Olives by Massad’s

My husband and I first went to Olives last year for an early Valentine’s dinner. We experienced good service and fantastic flavors, so we went back again this year.
We went the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, so we did expect them to be busy. When we arrived we were told that they were booked for tables until 9pm, but we were welcome to sit at the bar. We were okay with that, and it was our own fault that we hadn’t reserved a spot.
Our food was delicious, but the service was lacking this time. At the beginning of our meal (we had clearly requested menus and ordered dinner) we were not offered the appetizers of olives and bread. We asked for some, and were given olives, but were told the bread wasn’t ready yet. We watched several other tables being served bread, and then requested some again toward the middle of our meal. It never arrived. Finally toward the end of our meal we asked again and were finally served some before we left.
I was also disappointed to see that multiple tables were NEVER filled the whole time we ate at the bar. We had arrived at 4pm and stayed for about 45 minutes so I don’t understand why the tables were left empty that whole time.
We were shuffled between about 4 different servers, and that probably didn’t help with communication for our food. I felt like we were passed over many times when someone should have been checking in. For a higher end restaurant, I really expected better service.

When I’m going out with a group and someone suggests Olives, I experience actual dread. I only go here when someone else chooses it and I’m not in a position to say no. Since I’m a vegetarian and their menu is very limited, I end up stuck choosing between two salad and two pizza options. The salad options are both truly terrible (I eat just enough not to call attention to the fact that I’m not eating and can’t wait to get home and cook for myself). It’s not a problem of freshness, but the flavors just aren’t good. To be fair, they do have decent bread, and I’ve never ordered the pizza because it’s an awkward thing to eat when everyone else at the table has a traditional knife-​and-​fork plate in front of them. I have no problem paying a premium for good food, but Olives is just so disappointing at any price. The service is good and so is the atmosphere, but it’s a restaurant, so the food is what matters most, and when it comes to the food, I’d rather go literally anywhere else in Mankato.

Olives has amazing food and cocktails. Their noon buffet is my favorite (and I don’t normally like buffets).

I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn this week in Mankato. I enjoyed the food at Olive for dinner (burger night) and for breakfast. Food was delicious but other than the burgers was very expensive especially for a town like Mankato. My meals were enhanced by great service for both meals by Jesse my server. Very professional and pleasant!

Success is about managing expectations.
In the case of olives restaurant, our expectations were high. A pricey menu at the Hilton hotel with high ratings. The experience did not match the expectation.
A signature shwarma pizza was virtually inedible.
Two of our dining party ordered the barbecue ribs. As advertised, the meat did fall off the bone but compared to other ribs that we have had, it was just fair. However, the mash potato was over salted and the number of ribs for the price was modest.
We also had kebab and the diner said it was quite good. So maybe the menu is hit or miss.
But service was friendly and they accommodated us on a busy night. For that, they get points.

Came here for a weekday lunch with my boyfriend and it wasn’t busy. Great service and great food. I’d highly recommend their pizza with caramelized onions!

I forgot to write my review when I was there last month for business.
Great steak. Cooked and seasoned perfectly.
Service was prompt, pleasant
The bread was fantastic, reminded me when I lived in Germany
I wish they had a few more draft beers on tap, but they were cold and fresh.
Prices were very reasonable, I wish this place was in my home town

A very nice restaurant in the downtown Hilton of Mankato Minnesota. We were well greeted and quickly seated on a Friday night. Waitstaff was very professional. The food was excellent and well presented. if you wanted to desert you really needed to get up and go to the desert case. My only real criticism was there was no green tea to finish my meal with since, I don’t drink coffee.
I recommend the chicken Parmesan it was d-​lish.

I was pleasantly surprised by the look and quality of this hotel restarant. Bartenders are friendly, classy and aim to please. I just had a salad but others were eating full meals and made a point to compliment the chef. This is family owned and it shows!

Stayed at Hilton Garden Inn Downtown for a football game and had breakfast downstairs at Olive’s. Prices were less than $ 10 for all meals. The breakfast «buffet» was $ 9.95. Great price for hotel dining. There was juice, fruit, yogurt, waffles, breakfast meats, omelettes, eggs, etc. The food was prepared well and service was great. We even had a lady recommend boutiques and thrift shops in the area. I’d definitely recommend this place.

I really like this place. They have very good service, the staff seem to care about your meal and the selection is great. Great place for lunch or dinner.
Nice location downtown, free parking in the ramp is a plus.
Only downside is it’s a bit small, so Friday night and it can get crowded.

