Oliver Twist

Best Tapas in town!!! love it! Fish taco, Korean BBQ Short Ribs. sesame seared tuna. civiche. Calasis Mussles everything is pretty good!

Great location, but we were let down.
The food was great, the staff were great especially the bar tender, although our waitress had had a charisma bypass operation that was very successful, However when we got the bill we were surprised to find that they had added a 28% service charge for a service for a party of 3. We spoke to the duty manager and he basically said he had to make money. I think he let his staff down and I hope he restaurant continues to be as empty as it was this evening. Such arrogance should not not be rewarded.
Ignore at all costs if you care about the staff. This is staff abuse.

Great spot tucked away inside Brennan station with just incredible deals on really nice food. It’s certainly a different type of place, with the interior layout, décor, and lounge/​club feel, but different is good. We went on a Tuesday and were treated to half priced bottle of wine (!), which is such a great deal, not to mention we were already using a groupon, so we came out of there spending very little for a lot of great food and wine. They do bring out the tapas as they are ready, which is good, so don’t expect to eat everything all at once. All in all I was surprised in a good way at what this place is trying to do, and I can say we will be back. Maybe on a weekend night where it’s likely more lively.

My husband and I had a wonderful date night last night at Oliver Twist. There was a really great singer singing a great mix of current to 80’s music. We were greeted and seated immediately. Our server was attentive and very friendly. There place was almost full.
We chose to drink martini’s since it was $ 5 martini night. I got the «Dozen Roses» and he got the «Sangria-​tini» which were both delicious. For dinner he ordered the classic bruschetta… which was good, not spectacular (two tiny pieces of crispy bread topped with tomatoes and grated cheese) and the Filet Mignon Sliders… SO good and juicy and flavorful! I was very impressed. I had the Ahi tuna which I liked very much and the fish tacos, which I loved! My husband ended up ordering the Jerk Chicken tacos later on which were excellent.
For dessert we shared one Mint cruffle and the chocolate fondue for 2. Both were delicious!
We had a great time and are looking forward to returning.

Maybe because it was a rainy Monday night, but when I walked in, nobody was up front, and I waited for several minutes for someone to greet and seat me.
That same woman happened to be our server. After ordering, she had to come back and ask us what we ordered again because she had missed one. I mean, I can understand since we ordered 5 tapas, and she didn’t bother to write them down.
But her service in general was not very good. Her aura just came off as uncomfortable and awkward. And she barely talked to us! Yes, we are Asians but we are quite fluent in English. Please say more than 3 sentences for goodness sake.
The food was alright.
It was a new experience for live music and tapas, but I would rather find a better place that also has good service and better food.

Almost exactly one year after the last time we went, we decided to use a voucher I had bought to have dinner before a Cirque show. Following the voucher rules, we called and made a reservation, despite being the first people to show up at 5:00 on a Saturday. We were given our choice of three tables, and we chose a four-​top near the back of the restaurant. We next proceeded to read from the main menu, wine menu, and a special Hennessy drink list.
I chose a half carafe of red sangria and Husband ordered a classic sidecar off the Hennessy list. My goodness, I don’t know how he drank that thing, but he loved it. It was sure strong! Go Husband!
I confess I was not a fan of the sangria. It tasted like they might have forgotten to put the red wine in it. Reminded me of a watered down Hawaiian Punch. I would not order it again. Even left some behind when we left, which is something I NEVER do. I do not believe in wasting wine. But since it didn’t seem like there WAS wine in it, it wasn’t a sacrifice.
That being said, we loved our food choices! We chose the BBQ shrimp, which was 5 shrimp with just the right amount of sauce, and one buttery piece of bread to sop up the sauce. I do love this dish, Husband is just okay with it. He mentioned it would have been even better with a grilled flavor, and I would agree with that.
We also got the beef empanadas with chimichurri sauce. There were four small ones. We both really liked them. I doubt they’re «authentic», so I wouldn’t expect them to be so, if I were you, but they are very tasty… perhaps even wonton wrappers filled with beef and fried? Not sure, but they were crispy and topped with the fresh and delicious thick chimichurri… yum!
The scallop dish once again was a favorite. It was two good-​size scallops, cooked beautifully and served with a small amount of angel hair pasta with just he right amount of cream sauce. Just don’t wait too long to eat this, as the pasta goes cold very fast, and it’s better warm.
Crab dip… we really love it here! No, it’s not lump crab meat, maybe claw meat? It’s creamy good, with a browned top that puts it, well, over-​the-​top. The grilled pita triangles that come with it are just the right ratio, so as not to waste a bit of the dip.
Somehow we still managed to have room for dessert, so we ordered the crème brûlée, and two «cruffles», which are a rich combination of cake and chocolate. Husband went with a Turtle one that had a pecan on top and a touch of salt that made it just fantastic. Husband said it was probably the best pecan he has ever eaten. I was not quite as enthused about the spicy one that I got. It had a red hot on top, and unless you’re a huge fan of red hots, I wouldn’t recommend it. I do like the combination of chocolate and spice, but the cinnamon flavor got to me after a couple bites. (Of course, I was pretty full at this point anyway)…not to mention we were also working our way through a perfectly prepared crème brûlée. (Husband had to do most of it).
Kudos to our server, who had the whole dining room in his capable hands. The pace was just right for us, relaxing, yet not too slow. I’ve read other reviews where folks have commented on this place having an identity crisis… I think that’s part of what I like about it so much. You never totally know what to expect. They had a satellite radio channel playing this time, but it looked like a band was setting up for later. Also liked that they had new menu items to choose from as well as old favorites. Will be back, I just won’t do the sangria again!

