I have no gripe with restaurants that feature steep prices and small portion sizes, but when both are done at the same time, it certainly creates a high expectation for flavors. My lunch at Olamaie just did not deliver on these expectations. I had the shrimp and grits, which was a tasty enough dish, but extremely salty. The transformative elements of the dish, such as the cured egg yolk, were pretty to look at but did not really elevate the dish's flavors. Also, I thought the dish's proportion of grits to gravy/sauce was all wrong (probably why the dish was sooo salty), with the meal being essentially a soup. What you have here at lunch are several dishes that are listed as lunch entrees when they are in fact appetizers. Without saying as much so bluntly, our server did suggest that we order the off-menu buttermilk biscuits to complement our meal if we were especially hungry. The biscuits were well-executed, very buttery and nicely layered. And very ordinary. But these were sold at miracle biscuit prices: $10 for a trio of 3-inch diameter biscuits! I make biscuits you guys. Flour. Butter. Buttermilk. That's it. Nothing that should require bringing Alexander Hamilton into the mix. No southern hospitality in evidence for prices or portions, and not enough elevation in the flavors to justify it. read more

I was really disappointed in our experience at Olamaie. We had a 5:30 reservation (first seating/not walk-in) before we went to the Texas football game. As the second party, we should have recognized it as a bad sign when we got seated in the hallway. Seriously, I don't even know what the inside of the restaurant looks like. For the rest of our meal we got to enjoy noisy guests in the waiting area and the wait staff hovering about the bar chit-chatting and giving us the occasional glance as you might a homeless person on the street. We noticed your photographer. Was it the burn orange shirt? Did we not meet the definition of hip or attractive enough to grace the inside of and potentially the pictures of your new establishment? So what about everything else? We enjoyed the flavor of the summer peas and could have gone for a second helping of the blue crab. However, other posters accurately call out the misnamed "More Substantial" section as our smoked pork chop was four pitiful slices, one of which was nothing but fat and connective tissue (chef, you really shouldn't have sent that piece out). What saved this from being only one star? I admire that they are working with local farms and the bartender was excellent. It's early for this young restaurant and clearly there is work to be done. That said, I don't think we will be back given our experience and we have already dissuaded some friends from going. Oh hey, are you still reading? Then I recommend that you try Dai Due for your money. Zero pretentiousness there and also serving ample portions of local food. read more

Ate here last night. It was incredible. The biscuits!!! Unreal. They should sell those to go out of a food truck - I would buy them every day. They were that good. I liked the small plates better than the main courses (pork chop and steak). We got four small plates - pickles, collard greens, peas and beans of some sort - each one was amazing. The four of us ate every last bite - we would have licked the plates... The collard greens or whatever I had with the egg and bread crumbs - out of this world. Again, please sell some of these dishes to-go/food truck so I can have them for dinner every night. The drinks were not a home run with anyone at our table. I think they have a little tweaking left to do on their cocktails. Still, this place is 5-stars all the way. I can't wait to go back! Beautiful restaurant, too. Very nice service as well. Way to go Olamaie! read more

When the highlight of the restaurant is the biscuits, the place can be accused of punching above its weight. Everything mentioned here is true: the service is dismissive (10 minutes to take drink orders and harsh rejection when we dared request the oft-mentioned biscuits before the "second course"), the tables are close enough together that you can elbow your companions constantly and the portions are small, even for dine dining. We came to Olamaie for my girlfriend's birthday and for $160 (including the tip, which I really should've adjusted to a lower percentage in retrospect) we were severely underwhelmed. We're both fine with being patient with a waiter to take our food order, but make sure we've got drinks while we wait. It took over 10 minutes for our waiter to take our drink order and he was sarcastic when serving them, saying "At least I can get you drinks." We asked for a basket of the biscuits that everyone raves about and were refused. Instead, we were told that the biscuits would arrive with the main course and we would have to wait. All told, we waited 90 minutes to try these biscuits and perhaps deprivation made them taste better than they really are. The prices are a main point of contention. I understand that with fine dining comes high prices, but $10 for pickles and $14 for six hush puppies is outrageous. Any entrée with meat approaches $30 at a minimum and you're quickly pushing $90 before drinks. Finally, people around us were clearly celebrating birthdays, too. The hosts brought out multiple small pastries with candles to different tables. I told our waiter that we were there for the same reason, but was not offered the same treatment and wasn't given the option to buy the dessert that was being given to others. Maybe you have to spend $200 to get this courtesy, but I don't know. In summary, Olamaie suffers from the same delusion that many fine dining restaurants in Austin do: they think they're Sean Brock or Thomas Keller outposts and treat their customers like simpletons for daring to question their vision. This is Texas, y'all: we grew up with what you're offering and it usually isn't served with this much grief. But, the biscuits are tasty. read more