I would not recommend this place for breakfast. Denny’s does it better, cheaper, faster… and Denny’s sucks!
My daughter stopped in after staying in the hotel and were looking for a nice breakfast before hitting the road to finish our trip. Continental breakfast was $ 7 and didn’t offer a lot of choices. For $ 10 you could «step it up» and add an omelet, eggs, etc. So, we decided for the $ 10 option. My daughter had scrambled eggs and hash browns. Eggs had no flavor, no seasoning nothing — pretty drab. My omelet on the other hand was pretty good. Lots of toppings and pretty sizable. That was the highlight. I went to make some toast and the toaster was not plugged in and I couldn’t find the outlet, so I skipped it.
My daughter ditched her eggs and went to make a waffle. The waffle maker was not plugged in either, so we plugged it in and it took forever to heat up. After 10 minutes, she poured the batter in and it never cooked. The server cleaned it out and tried to cook one for her again. After another 5 minutes I said «Can you just make her a pancake?» «No, we’ll just make this work.» After another 5+ minutes she had her waffle. What a pain in the butt. Come on people it’s breakfast in a hotel… and it shouldn’t take 40 minutes and cost over $ 20 for the same stuff you get at Holiday Inn Express for free (Plus, there you get more options!)

I had the chicken noodle soup and the Bly club and both were very good. Was very quiet, but it was 2 pm on a Monday. The waiter did forget the salad for one of my companions which was pretty sad since there was no one else in the restaurant. Convenient if going to the verizon center.

The short: Nice ambience, good service, mediocre (that’s me being MN-​nice, FYI) food. If you must go, please, do it on a Monday night for the burger special. They are a good deal for the price. Avoid the Seafood like it’s a rat infested with fleas infested with the black plague from Canada.
The long:
I should have realized what we were in for based upon the large placard displayed at the entrance of the restaurant. It was a photo of the executive chef pitching his insipid «schawarma sauce.» (They claim it is an aioli but I’ve had aioli, I’ve made aioli, I freaking love aioli, and that is no aioli.) I may have turned back there, but it was my girlfriend’s birthday and the restaurant looks so nice. We were seated immediately and our waitress arrived quickly.
The menu has more «signature» items than the Declaration of Independence. Each item has a quote like, «A masterpiece of flavors,» and «A little bit of Italy in Mankato.» I don’t know who exactly they are trying to convince, but I do hope that the message hits home soon.
We ordered the Seafood Trio (a signature item… surprised?) and the signature burger (I’m really not making this stuff up) The burger — a Monday only special, was actually decent and, for $ 7, even a pretty good deal. However, the Seafood was an utter disaster. The prawns wee overcooked, the trout looked like jerky, the potatoes were cold, and the flavors… dear good, the flavors were horrid. I could go on, but I won’t. I really believe that a modestly trained home ec class from a rural high school could have executed the dish better. To their credit, the staff apologized and took the plate back immediately. They offered us a dessert, we chose the fresh fruit tart abd were underwhelmed again. (I don’t know if it was a signature dish or not.)
The food gets one star (yes, the burger was fine, but a special menu item. Harsh? Perhaps, but it wasn’t my birthday.) but the service earned one back. Sadly, I won’t be able to update this review because it is very unlikely that I will go back to this restaurant again. I wanted so badly to have a good experience. Mankato has a food scene about as active as the average Midwesterner and, gosh diggity darn it, could it use a great restaurant. Alas, this isn’t it.

Best mediterranean food outside of Dearborn. Awesome fatoush, hummus, and baba ganoush! I come here whenever I am in Mankato. Great drinks great food great atmosphere.

I visited this restaurant when I was up from Kansas City visiting family.
This was a great find in a rather abysmal dining experience in Southern Minnesota. A gem among rocks, a pearl among swine. Most places I go to up around that area are just meh. This place was both memorable and made me wish my time in Minnesota was longer so I could have gone back for more.
The menu isn’t extensive. A few more vegetarian offerings would be wonderful, I agree with another reviewer who said that, but there’s really something for everybody on the menu.
The only thing that disappointed me is how much I wanted to go back to this place and now have to wait until I am up north again.
People of Mankato, you have a treasure in your city! Keep it there, please! I want to come back!

One of Mankato’s best restaurants — but it’s a low bar. Definitely the best service. But for my taste, the food has much to be desired. Too much salt. Too much butter (yes, that’s possible). Needs more vegetarian options on the menu.

Good for Mankato, above average for Minneapolis with prices to match. Service was great, menu has a good selection with a heavy Mediterranean influence. Good selection of beer and scotch from their tiny bar. Tough to beat for a convention center hotel restaurant.

Well I can say I have had better Med food, this place is really very good all things considered. (LOCATION!) On a recent trip to Mankato visiting family, my mother in law offered to buy lunch, my sister in law and niece both looked at each other and simultaneously, emphatically shouted «OLIVES!»
I guess my sister in law had her birthday dinner here a few years ago, and they really like the place. My niece who is a very picky eater demolished her entire plate of kabobs; even my mother in law noticed and commented she’s never seen her eat so much food.
I had the schwarma wrap, and the chicken was alright. My plate wasn’t anything to sneeze at, but I don’t know I’d order it again if I were to stop by. We checked out their buffet upon arrival and opted to order instead because it wasn’t exactly massive or anything. Our service was good.

Consistently good food and service. Probably the best meal I have had while staying in a HGI property. Not a lot to choose from in Mankato so this is a good move if you are in town. Very busy for a Tuesday night so i suspect the neighbors have realized how good Olive’s is.