The atmosphere and décor here rocks! Seating is first come, first serve. I love the lounge areas. We go here pretty often in a group setting. We have seen live bands, belly dancers, and just a regular night with a live DJ. They do have a private room that you can reserve although I am not sure if this is free or if there are restrictions on reserving it.
Service here is pretty hit or miss. You either get someone who’s attentive or you have to flag down your waiter several times before they notice you.
I love ordering appetizers here. The crab dip is actually one of my favs — however this is coming from someone who doesn’t really like crab but I do love cheese. I have pretty much tried almost every appetizer and they have all been pretty good to me.
For dinner my boyfriend has ordered Oxtails, his first time, and he said it was great. He described it as really tender and tasting almost like roast beef. I have had the herb rubbed roasted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables and I thought my chicken could have been seasoned a little better. I love bold flavors.
I have consumed too many signature cocktails to name them all but so far I have liked them all. Each time I go I try a couple more.
If you want to hang out with friends, drink, eat some appetizers and have a good time I would recommend this place. But check the calendar out to see what they have going on. Also they have a late night menu they serve from until 2 AM. NICE!!!

Huh??? My friend and I left here feeling confused. We were trying to hit a good happy hour out in Raleigh and try a new place. Oliver Twist had a cool website with a fabulous Tuesday special (3 tapas, bottle of wine, dessert for $ 35) so we decided to hit the bar and check it out.
We walked in around 6:15 and… it was empty. Totally cool interior that was almost Moroccan-​looking but there was no one there except us and the bartenders. Eeeek. Awkward. We persisted and dived into to our 3 tapas choices (hummus/​pita, filet sliders and crunchy fish tacos). The hummus was pretty decent but the other two were total duds. Don’t do it. Ever. The bottle of house Chard was good which helped clear my head of the medicre tapas I just ate. The dessert we chose (fondue for 2) was actually very good and would highly recommend that.
Overall it felt Weirdo Extraordinaire: I just don’t think this place knows who they are? Are they (as my friend called it:) A gypsy bar? Is it moraccan? Is it a wine or martini bar? They were playing 80’s music when we walked in… and then some random guy in a hawaiian shirt started hosting trivia at 7pm. What the???
I left feeling confused. Can’t say I want to do that again.

Very nice décor and intimate feel of the restaurant, however I was very unimpressed by the food. I don’t believe we will be returning to Oliver Twist.
I purchased a Groupon and made reservations for 2. Despite late reservations at 9:00 p.m., we got stuck at probably the worst table in the place (an awkward rectangle table overlooking people cuddling on the couch, and directly in front of a loud band).
Our waitress was very slow, however we were promptly informed that the oven was down = literally half of the menu was unavailable to us that evening.
I know this is a tapas place, but our portions were incredibly small for the price. I did enjoy the scallops and pasta, however everything else we ordered left MUCH to be desired.

