Los Olivos

Los Olivos is a long time Scottsdale restaurant. I went with family who had been there when it was new in the 50s. It was OK. We were seated in a room that was close to the bar, and it was SOOOO noisy. I could barely hear the server, and the rest of my party (who are older) had a really hard time hearing her.
The food was OK. I had the chimichanga with shredded beef. It lacked flavor. The salsa was good, but it came in jars you pour onto a plate. It was much more wasteful and messy than providing a bowl of salsa. The cheese crisp was divine.
All in all, it’s far from where I was staying, and the food was only alright. I’ll keep going to the places that are closer and better.

Want a farm to table dining experience? Something with the freshest & most innovative Mexican cuisine? Looking for heirloom pickled radish and 48 hour tinga tacos?
–THIS IS NOT THE PLACE–
What is LOS OLIVOS the place for?
Home cooked food, made with LOVE and lots… and lots… of fabulously delicious melted CHEESE!!! I had the chicken tortilla soup (which was bomb!) and a chile relleno (also yummy!), waiters kept my cup full and the complimentary chips & salsa flowing.
Eating here was a happy familiar feeling, the cuisine reminded me of being a kid and getting lucky enough to be invited to a friends’ house for dinner who’s mom always hooks it up right! the food here is home-​style… leaning a little towards tex-​mex style, the only reason I can think of why Los Olivos may have less than 5 stars is people visiting expecting a different type of Mexican cuisine, I felt like I was let in on a little «locals only» secret eating here. LOVED IT!
ALSO: The ambiance here is great, I loved the strange architectural features of the dining room. I felt like I was eating on the set of Barbarella, or maybe a dream created by Salvador Dali

Was so looking forward to eating here. Taco bell would have been better. Poor service as well. All in all highly disappointing.

Another recommendation for me from the hospital staff at Scottsdale HonorHealth… A little history of the restaurant: it was actually the house of the original owners built in 1919. The restaurant has been owned and operated by one family, although I’m not sure if there were still members working there… But if so, that’s pretty cool to me.
Again, I was greeted with an expansive menu to choose from. They give you chips and salsa for you to wet your appetite as you debate what you’re going to get. Both the mild and the hot salsa was pretty good, and the hot salsa definitely has a kick to it!
I ordered the Flautas Ana and was given a big plate of 3 Flautas topped with lettuce, onion, tomatoes, and avocado with a side of beans and rice. I also ordered a side of guac, which I didn’t really need because of the avocado. This was learned after the fact.
I didn’t eat dessert due to having my heart set on another place, but my friend got the French vanilla fried ice cream which was BOMB! The French vanilla flavor coupled with the churro-​style crusting made it super delicious!
Definitely enjoyed the restaurant and what it had to offer. I would love to come here another time with my family.

I hadn’t been to Los Olivos in over 10 years and after this last visit, I was wondering why not!?! I was on a food tour of Old Town Scottsdale and this was one of our five stops. We were served chips and salsa and a taco with rice and beans… so amazingly good and just the right portion size for our food tour. This restaurant has so many unique dining spaces and I highly encourage checking out the entire place during your visit… you’ll be impressed!

I love this place! My parents started taking me here as a little kid and now I always go back when I’m in town visiting. I love the interior, each room
Is different and super cool. It feels very welcoming and traditional. The service has always been friendly as well. I love love love their salsas that they bring you for free. I try to always order a different meal and they’ve all been good so far! The chicken is always really fresh tasting. The margarita (fresh lime) is also very good. I will always come back!

Nice place. But the food is way to greasy for me. Everyone seemed very friendly with lots of regulars here. Got the taco plate and lots of grease and way too much cheese. The salsa was also nothing great. Our whole party were in agreement that the food wasn’t that good. Probably will not return.

We decided to stop in here on a Friday night because we had a Groupon. We ordered a couple of margaritas and an appetizer platter to share. We were served chips, salsa, and water shortly after being seated. The salsa was pretty tasty. Everything on our visit was decent. As others have stated, nothing was particularly memorable. The appetizer was served hot but each item on the platter contained the same meat so pretty much tasted the same. Margaritas were pretty good as was the service.

Authentic, family friendly!
Food was good, reasonably priced. Very unusual building.

My 1^st and only eat in Arizona. My friend, whom lived in Scottsdale, nearly 20 years ago recalled living this family owned establishment and insisted that we stop there for dinner, on our cross-​country road trips from North Carolina.
I was impressed. I had one of the most refreshing Margaritas ever, services staff and the food was delicious and tasted fresh. Most of all, I just enjoyed the friendliness of the staff and their family oriented atmosphere that the atmosphere held; you could tell they really cared. The main entrance is very cute too. I would recommend!

