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    Happy and Olive

    4.3 (23 reviews)
    Open • 8:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Happy and Olive Photos

    Business Info

    HAPPY AND OLIVE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Happy and Olive

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    Erika G.

    If there's one recent restaurant opening that I've been pretty excited about, it has to be Happy & Olive. They appeared on the scene last year at a time when opening a new restaurant might have been viewed as an outlandish idea. But with the people behind other such beloved favourites as Red Ox Inn and Canteen at the helm it could be assumed that they had a pretty good idea of what they were doing. In a short amount of time (less than a year!) Happy & Olive has been named Favourite New Restaurant 2023 in the Edmonton Journal and Best New Restaurant 2024 in EDify Magazine. And they're not wrong! Located in Crestwood (in Crestwood Centre to be exact - lots of great businesses there and easy parking!) you'll find a fresh little spot on the corner, a restaurant that is still all bright eyed and esthetically beautiful. The decor isn't over the top; just nice finishes, a combination of various types of seating, a central bar area, and an approachable atmosphere. It feels like a down to earth space while maintaining clean lines and modern sensibilities. The patio is also very lovely and I was happy to grab a table out there on a warm July evening. I found our server to be helpful, friendly, and happy to offer some guidance as needed. Once settled in, I began to peruse the beverage menu and was pleased to find a rather good non-alcoholic cocktail portion of the menu, a trend that is really nice to see on more and more menus. I enjoy a boozy beverage as much as the next gal but sometimes I'm just not in the mood. On this occasion the list of five libation-free drinks were very welcome and I was glad to order The Gabby (Fresh mint, lemon, sugar water, bitters - $7.00). However, I will say that if you want to stay right on the olive theme it would be a great idea to order The Olive cocktail along with an order of Warm Olives - live your best olive dreams! Absolute perfection on a hot day! Not only was this beverage sweet and also tart, it was incredibly refreshing. The mint and lemon really made the drink feel like something quintessential to sip on in the summertime. A perfectly ideal patio choice! I enjoyed the way that Happy & Olive breaks down their menu. Do you want something "crispy?" (Um, yes. Everyone does.) There's also "this & that" or how about most people's favourite; "bread things." Or maybe you just need the "hungry" part of the menu. I did find that I required a bit of clarification on whether the plates were meant to be shared and it turned out that a communal dining style was the main intention. Armed with this information we set about ordering a whole bunch of plates that caught our attention with the plan for us all to try a bit of everything. (I love doing this with my family because we all enjoy eating the same foods. I don't like it as much when I go out with friends because, in some cases, tastes can vary quite a lot.) I'd heard a lot of excited buzz about the Fries (Rosemary, Parmesan, garlic oil, lemon aioli - $9.00) so clearly those were a must! Just when I thought that I knew everything that a french fry could be... I was served these. And wow, they are something special. Ultra crispy and likely double fried, the sprinkling of rosemary and parm really added a punch of unexpected flavour. The true surprise, however, was the lemon aioli, which was an absolute delight. I'm not sure that I've ever tasted anything quite like it! Creamy and fresh, this simple dipping sauce brought a whole brunch of bright acidity. It's always nice when a dish lives up to expectations and these fries certainly did. I had also heard that Happy & Olive had a latke menu at some point?? This wasn't the case on my visit but I love a latke and I'm super curious about what this entailed. Next up were the Crab Cakes (Remoulade, fennel celery slaw - $22.00) which I sometimes find can be hit or miss but I loved the sounds of these ones and had to give them a try. Positively golden on the outside, cutting into these crispy cakes revealed a luscious interior. Like a crab flavour bomb, I was met with actual crab meat and a satisfying mix of textures. I also loved the crunchy and refreshing slaw. I find fennel to be a completely underrated vegetable and it's one of my favourites. I always order it when I spot it on a menu! This dish completely nailed it for me and I think that it was the biggest winner of the night in my opinion. As mentioned previously, the Warm Olives (Marinated Happy style - $9.00) just seem like something that you should probably order at a restaurant called Happy & Olive... I wasn't sure what "Happy style" meant but I was excited to find out! I loved the variation of types and stunning colours, like little jewels. I'm not sure why this was surprising (it says "warm" right on the menu) but these really were very warm! The oil that they were bathed in was hot, even. Grabbing a piping olive and tossing it into my mouth was a satisfying experience. I also loved how aromatic they were with the use of rosema

    Daddy F.

