Olives Deli & Bakery

Their orzo salad is outstanding. I pick up a few containers of their various salads every time I’m in Princeton. They never disappoint!

My favorite place to pick up dinner on my way home. Freshly cooked, but better than I could ever do on my own. Wonderful choices. Patient people to give you tastes of the soup. I always want to taste to make sure there is not too much salt. There is never too much salt. The chef (Joe) knows how to season. Perfectly. You can have what you want — 2 veggies, skip the rice for example. I often pick up salad and extras (grape leaves, humus, quinoa salad etc) and have treats for the next few days. It’s a godsend right in the middle of town.

Great place to grab a quick sandwich on the go. I have come here numerous times and have always been pleased with the wide array of options, including hot food, salads, and sandwiches, as well as desserts. Definitely a good place to go to when you aren’t in the mood for a sit down meal, or want to grab something to eat on a busy day.

I’ve gone to Olives probably 40 – 50 times the past few months for lunch and it is an excellent grab and go place for lunch. They have numerous options like salads, sandwiches, etc. they have healthy options or less healthy it is all good. My favorite is the special kale salads they do. Their chicken salad is amazing.
Everyone there is really nice and it doesn’t take very long, unless you get a sandwich. They are also pretty generous with their portions. Their pricing is moderate, cheaper compared to some places in Princeton. They also have excellent desserts for purchase. All in all, a great place to eat for lunch.

delicious food and really nice people! I recommend any of their bakery foods and they always have great salads. Everything is always fresh.

Olives is my go-​to for a quick, tasty meal. There’s a hot meal display that changes regularly and deli with hot and cold sandwiches as well as cold salads. As you move around toward the register, there’s a pretty expansive bakery section too.
Some of my favorite things here are the falafel (it’s better than any of the nearby Mediterranean restaurants), buffalo mac and cheese (sinfully good), and the warm chicken and kale salad. I’ve never had a meal I didn’t like here!

I grabbed a quick breakfast from here when I was in town last week. Upon seeing that my hotel was charging upwards of $ 13 for a bagel sandwich, I plugged «bagel» into the trusty Unilocal app and it led me right here, a block or so from my hotel.
Upon finding the sandwich counter, I ordered a bagel sandwich with lox and a schmear ($ 7.25) on a sesame seed bagel. Because they were somewhat busy, the sandwich took between 5 – 10 min. to make, which still wasn’t bad. I took it to the front counter to pay, and there was some confusion about obtaining a receipt – if you need an itemized receipt, be sure to ask for one prior to paying.
The sandwich itself was simple but good. The bagel was a step above those of bagel chains in quality, but wasn’t quite up to NYC standards. The quantity of cream cheese and lox was appropriate – not over the top, but definitely not skimpy, either – and they seemed to be of good quality.
Based on my experience, I’d recommend Olives for a quick breakfast or lunch in Princeton. The prices are reasonable, the service is quick and friendly, and, most importantly, the food is pretty good.

Perfect Princeton spot for a picnic lunch. We usually stop here on our bike rides to split a sandwich and refuel. Usually order something on whole wheat roll, and fresh additions like guacamole, tomatoes, tzadiki, and lettuce!
There are tons of stuff in the cases and pre made salads, they look good but I’ve never had.
Bring the salad and a drink over to Witherspoon square for some live music on the weekend while you eat!

Guy behind the counter serving the food is the man! He is an older fellow and when I asked him what I should get either the orzo salad or the pesto tortellini salad he replied,“why not both” and gave me half and half of both and charged me with just one! A nice family feel to it! He then said with his awesome accent I feel your pain I have trouble here as well, I eat here at least 5 times a week. I will be back both tasted amazing and so is the chicken salad!

I absolutely LOVE Olives. I love coming here, grabbing a sandwich or another meal on a pretty day, and sitting on a bench either in Palmer Square or on Nassau Street. One of my favorite things to do in Princeton, aside from doing that exact same thing with Princeton’s world famous ice cream. The food never disappoints and it’s a great option when coming to Princeton with a dog because you’re just sitting on a bench eating with your dog (and probably a friend in this situation because someone has to wait outside with your dog when you get your food).