Great food great service yum We love to stop here while in Scottsdale not to be missed the tacos are great Husband loves the enchiladas too. We will be back

The mini chimichanga was delicious. Really awesome salads and chips & salsas. The ambiance was nice.

This is my go-​to Mexican restaurant in the area. I enjoy coming here to grab a quick lunch during the week or coming here for dinner. I love the red enchiladas and I add chicken when I order. The staff is always friendly and I always enjoy my meal while I am there.

I feel like Los Olivos has the potential to be a really great restaurant, but because it’s located in the touristy old town Scottsdale the authenticity of the food is lost somewhat. Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not bad, but I’ve had better Mexican food up here in Northern Cali.
If I had to grade the food, I’d give it a C+. Just about average. In my opinion, the food was missing some salt and a little spice. Because this restaurant gets a lot of tourists, I think they toned down the flavors. I guess they figure it’s better to be under spiced than over. They’ve got a great variety of chicken, seafood, and beef dishes. Combination plates make it easy to try a couple different menu items. I had a combo plate with two chicken enchiladas. It was okay. The rice was decent. It had a predominate onion flavor to it, which I found a little off putting after awhile. Their chips were great. Thin, crispy, and sprinkled with just enough salt.
For a weekday night, it was jam packed. It was pretty loud and difficult to have a conversation. Service didn’t suffer because of the crowd. My table was attended to promptly and we got our food in a reasonable amount of time. Everything was on the pricey side. Not outrageous, but I was still a little surprised when we got the bill.
If a lived in the area I might (a very weak might) try Los Olivos again.

Have been coming to this family owned Old Scottsdale favorite with my son during our annual spring training pilgrimage for many years and it has never disappointed. Start with a house margarita before happy hour close at 7. It is not your average house marg as it is extra strong with a nice bite and not too sweet. Love the unique adobe atmosphere; built by the family generations ago; interior with sky lights and tanks full of tropical fish, lots of room inside which extends out doors. Crowded bar, but good service. Chips are thin, crispy and served warm with a choice of salsa. Preferred the hot, spicy version. My son had the generous portion of beef fajitas and I enjoyed ala cart green chili tamales and grilled fish tacos.

I was there recently with some coworkers after a long day. This place was highly recommended after I said I wanted to eat some good Mexican food.
The place is beautiful, is huge, and has lots of seating areas, a huge donkey out front (which, sadly, you can’t climb) and a small outside seating area.
I ordered the Mexican Flag — a plate that has three different enchiladas; a red one, a white one, and a green one. My friends ordered the carne asada, and a tostada salad. Those two dishes looked amazing when they came out! Mine, eh, not so much.
We also had margaritas which were so delicious! They bring you chips and salsa and those were very good, too!
But back to my dish.
Why only meh? Because sadly it wasn’t good! There was soooo much melted cheese on top that you could barely taste the sauce of the red enchilada. The white enchilada had so much sour cream on top I couldn’t taste the cheese under. And the green enchilada had no flavor.
I was very disappointed with my dish. the other two dishes, those looked great and my friends said they were delicious. So I guess next time I’ll get something else than enchiladas. But I am worried that if a Mexican restaurant can’t make a good enchilada? then what would the rest of the dishes will be like?
The service was good, the drinks were good, the chips and salsa were good, the other dishes were good. Four stars!

Have you ever been excited to go to a restaurant because it’s your first time going to it? Like you’ve expected way too much only to be let down. The booze was pretty good, but the food was pretty lackluster. With the exception exception of the fish tacos of course.
A restaurant this caliber has the potential for kicking butt, but doesn’t because of fear from losing their regular clientelle. The old tired out menu, prolly old tired out cook, plus the old tired out bar strongly indicates that this place never ever changed since they opened up decades ago. Judging by the people that eat here, you can definitely bet that they’ll tell you straight up, they’ve been coming here since God knows when.
Hopefully they’ll turn this spot around. There’s a revolution going on guys. Don’t forget that for every one person that doesn’t like change, there’s 10 others that actually do. Target the hipsters, they’re the new generation with the expendable income.
I probably won’t be back to dine here any time soon. Maybe if I see from other Unilocalers post pics of a menu change and new food then I’d reconsider. Other than that, I’ll be taking the good hike out to Jalisco Taqueria instead.

We have eaten at Los Olivos on several occasions and have always had excellent food and drink. The atmosphere is amazing, the food very good, and the service excellent. In an era when many Mexican restaurants are trying to be upscale and expensive, it is refreshing to find one that sticks to its roots and serves people good food at good prices with a smile. You will feel welcome and you will leave satisfied.

This is my «go to» Mexican restaurant in the valley. I have been eating here for 25 years and in fact, I ate here my very first night in Arizona.
Chips and salsa are always out of this world good. Made fresh daily, they serve two types. Hot and hotter! The hot is a traditional chunky tomato salsa with onions, jalapeños, cilantro, etc. The hotter salsa is smooth red chili. Both delicious and really good mixed together.
I highly recommend getting a side of guacamole to enjoy with your chips and salsa. Hands down, best homemade guacamole you will ever eat. I don’t know how they do it, but I have not had better anywhere.
Their food is great. I don’t have a set favorite thing so I have tried just about everything on the menu. Today I had the carne asada and enchilada. Steak was very tender and flavorful. Outstanding!
Another favorite of mine is the steak fajitas.
Combinations are also a hit and they have several to choose from. They also have lunch specials Monday-​Friday.
Fried ice cream? Don’t miss it. Traditionally served, coated in cinnamon crunch and honey. Mmm!
My favorite server at Los Olivos is Toni. She is very sweet and is a fantastic server. I always ask for her when I go in. Not to worry though, all the other servers are great too.
Next time you need a Mexican food fix, try Los Olivos in Old Town Scottsdale and be sure to ask for Toni!
Enjoy!

I don’t even know where to start with this review except to say that this is, hands down, the worst restaurant experience I have had since I moved to Scottsdale a year and a half ago.
A friend planned a post-​work happy hour here with a large group of friends (7 total), with most of us arriving around 5:30PM. Before being seated, as we arrived a little early, my boyfriend and I found seats after the bar. After a short wait, the bartender came over and served us each a Corona, which was the only reason this place got a star at all.
Once our friends arrived, we were seated in a large booth with an adjoining table. Our waitress was kind, but ineffective at her job. Repeatedly, she walked away from our table mid-​sentence or once we’d asked to order. Being new to Los Olivos, I decided to stick with a relatively safe entrée: nachos with chicken. She asked me if I’d like to add guac and sour cream and when I said «sure», she informed me that each item was a THREE DOLLAR upcharge, and that the basic nachos (cheese, jalapenos) with chicken were $ 14.95, meaning the resultant nachos with guac were going to be almost $ 18! When I saw a menu and realized that only cheese and jalapenos were on the nachos, I called her back over and asked to cancel the order altogether so that I could get something else. She said that they were already done and she would charge me $ 15.95 with the guac because «some of the prices in the computer are wrong». Okay, I ordered them, they’re nachos, how bad can they be, right?
Wrong. Ten minutes after she told me that they were done, they came out with the rest of the food. The base chips were greasy and covered with what appeared to be dried up shredded cheese, melted 10 – 15 minutes ago. You couldn’t even get a chip without it breaking off from the baked-​on cheese. The chicken was dry, and had no moisture. Yes, the portion was large, but that doesn’t matter when the food is inedible. I –never– send food back or refuse to eat it (seriously, I could probably count on one hand the number of times that’s ever happened to me in my life) and I –LOVE– nachos… but these were terrible. The entire rest of the table shook their heads in apology, and even when I offered them up, no one else wanted any.
At the end of our meal, I approached the ticket counter to pay and told the young girl there «Look… I ordered these, so I’ll pay for them. But you need to know… those chicken nachos…», then she finished my sentence «Were terrible? Yeah, I know… They’re bad! You should try something else next time!» I said «I’m just going to be honest, there’s not going to be a next time here. This was really, really bad.» She took my card and ran it (for $ 20, with the automatic gratuity) and told me to have a nice day. No apology, no offer to let me speak to the manager to at least make them aware of the food quality… just an acceptance that she KNEW they were awful and then swiping my card.
So, that’s it for Los Olivos. They’re my first one star review, and I have to tip my hat to them because they really earned it. The rest of our table all had reasonable experiences, but this was enough to turn me off of them for good. (Except their tiny $ 20 margarita pitchers… which the entire table thought was a rip off. $ 27, if you want strawberry.) Save yourself the trouble, go to Dos Gringos, Loco Patron, or any of the much better places with decent service to boot. At least they take decent care of their customers and will care about the experience.