (or smelled like) dough, was local or a regular and the difference in attitude and treatment… Bartender was busy and my son pointed out he looks like Loki! (seriously people, its quite cool!)
Appetizers: Calamari — perfectly fried, but bland (no salt at the table), Beef Carpaccio — DELICIOUS, and the gorgonzola roti really pairs well with it. HUGE portion for the price. We ordered the mushroom flatbread — really good, creamy super flavorful, fantastic with the super tuscan wine we were enjoying. Dinner: Diver Scallops, perfect but cold, atop COLD polenta. Hubs had the tile fish with rock shrimp — flavorful, Huge portion and COLD. Son had the ho-​hum margarita flatbread with a tomato sauce that made it taste like cheap frozen pizza. He didn’t eat but 2 slices and he isnt faint of heart. Dessert: Made up for the so-​so dinner which lacked the temperature requisite of a kitchen that wasnt busy! (we had a 5 pm seating!). Dessert certainly made up for the meal — 3 HUGE chocolate chip cookies for the boy with AWESOME peanut butter gelato and for us an eggy tasting vanilla soufflé that I enhanced with my son’s toffee caramel (I’d consider offering a cointreau or grand marnier spiked anglaise to give it a bit more character, although it was perfectly executed). Tables have water stains, glasses are scratched and in general a stuffy attitude that left me wondering if this is really what Chef wants portrayed.
Bad food? No not at all. Worth +200 (before coupon, after coupon still $ 117 before tip which we leave on the original cost without the coupon)? NO. I expect more from a restaurant with a Celebrity name that is taking my money after an hour drive. Quite frankly, Chef Brennan over at the Fireplace Room delivers better flatbreads and Chef Justin Melnick, former Tomasso Trattoria now at the Terrace in Martha’s Vineyard are at par with what Chef English’s restaurants should be delivering, and a tad cheaper (Tomasso still delivers quality food for the record). Definitely not going back to a Todd English restaurant…

2^nd time visit for the restaurant week, baked oysters appetizer was something new to me, very well presented, lamb taco appetizer was well balanced on taste/​texture.
Brown sugar cured sirloin was a big success.
LOVE LOVE banana crème brûlée, very creative and well balanced! i love it more than a transitional crème brûlée

Went to Olive’s last night for restaurant week. I have participated in at least five years worth of restaurant weeks in Boston and the meal I had at Olives was probably my favorite. The food was fantastic!
I had the baked oysters which were amazing. Then I had the brown sugar cured steak and it was cooked perfectly. My fiancé had the lamb tacos which she thought were great (I am not a lamb fan so I cannot really say if they were good). And for her entrée, she had the Papperdelli, which was delicious. I have to say, if you have gone to Olives before or if you have never been, restaurant week is the perfect time to visit because it was worth every penny.
Also, the lava cake with ice cream was dessert, also delicious. I may go back again next week and order the Papperdelli since I never had anything like it before.

Wish I could give this 3.5 stars. Our entire dinner service felt extremely rushed and our waitress was less than friendly. Courses were brought out immediately after we finished the previous one. My entrée was served lukewarm and I didn’t have chance to order wine with my meal as I did not have the chance to finish my (supposed to be pre-​meal) cocktail during the appetizer (which was tuna/​avocado yumminess). Once our desert arrived and we were ready to move along, the service slowed way down, to the point it took quite some time to get the bill. In conclusion, my appetizer, dessert and drink were all great. My entrée was good, but not hot. I did find a fruit fly floating in drink… Whoopsie! I did love the atmosphere, but it was very noisy and crowded (to be fair it was a Saturday night at prime dinner time). Oh, and the valet was $ 16, which seemed a bit excessive.

We went here last night for our anniversary. Given the menu prices we thought it would be a fine-​dining experience but it was not. When making the reservation, we noted that we were celebrating our anniversary and thought maybe we’d get a nice table. We were wrong. We were seated at a small two top right next to the packed bar and had to grab our drinks a couple of times, worried that they’d be knocked over by bar-​goers.
Our server was very nice and friendly. We started with the mussels which were very good and substantial enough for a meal with the potatoes and linguiça. While the mussels were tasty they did not stack up against the mussels at Figs.
For his entrée my boyfriend got the Kobe meatloaf and he loved it. It was delicious and came with awesome risotto tots on the side. The soft boiled egg on top was a nice surprise. I ordered the ox-​tail gnocchi and although it had potential, it was far too salty. The meal was over-​salted to begin with and the shaved parmigiano-​reggiano took it too far.
Overall, we had a nice evening but it was not the celebratory atmosphere we were hoping for. From now on we’ll stick to Figs.