My favorite thing about this place was the décor. It’s got a great martini bar type feel and is a great spot for an intimate date. We had a Living Social coupon for drinks and tapas so we finally stopped in.
As soon as we walked in we were given a menu and were asked to sit at the bar even though there appeared to be several tables open. We didn’t mind this though and saddled up at the end of the bar and started looking at a menu.
My bf and I both got a glass of house wine and then ordered the filet mignon sliders, stuffed mushrooms, and calamari.
Filet Mignon Sliders: Delicious! The sliders were the perfect size and cooked to juicy perfection.
Stuffed Mushrooms: Good but pretty standard stuffed mushrooms
Calamari: YUCK! so mushy I couldn’t even eat them and I can pretty much eat ANYTHING that’s fried.
I try not the be «that» person ever but the calamari was so unpalatable that I sent it back. The waitress didn’t seem to care about us sending our food back but the man who came out with our items seemed pretty perturbed. He just took them away without saying a word to us. No «sorry, can I get you something else» not even a «well screw you then» although I think that part was implied.
We ended up getting our calamari replaced with the jerk chicken tacos. These were quite tasty. A little bit spicy for my taste but my bf loved it!
Lastly, we got some crème brûlée for dessert which was ok.
Overall, I would probably give this place another shot but it didn’t live up to my expectations.

Great ambiance for an evening out, and our party of 6 was accommodated at a nice table in the back. I can hardly control myself at tapas restaurants, because I want to try everything. I narrowed the choices in advance, reading Unilocal reviews. But still some of the items were a win, and others were decidedly meh. Here’s a breakdown of our dinner:
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Tacos
Definitely the highlight of our meal. These tasty tacos had marinated meat paired with a terrific mango salsa. The mango was ripe enough that the flavor definitely stood out and gave a delicious flavor profile.
Oliver’s Crab Dip
Womp womp womp. It’s supposedly one of their signatures, but I say you can skip it. Described as being concocted with a three-​cheese blend and spices, this dish, to me, is creamy-​cheesy (could use more crab) and lacked noticeable spices. On the plus side, we had more pita points than we needed for the dip; didn’t even have to ask for extras!
Cuban Ropa Vieja
Shredded beef with tomato & onion on a tostada with fried plantains. Now that I’m thinking about the dish, I don’t even remember the plantains being there. I thought this plate was bland and the meat was dry.
In fact, the dish bared a resemblance to:
Hawaiian Pork Lau Lau
Shredded pork over rice, served with a «guava, orange-​pineapple sauce.» Sounds like a real palate pleaser, right? Again, dry and sort of tasteless. The sauce was either too scant, or didn’t sing.
Since I’d been a little let-​down as the tapas progressed, I decided to order one more…
The Filet Mignon Sliders
Your mileage may vary. I loved these, but hubby didn’t. I’m not much of a steak person, but the ground filet in burger form is a nice cross between decadent and casual… and it just melts in your mouth! The meat was wrapped in bacon and topped with cheddar, all on a nice buttery roll.
Phil had a limoncello martini, and found it too sweet. I opted for a glass of bubbles. Service was pretty good; we only had to flag ours down once. Plates came out as they were finished in the kitchen, for a nice progressive meal. Too bad I over-​ordered, and didn’t have room for dessert!

This past Friday I attended my friend’s birthday party here. I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious the food was!
I have not lived in NC for over 6 years and never heard of this place. I no idea what to expect. Not only was the food great, but the live band was good. When the band took a break a DJ played music. We had a great time!

I went to Oliver Twist to celebrate a relative’s birthday. immediately loved the atmosphere & décor. We had our own room for private dining, and the staff were friendly and very accomodating. However, I must say the food is way overpriced for what you get. I had a Ceasar’s salad $ 9 (on a teacup saucer) & shrimp. about 4 ontop a ton of greenery. I think the shrimp were about $ 9-​$ 10 as well.
I was surprised to see belly dancers came strutting throughout the place, but the menfolk in the group seemed to really enjoy this part of the evening. We danced almost the entire time, the dj ws getting busy on the 1’s & 2’s! I’m not a drinker, so I’m not sure of prices for alcohol, but others in the group were pulling out $$ like lottery winners! After leaving many went to McDonald’s across the parking lot, (we were starving after the small plates of food) Overall the night went well, & we all had a good time.