Love their salads and breakfast sandwiches. The staff is very nice but the Spanish lady at the register is a little too bitchy for my taste. Oh well.
My daughter got a beautiful princess tiana cake for her 3^rd birthday! It looked and tasted amazing!

Awesome cafeteria style market where you can pick from a variety of items to eat and drink. All the food they make is really good. On my last visit I got a bunch of pasta salads (and of course olives) and they were all delicious. There is some interior seating, but I recommend taking your items to go and walking over to the courtyard by the library and eating outside (if weather permits).

Fresh, organic with lits of great choices for a healthy meal anytime ! I loved the service and the gkavir, Amazing G choice for lunch or anymeal!

3.5 stars.
I’ve never been a massive fan of Olives, and yet I find myself coming here time and time again.
The best thing here is the salad lunch special, which gives you a choice of three salads from a huge variety of options. My favorite is definitely the curried chicken salad, followed by the seaweed salad. The baba ghanoush here is probably the worst version I’ve ever had — had way too much vinegar in it and was still a bit chunky. The tabouleh was also very disappointing. I’m just going to generalize and say skip all the middle eastern food because it’s probably better at Mamoun’s next door. What Olives does well is provide a reasonably healthy and fresh option for quick lunches.
I remember having a breakfast omelet here before and being seriously underwhelmed. I’ve also the chicken souvlaki wrap, which was fine, except that it had way too much tzatziki sauce on it, such that it overwhelmed all the other flavors. Their oatmeal raisin cookie is much too sweet for my liking.
Another nice thing is that they sell cartons of Bent Spoon ice cream, which are perfect for bringing home and sharing with friends.

First time here and I really liked it! This is more of a place to order what is recommended by other Unilocalers though.
The buffalo mac and cheese was, as expected, amazing! You can taste the different cheeses and you also get a piece of chicken in every bite.
The three cheese meatloaf with 2 sides was average, nothing crazy. My boyfriend and I chose this randomly and felt that it was just okay.
The mozzarella, tomato, and chicken sandwich was fresh but also average. Again, we chose this randomly.
I would recommend going to Olives but getting things that people have been raving about, like the buffalo mac and cheese. The other dishes seem to be just okay.

How is it even possible that I haven’t rated Olive’s? I’ve been coming here for over 15 years. The last time, I ordered a beef dish with corn salsa — a party in a dish, where ALL my buds were invited. So so sooooooo good. I will definitely be getting that again.
Some other favorites are the chicken salad, the grilled salmon, greek chicken, pretty much all of their soups are stellar, all their pastries (baklava aaaaaaah!!), the hummus — hell, even just the OLIVES at Olive’s are amazingly delicious. In fact, I didn’t like kalamata olives until I ate one in an Olive’s salad — stuffed grapes too! Give Olive’s a shot, they’re that good.

Shout out to Francesca T. for recommending me this place!
Olives Deli has a wide variety of lunch options. They have hot specials like pasta and soup, all kinds of yummy and nutritious salads, and comforting sandwiches. They also sell some produce and dairy products on the go. The prices here are decent. One salad combo (~$ 7.95) can make you full instantly. I also ordered a small cup of soup (~$ 4.75) and it was also very filling. They also give you a piece of bread to come with the soup.
There’s not much seating inside or outside. So make sure to get it to go. They accept credit cards. They also have coffee and other hot beverages if you want something warm on a cold rainy day.
Overall an awesome and healthy place for lunch!