Beautiful restaurant both outside and inside. Precisely prepared food. Good service. Too expensive for what you get. Example 1: Biscuits with butter. 3 per order. Divine and perfect but $10 for an order of 3? Since we were 4 in our group we placed two orders and $20 for everyone to have a biscuit and a half seemed a bit overboard. Example 2: 10 partial pieces of bib lettuce, 4 segments of mandarin orange, a half a slice of a beet, a smear of goat cheese and a smattering of farrow for $13. I don't get it. Nothing outstanding in preparation techniques, smaller than a starter salad portion for a dinner salad price and no protein. read more

Olamaie - Roasted Beet Salad - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

Madly impressed by Olamaie all around. I've been there a couple times now and had to order the blue crab as an appetizer both times; it's divine. I've also had their wahoo and grouper. Why all the seafood? Because, they fly it in fresh daily and it absolutely shows. I'm always a little iffy about seafood in Austin, but not at Olamaie. This restaurant hits a soft spot in my heart! read more

My wife and I were a little concerned when they sat us at a two top that was less than eight inches from the table next to us but after our first appetizer came out I was no longer worried as it was clear there would not be much talking about anything but the food. The clam hushpuppies blew us away. My wagyu beef done two ways was probably the best meal I have had in the last six months. The place is pricy but worth every penny on food quality alone. read more

Some tasty items, but not as good as it thinks it is, and the kitchen is difficult. Possibly successful in Austin in a way that it couldn't be in a bigger city with more serious competition. I went to Olamie with two friends in mid-July. Some items were very good - the tomato salad for example. Others were not as described - a fish dish was described by the waitress as a large piece of fish, but that fish did not dominate the dish, while the dish itself was essentially a many tiny pieces of fish that my friend did not finish. The menu itself was a bit pretentious - for example, Olamie uses the most obscure word possible. Even sesame doesn't escape the "upscaling" treatment. In the menu, it is listed as benne, which is an 18th century Americanism for the exact same thing as the word sesame that all English-speakers know today. The most frustrating part was the kitchen, however. I'm aggravatingly allergic to several foods. I therefore asked if one dish, the hopping john, could be served without egg. This did not require any special work - the egg is poached and put on top of the dish, so all the kitchen had to do was not add the egg. In fact, my request was less work for them and less costs than the original version. The waitress at first refused, saying that kitchen would not make any changes. Since that meant that there were no dishes that I could order and we would have to leave without eating, she agreed to check with great reluctance. The hopping john came without an egg, but with rice cakes not described in the menu, and which were a substantial part of the dish. We again had trouble when dessert time came. The desserts all had dairy or something else I couldn't eat, which is not the fault of the restaurant. What is the fault of the restaurant is that there was one thing that i could eat, peach pie, just not with the cream scoop that came with it. I asked for the pie without the ice cream put on top. The waitress again refused. My friend and I wanted to split a piece, but she did want ice cream, so we asked if we could get pie an dice cream, just with the ice cream in a bowl so that my friend could add the ice cream after I cut my half. The waitress said that she would check. We found out that the answer to "can I at least have the ice cream in a separate bowl?" was no when another waitress came to the table with pie, and ice cream already melting on top of it, to my friend and put it down in front of her. That waitress must have been new, because when I asked her if I could have pie too, just not with ice cream, she said yes. She never came back though. Instead, the manager did, to see "how things are going." I told him about my wish to order pie, without ice cream, and he said that the chefs won't make changes to their menu, but that Olamie does care about allergies and "takes allergies very seriously." I do admit I got a little sarcastic at this point and said "all I'm asking is that someone not make a motion like this (miming putting ice cream on a pie) so that I can have dessert without also having an asthma attack." He must have seen my point, because he walked off and came back minutes later with my ice cream-free pie. Which wasn't good. After such a fight I expected something delicious, but it was a few peach shreds and mostly sugar gel and food coloring. Frozen pies from the grocery store have more fruit and more flavor. My friend who had pie with ice cream also said that it wasn't that great, as did a friend who ordered an ice cream assortment. Out of the three of us, the only dish that we could all agree was unequivocally tasty was the tomato salad. Everything else was good enough or disappointing. The attitude of the kitchen left a bad taste in my mouth. They act like their dishes are special creations that could be tarnished by the slightest alteration of their perfection, when really the alternations don't change much and the dishes aren't that special. Even Noma is more pleasant to deal with, and their food is something special. read more