We LOVE Oliver Twist. Granted, we’ve been twice, but have had excellent experiences both times. Our most recent experience started with a craving for scallops. We decided on Oliver Twist after we remembered their excellent scallop dish!
We stuffed ourselves with four tapas: the Pan-​Seared Scallops (of course!), Oliver’s Crab Dip, Jamaican Jerk Chicken Tacos, and Calais Mussels. The scallops come over pasta with a cream sauce which is just wonderful. The crab dip is great — very cheesy, although it could use a little more crab. The jerk taco’s are fairly spicy and have a nice bit of sweetness from the mango salsa, and we like the crispy wanton shells as opposed to standard taco shells. The mussels… were okay. They weren’t really bad, but one of the best parts of ordering mussels — the sauce — didn’t really flavor the mussels as well as it should have.
Besides loving the food we love the atmosphere. It has an extremely comfortable feel with comfortable couches or, if you prefer, regular tables for seating. The first time we went we did the regular tables, which were fine, but this time we sat at a couch, which we preferred. It was nice for the two of us, but bigger parties might find it a little awkward.
The other notable experience with the place is the live music. This time we went on a Monday night, which they have an open mic night. As always, you get your mixture of music that way, but we found it pretty fun and entertaining. Usually we are the type that leaves pretty quick after eating, but we enjoyed the atmosphere and music enough to linger around for a while. The laid back atmosphere made it feel like we were welcome to stay.
Overall the food is wonderful, the atmosphere is nice, the service is great and there is live music for entertainment. We’ll happily return (hopefully soon)!

My husband and I visited the Oliver Twist Lounge to try the ‘Wine & Dine’ special they offer on Tuesdays. You get a bottle of red or white wine, 3 tapas and a desert for $ 35/​couple. A cool option with the economy.
Pros:
Décor — I immediately noticed the romatic décor and it nicely set the mood for our date night.
Service — The staff was very inviting and accommodated our requests with warm personality.
Food — They offered a wide variety of tapas which made it interesting. We ordered mac & cheese, fish tacos and filet mignon sliders. All of the food was presented hot and tasted flavorful.
Cons:
Wine — The wine list for this special is somewhat limited. We were not able to choose our favorite, as part of this deal, Muscato
Empty — We thought the place would be packed with a deal like this… we’re really curious why the crowd is sparse.

Oliver Twist you are trying too hard. The atmosphere in theory is cool but in practice it feels forced. The red décor is a little harsh. The music was a little loud. The couches although seemingly comfy do not lead to communicating with friends.
The food is very generic and overpriced for what you are getting. The food screams of a opened box of appetizers, heated, and served. I was going to order a flat bread pizza but asked the waitress to hold the mushrooms and she said «sorry, these come pre-​made and we can’t take off the mushrooms». The pot stickers and shrimp came with exactly the same generic asian sweet and sour sauce that I am sure came out of the same for purchase bottle.
The drinks were pretty good. But for $ 9 – 10 for a martini! WOW. Those are downtown at a happening scene prices. Which this is not. The sangria was the high point of the evening! It was pretty tasty. But after ordering a half carafes and eating the fruit out of my cup, we ordered a second round. No new fruit. No new ice. What?
Overall, in terms of restaurants that do tapas this is ranks pretty low. The good thing is that you can come in on a saturday night and have pretty much the entire place to yourself.

It’s always good to come to Oliver Twist.
I recently moved to SF and came back to Raleigh for a visit and a bunch of friends came here.
They’re known for their martini’s but be careful, they’re not very strong. So this place could work on that.
A group of us ordered the following
— Sesame Seared Tuna
— Oliver’s Crab Dip: a must try
— Fried Calamari: I’ve had better, got Maggianos or something
— Spinach & Artichoke Dip: get this if you have a big group
— Hummus: ask for additional bread, you’ll need more
— Beef Sate: this is really good
— Pan Seared Scallops: this is really good too, the noodles that came with it were a good compliment
— Ceviche: I’ve had better, I can’t recommend this
— Jerk Chicken Tacos: this menu item was good, I would get it
— Caprese Pizza: Not bad at all
— Tuscan Pizza: Had a lot of meat on it
Disclaimer on the Pizzas, I would ask that they make sure the bottom is crispy, or they may bring it out and the crust be a bit flimsy