Olive’s is the single thing that I miss the most from no longer working in downtown Princeton.
The staff are friendly and will remember you – sometimes even if you aren’t a regular. The owners express interest in what’s going on with you – how your weekend was, if you have vacation coming up, etc.
If you go in the morning, be sure to grab one of their delicious, fluffy chocolate croissants, which there are only ever a few of and which sell out quickly. The coffee is okay, but nothing to write home about.
It gets crowded over lunch. You can check the menu online, which is great, since it will allow you to order quickly, as there is often not much space to kill around in the U-​shaped area configuration, which facilitates the flow of meal traffic.
The first case on your left is cold prepared foods, which you can have wrapped to take with you and heat up later, or ask them to heat up for you. After that the the prepared hot foods, which has some of the best fries out there. Perpendicular to that is the salad case, which is a local favorite, as Olive’s offers a combo special that allows you to select three salads as your meal. Special recognition goes to the Mexican layer salad (be sure to ask for a few warm pitas to use as a vessel to transport the yummy goodness to your belly, which has no idea what it’s in for. The penne pasta salad is simple, but also delicious and hits the spot on a warm summer day.
After the salad case is the sandwich prep station, which also has some pre-​prepared sandwiches, but can make anything your hungry little heart desires. Then, as you turn back around in the final part of the building’s U-​shape, on your left will be the bakery/​dessert counter.
Be ready to pay as you get to the dessert counter, because although the line builds, the cashiers work very quickly and you don’t want to be the one holding up the line!
There’s not much space for sitting, except for a bar area set back from between the sandwich station and the dessert counter. But if the weather is nice, much better to take your order across the street and toward the library, where there is open-​air public seating.

Olives is great! They have so much variety, and it’s always fresh and friendly.
I love how you can sample almost anything here, it makes choosing a whole lot easier.
My favorites:
–lemon chicken orzo soup
–sweet potato jalapeño soup
–rice pudding
–rocky road brownie
–peanut butter cookies
–the Bent Spoon Greek yogurt with candied walnuts they have in store
–banana split pudding
–flan
–chicken caesar salad
–warm kale cobb salad with chicken
–potato salad!
Things I don’t like:
–napoleon: soggy, not flaky, hard to eat
–cheesecakes (both oreo and mixed fruit): no crust, disappointing, texture too thick but not creamy
–fruit tart: too much gelatinous glaze, crust not crumbly/​flaky, soggy, custard not great
–macarons: way too expensive here for the quality, theirs are not good
Overall, Olives is a nice refreshing deli/​bakery/​grocery store in Princeton. The servers at the deli area are always super friendly and the food there is good too. The cashiers/​servers at the bakery are weirdly impatient and unfriendly. The food at the bakery is also sub-​par. Avoid most of the stuff at the bakery (except peanut butter cookies and the rocky road brownie) and just get the food from the deli! The desserts at the deli are also better!

This is one of my favorite delis. It’s a quaint, neat deli on Witherspoon Street that features your typical deli sandwiches, pastas, other pre-​made entrees and a display case of desserts.
The inside is bright and clean, with a large selection of food, snacks and drinks in display cases, refrigerated displays and racks. There’s very little room to sit though since it’s primarily a take-​out deli. There’s only a small bar in the very back right with some stools and one table for 3 – 4 by the cash register.
The food here is delicious – so fresh and well made. I usually get the simple mozzarella, basil and tomato sandwich on a baguette. All of the ingredients are super fresh and crisp, and the baguette is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Although it’s a very basic sandwich, the composition makes it worth the $ 6. On that note, the food here is reasonably priced – about $ 6 – 9 for a meal. Pretty good for downtown Princeton.
There are a lot of other sandwiches to choose from, and you can make your own with choice of bread, veggies and meat. Some sandwiches are pre-​made, but there are also deli chefs there who will quickly make you a personalized sandwich. On the side there’s a display case of homemade pastas that you can pack to go; next to the cash register there’s another display case with delicious looking sweets, pastries and cakes for dessert. You can also buy drinks or other cold on-​the-​go items.
Olive’s has everything you could want for a casual lunch, as well as a selection of pastas and other Italian dishes to bring home for dinner. This is a must-​try stop in Princeton if you want something light and fresh for a quick meal.