Olive’s Martini Bar and Grille

There is nothing to do in Sugar Land besides eating boring food and drinking light beers and voting straight ticket Republican since it is easier than thinking — but wait, things have changed from the traditional «Olive Garden dinner» thoughts of Sugar Land back in the 90s, instead now, Olive has dropped her garden and taken up the business of dispensing intoxicating spirits. Fantastic choice.
The situation in Agrestic, oops I mean Sugar Land, becomes bearable after knocking back a few drinks here — everyone is suddenly more interesting, less suburban, and getting increasingly attractive after each drink. After all, Jus’ Mac decided to open their second location here. Wat? Yeah, that was my response too after hearing that. But that will be another review, one deliciously decadent review. This one is about the booze.
This place kind of emanates the feeling that life probably is not going to turn out the way you wanted. The long term couples look ravaged by the years, one partner gained a ton of weight or lost their hair. The older 40+ divorced (or never married) crowd on their first date with someone from eHarmony look a tad uncomfortable in this environment. The soccer moms out with their gal pals all look at the younger people and wonder where the years went. The most stereotypical looking/​acting and loudest group of gay men call attention to themselves since they are the life of this odd party seemingly nightly, which is nice in a way for tolerance/​progressive reasons, but also kind of annoying since I sincerely have no interest in eavesdropping on 81% of those conversations.
The waitresses and the bartenders don’t give a flying F and they want you to know how hip and trendy they are for acting that way. The service not only leaves a lot to be desired, it seems to be ironically bad just to let you know that there are no other options like this around, so drink your juice Shelby or just turn around and go get a light beer at the Cheesecake Factory.
The candy bar collection of martinis are amazeballs in taste, and since you are trying to avoid your thirteenth DUI this year, you will like that after three of them you are not really intoxicated at all, just really sugared up and ready to go run five miles. The taste is magnificent, just not much alcohol.
This is a nice place to come after dinner for a drink, it has that appeal to it. But you are probably going to leave sooner than later because of how loud it is, how bad the service is, or how much you want to go run laps after all that sugar.
Edit — they closed? I should have finished this draft sooner.

It’s the day-​after, and my voice is hoarse from shouting all night long. This usually is from the after-​math of a good night out, but this time, it’s because whoever was controlling the soundboard at Olive’s was snoozin’ or boozin’. One minute it’s smooth jazz, the next it’s 2005 Pussycat Dolls turned up to decibel one-​million. What’s goin’ on there huh?
It was only 10pm on a Friday night, but somehow, they had already run out of the Penfolds Cab I wanted. When I declined the server’s offer to purchase a different bottle of «the same kind» of wine, she actually gave me a HUGE frown and eye-​roll, then left our table! I’m sorry hun, but there’s a HUGE gap between $ 30 and $ 99, especially for a wine I’ve never tried!
The other drinks my friends and I had were decent: Martini, Gibson, Lychee, and Ruby Grapefruit & Mint. They don’t offer much on draught, but hey, it’s a martini bar.
Service was ridiculously slow, and the atmosphere was an ambiguous mash of classy-​chic and wanna-​be sports bar. Maybe that’s what the little table-​tents reading «Soon to Come: CHAR Grill» meant…
Eh, now I know. The City Hall area in Sugar Land may be up-​and-​coming, but next time I’m in town, I definitely won’t be going out to Olive’s.

This place is terrible — don’t waste your time or money.
We drove over from Katy in an effort to find something a bit different. Most of the previous reviews here were at least good, some better than others. That, along with the website for this place convinced us to give it a try.
We arrived a few minutes before 9 pm on a Thursday — not many customers there and we were allowed to seat ourselves. The waitress came over and barely introduced herself before she said if we wanted to eat we had to order now because the kitchen was closing. If we didn’t order right then — we could go down the walk and get a pizza and bring it back in. What??? We asked if the kitchen always closes this early and she said no. No other explanation. We briefly looked over the food menu, ordered, and our waitress left — without ever asking if we wanted something to drink. We had to flag down the only other waitress there to give our drink order. Our original waitress came back out and asked if there was a problem. We said yes — we need to order drinks. She said she was sorry but she was in the back cutting onions or some such. We were like wtf… are you kidding me?
Now 15 minutes have passed and we still haven’t been served a thing.
When we finally did get served the drinks were good, but the food order was wrong.
We ate and asked for our check. The waitress asked if we were in a hurry to leave. Why?, we inquired. Because our computer is down and we can’t close out your bill or accept payment.
Another 15 minutes after all our drinks and meal had been cleared away before we had to ask again for our check. She went and got it and it was $ 57 for 3 martinis and a hamburger and some onion rings.
There were several decent places on either side of this place, and we wished we had stopped at any of them besides Olive’s.

Olive’s is definitely a nice place, but when the night crowd comes in, it seems louder than the music at a club. Then, with Loggia next door, if you’re seating at a booth along that wall, expect to feel the beats pulse along your back.
If you’re a smoker, Olive’s isn’t too bad outside. But if smoking isn’t your cup of tea, and neither is the smell, you’re out of luck.
Their drinks are alright, but it may take a little while for their waitresses to come around and get your drink order. I do plan to give them the benefit of the doubt and try a different day.

Drinks are good (a little pricey, but good), nice staff and ambiance.

Freaking finally! A decent drinking spot in Sugar Land (sorry Baker Street does not count, go cry a freaking river about it).
Anyway this is indeed situated by the infamously bad Loggia, so I guess in a lists of potential turn-​offs — Olive’s close proximity to Loggia probably tops the list. But whatever, this is Sugar Land. .. what do you expect?!
I was here on a Thursday and it was pretty sparsely populated, but felt pretty laid back, but in a more refined, dressy kind of way (essentially, leave the cut offs at home!).
I had a couple of cosmos and they were nicely concocted, although service was a kind of ridiculously lagging at times. The waitress was nice enough, but it wasn’t crowded enough to justify the forever waits for a simple martini.
Oh, they have a $ 5,000 martini here that comes with a carat diamond, platinum flakes, and a crystal martini glass. .. really? But hey, whatever floats your boat, I guess! Every new joint needs some kind of novelty pop factor these days. .. ?
They also have food here. .. mostly cocktail associated fare, but some more substantial food items. I was content with just drinking. .. but it seemed to be pretty nice quality stuff from the menu descriptions.
As for the Thursday night I was here, I observed a couple of parties of girls and an older couple or two. This place does get pretty populous on the weekends though. .. the patio seemed pretty dense with Sugar Landers on the weekends.
Overall, I would have to say this is one of my more favored Sugar Land drinking establishments, but like yeahhh. .. if given the choice I would rather trek into Houston than opt for Olive’s. It’s just a little too sterile for my tastes!

I’ve only been here once, but it was so dark and loud that it wasn’t the best experience of my life. Being right next to Loggia also doesn’t help the loudness factor. If you’re looking for an atmosphere where you can actually carry on a conversation, this isn’t the place for you. The drinks were also overpriced and not that strong — not really worth it, in my opinion.

Beware, you will stink like cigars and your throat will be sore from screaming to talk to the person next to you. But drinks are good and it’s a great bar for Sugar Land.
I went on a Friday night (was in the ‘burbs for a family wedding) around 9 and the place was hopping. There is a live band — thus the loudness. Definitely a mixed crowd — old and young, cougars, trendy, casual — but no one seems to care. We grabbed seats at the bar and made friends with the bartender who was cool.
Parking is easy — garage attached or valet right up front. Prices are average ~$ 8 – 10 for a cocktail.
It started to thin out around 11 (everyone seems to head next door, or go home to pay the babysitter). I headed next door as well. I would definitely go back next time I’m in Sugar Land and in need of a bar to meet up with friends — but I wouldn’t ever say «hey, let’s go to a martini bar and drive 30 mins out of the way»

*cough* *cough* breathe deeply and run inside!
The cigar bar next door has patrons who sit in Olive’s outdoor patio and smoke (and drink martinis). It’s fine for those who like smoke, but I cannot stand it!
This review is just about their food (no alcohol was consumed in the making of this review). We stopped in on a Monday evening for dinner after reading about this place. I was happily surprised that they serve a full menu along with cocktails. We went in and looked around for a hostess. Finally a disheveled guy came from the kitchen and told us to sit anywhere. I wanted a booth but one was occupied and the rest were dirty (one wet table, another with a glass and forks on it… someone please bus these tables)! We sat at a table next to a table of well dressed ‘sex and the city’ women have martinis and appetizers. I was able to watch their beautiful martinis come to the table. The drinks look good!
The bartender (blond lady) was doing everything! She was waiting on tables, making drinks, delivering drinks, etc… I was VERY impressed with her. She waited on us, we ordered two sodas and two sandwiches. The food was good. I had the crispy chicken sandwich. It had a slightly spicy mayo and pickle relish on it. I’d definitely get it again. My husband had the chicken club which he enjoyed. Portions aren’t huge here and either are prices. Our total was $ 22 (including tax) so definitely not very expensive at all! For the food I would rate this place 4 stars (taste and value are both 4 stars). Service was also 4 stars or better!
Parking is limited! It’s next door to Loggia, so the fight for parking isn’t easy. I think they have valet when they are busy. The view out the windows is of an office building under construction, so not pretty. So, in closing… fan of the food and service by the bartender but not of unclean tables, the view, or the nasty smoke outside. We’ll definitely be back, and maybe we’ll get a booth next time.

Not sure why this place has such bad reviews? My office recently moved here and we have been checking out the new restaurants. The owner greeted us with a smile and a warm welcome. We had the steak sandwich and some mojito’s. They have 2 different kind get the sweet Bacardi its very good. The Steak sandwich was absolutely wonderful especially since i really don’t eat steak that much. They had a jazz band playing and the ambiance was very cozy. I would definitely go back, excellent date spot!

My favorite bar in Sugar Land. The wait staff is always attentive and the Managers always make sure everything is going great. It’s a very fun place to hang out and people watch as well. The price of the drinks depends on what you order, so you can drink beer at reasonable prices or enjoy a top o’ the line Martini or scotch if you are big balling. And I’m VERY particular about my Martinis (they haven’t failed me yet).

Really cool spot it’s right next door to Loggia but nothing like it. Olive’s has a really nice doorman (that’s always a good start)… their drinks are mid price (3 vodka red bulls & a peach teqini were $ 25). They have a jazz band that plays on the wknds and a list of tons of martini’s to choose from and they also serve lunch and dinner.
Nice spot to take a date or just to hang out with friends…