Best pizza in Michiana hands down. Have only ever had carry out from others but I need to visit just to try a few other things. Worth the trip Just to try. read more

So, definitely mixed feelings here. I want to start by saying that the service was top notch. My server was wonderful. My meal started out with one of the best salads I have ever had. So much meat and cheese on it. On top of that, they brought a bottle of homemade balsamic vinaigrette that was to die for. Now for my entree, I got the chicken Parmesan and while the chicken was very tasty, the sauce was mid at best. I can't stand when I am eating pasta and there are huge chunks of green bell peppers in there. There's a time and place for bell peppers and pasta sauce it not one of them. I could not eat it once I ran into that. I would come back here for that salad alone though. Parking is slim so be prepared for that too. Overall, I will return. read more

Oliva's Bar & Restaurant - Chicken parm - Italian Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

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The best Italian beef! My husband had Oliva's signature (side) salad and said it was delicious. Nice place tucked away; pretty popular place at lunchtime today. Service was great! read more

Oliva's Bar & Restaurant - Oliva's signature Italian salad - Italian Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

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The restaurant recently changed hands. I've only been there a few times under this new ownership, but it seems to be a good move. If the enthusiasm of the new owner is any indication of how successful the restaurant will be in the future, it's in good hands. read more

Horrible experience. Took our friends to Oliva's to share how much we loved this place and their atmosphere and pizza. Asked our service person twice to order. Both times she said "No, too busy with 2 other tables." Seems like we had a right to have our pizza order put into the queue. Because then it would be another half hour or more before our order was placed, let alone able to feed our guests. Pizza was great. Compliments to the chef. Very embarrassing. Restaurant not many tables filled. We waited an hour to order. We had nothing but wine & beer for an hour. Not even water. Even though we asked twice for waters. Still no water until pizza was served. It was bizarre. read more

Oliva's Bar & Restaurant - 18" large pizza - sausage, pepperoni, mushroom Cabernet wine (they also have Chianti & Merlot) - Italian Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

Ordered a simple items of cheese ravioli as a carry out, took forever to receive then couldn't cut it with a fork it was so undercooked! Lifelong neighborhood bar, last order EVER!!! read more

Came here today for the first time at lunch and it was packed! The server let me know she was the only one working the floor. At that point I knew I wouldn't critique the service negatively. The service however was great for how busy she was and she did an amazing job showing attention to us while ordering and asking questions about the menu. I was so excited to try the breadsticks but for $9 you got 4 generic frozen sticks that they slapped some butter on and sprinkled some green flakes and cheese onto avoid these as an appetizer. For the meal we got two marinara and penne which they enjoyed and we got a club sandwich that had more deli meat then ever but lacked any real flavor and was just seared deli meat on some toasted white bread. We also ordered the meatball sandwich with marinara and mozzarella cheese the meatballs are made in house but didn't have too much flavor if any and the cheese was flavorless the best part of it was the Italian bread it came on. The overall ambience is very welcoming and a great place to be. Parking is limited. Next time I think I'll just try their pizza. read more

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While parking is quite limited, the interior offers a cozy date-night ambience. Delicious food. Reasonable prices. We hope to be back!

Everything went well. Made reservations for 4:30 and got right in. Gave us place by door bc of walker. Wonderful waitress and food was delicious! Will be back. Heard they get busy later and reservations are probably best. read more

Typical South Bend area Italian joint - busy with locals, noisy, good food, and marginal service. In the end, it's all a good vibe except the poor table service can be a bit trying at times. This was my first visit: 1.) Pizza was excellent and the pies are huge!, 2.) salad & house dressing were also excellent and same recipie as Reggio's (now defunct), 3.) Lasagna was very marginal and cheese on top was nasty, 4.) they offer only cheap house wines and they were terrible. I would definitely dine here again or at least get one of their delicious pies to-go. read more

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We have been eating here for years. There has been a change in staff including cooks. Not good. We ordered chicken scallipini it was inedible. All the veggies were thrown on top RAW: the mushrooms green onions and tomatoes. Raw onions and mushrooms???? We complained and told they do that so it tastes "fresh" it was just nasty. Then when asked about cheesecake, we were told last week they had a lemon cheesecake but "she" was told not to make any this week. Did not offer an alternative. Wow. read more

Let me tell you, we decided on a whim to go to Oliva's for my birthday dinner and THEY KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK. We were greeted like old friends when we walked in. Food (chicken Alfredo and eggplant parmigiana) was absolutely fantastic with large filling plates and the drinks (Moscato and Whiskey Sour) were amazing. Julie was our waitress and she was such a doll and was so kind and friendly to us. If you want a relaxed intimate experience with good company and welcome service and amazing food, you should definitely check out Oliva's! read more

Oliva's Bar & Restaurant - Eggplant Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

The food was amazing!!!! Absolutely make reservations, totally worth it. The staff were very friendly & welcoming. We really enjoyed the cozy & intimate atmosphere. The bruschetta was delicious. We loved our main dishes, we both fell in love with the sauces....to die for! We will definitely be back. read more

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I love this restaurant. The waitstaff, the ambiance, and the food are all. Wonderful! If you're lucky to get a desert, the cheesecake is never fail! read more

Friendly atmosphere, great service and great food. Salad is to die for and the lasagne is the best in town! Pizza is great too.

Everything here is delicious and the cheesecake is DIVINE. I highly recommend you try them!

Six of us ordered takeout dinners, all different selections and we were all pleased. The orders were ready as promised, and the food was warm and delicious. The fettuccine Alfredo was creamy, rich, and fresh and not over or undercooked. I will absolutely go to Oliva's again. read more

This review is only applicable to carry out for their pizza, which I've had about 5 times now. Great thin crust pizzas with excellent flavor. The toppings leave a bit to be desired, but the result is still a top 5 pizza in the Mishawaka/Granger/South Bend area. Never tried anything else, never ate inside. read more

First visit here and it was very nice. Now to get here you'll probably have to use the YELP map because it is hidden away at a dead end street that backs up to a railroad, but make the effort as it was a good dinner place. When we visit Notre Dame we always look on YELP for a different restaurant so we get variety ... this time we found Oliva's - a nice Italian restaurant and bar. You walk in and on your left is a long bar that is nicely decorated for the season...and on your right a few high tables and booths for seating. There is also a another room for overflow on busy days or private parties. The restaurant runs a bit on the chilly side during the winter, but is still very tolerable. For food they have many of the usual Italian dishes, and all the ones we had were nicely carried off. They have the French Fry thing down, so enjoy some appetizers as they were perfect - we had the 4 star sampler platter that came with to die for garlic bread. Cheese Ravioli and Linguini Alfredo were both 4 star selections also. I had an order of potato skins and they were fine but I should have ordered without the olives - gave it a funny taste with everything else they load them up with. We didn't have the pizza but it sure looked good - next time. There is street parking and a parking lot across the street you can use from an old grocery store. The restaurant has on its front door two notes - no smoking and no one under 21 ... both nice changes. You can relax and enjoy your meal. This is a nice neighborhood kind of place that is worth finding. And with the house wines priced at $4.50 per glass, you can imbibe without leaving your wallet. Liked it a lot. read more

Oliva's Bar & Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

The food is average at best. The pizza is the exception. It's very good. The service is adequate but can be slow on busy nights. The space is very loud and hectic on the weekends so if you are meeting friends that you haven't seen In awhile don't expect quiet conversation. The bar itself could be a nice place to enjoy a cocktail or two but the feeling is that if you aren't a regular you wont fit in. It's foo bad but the bottom line is if you want a good pizza try it out otherwise it's not worth the visit. read more

The food is very solid and the customer service is impeccable. I had a few different types of pastas. The meatballs were really delicious.

The food is very good and the atmosphere is nice. I haven't had a bad dish there. The pizza is my go to, but all the pasta and other dishes are quite tasty . read more

My husband I use to eat here when we lived in Mishawaka. We came to town visiting friends and invited them to eat there. They had no idea Olivia's was so delicious. Members in our group had Prime Rib, chicken scallopini, salmon, Italian chicken and appetizer Italian stuffed mushrooms. All the food is flavorful and tasty. Definitely make a reservation. We had a group of 6 and it was tight seating. They have pull tabs here as well! read more

We've lived in the Michiana area for 20 years and never been here. Had a native tell me about it late this afternoon, so I called to see if they took reservations on my way home to pick up my wife (with no clue where we were going for dinner) and they set us up with a 7:30 reze. It was the perfect place we had long hoped this area had. Atmosphere was great with an old world Italian feel. We sat at a 2 top booth-like table parallel to the bar (a nice one at that). We had the antipasto salad, which was very fresh with crispy lettuce and a delicious homemade dressing already set on the table. We had bruschetta for an appetizer and it was spot on. It was suggested by the native who recommended this place to try the pizza, so we obliged by ordering a 12' pepperoni, beef, onion, and mushroom. Even though they whiffed on including the pepperoni, it was still a wonderful pie. Crust was excellent throughout; crispy on the edges and perfect in the middle. We will return, no doubt! Looking forward to diving into some of their classic pasta offerings. Need to remind ourselves to make an earlier reservation so we don't miss out on their famous cheesecake. That was the only letdown on this maiden voyage, but enough incentive to sway us for another visit (in addition to the great food we experienced). read more

We got carryout pizza here tonight...the building Olivas occupies now ised to be another decent restaurant.many moons ago. The pizza was very good...possibly top 3 in South Bend. Thin crust...not cracker crust like St. Louis style pizza...but thin and not bready Sauce was cooked and nice and mild...good quality cheese...real sausage...and onions and peppers were shaved into rings. Olivas serves a really good pizza. I bought an 18 in 3 topping and a 12 inch cheese and sausage...at 40.00 i thought it was a good value. The interior of Olivas will remind you a bit of a supper club circa 1979. It was busy...bar was full. The hostess intercepted me and sent me to tje bar to pay for the pizza and another lady got my pizzas while I paid. The bartender was busy and snarky...but not hostile just sort of too busy. I woukd return for dinner when ( and if) we get past Covid Theres zero social distancing....unmasked people were shoulder to shoulder in the bar etc Staff were wearing masks though. The dinner menu looked interesting...some italian...some steakhouse regime items and a few wierd one offs like..." Baja shrimp made with ""Tai sauce"" and served on a bed of lettuce as an appetizer. Check out Olivas for the pizza...maybe veture back a second time for the rest of the menu. read more

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Food is excellent, the service is great , the atmosphere is great , the overall experience is very satisfying and we have been there several times ! One of the best restaurants around ! read more

Our neighbors invited us to Oliva's for dinner. They had met at this location many years ago at the previous restaurant, Union Station. The food and service were both great! Kind of retro but delicious! We will definitely be going back! read more

Seeing Oliva's facebook page posting their delectable cheesecakes I gathered family and friends for a night of deliciousness. After waiting an hour for our table (6:30 on a Friday night very expected to wait time) we enjoyed bruschetta, tomato basil soup, their house Italian salad and then the wonderful meal. I had the crushed red pepper shimp over bowtie pasta. Very flavorful with their vodka sauce just enough kick to add pep. The others in the party had their pork special which I did manage to get a bite and almost regret ordering what I did. Subsequently stuffing ourselves on our feast we HAD to order salted ca0rmel cheesecake on a pretzel crust! We each ordered our own to prevent a fork fight and blood being drawn. This overall experience ranks at the top of my HolySmokesThatWasGood! list. read more

Oliva's Bar & Restaurant - Pardon the bite off the end. Salted Caramel Cheesecake on a Pretzel crust. Couldn't wait to take picture before trying this deliciousness - Italian Near Me - Mishawaka, Indiana

Food was excellent! Really enjoyed! Were there for a relaxful dinner with friends. Got so noisy (loud!) we could not carry on a conversation. Waitress was rush rush rush! Far from relaxful evening. read more

Chicken piccata was not good. Not a complainer. Tasted rubbery and noodles were just ok. read more

My husband and I stopped in Oliva's for an early dinner today. All eyes turned to see who we were when we walked in. I felt like we were walking into Cheers, lol. We were immediately seated in a cozy booth. Our wonderful waitress Julie came right over to give us menus and take our drink order. I ordered the grilled Italian chicken breast and my husband ordered a pizza. We received a big salad to share while waiting for our meals. It was delicious. I also got a cup of tomato bisque, which was amazing! We both enjoyed our entrees as well. My husband's pizza was covered with plenty of toppings, lots of cheese and he really enjoyed it. My chicken was very tasty. It was served with a huge plop of the best mashed potatoes. The entire meal from start to finish was not a quick event so be prepared to spend some time here. It was nice to sit back, relax and enjoy ourselves. Our glasses were never empty and our waitress paced everything out nicely. The restaurant was crowded and noisy and there was great music playing the entire time which all added up to a very enjoyable experience. It was our first time here but we will definitely be back. read more

Awesome hometown neighborhood restaurant. The salad and the meal were great and so was the service.

My husband & I have dined here multiple times but, most recently we dined @ Olivia's last weekend. Every single time we have been incredibly happy w/all aspects of this bar & restaurant! This place truly is a hidden gem in Mishawaka, IN!! Take one look at the online menu to find real Italian dishes, as well, as American options...at very fair prices. Throughout the years we've tried everything from their mouthwatering prime rib to their stellar pizza w/housemade sausage. As tempting as it is to just order whatever we've tried before & liked...we have done our best to order something different every time. Therefore, I cannot say that we've had "every dish", from their menu. But we've tried just about everything... and the truth is that you can't select a bad meal, from their menu options! Btw, the entrees come with a family style salad w/thinly sliced salami & provolone cheese, black olives, tomatoes, banana peppers, croutons & their housemade creamy Italian dressing! OMGoodness, it is to-die-for-good, good, good! Plus, they have housemade soups of your choosing! (*just a lonnng side note here: my husband & I are NOT crazy about soup. Yet, since we were very hungry when we arrived & it came w/our 2 meals, last weekend we had chosen (for the 1st time that we've been dining here) the beef & noodle and ham & bean, to share. Usually, at other restaurants, IF we ordered the complimentary soup, we would reluctantly take a quick, small spoonful of soup...to politely taste it...and then we'd gently shove it aside & patiently wait until, "the good stuff came out". However, not this time!! Olivia's soup is Mmm-mmm good! We loved it SO much, that we both consumed every single drop!! Afterwards, we laughed at ourselves, as we shook our heads in disbelief over how delicious our soups were. The truth is that we've never-ever favored soup before that night! ha ha) So, if we liked the soups, I'm confident that Soup-Lovers will be in Heaven! Trust me, you'll likely be stuffed after devouring the salad, soup & bread (*btw, I must apologize for another side note: according to our friendly waitress, "you must ask for the bread & butter, if you want it". If I had to name a "Con", this would be it! lol Trust me, we all want the carb loaded warm bread... so, if you're like us, politely ask for it. The bread & butter are complimentary... and who doesn't love bread?! Seriously, if you're in an Italian restaurant, you are probably not there to watch your figure on that particular night! C'mon! Let's be real, bring on the bread & butter, please, please, oooh please ) Yet, even after the soup, salad & bread, you still get another "side of choice" w/your entree (my husband & I both chose garlic mashed potatoes...yum)!! I also req'd a take out container before my entree & side came out... and I ate that the following day. My husband dove into his ginormous prime rib...and he only made it halfway thru. Which was impressive, considering the prime rib was as big as the entire plate (it truly looked as big as an entire Sunday roast that I prepare for our whole family after church! No joke. He said that was The Best prime rib that he has ever had! Woot woot! So, there's that. The next day he enjoyed his leftovers, as much as I enjoyed mine. Ooohhh, I almost forgot to mention how good my pineapple-upside-down-cake martini was!! Our waitress brought the martini shaker to our table to pour it...and to my delight, she left the shaker w/me. In which, I was able to get another full glass of deliciousness...making it, 2 drinks for the price of 1! Again, this wasn't our 1st time dining here... but I always forget to write my Yelp review. Probably bc I'm, very likely, in a carb overload... in which I rush home to take a nap! hee hee ~ Just kidding! Bottom line...if you haven't tried this place, you're missing out on grrreat food, service & atmosphere, at a more than fair price. One last thing, this is a bar & restaurant...soooo you must be 21 to dine here. Now that our kids are older, I personally wish more restaurants were 21 & up... but IF you do have precious lil' ones, and you cannot get a sitter, they have an incredible take-out business. Esp. PIZZA, it truly is magnifico!! Don't take my word for it, just stop reading all of the reviews and go directly to Olivia Bar & Restaurant on Union St. in Mishawaka... It's next to the railroad tracks! It sounds cliche to say, "you'll be glad that you did"... But I wouldn't take the time to recommend this place, unless I was confident that everyone else will love this place as much as we do! Salute! read more

First time at Oliva's. What a hidden gem. Old time cozy Italian restaurant atmosphere, loved it!! It was a Tuesday night and the place was fairly full with a lot of people eating and at the bar having conversations. The pizza and chicken parm were great. Service was on point. Overall a great experience. I will be back. read more