I've been to Olamaie twice now because I was very impressed by the excellent service, friendly staff, and especially the exquisite cuisine on my first trip. The the classic black and white decor is simple and sexy, the kind of place you'd want to go to impress a girl or business clients especially given the location Easily THE BEST CORNBREAD I've ever had. Ever. The cornbread was so good it made me wanna slap my mama! The Biscuits are amazing as well, I thought cisco's biscuits were the best until I came here. All salads should be cucumber, where ya been all my life The first time out my lady had the grouper and I had the squab. The grouper was good and the squab was GREAT. For dessert we had the classic apple pie which we fount to be the perfect compliment to all that which came before. On our second trip we went with a large group and got two of everything, none of which were lacking in any way and pleasantly surprising. The steak was rich and delicious and the pork chops tender and fatty as they should be for anyone who appreciates pork. read more

Adorable little restaurant built in what used to be an older home in Austin. It was an sweet find in the middle of the big city, makes you really feel like you're in the south. Memorable dishes was the pickles with chicken fat and the hopping johns. Definitely do not miss the hopping johns! The crispy bits on the rice was so amazing and it made me feel a bit nostalgic and reminded me of the rice I grew up eating as a child when it used to be cooked in a pot over an open flame. Also, I had my first REAL biscuits experience here and it was AMAZING!!! Prior, I've probably had only philsbury & KFC. Lots of parking since it's dinner hours, you can park on the street and not have to pay the meter. There is an unsightly parking garage across from it if for some reason the city is packed for an event that might limit parking. read more

My husband and I have wanted to try this place for awhile. My husband is more the foodie than I. We finally found a reservation time that fit into our schedule and booked it. We sat at one of the two person tables by the kitchen. Nice to be able to look in and see the action. We started with two cocktails the Tarrytown made with a TX vodka and a Sazerac. I asked what the TX vodka was and on this night it was Titos. I asked if I could change it and the waiter was nice enough to say yes. As I don't think Titos is the usual TX vodka but they were out of Driftwood. I will say that is the only subs you can make. It states nicely on the menu that substitutions will be politely declined. I actually do respect that about the place. The chef is an artist and he wants to keep his art pure. I know that is not a popular opinion but it is his right. He is nice enough to tell you up front. We started with the tar tar and the button mushrooms. Both were extremely good. I thought the mushrooms were a tad cold but maybe this is correct, my preference would be for them to be a tad warmer. My husband got the Bavette Steak as his entrée and I got the Chicken. The Steak was wonderful. I didn't really enjoy my chicken. It was ok. Again a bit cold and really nothing that special. The steak was flavorful. Of course, we also ordered the "secret" biscuits. Ours came with just butter not cheese. They were good. However, I do not need to order them again. Once to see what all the fuss was about is good enough. We also ordered a bottle of wine. I do think their wine list needs to be expanded a bit. We got their early around 6pm. As the place filled the noise level is high. We got no desert as all except the sherbet had nuts in them. We have a nut allergy. A good night. A decent meal. The cocktails and mini plates were amazing. My entrée and the noise level is the main reason this place did get the highest rating. We will put this place in our rotation of restaurants and come back. Hopefully, on the second night I will have a better main course. The owners and chefs are hands on. A few of their friends or previous employers were at the table next to us. You can see how proud he is our his "new" place. Our bill before Tip was $178 (two cocktails, a bottle of wine, two starters and two entrees). read more

