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Oliva's Bar & Restaurant

3.7 (88 reviews)
Open • 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Oliva's Bar & Restaurant Italian Restaurant Photos

OLIVA'S BAR & RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Dogs allowed
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Oliva's Bar & Restaurant

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Reviews With Photos

18" large pizza - sausage, pepperoni, mushroom Cabernet wine (they also have Chianti & Merlot)

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.

Marinara and Penne
Clinton C.

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.

Menu history
Steve C.

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.

Eggplant Parmigiana

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!

Chicken Scallopini
Missy V.

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.

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1 year ago

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

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2 years ago

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

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

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3 years ago

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

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

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Ask the Community - Oliva's Bar & Restaurant

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Barnaby's - Mishawaka

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I wanted to like this place to badly! I will always give credit where credit is do, Barnabys…read moreMishawaka was a very cool pizza place with an old world pub interior. The decor and aesthetic is a little confusing as it gives off a feeling of 1983 German sausage polka fest lol. Very cool nostalgic feel non the less. We were with o ok2 couples, so we ordered apps to share. You have to write your order on paper given to you at the table, and they call on a.microphome for you pick up the orders as ready. We ordered a 10" sausage and mushroom pizza, mozzarella sticks and zucchini ( ended up be sold out). We also got chili with shredded cheese to try as it was advertised several places in the restaurant. My hubby ordered a big cheeseburger as well. The pizza was underwhelming at best. Partly was the bland crust and sauce, the topping were generous and fresh, but the cornmeal bottom killed it for me. I would not order again. The mozzarella sticks were standard frozen mozzarella sticks fried and hot. They were generous with quantity! Everyone got at least one or more. The chili was not warm enough, my cheese never melted. I should have returned it to the kitchen but, at that point I was just over this particular night out. I debated on two stars because of the chili temperature, however I know that things happen. The frozen mozzarella sticks, and pizza that was mediocre ( partially a personal preference of no cornmeal) and general ambience is where my ratingis are focused on. Overall, I can see why people come to this restaurant, it has a long standing seat in Mishawaka/south Bend. With that being said, I will most likely not return.

We were trying to decide where to go for lunch and I said I feel like a really good pizza. My wife…read moresaid, "guess we're going to Barnaby's today. 128 miles later (about 70-80 miles less than going to a Chicago area location or other great Chicago pizza place) we walked in to Barnaby's and placed our order. Nothing at all (except perhaps remodeled bathrooms) has changed at this (and probably all Barnaby locations) since I started enjoying their pizza in the early 1970's. You still order at the counter, get your drinks or soda at the bar and wait until your number is called. Our pizza was once again masterfully prepared and reminded me why I am willing to drive so far for good pizza. Wonderful crust, great sauce and perfect ingredients. We purposely left a few pieces so we could snack tonight. This is a perfect Chicago run without going to Chicago. A mile or so up the road is a Portillo's where we also stopped and bought a few pounds of Italian Beef so we won't be without this winter. But once again, this review is about Barnaby's. Totally impressed and thrilled at the same time that a place like this can maintain its consistence and excellence for well over 50 years.

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Barnaby's - Mishawaka - Sausage and mushroom pizza with copious amounts of fresh red pepper, and Parmesan

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Barnaby's - Mishawaka - Nasty hard bread sticks that are 1.75 EACH!!!! Canned cheese that tastes like plastic. Canned Parmesan cheese.

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Bourbon St Pizza - Buffalo wings with ranch

Bourbon St Pizza

4.4(5 reviews)
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Perhaps not the best in the area or even the best on the strip, but better than most food chains…read morefor the area. I had a hand tossed pepperoni extreme which was full of oil, a thin crust bacon and mushroom with less oil, their Buffalo wings with ranch and their famous breadsticks with cheese sauce. The pepperoni extreme pizza had far too much oil for my taste, but the flavors were very much on point. There was some spice along with cheese that didn't quite want to stay on the pizza when I went to separate my slices. The thin crust bacon and sausage pizza had less oil and a wonderful crust with the same cheese situation as the other pizza. I imagine either pizza would be great for a party with alcohol. That's not to say it wasn't delicious because it was, but when it comes to pizza I have to be a hundred percent honest. The wings were less crispy than I prefer, but with a flavorful explosion. The meat also falls off the bone easily which is a plus for sensitive teeth situations. I must say flavor is the one thing these people are doing right over here. I just hope your stomach is young enough to handle it. Next I had their famous bread sticks with cold cheese sauce. The cheese was nothing to brag about, but the breadstick had that brick oven flavor that many people enjoy. I'm not sure if it was a combination of oils, but once I started eating my first breadstick, my stomach began to rebel, as if to say I had done something seriously wrong. I would like to see what else this place has to offer and a very much suggest visiting this establishment, but I must also add that there are other options for those of you with a sensitive stomach.

Great pizza! Toppings just right, and can be a small enough pizza that everyone can get their own…read more Thin crust (crispy) or traditional hand tossed. I've learned they use Grande brand cheese which is top of the line fresh soft mozzarella. Perfect for pizzas and reheats next day great. They have a great variety of options for toppings and predesigned pizzas. We just found this place a week ago, and have been 3 times! Addicting, plus they are quick to cook, and even a text when your pizza goes into the oven! Fun and helps with pickup orders.

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Oliva's Bar & Restaurant - italian - Updated May 2026

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