Put a large portion of food on my plate, make it tasty, and I’m usually OK with the exorbitant price. Yep, both $ 32 meals of pork chop and the short rib were served on massive plates; plenty for dinner and a little leftover for tomorrow’s breakfast (braised short ribs with a soft-​boiled egg? helllllooo). Though, sadly, the thinner cuts of pork did not lend well to find balance between grill-​marks and a medium doneness (overcooked…tasteless).
Some serious negatives were sporadic service (our waitress took about 2 orders out of 8 ppl at a time… drinks took a while to come to the table), a very loud atmosphere, and really bright plate warmer lights at the service counter (enough to detract from the ambience). Cold as shit to walk to from the nearest parking lot; so you’ll be lucky to find a spot on City Sq park … bundle up!
In general, though, I liked the looks of the space, the location, and the offerings were creative enough (and big enough) to be worthy of a return (osso bucco, swordfish, scallops, steak, short rib, chicken). I would have liked to see more spaghetti-​type dishes on the menu and less stuffed/​gnocchi-​dishes.

Every couple of months we go to a restaurant that just blows our socks off. Olives was IT! Taking you through the night, we came here on a Google Offer which was an amazing deal to try and unexpectedly outstanding restaurant. If the mantra of «Groupon/​Living Social/​Google Offers are for struggling restaurants» is true, you wouldn’t think it by this place. Everything about the Todd English name lives up to the hype — it’s situated in picturesque Charlestown, the external and internal aesthetic is dripping with style, there’s an electric buzz to the place that comes from crowds of people and occupied tables, and the layout was awesome. Big bar right in the centre of the room, and the glow of fire from a woodfire stove in the fully open kitchen towards the back. The chefs behind the stoves were chatting away with patrons seated at high-​top chairs around them, so there was an obvious energy there from the diners, to waiters, to chefs alike. You just don’t find that in most restaurants!
Our waiter «reseated» us towards a more comfortable table after being seated at a pretty good spot to begin with, and that’s where the consistent awesome-​ness began…
1. Drinks — I had a glass of Pinot Grigio while my wife had a Muay Thai. The drink was good, STRONG, and tasty.
2. Appetizers — We had some totally delicious, warm focaccia bread brought to our table with an olive tapenade and white chickpea hummous. True confessions: I’m a right whore for focaccia bread, but this focaccia would definitely be in the Julia Roberts of focaccia whore category. Really good, and very tasty tapenade. Then we had the calamari, which was one of the best fried calamari dishes I’ve ever had. The spicy aioli sauce was second only to the tasty presentation when it came to our table. I could have had three more servings of this and called it a day.
3. Entrees — I had the special of the day, which was a pan crusted Albacore tuna with a Korean pepper soy sauce and mashed potato side. A. Mazing. Like, AMAZING. The portion size couldn’t have been more perfect, and we were guessing the ingredients of the sauce with ideas ranging from: agave nectar juice, ginger, «whatever that taste is when you drink a Hot Toddy,» to «Nectar of life.» Our other entrée was the Lobster Fra Diavolo. The chorizo sausage ragout at the bottom was like a soup. It was also just so, SO good. Amazing choices. The flavours were just so rich, and strong, but not overwhelming either. Portions were perfect — not too much, not too little… just right.
4. Dessert — We ended up with the chocolate cookies and peanut butter gelato. The chocolate cookies had some macadamia nuts in them I think, but they were served warm (and gooey, and melting), with two outstanding scoops of gelato and little brownie triangles. Orgasm causing. My wife usually doesn’t like peanut butter, but even she was enjoying it. It was just so fresh… I could have sworn someone had just cooked those cookies right out of the oven.
Overall, everything about Olives was a treat. The service was awesome. Our waiter is someone who works as a highschool teacher during the week, and waits tables out of his own interest on the weekends «because he enjoys it.» You’d never know it wasn’t his 9 – 5 job… charismatic, super informed about the menu, not overbearing, and really just a truly Star waiter. The food came FAST, too… orders were placed, food was coming out the moment we put down our forks, and we got in and out as quick as we wanted without any delays. The «Todd English» reputation thing lived up to its name, and neither my wife nor I have ever given «celebrity chefs» much notice or attention.
There’s a reputation that’s upheld at this place and you’ve got to taste it to believe it. Not even a near 5-​star on this one. For all the times I’ve wished Unilocal had a 0.5-star rating, Olives deserves at least a 7.5.

We made reservations for 4 people on Open Table. Two cancelled on the way, stuck trying to get StubHub to reprint tickets for their daughter’s Beiber concert. Open Table wont’t let us change res to 2 people without giving up our prime 7:30 slot.
Limo drops us off 20 minutes early. Host with the bad hair seems put out that we are early even though the place is still ²⁄₃ empty. When we tell him the other two can’t make it he states «big-​surprise there». Not sure what he meant but we were seated at a small deuce in middle of foot traffic even though there were plenty of others available along the window. Food was only so-​so. Paealla special was dry and salty. Steak was cook right but small for $ 38.00.
Mr. bad-​hair never once came by to visit even though he stopped at every other table. He was even feeding the homeless cupcakes out the front door. Total ass…
Only good thing about the evening were the drinks at Warren Tavern beforehand and espresso in the North End afterwards.
Avoid unless you like being treated like crap from Mr. bad-​hair.

When we go to the TD Garden, we park on the street in Charlestown and walk over in order to miss the high priced parking.
This time, we were going to see Madonna and my friend mentioned that we try Olives.
Glad we did. We parked right out front and had a lovely quick dinner.
Small plates done well.
The bar is faster (we were in a rush and this worked well)
Some plates are very small, others are a good portion.
The flat bread and mussels are worth mentioning.
Service was top and attentive. They went over the top to even charge my phone when my died.
I would love to go here again when Madge comes to Boston again.

Unilocal needs ½ stars, this should be 2.5 not 3.
We live a block away from Olives so we were excited that it finally reopened, our excitement has gone away after eating here twice. It’s not that Olives is bad, it’s just not that good especically when you factor in the cost. We love Figs which is another Todd English restaurant right down the street and I think the food is better there and costs half of what a meal at Olives does.
The room at Olives is nice with a large bar as the centerpiece and an open kitchen (the TE on the pizza oven seems really self-​indulgent and kind of says it all about Todd English, he’s way too impressed with himself). For a upscale restaurant, the noise level is out of hand. I like a lively vibe when I eat out but when it’s hard to hear the waiter or people sitting at your table, it’s gone a little too far. The service was very good but it feels like they are given a script where they have to tell you that «Todd thinks this is a great summer dish. Or Todd thinks…» we get it, Todd English owns the restaurant, we don’t care.
The food is good but not great and the menu seems scatter-​brained, if you asked me to tell you what kind of food they served I’d be hard-​pressed to give you an answer. Also, $ 52 for steak frites??? give me a break.
I enjoyed my food but not the bill that followed it, also annoying is the fact that ½ of the dessert menu takes over 20 minutes to prepare. While it’s nice that they make desserts to order, it would be helpful to know this ahead of time; we ate there on a week night and did not feel like waiting nearly a half hour for dessert so you’re left to decide between cookies or cupcakes (shocker, they are supplied by Todd English’s cupcake store!!).
Olives has potential, it’s a nice room with good service and food but the prices, noise level, stuck up nature of the owner and unfocused menu make this a «what could be» restuarant more than anything.

Went here with two of my friends from the marina, three guys looking for food and drink. Nice bar and restaurant with tasty food, convenient to the marina. A little pricey but it seems like the place to go to see and be seen, even on a Tuesday night. Ordered half the lobster pasta dish which was delicious and the perfect size, nice and rich without being overly so. Average selection of beer taps with local favorites and a few from around the region. Decent wine list. The service was good at the bar, we actually had the bartender and manager stop by several times to make sure we were okay. Somehow earned a free desert, probably colateral benefits from my friends flirting with the staff or just a nice perk. While the desert was free, you get what you pay for, sort of a tasteless combination of chocolate and cherries.
Overall, if you’re looking for a place with a lot of energy close to the marina this is a good pick. If you want a quiet, inexpensive place you might go elsewhere. Food seemed hit or miss.