Olamaie - Button mushrooms & beef tartar - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

Excellent service and great food. we had the chicken, boiled peanuts, and the smoked cabbage, but the stars of the meal were the biscuits and lavender soda. I would come back for those two things alone. read more

Olamaie - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

Had an incredible dining experience tonight. Food was fantastic, service was even better! My husband, who is generally not a foodie and just happy with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, described his entree as "pure fun." We had the pickles, cornbread, salad, sweet potato, chicken, and wagyu steak. Everything, including cocktails and dessert, was so flavorful and a joy to eat. We were dining with a vegetarian and another person with some food allergies, and the staff was so accommodating and helpful. One of the better meals I've had while living in Austin! Can't wait to go back! read more

Wife made valentine reservations here - 5 courses with wine pairings. Let me just say it was marvelous! The oyster, venison and beef Wellington were unforgettable. We are going back to try their regular menu. The atmosphere is chic and very comfortable. We had such a great time and the staff was so friendly and knowledgeable. If you are looking for a night with great cuisine and fine wine then this is your place! I know why Texas monthly pegged them as the #2 up and coming restaurant in all of Texas - well deserved. read more

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I read all of the previous reviews about this restaurant being over priced and thought people were being silly. They aren't. We went last night. The food is awesome BUT my husband left hungry. The appetizer portions were bigger than our entrees. It's $30ish for an entree piece of chicken that is tiny. It's chicken--a cheap protein! It's $30ish for a piece of catfish that is 1/3 the size of any small entree at another restaurant. Again catfish--cheap protein! If you go, only get appetizers to share. They are great and bigger portions than the entrees and half the price of entrees. Oh and the biscuits--yes they are GREAT. This comes from a southern woman who loves making biscuits. I used to fly White Lilly flour in from TN to make the perfect biscuits. Southern made fluffy flour is the secret to a perfect fluffy biscuit. But, if the biscuits are $3.33 each and aren't on the menu, then why can you only get quantities of 3? You should be able to order whatever quantity you want because THEY AREN'T ON THE MENU. I probably won't be back. You get more food for less money at Uchi and Uchiko. It was great food though. read more

We were excited to try Olamaie and finally had a special occasion to give it a go. The location is cute and has a charming quality. We were greeted and the host wished my wife a happy birthday. Nice touch. The service was attentive with out being intrusive. As others have notes they did sort of push you to order everything at once. Having never been there we didn't want to over order so w ordered small plates first and then ordered entree's once we explained this and that we were in no hurry the server played did just that. The cocktails were excellent. Well mixed and made from fresh ingredients. I had an old fashioned and my wife had a rum punch. both excellent The food was the real star. Olamaie splits their menu into a small plates side with about 12 options and an entree side that had 4 options. Also not on the Menu but must be ordered were the biscuits. They were pretty close to perfect. The sizes of the plates and entree's were a little confusing. I had the smothered cornbread which was huge compared to the sweet potato which felt more in line with the small plate idea. I would almost say the cornbread was larger than the beef burgoo I had as an entree. Highlights for me were the smothered cornbread, the beef burgoo and the biscuits. It was a skillet cornbread topped with oysters and a cream sauce finished with spinach. It was well balanced and had great texture. The cornbread was hearty enough to hold up to the cream sauce without getting soggy. The beef burgoo was also excellent. Served with bacon it had a portion of brazed beef cheek and a portion grilled steak. It was served with a layered cabbage and all of it was melt in your mouth delicious. A few of small negative points that I would like to note (One of these was not the restaurant's fault). This being a seasonal restaurant the menu obviously changes. I had read reviews and heard from friends about dishes that I was excited about that weren't on the menu. Why can't you make apples in season in February so I can have pie :( The other issue was the layout. I know it's a small place but the two tops were about 3 inches away from each other. I feel this is too close in an expensive place like Olamaie. We were trying to have a romantic dinner and were the equivalent of sitting at a four top with another couple. Overall I would recommend Olamaie. read more