    Came here during the summer. Food was more on the expensive side and menu needs a bit of clarity. Otherwise, great food, great patio and service was spot-on. Food: Flavor on everything we ordered was well-balanced and unique. Saganaki was phenomenal. Korean Schnitzel portions were larger than most other dishes, which we found strange considering it is not a main. Pepper crusted tuna unfortunately still had connective tissue attached, which made it very chewy. Service: Spot-on. Server was very attentive and friendly. Atmosphere: Nice corner restaurant with modern decor and ambient lighting. Beautiful covered patio a must go in the summer. Value: Portions were average for the price. Slightly more expensive than what you get, but uniqueness of dishes makes up for it.

    Carla C.

    Place was 10% full Monday at 5:30pm but was 90% full by 7pm. Free Parking available in the shared parking lot. 2 single person gender neutral bathrooms. With baby changing station. Staff were friendly and did not rush us. Water was refilled multiple times. Great service. Duck special way 9.5/10. Duck was 10/10 cooked well. Veggies were good but no starch. Was a little hungry after still. Chicken sandwich and fries were 10/10. Fries were hot and crisp and flavorful. Chicken was crispy and the bun was so soft. Lemon sauce with the fries was very unique and flavorful. Fried Chicken - they were able to leave out the gorgonzola (blue cheese) per my friends request. Appeared to be the same breading as the chicken Sammie. Generous with the gnocchi. Friend wished there was a sauce for the fried chicken. Peanut Chocolate Torte: 8.5/10. Chocolate part was 10/10 not too sweet, such creamy, not a fan of the chunky peanut just underneath. Crust was fine hard to cut. Butterscotch Budino: was in the water cup (so you know how big it is) . Very sweet like condensed milk sweet. So creamy. I ended up crunching up the sugar cookie and putting that in as it needed texture. Also needs acid - would have loved some fresh fruit to give it a tartness/ sour component. Overall super happy with the service, ) location, and food.

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    2 years ago

    Spectacular food...amazing service...outstanding ambiance. Good for professional meetings, romantic dinner and family meals.

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    2 years ago

    Greeted quickly. Love the menu. Cheerful wait staff. Mushroom tartine was amazing. Very busy place. Reservation a must even for lunch.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Such a pleasant experience- service is on point and attentive . Food is inspired and made with quality ingredients

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    We love this neighborhood gem! The food is fantastic, the coffee is great and the people are friendly and inviting.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Food was great, service was outstanding, we will be going back sure time we are in Arizona

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    Uccellino - Menu

    Uccellino

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    4.6 km•Downtown
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    We were lucky enough to enjoy the tasting menu at Uccellino after a long day of meetings. It was…read morethe perfect way to unwind, slow down and recover from the day. I started the meal with the Don Vito cocktail, a spirit forward sweet concoction of Cognac, Bourbon and Limoncello. Immediately felt like it set the perfect tone for dinner. The tasting menu started with four appetizers, the Arancini, Goat Ricotta Crostini, Insalata Siciliana and the Culatello. My favorite was the arancini as it was packed full of melty cheese with so much flavor. The culatello was a crowd favorite and the crostini was a great palate cleanser. For secondi we had the Truffle Gnudi and Paccheri. For people who like meaty flavors go with the paccheri, but I liked the light cheese and truffle of the gnudi. By the time the Pollo Al Mattone came around, I could only manage a mouthful of the succulent brick chicken and the fresh cabbage salad as I was so full and would need to be rolled out of the restaurant. We ended with the Chocolate Budino, which was dark, creamy and delicious. A great tasting menu at a great price, especially compared to Toronto prices!

    I feel it's a bit challenging to rate this business. I start…read morewith things I didn't like much and end with positives: The place was very very noisy! It felt like a busy bar during an important hockey game! The lighting was not the best and it was affecting the ambiance and vibe of the business! These two items bothered me a bit! The staff was nice and helpful and pretty efficient! The food quality, the taste and the presentation were all really good! I loved them all! The wine our friend ordered was really good and overall I enjoyed our food and drink a lot. I think this business has room for improvement! However I'll still go back there as it is!

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    Violino Ristorante - Calamari

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    4.2(116 reviews)
    2.2 km•Westmount
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    Bottom level was 40% full 7PM on a Tuesday night. Upstairs was booked for private event…read more Server was professional if not a little stiff. Place has "very fancy" feel and would be good for special events/celebration dinners. Free bread to start was fine but not the best I have had. I prefer mine with butter but the oil/vinegar is probably more typical. We tried the: Calamari: 10/10, great texture, loved that we got 2 sauces to dip in. Fettuccine Tavolino (cheese wheel pasta): 10/10. Boyfriend was not too full after. Pasta was cooked perfectly. Nice cheesy creamy flavor. Ravioli Alla Zucca: 9/10, I can't remember if there were 6 or 7 ravioli in the dish. Very pleasing presentation. In my opinion too many sundried tomatoes. I love that it comes with sundried tomatoes as that added some great tang/flavor. Ravioli themselves were perfectly cooked. Brown butter sauce was excellent and wanted more. Creme Brule: 9/10, exactly as expected, definitely enough to share between 2 people. Affogato: vanilla gelato was 11/10 good to me but boyfriend didn't like the flavor. We both agree the espresso was excellent. Very small portion (too small to share!). Free cookies at the end were fine. Overall food was excellent and I'll be back but to try something different on the menu.

    What a lovely evening! We've had some of our best dining experiences in old homes, and thankfully…read moreonly a couple clunkers. This was one of our best! Violino, in an old home, its staff, and the food exceeded our expectations. We will most certainly be making a reservation the next time we visit the Oilers hometown. Damn that was good! Ushered upstairs, didn't really get a chance to take it in, so will be sure to stop and look around next time. The complimentary bread was great, the martini's good although one glass had far more than the other. I ordered the spaghetti bolognese, and although quite different from what we make at home, was excellent! K had the Alfredo flambé which was fired up tableside. It seems to be a popular option as it happened 6 or 7 times while we dined. They also don't soak you for the privilege of the tableside presentation. It was a little cheesy for K, but excellent nonetheless. Our server Eugenia from Hamburg was excellent, she can serve us anytime. She was attentive, and her timing was exceptional! We plan on making a reservation the next time we are in Edmonton. Top notch experience!

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    Bianco - Pistachio chocolate tart $12

    Bianco

    4.1(74 reviews)
    5.0 km•Downtown

    Place was 50% full Saturday at 2PM. Gender specific bathrooms with stalls…read more Place feels very classy and professional. Server was nice but never refilled our table water even after we moved it a couple times to be within her view of the table (my friend swears he saw her see us move it to the edge of the table too). Rialto Float cocktail was nice if you like Pisco. Royal Jamaican Ginger beer was good too. Olive Calde - large portion for price. Olives were fine. Calamari - 10/10 delicious, dips were great too. Gnocchi with pancetta - 10/10, surprising filling and even though the Gnocchi were huge chunks they were well cooked. Waitress recommend Campanella Aragosta - 7/10. If you like spicy it's fine but otherwise the flavor is actually very bland. Pasta itself was unique and well cooked. Large portion. Beef Brisket Agnolotti - 7/10, 8 large ravioli filled with brisket. Sauce was good, ravioli were well cooked but brisket inside was pretty underwhelming. Friend who got this dish was ++ hungry still after and said he would order something else next time for the price. Funghi Cipolla - 8/10, it was as expected. Ricotta cheesecake - cheesecake itself was great with the ricotta taste but crust was soooo bad. So overly thick and dry and considering our waitress failed to give us water the entire meal it was impossible to eat (so dry). Date cake - Unfortunately they didn't have gelato as was advertised on the menu to go with the cake so whipped cream was substituted. Was told this only after we ordered and friend asked for the flavors of gelato. Cake had a few uncooked flour lumps. Flavor was fine but not as flavorful/spice-heavy as I hoped. Sprouts on top looked really messy but tasted fine. Overall not a seamless experience as I would have expected from an establishment of this caliber.

    It was my first experience. It was a sunny day and we looked for a nice restaurant with patio and…read morewe found this restaurant and went there. The place was beautifully designed and decorated. The staff were friendly and they had a big patio. We ordered some drinks and all of them were delicious and fantastic. The appetizers were delicious with big portions. The food was delicious and we loved them. Desserts were also very delicious! Overall we loved our experience and we will definitely go back there again! :)

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    Happy and Olive - italian - Updated October 2026

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