If you're in the mood to get out of the house and relax and unwind, but you want to deviate from the posh dining scene Olivia's is the place. Olivia's is a mom and pop style restarant and one of the local favs. This restaurant has a homey kinda vibe where when you walk in you feel like everyone knows your name. However, since it was my first visit here not everyone knew my name, but I felt at home. When I was seated and got comfortable, I viewed their menu options, and the selection offered was basic American and Italian comfort food, seemingly all delicious. But sometimes when it comes to food the simplest and most basic of foods can be the best. My first dish to arrive was the Italian house salad. The SALAD: Based on the picture the salad may seem pretty ordinary, but don't be deceived. This salad was by far one of the most memorable and delicious salads I've ever eaten. All of the components of the salad came together with perfection. I could've, and almost made the salad my entrée while dining. I hate to admit this, but I must eat my words........ yes, yes Ill do it. In previous reviews I've made it known that I haven't been a fan of iceberg lettuce BASED on the past experiences I've had with eating it mainly in FAST FOOD quality products. Browned edges, and iceberg not being paired well with other foods turned me against iceberg. But this salad MIGHT have won me back over MAYBE. But either way this salad was sooo good I had to force myself to stop eating it so I could maintain room for the rest of my meal. The other highlights of the meal were the stuffed mushrooms!! Oh my, they were divine!! Now as far as recommendations for entrees if a person in a traditional Italian mood and wants something filling, their pizza and lasagna is sure to please, which is what I ordered. The sauce on the lasagna was extremely fresh tasting as if it were homemade and was infused with herbs. Also, the slice was very hearty, filling and thick. Similarly, the pizza was also very hearty and had herbs baked into the cheese which added nice flavor notes. Overall, Oliva's is a great homey, restaurant with delicious filling food, and a great inviting atmosphere. As my waitress told me "If you leave Oliva's hungry, something is wrong." But I'll also add if you leave Oliva's unsatisfied something else if wrong. Oliva's is definitely a win-win, and a hidden gem. read more

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Great pizza maybe a bit to much pepper. really did not take long, service was excellent, it is a bar and restaurant so can be a little loud. I would recommend giving it a try if you have not been. they have complete menu, but we have always gotten the pizza. read more

Food is pretty good, especially pizza. What happened to my table recently makes me rethink going back. We made reservations and we were sat on time. After looking at the menu we ordered we probably got our food 40 minutes after sitting down. I have no problem with that, I came expecting that. We were done eating a half hour later. We were forcibly rushed out of there almost as soon as we finished eating. We were visiting with friends we hadn't seen in a very long time and only stayed over 20 minutes after we ate. But a waitress or manager came up to the table, grabbed a placemat in front of one of us and crumbled it up and then walked away out of the blue. Nothing else was removed for the table and then after that walked by giving us dirty looks. It was evident they wanted the table. Staying 20 minutes while we're still buying drinks and paying for new drinks seems a bit crappy to me. read more

Small out of the way place. Kind of dark inside but a great vibe! Our Saturday date night group picks our destination partly on the appetizers. They did not disappoint!!!!!! Some of the best fried ravioli I've had in a long time. Entree is big enough to split. read more

Initially, the food and service were good, then things went terribly bad... ruined the entire evening. The facts: We were seated in a booth. Two very LARGE men were on the other side (back-to-back, against my wife's seat). They were constantly bumping my wife; if you have ever been on an airplane with a child behind you constantly kicking your seat, you know how this feels. She got up and politely asked them to please refrain from this. They ignored her and continued... so, my wife brought it to the attention of our waitress. Nothing was done. She asked another waitress to help. All she did was respond that we should have gotten a table, as if we had a choice! The place was packed. Again, nothing was done. My wife asked to see the manager. The manager never came over, so we went up front to see her. She was too busy tending bar. She finally broke away (after like 10 minutes) and we went outside to discuss the matter. The manager offered a free pizza coupon. This was not satisfactory as our dinner and evening were completely trashed. The manager got the owner, and he came up to the cash register. He only half-heartedly listened to my wife, while looking around the restaurant. He did not give his full attention... he was detached... actually seemed oblivious. He said nothing and offered nothing to compensate. As previously arranged with our waitress, we paid for the first round of drinks at our table (6 people), plus our dinners, then left. The very LEAST they should have done is comp my wife's dinner. We will never go back! Afterward, we learned that our friends were charged and paid for their first round of drinks, too. Draw your own conclusions. This was the worst restaurant dining experience of my nearly 70-year old life. read more

I am going to qualify my comments by saying I come from an Italian family and grew up eating a lot of Italian dishes. I really like this place. It is noisy but lively, so the vibe is really great. The locals (which I am not) are very friendly and will smile and say Hi to you. I sat at the bar and the bartender was excellent. Friendly, funny and fully attentive...even though it was very busy. The salad was excellent. Fresh and flavorful and BIG. The chicken parmesan was a big plate covered with cheese and marinara. The chicken was great and again...BIG. The only "knock" was the marinara didn't have much flavor. And that's where I qualify my statement. It's not that it was bad, but I wasn't getting any bang out of it like I did growing up. Really this is a 4.5 review, because I really enjoyed it there and will go back to try some other dishes that sounded delicious. Also prices were reasonable, especially for the amount of food they give you. I would definitely suggest folks give it a try! read more