The good: - Great atmosphere and décor - Killer cocktails. My favorite was something with Rye Whiskey and lemon. - Hush Puppies and Sweet Potato small plates were two of the best dishes I've ever had - simply incredible flavors. We scraped the bowls clean and didn't care who cared. - Carrot Cake was unbelievably moist and well worth the calories The less-than-good: - Parking, while free, was a bit of a hike in the cold and rain. Apparently you can park in a lot right behind the restaurant, but all of the signs seemed to indicate that it was a lot only for the law firm and we didn't want to risk getting towed. - We were not rushed at all by our waiter, but man, were we all hungry, and it just took too long to get our orders in and on the table. Don't go if you're in a hurry. Overall - Olamaie is easily one of the best new restaurants in town. It really offers a unique experience that is hard to compare to any other existing Austin spot. Go. Tip: Ask for the biscuits and honey butter. They're not on the menu but they are available and really, really, really good. read more

Best meal I've had in awhile. Blue crab starter was amazing. Like a comforting bowl of congee with fresh crab. Summer peas with goat cheese was good too. I honestly thought it was a large starter. And it had the yummiest sungold tomatoes I've ever had. Skillet cornbread with Benton's bacon was good, and definitely bigger than I expected. Pickled green tomatoes were super yummy. Deep fried blowfish were incredible. I could eat a dozen of them. I got the roasted pheasant with okra and I loved every single bite. Pheasant was perfectly moist. Service was great. Can't wait to go back. read more

We had the Pork Chops and the Red Snapper. Accompanied with their home made Biscuits that comes with honey butter. It was one of the best meals I have had in a while. Had a great recommendation of our choice of wine that sealed the experience. It's a must! read more

Olamaie has been on my list for months and we finally went last night. The space is adorable and quaint-- perfect for the southern inspired menu. When we arrived we were told our table would be ready in 20 minutes and to sit in the lounge for drinks. You would think there would be someone to take your order but no. We sat there for 15 minutes drinkless until someone finally came over after I waved to them multiple times. The tuna was ok-- too much "ash" took away from the freshness of the fish. The tomato salad was great. Whitefish was good but not great. The beef was the best dish of the night. The snapper was incredibly overcooked although the okra on the plate was great. The biscuits were wonderful yet a little too salty when paired with the butter. With so many great restaurants in Austin, I would be shocked if I ever came back to this one. read more

The food is out-of-this-world delicious. I don't think there is a disappointing small plate on the menu. We tried six of the small plates before dinner. Definitely split one of the steaks. They were cooked perfectly! There are plenty of gluten-free options. Desert was disappointing. But hey, I didn't come here for desert. I came for a wonderful meal; and they did not disappoint. read more

Five stars for food and presentation. Yes, order the biscuits! Perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Butter is served at room temperature, as it should be. They biscuits are so good they will make you curse. (Biscuits are baked to order, so they will come out with the entree instead of the appetizers.) We also had the pickles, Strube Ranch Wagyu Beef, Dewberry Hills Farm Chicken, and chocolate cake. The beef was amazing and I was very jealous of my husband's order. Chicken was still very good with nice skin. The Carolina Gold Rice was on the wet side, which was great for me but may not be ideal for some with texture issues. I had an Indian summer cocktail which was also perfect. Four stars because the dining room was a bit crowded. We were less than a foot away from another table. Decor is nice and understated. The online menu was slightly different than paper menu. I was looking forward to the blackberry pie because it was listed online, but was not available in person. The apple pie was sold out by the time we were ready for dessert (9:45pm), but that's not surprising since it was late. Go early to ensure the best menu selection. The chocolate cake was rich, but not overwhelming and the lemonade was a nice contrast. Yes, this place is pricey but that shouldn't come as a surprise. They use high quality ingredients and good food costs more. People complaining about portion sizes are also off the mark. If you want to be able to feed two people with one entree, go to TGI Fridays. We left feeling satisfied and not overly stuffed. This place is perfect for celebrating special occasions, fancy dates, etc. I look forward to coming back. read more

The food here is amazing. Definitely order the biscuits, they aren't on the menu but they are delicious, nothing outrageous just really good southern biscuits. The menu changes daily but when we were there they had clam hush puppies as a starter and they were awesome. The service was great, too. Our waitress was very nice and knowledgeable. The craft cocktail menu was impressive as well. We ordered the biscuits, clam hush puppies, wagyu beef and the flounder. I've seen other people write that the portions are small but we didn't think so at all. It was enough food for us to leave full but not uncomfortably stuffed, and we appreciated that. The atmosphere is very cute and inviting. When the weather is warmer sitting on the porch would be lovely. The only star I take away was for the flounder. It was nothing special and a little dry. Only other complaint is the seating. When we first sat down we had no choice but to chat with the table next to us rather than have our own conversation because they were so close. Luckily, they were nice folks! read more