Rebuilt after a fire, the bar scene was cool… but the dinner imminently forgettable. Our host is apologizing for this choice still.
The flank steak was strange and a little too smokey — with a gummy corn pudding… one in our party experienced the «dirty squirties» and suspects the steak. My duck was presented cold and cooked by light bulb versus wood fire.
Go for the bar scene and then elsewhere for dinner… sad sad sad.
Todd English… you should be ashamed!

First time back to Olive’s since they reopened and went in excited as Olive’s has been one of my Boston favorites for years.
The redesign of the interior is attractive and open, but seems to have made the restaurant even louder than it was in the past now that there’s no wall to baffle the sound bouncing off the large glass windows. Any conversation required either shouting or leaning in very close. I was also surprised by the extremely warm temperature of the restaurant. Cold beverages dripped trails of condensation and sweated almost as much as the wait staff who looked as though they might succumb to heat stroke. I asked our waitress if anyone else had mentioned the temperature and she replied that «Yes, we all think it’s very hot but there’s nothing we can do.» Between the noise level and heat, I wasn’t inclined to stay for long.
Fortunately the wine selection and food were as delicious as I remembered. The beef carpaccio continues to be a shining star and is a must-​have for any first visit to Olive’s. I also tried the tortelli of butternut squash which I can only describe as perfect. Finished up with Olive’s signature vanilla soufflé which was sweeter than I remembered, but delicious all the same.
All told, it was a good meal, but I don’t see myself rushing back if the comfort level of the restaurant isn’t improved.

I live across the street, so when Olives closed a few years ago I was pretty bummed. I have been back a couple times since it re-​opened and it is not the place I remembered.
The calamari was the lone bright spot. The «shrimp cocktail» looked promising, but fell very flat. Also, they took the last 3 away without asking if we were done. I ordered my favorite meal in the world… duck and risotto… I could not have been more disappointed (especially for $ 36). The duck was cold, risotto was loose and cold — all around a major bummer! $ 200 I wish I had spent elsewhere.
This is definitely more of a drink and lite snack place for me now.

I don’t often comment on service because I’m usually just interested in food, but this place was expensive and the relative quality of the service of the wait staff just dumbfounded me. Our waiter spilled water all over the table as he was pouring it in my glass, and some of it even got on my lap, and this is how he reacted: He picked up one piece of ice on the table and walked away. No apology, no cleaning up the rest of the table, nothing. But thanks for helping me out with that one piece of ice. ???
Anyway, the food was mostly good. We had the following: Muscles with potatoes and this mashed potato purée. Beet and goat cheese (I think those were the ingredients) ravioli was awesome, although the portion was comically, comically small. A flat bread with shrimp. And I tried oysters for the first time here; definitely expensive, but great. We also got some drinks: I had peach-​vodka concoction that I thought tasted a little too strong.
All in all, a nice dining experience, but order carefully or you’ll leave hungry. Also, you may leave with wet clothes.

I am reviewing a restaurant that is closed because I just have to memorialize the story of the time I went there. You know, so it doesn’t get lost to the dustbin of history.
A friend was visiting Boston for the weekend and we decided to walk the Freedom Trail. It was a windy New England winter day and the sky was spitting slush, but I still insisted that we walk all the way across the Charlestown Bridge because otherwise her Freedom Trail experience would not be complete!
By the time we were walking back from the Bunker Hill monument, our coats were entirely covered with a layer of slush. We had wanted to go to the North End for dinner, but we weren’t sure we’d make it that far without dropping dead from frostbite. As we approached the bridge to cross back in the other direction, we spotted the haven of Olives, with its warm, friendly lights inside. We walked to the window, looked at the menu, and were thrilled to see prices we could afford. So in we went.
We were seated by a friendly waitress who dropped off a basket of bread and dish of olive oil with herbs. It smelled heavenly. But when we opened our menus, we saw prices that were most definitely not what we had seen in the window. So, we waited. With that bread in front of us, tempting us with its irresistible aroma. For fifteen minutes, while our waitress did not come and did not come and did not come.
When she finally came back to take our order, I said, «The prices on the menu don’t seem to be the same as what was in the window.» Without a word, she turned and walked to the window. She removed the lunch menu and replaced it with the dinner menu. Then she came back to our table and explained that the lunch menu had been left up too long in error. Gesturing to the dinner menu, I said, «These prices are really more than what we were hoping to pay.»
Instead of saying, «I’m sorry. You can order from the lunch menu, since it’s our fault that it was left up too long,» she said, «That’s all right, you can just go ahead and leave then.» So we did.
True story.