Chez Olga

I went here with my sister-​in-​law and nephew. The great experience started when we saw the outside of the restaurant. My nephew fell in love and automatically started wanting to take pictures in the front. Once we got inside the owner/​waitress/​chef was so sweet. We ordered the sampler appetizer and each of us ordered something different for lunch. Everything was amazing and the lady taking care of us even came and sat down with us to interact. My sister-​in-​law and I both love spicy food, but we wanted to stay conservative so we ordered a four, and it was much more spicy than we expected, but the flavor of the food shined through the spice. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting a family-​friendly experience!

Husband and I tried this place over the weekend. This might be the top 3 places we have ate in Grand Rapids. The food is authentic and delicious!
We started with pâté and had great flavor. My husband had seafood gumbo which was flavorful and had a great deal of seafood. I had chicken Creole and it was fantastic. This is a place that we will go back to over again.

I love Chez Olga. Their food is spicy, simple, and full of flavor. And it’s not like you can get excellent Caribbean food just anywhere.
For spice fans: this place can bring the HEAT if you want them to!

This place is a must if you’ve never been there! The best Caribbean food ever! My favorite is Jerk Chicken spice level 5. Although you can’t go wrong no matter what entrée you choose. Ms Olga is so friendly & inviting. She makes you feel welcome as if you were a guest in her home. She takes pride in her cooking & loves to see people enjoy what she makes. My girls & I also love the pâté with chicken. The strawberry sauce that goes with it is beyond good! You can now buy a jar of it!

Amazing! If you like to eat at places like Curry Kitchen, Bombay Cuisine, or Little African, then you have to come and try Chez Olga! We got the Curry Goat and the Mixed Gumbo! They were so tasty and flavorful! The service is great, the place is true to its roots and extremely authentic! Will definitely be coming back in the near future.

Wow! Recommended by our waiter at Terra. This place was amazing! Low key… Jerk Chicken, Tofu Creole… Wonderful flavor… Fried Plantain w ice cream dessert at end capped the perfect meal!

Some of the best food in town fresh inventive the creole rice is to die for. And the jumbo is amazing Just eating her white rice is a pleasure. The only reason there are not five stars is that the service is incredibly slow. Sometimes one goes in and won’t see the waiter forever. So make it an evening, don’t go when rushed and have a great slow meal

Not great. We didn’t even get to eating. We went in and sat down. The waiter greeted us and brought us menus and then never came back. We waited 15 minutes at the table before just leaving because we were hungry.

I was really looking forward to checking this place out because of the good things I’ve heard. Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. Service was slow and even though he wrote down our orderhe messed it up. Their spice scale is also on the high side. I’m not sure I will go back or refer it to friends. Also the décor was a little tacky, all of their plants are fake and still have the tags on some of them. With being in such a nice building the inside is a bit drab.

Data: Took a group of 20 to have dinner there. Some with serious dietary restrictions (celiac’s) and others with particular pallets (meat and potato). Everyone was able to fully enjoy everything we ordered without issue at all.
Food: The food was outstanding. We ended up getting food off the catering menu which worked out great. The food was ready when we arrived in pans.
We had the Jerk Chicken, Olga’s Shrimp, steamed veggies, and rice. The chicken was fall-​off-​the-​bone tender in an amazing sauce that wasn’t spicy at all for our more delicate eaters. The shrimp was also outstanding. The veggies and rice were exactly that — veggies and rice — very good accompaniment to the main courses. Everyone agreed that the flavors were exceptional. I think every person in our group said that they would love to come back again.
Price: The cost for 20 people was extremely reasonable for the quality of food. Everyone had plenty to eat.
Ambiance: Not a fancy sit down restaurant, but perfect for our group. Not too quiet and stuffy nor so loud where it would be hard to hear each other.
Other stuff: This is where this restaurant really excelled. Our server was Olga — as in Chez Olga. She was an absolute GEM — so personable and hospitable! She obviously took great pride in the restaurant and each recipe that was served. Absolutely love when a restauranteur takes pride and ownership in what they put out.
Towards the end of our dinner, I asked if I could try a spicy dish since we ordered our dishes with no spice and she generously brought out some of the goat curry (level 7 of 10) and it did not disappoint! It wasn’t over the top spicy, but it definitely got our attention. The most remarkable thing was how tender the goat was… not to be missed.
If you’re in the GR area and want an authentic taste of the Caribbean, look no further. Like some other reviewers said, this place is a treasure.

After reading the many reviews, I decided to make the special trip for their curry goat.
Upon entering, I found there was no hostess or employees around… so I simply sat down and waited for a friend to arrive. After several minutes someone noticed us and came over to take our drink order.
I tried one of their papaya mango drinks (think a cross between a smoothie and a slushie) which was just OK, a little sweet.
My friend and I both ordered the curry goat. Rich (stew-​like) curry broth with chunks of goat meat, bones, etc… paired with a large serving of rice. I loved it! You get a little messy if you’re trying to pick up and eat the meat clinging to the small bones, but it’s totally worth it.
Our server had a great attitude and seemed happy to be there.

Just try it. Will change your life.
One of the best in GR. Always great food, always great service.

This place has really good Caribbean food and tons of options to choose from. The service, however, was not so good. There was only 1 person working the front area when we went. The sign in front says, please wait to be seated, but we stood there for 5 minutes until i just sat down at the table that is closest to the door. It took about another 20 minutes for us to get our waters and our order taken. I understand that it is difficult to manage when working by yourself but i think she could have handled things more efficiently.
When our food came, it did not disappoint. My husband and i got the fried plaintains to share. I ordered the seafood gumbo and he got the curry goat. The food is amazing and there aren’t very many places in grand rapids that serves this variety so it’s definitely worth a try if you have some extra time to spare.

I must admit that I’m not especially familiar with the different foods of the Caribbean, as I’ve been reading some of the previous reviews on here that Chez Olga is more of pan-​Caribbean restaurant, and less of a full-​on Haitian restaurant. With that being said, I must say I have really loved the food here, and I’ve come here on many different occasions to test out all of the different vegetarian options. They do a very good job here of making vegetarian variations, even for some of their meat dishes. Although, I’m particularly partial to their ‘Creole Tofu’, ‘the vegetarian ‘Gumbo,’ and the vegetarian ‘Pasta Chez Olga’ (the latter I have them add tofu to). Their black bean salad, vegetable creole noodle soup, vegetable pâté, fried accra, and most importantly, their fried plantains (or the fried plantain sandwich), are all phenomenal. Chez Olga seriously has a very expansive menu for vegetarians and meat-​eaters alike, and I’ve never had a disappointing dish.
Flavor-​wise, Chez Olga’s dishes always pack a powerful punch, yet the spices are very complementary and balanced-​out, in spite of the boldness, but please be forewarned, they do not play around when it comes to heat. Their heat scale runs from 1 to 10. I’ve been eating hot foods for my entire life, and both their 6 and 7 spice levels were mistakes for me. I eventually leveled off very comfortably at a 5 here. If you prefer mild, get a 1 or 2, and if you’re a casual spicy food eater, I recommend starting with a 3 and then perhaps moving onto a 4 the next time you eat there.
They also have a fabulous drink menu. The mango papaya smoothie is my personal favorite, but their lemonades are also quite delicious. I superlove their thick homemade Haitian coffee in the winter months… just definitely be sure try out something from their drink menu during your first visit. And if nothing else, you should at least go their to marvel at the epic hand-​carved wooden façade (this is reason enough to stop by) and enjoy the terrific tropical ambience of Chez Olga.

Outstanding food, but you have to be on island time. The atmosphere is relaxed with a varied client base. Casual seating. Casual service. Not ideal for someone in a hurry, but if you want a great place to relax with on a date, this is the place. The food was delicious. I understand that you want to ask who is cooking because some of the cooks tend to make the food hotter than others. I recommend a 2 on the hot scale, just to be safe.

Awesome place and food. Been there twice now and had the seafood gumbo and jerk chicken. Both were very flavorful and spicy. I highly recommend this place
And trying either dish though I’ll be back to try something new off the menu and no doubt it will be great!

Chez Olga has the most delicious and unique dishes in the area. After finding this restaurant I just continue to return for my favorite dish. I love the potato lasagna, I eat nothing else and all of their traditional, interesting drinks are delicious. I recommend trying one of each. And don’t skip dessert! Take home leftovers and try the rice pudding. The food is even better heated up the next day!

Boss took me and Jason here last week. Tim loves his hot Caribbean food. He definitely found a treasure here .
I had the curry chicken. The waiter asked how hot I wanted it on a scale of 1 to 10. He said the typical American likes a 2. So I went with a 6. Ow I didn’t know it was a logarithmic scale! It was just too hot for me but I could still taste the sweet embrace of the curry underneath the heat. Yumm. We ate slowly and enjoyed? the sweat seep out of the pores on our forehead, nose, and upper lip. Next time I won’t be so brave and I’ll order a 4.
The waiter and cook are great — so fun and friendly. The building is a small yet astonishing work of art that should be included in the city’s annual art prize.

This place is delicious. The building has a unique and creative look. We ordered a few dishes. Be careful with ur spice level. I normally eat a medium spice and level 2 was good for me. Their caribbean style dishes have really good and different flavor to them. I would highly recommend this place. It seems very authentic. It’s a good place to try new things.

We came to this wonderful establishment not knowing what to expect. But the food was absolutely wonderful. The kind lady who helped us was honest about choosing the right spice number to our tastes. We haven’t been in since last year but we still talk about it.
Must try if you are looking for a different taste… beware 3 is pretty spicy, 6 will make you sweat and 10 has never been tempted by us.