Just had dinner there for the first time. Overall the tastes were exquisite; however the micro portions and lackluster service left me hungry for something else. I have no doubt the chefs are masterful, but what's with the dwarf chicken? Had the "1/4" chicken and the thigh was barely even there. Judging from the pictures in all the press, the chefs look like very well fed guys, and this is a southern restaurant--so get some, at least, normal size portions. Other issues: One of our guests requested pepper, but was told to taste her food first and then ask for again. She asked two other staff before a pepper mill was brought to the table. Our unsympathetic waiter with a stiff upper lip, definitely worked for a lower tip. No substitutions or suggestions allowed. I don't eat grains, and there was only one entree that I could eat (dwarf chicken). If not for this rule, I could have chosen something else and had the chef choose a veggies instead of the rice for instance. Sorry I won't be coming back unless they can "simmer down" the dogmatic attitude and "fire up" the caloric sustanance. read more

Discovered this new restaurant on Yelps hottest list... Went with the bestie to check it out last Thursday evening. Such a cute lil spot!! It is a smaller restaurant with close seating.. so yes, It can get a bit noisy. Personally, that didn't bother us. The service was awesome! We had a great waitress who recommended every dishe that we ordered. We started off with the cornbread and crab apps, they were fantastic! For our entrees we ordered the grouper and pork chops. While the flavor was great, I don't think I've EVER had a dish so salty in my life!! We started chatting with the table next to us and as we discussed our dishes, they too mentioned that both of their apps and entrees were incredibly salty! :/ I will go back, and hopefully that'll be an easy fix.... we shall see! read more

This place knocks it out of the park for curbside delivery. The biscuits are the Must Have item. These fluffy, tasty Southern style baked goods are one of the top ten things to eat in Austin. Sure you can brag on Austin BBQ, breakfast tacos, gingerbread pancakes, and Amy's ice cream but these biscuits should be on your list as well. We ordered ours along with some chicken salad, the butternut squash, and kale salad. These other dishes were quite good but the biscuits are the superlative winner. Best of all, these biscuits have a place at breakfast, lunch and dinner. As an aside, I greatly appreciated that online ordering was easy and the pick up was on time. (Not always true these days.). read more

Last week was my first visit to Olamaie. I will definitely be returning soon. There were three of us and our meal was exceptional! We shared several appetizers and salads - which were all delicious. Loved the home made pickled vegetables and the country fried flounder with comeback sauce. My personal favorite was the smothered cornbread with oysters. The fresh dug mashed potatoes were also great. There were four entrees listed - a beef, a chicken, a fish and a lamb dish. I am much simplifying what were four amazing choices. Two of us ordered the Day Boat FL snapper which tasted like it was just caught that morning - delicious! It was served with crawfish cream, vegetables and dandelions. We also ordered the Dewberry Hills Farm chicken. It was cooked perfectly - moist and tender. I'm not sure how they prepare the chicken but it was terrific! I also have to mention the melt in your mouth biscuits with honey butter - they are off-menu but if available the night you are there be sure to order a basket for the table. Now to desserts - the Boggy Creek Farm Parsnip cake was incredible. I'm not sure I have ever eaten a parsnip before but would be happy to eat this cake at the end of any meal! The sorbet was also awesome - tart and tangy - perfect! We also ordered mint chocolate chip ice cream, which I could've eaten 5 bowls of myself. Who wouldn't like creamy mint ice cream mixed with great chocolate and covered in sprinkles? We had a great evening at Olamaie, and I'll definitely be returning next time I am in Austin. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to have a great dining experience. read more

Go in and sit at the counter or on the porch at Olemaie'. Have a glass wine or whiskey and enjoy the kind slow service. Things don't move fast and the menu is limited. However, you don't care if you order a biscuit from heaven. For real heaven. It's a bit pricey and the staff isn't customer centered but the food is interesting. read more