I understand the concept of tapas, but I really feel that Oliver Twist charges too much for what is given. When you order four small plates for two people, spend a bundle and still feel hungry… it’s too expensive in my book. Besides which, they don’t serve tapas per se… I didn’t see a single traditional tapas dish from Spain. What they serve is world cuisine on small plates… very small plates.
Having said that, the quality of the food was good. It wasn’t great, but it was good. The beef satay did not resemble traditional satay in any way. Green beans and stuffed mushrooms were tasty. The pizza was a little odd, but tasty enough.
Aside from that, I liked the ambiance and décor. The service was hit or miss… we had to go to the bar to get acknowledged by the staff.
I am giving this place three stars because of the Monday open mic night, which was a blast. I would not have gone to Oliver Twist except for the music, and I’m glad I did. Terry and the gang are very welcoming and a lot of fun.

A lovely lounge with tapas, great drinks, super service, and a comfortable elegant atmosphere. I don’t frequent Oliver Twist often, but I’ve never had a bad experience in the 3 or 4 times I’ve been there. It’s off the beaten path and not what you’d expect from a place that’s not downtown. It’s on Creedmoor Road near Crabtree Valley Mall and presents a very classy yet comfortable scenery with its wooden tables and leather chairs, long leather couches and low tables, and a beautiful long wooden bar. Dimly lit, this place almost seems royal with a middle eastern influence as the yellows, rich reds, chocolate brown, and cream colors surround you. A burgundy veil with golden tassels hangs between the bar area and the dining area to separate things, but is also pulled up to make the room seem bigger later on the evening as the place fills up.
My most recent visit was for a Happy Hour with a bunch of girlfriends this past Wednesday. I arrived at 5:20 and the manager quickly placed us at an arrangement of leather couches and low stools around a few lower level tables. Our waitress, Rachel, was sweet and attended to each of us individually as the group grew to 10 women. She gave us suggestions when we asked for them and made sure we were aware of the night’s specials. Mon — Thurs they have ½ priced appetizers from 5 – 7 and $ 5 martinis.
Oh yes, we knew. That was one of the reasons why we came. I tried the Sangria Tini and after hearing my girlfriends rave about the Dozen Roses martini and the soft hint of champagne I had to try that as well. Oh perfection! My Sangria Tini was made with Vodka, Apple Pucker, Peach Schnapps, Cabernet, Pineapple Juice, Cranberry Juice, and Lime Juice. I’m not usually a fan of Sangrias, but something about that combination told me I was going to love it. I did. Then I tried the Dozen Roses which was made of Champagne, Raspberry Vodka, Triple Sec, Pineapple Juice, and Cranberry Juice. Both drinks were amazing and no one had a single complaint about their drinks: none were too sweet, weak, strong, or juicey. Magnificent martinis!
They had a select menu of tapas dishes that were half off. I’m a lover of seafood so it wasn’t hard for me to choose the Calais Mussels. Mussels aren’t even my favorite but they were absolutely phenomenal! Fresh mussels sauteed in a light white wine butter sauce served with ciabatta crostini. Mmmmm so good! Regularly priced at $ 10, but $ 4.50 tonight! There was quite an array of dishes at our table as my friends tried the fried ravioli, hummus, black bean dip and before we knew it every other girl was ravishing the Pomme Frites (French Fries!).
I got there at 5:20 and left at 8:20…quite the extended happy hour, but there was nothing to complain about and the company was fabulous. I’m only sorry I didn’t get to see the live music that was setting up because they were hosting a few local bands that night. I hear they’ve got belly dancers and all kinds of other things going on too. If you haven’t tried it, go get a taste of Oliver Twist because they’ve really got something special to show.

Been here a few times and had a great time. Go with the small plates, they are the best. Entertainment is OK. Blue Marble Beach is OK. I felt I was walking into a Quentin Jerome Tarantino movie set when I entered this place. The Belly Dancers are entertaining on Friday Nights. Give it a try.