Olamaie - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

Simply Amazing! I had the gulf white shrimp and Jefferson red rice as a starter and then the Day Boat Fish (Red Snapper) and the beef Tar Tar. The staff was amazing as well as the food. Chef Nick came out and talked to me about the food, the general Manager Arin told me about the Resturaunt, suggested several items on the menu and Bobby the waiter was superb. This place has exceptional food, great atmosphere for a date or business dinner. I eat out in Austin Texas three nights a week and this is now one of my favorite places. Jason read more

Totally epic meal, if you can handle the price. Everything we had was really well made, but felt like dishes I'd had before. That's not a huge knock, because the dishes were stunning, I just like being surprising while I dig around on the plate. The off-menu biscuits were definitely all they are cracked up to be. Get them. Have a few cocktails. They were amazing. Then close your $120 tab. read more

Another Austin - overhyped - gimmick. I would give the Biscuits 5 Stars but am I the only one that found this place so - so? I don't feel like repeating all the less than 4 star reviews but I share the same sentiments. Enough said. read more

We love Olamaie! The dining room is perfectly neutral and lovely, the service is warm and knowledgeable, and the food is artfully superb. Oh my goodness. Highly recommend the Kilt White Button Mushrooms appetizer (with warm country ham vinaigrette, tarragon and catsup) and the off-menu Biscuits (3 to an order)! Those biscuits (served with warm honey button topped with flakes of sea salt) were life affirming. I would kill for the recipe! Our entrees seemed portioned on the small side, but hard to complain when everything is this scrumptious! For the record, we had the Day Boat Mahi Mahi (biscuit dressing, roasted carrot, sorghum, county ham likker) and the Dewberry Hills Farms Chicken (smoked oats, black trumpet fricasse, cauliflower). We finished with simple Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and cups of rich Houndstooth Coffee. Bravo! TIP: the entrance is in the back! read more

Believe the hype: Olamaie is one of the best new restaurants I've encountered in Austin in quite some time. Starting with the interior: it's almost hard to believe this place used to be Mars (or even Sagra). The Mars decor in particular was dark and somewhat cramped-feeling; Olamaie OTOH feels remarkably open and modern for a restaurant housed in, well, a house (and an older one at that). I was initially a bit confused given that the architect or designer decided to relocate its entrance from the literal front door to one off of its left side. Once you enter, however, you immediately understand why they moved it: the new entrance allows for the addition of a good-sized waiting-area-slash-bar next to the host stand. While I wish I'd remembered to read up on its Yelp reviews prior to dining there (I definitely would've ordered those off-the-menu biscuits everyone is raving about), each of our appetizers and main courses were completely top-notch -- and I dined with one of my biggest foodie friends, who isn't easily impressed. A few of the menu items have either names or ingredients -- e.g. "purloo" and "likker" -- that were a bit ... twee, maybe? Precious? (Contrary to our server's claim, they aren't the least bit common even in old-school Southern cuisine parlance.) Anyway, they were slightly off-putting, but the dishes they described were no such thing. Really, aside from the very minor quibble with the menu names, our meal there was pretty much flawless, and I will most assuredly be back! (Btw in response to Deborah L.'s comment about the outdoor seating not currently being used for dining purposes: we still have another six weeks or so of inferno-like weather, but I assume they'll be put to good use once the temps cool down a bit.) read more

We went with some friends on a Friday night to grab what I thought would be a great dinner. We started off the night with a strange cumcumber salad that tasted both refreshing and sour at the same time. Perhaps that was the intention of the dish? It wasn't what I was expecting, but I suppose that's neither here nor there. Everyone has different palettes right? The other appetizers weren't bad. We tried the skillet cornbread. It was paired nicely with okra and eggplant. The cornbread was soaked in what seemed to be a tomato-based sauce. Good, but again not exactly what you expect. The bungalow-style house provides a nice atmosphere to dine in and the wait staff seemed on their toes. Although I had to repeat my order three times to the waitress working our table. Perhaps it was a bit loud in the restaurant. Some of us ordered the pork chop. The menu description made the dish sound delectable. It was anything but. Perhaps I'm used to porkchops coming out bone in with a substantial amount of meat on them... but, this one was a complete disappointment. It came out cut up into long strips that were fatty at best. I think I got two chews of actual pork chop in the lot. I left most of it on the plate. Not ready to give up, we all prepared ourselves to order the apple pie. How was it? Well, we wouldn't know. They ran out. How do you run out of dessert? Instead they tried to sell us on some biscuit with honey butter. Not bad, but it totally did not make up for poor dessert planning. Olamaie goes on the same list as Olivia. Nice atmosphere, admirable design, but completely lacking in the first food experience. Perhaps this restaurant just needs some more time to get things in order... PS. If you want a pork chop to die for check out the bone-in at Justine's Brasserie. It's on point. The pork chop at Hillside Farmacy is pretty good too. . read more

Located in a beautifully refurbished Farm House, this entire place reeks of Southern Hospitality. The dining room is both quiet and turned out with luxurious sophistication. Using authentic and time tested Southern recipes, the chef has put a modern spin on heavy handed Southern Cuisine. The whipped honey infused butter with biscuits were a divination. Offering a focused and well curated menu, I was both surprised and impressed by the vegetarian options. The team service delivered by an articulate, knowledgeable and ethnically diverse staff was impeccable. Thank you for a lovely meal. read more

Mixed feelings about our experience this past weekend. They have a policy where they refuse to make any menu accommodations. I understand that a chef creates a dish with certain ingredients and by altering the ingredients, they alter the way the chef intended a dish to taste. However, there's no mention of this on the website or the menu (I dud check before making the reservation and I checked again after our experience here). All I suggest is that if a chef is going to have this policy, at least communicate it so your patrons can make informed decisions about whether it's appropriate to visit your restaurant or not. We were a table of ten women so we could not easily pick up and go to another restaurant on a Saturday at 11am (and in this particular case, we had 6 women who were visiting from all over the US). The waiter also did not handle the initial request very professionally; it's estimated that 30-40% of the US population is dairy intolerant, so some training on how to respond would be helpful. The outdoor seating is very pleasant. The porch is lined by classic white shudders, creating a feeling of privacy yet an openness which enabled us to take in the ambiance from the main restaurant. The waiters were extremely knowledgeable and pleasant. It's not easy serving a table of ten and they did an excellent job (once they stopped laughing at the inquiry regarding non-dairy options). We ordered the French Toast (fabulous, particularly the butter and jam that accompanied it), the Crab salad (good flavors, but way too much dressing which hid the flavor of the crab too much), Hoppin Jon (was really interesting and fun mix of flavors, but a little on the oily side), chicken dumplings (wonderful). Serving size was good for women, men should order 2 dishes or may leave hungry. read more

This is one of the best restaurants in Austin. The skill of the kitchen is undeniable and worthy of 5 stars on that basis, but the prices, portion sizes, and small scope of the menu make it a weaker value proposition than it should be. Hype about the biscuits is justified. Most of what I said applies to the brunch service as well, but don't eat brunch here and assume you understand what this kitchen has to offer. read more

Pros...great athmosphere and good service. Cons... food is way overpriced for the quality of the food. Had $38 chicken and it tasted like I grilled it at my kids camp out and we forgot seasoning. I don't care if the chicken was grass-fed and home schooled... it had no flavor. Literally tasted like a grilled chicken with zero seasonings. Also had a $45 pork chop..... and sorry, it was just OK. For a $45 pork chop, this thing better be awesome.....and it was just ok. And C,mon...When you're paying this much for a meal....the biscuits should be free. The best thing about this place was the really friendly valet. read more

The service was poor due to an overbearinng waiter. The wine choices were slim and of poor quality. The restaurant was very noisy. The food was so-so and way too expensive. Overall, save time and money and avoid this restaurant. read more

My husband eats beef probably 250 days a year and he said this was the best beef he has ever had. The Wagyu Bavette Steak as out of this world and I had the chicken which was so uniquely prepared and absolutely melted in my mouth. The Smoked Wahoo as an appetizer was so delicious and be sure an order the homemade biscuits with honey butter (not on the menu :) . The décor is so inviting and we just loved every minute of it-they even have IPA beer which as a beer snob I rarely am able to find. read more

Olamaie - Picture of the front - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas