Food is very good but attention to service is less than expected. Some things missing from our order and order requests not properly addressed. Arrived for 8:30pm reservation on Saturday night, party of 4. When we arrived they were in the process of removing 2 chairs from a 6-top table. That made the table less-than intimate. I had to re-arrange my place setting to be within range of my wife (it was her birthday). No one from the staff seemed at all interested in the fact that we were rearranging place settings to make the table better suited for 4. The one waitress (apparently managing waitress) said she'd see about a more intimate table. Never heard anything more about that from her. We asked about the cocktail menu. She said she had to find one of only 2 that existed in the entire restaurant. Suddenly another waiter showed up. (I'm guessing the other waiter didn't want to deal with us any longer). He was very cordial, when we said we were looking for a cocktail menu he left to find the other of the 2 that existed. Our first waitress returned with the cocktail list. Seconds later the other waiter returned with the second cocktail list. Apparently we were now the keepers of all the cocktail menus. We ordered cocktails and before long our waiter brought us bread and oil. My wife's prosecco was too dry so our waiter suggested a lighter sparkling white which she liked. To make a long story short, overall less than we expected. One of my guests asked for dressing on the side but the salad came, over dressed. They missed an entire order for one of my other guests. They were courteous enough to comp our drinks for our less-then-stellar event. Took a very long time to get food even though it was not busy. Food quality was high. Our second waiter was knowledgeable and helpful and attentive. The fact that a manager did not stop by to speak with us toward the end was disappointing since we had were obviously disappointed. Won't return and really can't recommend this place. read more

Very disappointing! A grumbling waiter. The need to get up and ask for drinks. Small plates that barely resembled the description on the menu. Dishes and empty glasses accumulated on the table...And the value for the price. Our waiter who had been oddly disagreeable throughout the evening, became fawning and solicitous at check time. read more

Went for a family event and they accompanied us at an exclusive table. The owner was great and gave us a nice experience in our dining. Some of my family members had been before and were as impressed as the first time they came. Thanks for accommodating our large party too! read more

My wife and I visited for lunch after our commencement ceremony. Our families flew in from Texas and Florida to attend, and they wanted to take us to eat afterward. The restaurant was mostly empty, but it took over an hour before anyone even refilled our drinks. We were ready to walk out, I got up and tracked someone down to ask for water. Once the food finally arrived, the presentation was sloppy and the taste was average. The portion sizes were small. Not worth the wait, and certainly not worth the poor service. They ruined our graduation lunch with our families. We won't be back. Edit: After they knew we were upset, they included an automatic 20% tip. Laughably terrible. read more

The Black Olive - Sloppy presentation, dirty plates, gritty lettuce. Nope, nope, nope. - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Invasion of the gnats. I went there tonight for dinner and there were so many gnats. Typically, I have a good time at Black Olive but it's been a while since I've been there. My food was good except for the mashed sweet potatoes. read more

I was here a couple of times several years ago and had a very good experience. My wife and I decided to use restaurant week as an excuse to come back but unfortunately the experience did not live up to what I remembered. On the positive side the main dishes that we had were both excellent. I got cornmeal crusted rockfish while my wife had their crabcakes and we both enjoyed those dishes very much. Our desserts (tiramisu and chocolate mousse) were also good. The appetizers that we got were the weak points of the meal. We both ordered their savory bread pudding and were surprised to get something that looked like a slab of uncooked tofu. It tasted better than it looked but it was bland and really nothing special. It also came with greens that were clearly past their peak. Mine were still alright but my wife had a couple of pieces of lettuce that were wilted and gross. A number of other little details also fell short while we were here. I ordered a Manhattan off of the cocktail menu that was forgettable and kind of watery. It wasn't terrible but also not something I would bother to order again. Our drinks also only came out after we were halfway through our appetizers. The server that we had was hard-working and diligent but it seemed like he didn't have much training. He mixed up dishes and didn't have much in the way of advice about items on the menu. He was not lazy or uncaring but it seemed like the restaurant just threw him out there without any preparation. Most of the issues we noticed wouldn't have been a big deal at a lower end restaurant but this is a fairly nice place with prices to match. Clearly they still know how to make good food and maybe we caught them on an off night, but a lot of the attention to detail that you'd expect from a nice dining experience was just not there. read more

I went to Black Olive today for lunch for restaurant week. The decor is nice and the location is quaint. I wasn't impressed with the food. I had a roasted tomato soup with feta, shrimp scorpio with orzo and feta, and baklava. Everything was just ok, middle of the road. The soup portion was huge and the entree was small. The pasta wasn't seasoned and only had two shrimp. I wouldn't recommend anyone go here, but I wouldn't discourage them form trying it either. Blah is the best description I can give. read more

The Black Olive - Shrimp Scorpio - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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For my first taste of Maryland crab cakes, my friends brought me here for Restaurant Week. Parking was easy to find but just in case, they did have valet for only $5 (coming from Chicago, that's a steal). We were seated immediately and service was super friendly and helpful. I had the Black Olive Greek salad whereas my dinner companions had their octopus salad and both were fresh and really great. What really wowed us was their entrees. They had grilled whole fish that they filleted next to our table. I was just amazed at how quickly they filleted the fish. And that fish was delish! And their crab cakes were really amazing - the best crab cake that I've ever had! I also had a bite of my friend's lamb - the Lamb Kleftiko - was amazingly juicy and yummy, too. This sounds silly, but I ate up every bite of the mashed potatoes - it was a perfect blend of yams/sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. Not too sweet but perfectly flavored. My favorite part was dessert which included homemade ice cream and chocolate mousse. Yum!! The best part of this - the whole dinner was only $30.08 - I noticed that some yelpers mentioned the expensive price but looking back at this - the price is totally worth every savory bite! I'd love to come back here again the next time that I visit Baltimore. read more

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Service was very slow,server distracted and pricy. We dined here for two. The atmosphere was good but each dishes comes extremely slow and every server easily forgot what we asked(refill water,bread...) Food was not bad but a bit pricy. read more

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Okay. I must say I am in shock. I ate at The Black Olive for the first time tonight and it was one of the best meals I have had in years. My wife and I have traveled all over the world including Greece and The Black Olive stands up to every authentic heart felt high quality meal. I am in shock because upon looking at the reviews I see that a less than stellar endorsement which I can only attribute to limited experienced diners or those without much appreciation of true quality dining experiences. Needless to say The Black Olive is fantastic and well worth a visit read more

What a gem! Love the ambiance and the old bricks on the wall. The food is exquisite! The wine list goes on and on from different regions. The fish selection is fresh and the desserts are to die for. One of my favorite restaurants so far in the Baltimore area. read more

The Black Olive - Kakavia Soup - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Incredible dining experience with Michael as our server. Attentive service while not interrupting conversation. The food was fantastic, from the appetizers to the dessert. So good you made my mother cry. Thank you! read more

The Black Olive - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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My husband and I had a fabulous dining experience here for my birthday and I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant, the food and its lovely staff. Unbeknownst to me, my husband worked with the hostess to plan a private dining experience in their wine cellar for my birthday. Liddy, the hostess, was so thoughtful, and even took the time to decorate the space with flowers, small LED tea lights and chocolates. She also checked on us a few times during our meal, just to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. Our server, Jeff, provided impeccable service, as did all of the staff who waited on us. We ended up having a five course meal of oysters, grilled mushrooms and octopus salad, spinach pie and scallops, rockfish and halibut, and ended the meal with baklava. Every dish was delicious and beautifully presented. The food and service has always been incredible and top notch at The Black Olive, but the helpfulness of the staff in helping my husband plan the evening, and the thoughtful touches, and their attentiveness throughout the night, were really above and beyond. Thank you so much to The Black Olive for making my birthday so special, and giving us both an evening we'll never forget. read more

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This mediocre rating is mainly because I was dissatisfied with the service. It was my first time here and when I receive poor service, my dining experience turns sour. However, because I was impressed with the quality of the food it still warrants a couple of stars. The location of this place reminds me of a restaurant you would see in Europe where it's surrounded by cobblestone streets and the name on the restaurant isn't highlighted by cheesy lights but noticable only by a hanging sign that has it's name on it. Very cute. When we were seated at our table, our server forever to come back to our table after handing out the menu. He then went on to ramble on with the specials of the day w/o ever making eye contact with us which I found extremely rude. In the midst of spitting out the specials he had a brief conversation in spanish with a nearby waiter. What in the world...really?? After he asked us if we were planning on ordering any wine (which we declined) he gave us this look like, "why are you here?" At this point, I just wanted to smack his nasty sideburns off his face. So the food. My friend and I started with the grilled octopus salad which was wonderfully drenched in olive oil and a citrus mix. Was it mind blowing? No but it was good. I ordered the Dover Sole and my friend ordered their special of the day: bronzini. I believe their gimmick is that they filleted the fish table side for you, which is done very well cuz our fish was clean with no bones. They have a house sauce which they ask if you want it to accompany your fish. I wanted it but my friend declined. Both our dishes were fantastic (I actually liked my friend's more) but I regret not asking them to give me only a little drizzle of their sauce because it tasted a bit too citrus-y for me and I felt like I couldn't appreciate the fish as is. There's nothing special or fancy about their sauces or dishes--they use fresh seafood using simple ingredients, but it's done well which is the key. Had my service been up to par with the quality of our dishes this place would've received 4 stars for me but that wasn't the case that night. read more

The Black Olive - Dover sole being filleted table side - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

I came here during a previous Restaurant week with a couple of my college friends, and I really enjoyed it. This time around, I thought the food was pretty good, but the service was rather slow. One would think that since it's Restaurant Week, and there are fewer items to choose from, food could be prepared quicker, but I guess not. We had reservations at 9:30, but for some reason they thought we were a party of 6 instead of 8, even though my friend confirmed the reservation. So we had to wait about 10 minutes for them to reconfigure the tables. The waiter was really nice and kept bringing us bread (which I ate way too much of) before our appetizers came out. But we waited a really long time for our entrees. I don't think we left the restaurant until after midnight. For my appetizer, I ordered the Traditional Greek Spreads, which came with hummus, taramasalata, melizanasalata (which I think is like baba ganoush) and tzatziki. All the spreads were great. I particularly enjoyed the taramasalata. For my entree, I ordered the Kleftiko: lamb and cheese served on top of cous cous, roasted in parchment paper. The servers took the dish out of the parchment before presenting it, but personally i would have had fun doing that myself. I thought the cheese was a bit overpowering with the lamb, but the cous cous helped to balance out the flavors. Lastly, I ordered strawberry sorbet for dessert. I tend to shy away from baklava because I think it's too sweet, so I didn't want to risk it. All in all, it was a fun evening with friends. This is a great place to check out during restaurant week, especially since it's usually pretty pricey. I don't think I could afford to dine here otherwise. read more

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I don't know what took us so long to come here, but now i know I want to go back again and again. If you like authentic Greek/ Mediterranean cuisine, fantastic, fresh & perfectly cooked seafood, and an exceptionally interesting wine list, then this is your place! My husband and I both tried food and wine that we've never tried before and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a rare treat to have such a well crafted meal, and excellent service in a cozy location. I'm a fan! read more

The Black Olive - Baklava ice cream and chocolate mousse - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Came here for restaurant week! Loved the scallops as appetizer. Wanted to get the stuffed calamari but they were out of that. They were out of the savoury bread pudding which was a shame. Beautiful interior in a nice neighbourhood. My friend and I got the crab cake entree and the salmon, and both portions were very generous! The baklava ice cream and tiramisu to finish were also amazing. Complimentary bread was not bad, though I found the crust a little hard. Overall a very good place to come for restaurant week! read more

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Dimitri and his staff made our evening absolutely wonderful. Thank you to everyone. The food is fantastically fresh and authentic. We'll see you again soon! Enjoy. read more

Everytime I come to this restaurant I leave feeling it was worth it. The chef here are very creative from presentation to taste. read more

The Black Olive - Dover Sole - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Lovely ambiance! Lovely decor! The fish (Bronzino) was excellent. Can't say I've ever had better. A spinach mixture was served alongside the fish, and I enjoyed this every bit as much. The baklava ice cream was to-die-for. Great evening! Thanks! read more

The Black Olive was a disappointment tonight. The crab cake, 5 years ago, was exceptionally delicious. Tonight, the crabmeat was watery and definitely not jumbo lump. Loved the bread, olives, and grilled mushroom appetizer. read more

This was a great lunch spot that my friend and I visited. Good Mediterranean and seafood mix. Food: - the black olive bread that comes out for free was amazing. so addicting with the pieces of olive in it... yum and the olive oil for dipping isn't just regular but has sesame seeds, dried oregano, black pepper for extra good flavor! - lamb kleftico: first time trying this and the waitress recommended it. it was REALLY good. it was cool how it was prepared in parchment paper. the cheese mixed with it was flavorful and overall it was great taste. try this! - seabass: friend wanted some fish and got this and wasn't disappointed. seasoned well and cooked well, the soft fish flesh was very tasty. a little pricey, but it wasn't too bad because we went for lunch. i would recommend this place! read more

This is absolutely stupendous seafood. The real treat at the Black Olive is being able to choose the fish for your meal - based on incredibly informative recommendations by the server - and have it grilled to perfection. I had the bronzini, which was spectacular. The quality of the fish overall is predictably excellent, and the atmosphere is romantic but uniquely Baltimore. Suffice to say, I'm a fan. read more

I went here during a quick trip to Baltimore. It had been listed in "Best of Baltimore" and I do like authentic Greek food, so gave it a try. Location is very cute. Feels like you are eating in a cozy, rustic cottage instead of downtown Baltimore. Menu is split between whole fishes, roast lamb, and a lot of mezze dishes. We opted for mezzes which ranged in price from $10-20, a bit pricey as the portions are on the small size, even for small plates. The olive bread they give you when you sit down is amazing. Before I realized it, I had eaten three pieces. Luckily the waitstaff was very attentive and kept refilling the bread basket and water. We split a traditional feta and tomato salad which was well seasoned and delicious. The tzatziki was a bit too creamy for my taste. We also split manouri cheese in grape leaves which I loved as it was a fresh departure from standard grape leave dish. I got a piece of the Greek Pie (standard veggies in philo dough) that was slightly burnt and nothing special. We got the baklava ice cream which was amazing! It was the right amount of sweet and savory and tastes exactly like baklava. How do they make this dish as I need the recipe! Highly recommended!! I world definitely make a return trip especially for the bread and baklava ice cream! read more

Our first dinner stop at Baltimore. We took the Charm City Circulator from the Hilton area and walked a few blocks. I love the location!! Fell's point was my absolute favorite spot. So historic, antique, lovely. We had called ahead to make a reservation, but the lady there seemed a little disheveled and told us it would be another 30 min. So we took a walk to the water, and it was really really lovely! brick buildings, cobble-stoned streets, lush green trees, and the water along the huge brick building. So beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing. Anyway, the restaurant itself was really pretty. Small, quaint, brick walls, a bar lined with wine bottles, and small tables in a dimly lit area gave off a home-y, cozy feel. They have their fish of the day on display over ice in the middle of the restaurant, and your waiter asks if you'd like to take a tour. We sat towards the back, semi-outdoors part of the restaurant, which was much more spacious for our bigger party. I ordered: The Black Olive Special Grill: a wide assortment of different seafood. I definitely recommend this if you want to try different types of their seafood. I shared this dish with a friend, so it was really nice to get a bite of everything. It came with lobster, calamari, clams, mussels, octopus, scallop, shrimp, and sardine. All were really flavorful and delicious, although the lobster was a little on the tough side. My favorite was the octopus: it was cooked with onions and it was so moist and flavorful. YUM. Stuffed Calamari: This was calamari stuffed with goat cheese. Word of warning: they stuff a LOT of cheese in there, and it gets a little messy trying to cut it. But if you like goat's cheese, this is really flavorful, creamy, and good with the chewiness of the calamari. Someone in our party for their fish of the day. It's nice because the waiter explains in exquisite detail each fish. (For example: "This fish is from Dover. It is 50% fatty, and will have a sweet after taste because its main diet is shrimp") A little TMI, but really interesting! They filet the fish at the table right in front of you. The fish was moist, crumbly, and flavorful. My friend got the lamb, and I took a bite ;D It was really tender and delicious :D The service was friendly and I loved how knowledgeable they were about the seafood. Word of warning is that it is pretty pricey, but well, seafood is not cheap I suppose. :/ And the atmosphere of the restaurant was classy and quite pretty. :) I would suggest this place if you want to splurge a little. For me, it was worth a little splurging, being out first night in Baltimore and all. (And please make sure you walk over to Pitango's afterwards for dessert. :D) read more

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Tonight was my first time here and all I can say is I will be back ! We ordered 4 small plates and one main dish and everything was absolutely amazing. read more

The entire staff was very friendly but service was SUPER SLOOOW. A small plate dinner taking over two hours and only ordering 6 small plates is WAY too long. The food was ok but that may be my palate not liking bitter or bland flavors. The Kalamata Olives were very bitter as if they were not cured long enough. I thought I was going to swallow my face after I ate one as it was so bitter. The Melitzanasalata was heaven and the best small plate by far. The stuffed calamari wasn't bad, needed seasoning and the filling was too watery and completely ran out into a puddle on the plate as soon as you cut into it. The bread pudding sounded great on the menu but was actually bland and lacked any spice or herbs. My biggest letdown was the Tzatziki. I love Tzatziki but theirs needed some help. It was if their Tzatziki was simply yogurt and lemon juice. No salt, couldn't taste any dill, no garlic, just lemony yogurt. I have heard great thing about The Black Olive for years but it was just ok. read more

We had reservations for 6:30 p.m. When we arrived, we were the only table in the restaurant, which seemed unusual for a weekend. Our waiter brought us over a small bowl of house made olives. Before telling us about the specials, our waiter asked if we would like to accompany him to the fish case. We opted instead for him to explain what fish was available for the evening. There were several fresh selections. Our waiter explained that each of the fish, with the exception of the salmon and tuna, is served whole. The idea of a whole fish seemed intimidating, so none of us opted for the fish. After seeing several other people around us order the whole fish later in the evening, we noticed that the fish was actually cooked whole but filleted table-side and served without the bones (and eyes). Had we realized, we probably would have ordered fish. We started out with the feta-stuffed grilled calamari and octopus. Both were chewy but very good. The appetizer portions were extremely small. The three of us had only a few small bites each. I could have easily eaten the calamari appetizer myself and had plenty of room for dinner. For dinner, we ordered the charcoal grilled scallops and filet mignon. The only sides available were polenta and asparagus. The polenta was served crispy in the shape of toast points and had a very unique flavor; it may have had grape leaves inside? The asparagus was served chilled. The 6 oz. filet mignon was big! It was very tender and had a good flavor. The scallops were fresh and good. For dessert, we had the flourless chocolate cake. It was a small slice, but very good and one of the highlights of our meal. Overall, our experience was good. Our waiter was very attentive and patient, as we had several questions concerning menu items. The downside is that the menu is small as were the appetizer portions, and there was only one choice for a side. Regardless of what was ordered, it came with the asparagus and polenta. read more

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I am from Arizona and I flew over to Maryland, Baltimore to try a restaurant that was recommended by my family. When I was arriving it didn't look like much until I went inside and it was outstanding. I loved the place and I was greeted by the owner and the service here was great! I love shrimp so I ordered shrimp as my appetizer. The shrimp here was so mount watering!!! Then I ordered the Lamb and shrimp combination, let me tell you the food here was amazing really recommend this place. I'll give this place a 5/5 and would fly over here to eat again. read more

We eat here every time we are in Baltimore, which is at least once a month. If you love seafood or traditional Greek dishes, they have a robust menu and every single dish is cooked to perfection, whether it's grilled seafood or traditional Greek dishes. The service is attentive but not intrusive. The wine list is excellent. There is a wonderful variety to the menu, so it's always fresh; you can order something different each time. No matter who the hostess is it's always welcoming. The decor is very rustic but also chic. You can be casually dressed or dressy. It's the perfect all-occasion restaurant. read more

I cannot thank The Black Olive enough for helping me organize a private dining experience in their wine cellar for my wife's birthday. Liddy, the hostess, was incredibly nice in helping me reserve this fairly exclusive area, and even took the time to decorate the space, making it feel elegant and romantic with flowers, chocolates and LED candles. Our server, Jeff, and all the waitstaff who attended us were friendly, engaging and the service was on point. We ended up having a five course meal of oysters, grilled mushrooms and octopus salad, spinach pie and scallops, rockfish and halibut, and ended the meal with baklava. Every dish was delicious and beautifully presented. The food and service has always been incredible and top notch at The Black Olive, but the helpfulness of the staff in helping me organize the evening, and the thoughtful touches, and their attentiveness throughout the night, were really above and beyond. Thank you so much to The Black Olive for making my wife's birthday so special, and giving us both an evening we'll never forget. read more

This place is always a go-to for our family and we can always expect constantly a delicious meal and amazing experience. This time was no different. After showing up early for a reservation, we were seated right away at a gorgeous table. We did the whole fish tour, where they show you the fresh fish of the day, and we went back to our table to order drinks. Everyone's dinners were amazing. At our table, we had the lamb chops and scallops, the black sea bass special for 2, and the village pie with soft-shell crab special. Everything was delicious, and the desserts were just as amazing. The Baklava Ice Cream was incredible! read more

The Black Olive - Lamb and Scallops dinner with sweet potato/regular mashed potatoes mixed - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Friendly service and nice ambiance, but the food doesn't match the price. We sat at the bar and ordered several things to share. The hummus was delicious, but everything else was a little disappointing. We shared the scallops, calamari and lamb meatballs. All were okay, but not as great as I was expecting. read more

Food was great everything cooked well didn't have not one issue...waiter service was ok , it was a little chilly inside the building I guess cause we were seated by the outdoor rear patio read more

How does 6:15 reservation on a Tuesday night. When we got there we were the only people in the restaurant. As the evening went on a few more tables filled up. The waiter immediately greeted us and gave us the menus and described the fish selection by escorting us to the fish cooler. We asked for a bottle of rose however it was warm so we opted for the house white Pinot Grigio. The waitstaff/bartender was nice enough but it didn't seem to know the menu very well. He stumbled over the fish as well. We saw a help wanted sign in the window where we were sitting which sort of told us what was going on. They are not staffed properly. I wanted to try this restaurant for sometime. I can say I was a bit disappointed. We started with two appetizers the grilled mushroom, and the warm Saganaki cheese. The mushroom is the best. We were at a table four, three of us ordered the fish. Snapper was filleted table side. Mediterranean and black bass we opted for the whole fish and filleted ourselves. Which I think was a better decision. If you don't mind getting a whole fish with eyes and bones I would suggest you go that direction. The fourth member of our party got the Greek pie which tasted very good really not sure what is in it. They all came with a side of over cooked green beans in some sort of tomato sauce, and maybe goat milk feta. When I asked the waiter what kind of cheese it was he didn't know. For dessert we had the baklava ice cream and fried dough with honey and walnuts both very good. read more

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I went here tonight with my best friend. She had been here before and said the food was phenomenal. I was greatly looking forward to the meal. It was a Wednesday night and out of 20 tables only 6 were occupied. From the start we got the B team wait staff. Our waitress did not write down our order and we had to reconfirmed it to her. We also told her there was an allergy and to have confirmed with the kitchen. It took 20 min to get the allergy confirmed and we had to ask for the complimentary bread. During the 45 minutes it took to get our appetizers our waitress never came over. At the 40 minute mark she asked if we wanted to order an entree and dessert. We explained we hadn't gotten our appetizers yet. After mentioning that our appetizers appeared within 5 min. Food- we ordered 4 appetizers (eggplant spread, crab cake, mussels in ouzo, and stuffed calamari). The stuffed calamari and the mussels arrived cold. The crab cake and the eggplant spread was good. The crab cake appetizer was only 1 cake for $20 (overpriced for the quality). We asked to speak to the manager regarding the cold food and how long it took. The lady manager (who did not introduce herself) was hostile and defensive when we let her know what happened. She said we should expect to drink before we order (we both didn't that evening) and that "don't expect fast food times". After politely explaining that our waitress forgot about us the entire time and 45 minutes was too long to wait she then claimed they were too busy (6/20 tables occupied and later found out the table behind us having the same experience). We mentioned that the food served to us was cold she then countered my argument with the kitchen was too busy (which didn't make sense). She continued to be rude to us and argumentative. She finally took one $10 item off the bill. When the bill arrived it was $63 plus -$10 for the appetizer she took off. The lack of quality in the preparation for the food and lack of care in service/rude attitude to customers leads me to poor rating and thinking this place is over priced. read more

Made a reservation here for 5 at 8pm on 10/19/19 for my father's birthday. We had some difficulty finding parking and arrived at the restaurant at 8:41pm. When we got to the restaurant, no one was at the front of the restaurant and once we finally got someone's attention, we explained that we were a little late for our reservation and were told that it would be a couple minutes until our table was ready. We figured, okay, no big deal, we can wait a couple minutes. 10 minutes goes by, they're ignoring us until we start lightly bugging the hostess (brunette in a red sweater) who says that our table is almost ready and they're trying to get the people there to leave (which we were not happy with because no one should be rushed out before they're ready). Meanwhile, we had noticed that a table of 3 people was sitting at a table for 6 and looked like they had probably been seated just prior to our arrival (when there was an open table for 4). So now, we're getting a little more frustrated because they either a) never recorded our reservation or b) gave our table away within 5 minutes of our reservation time. The hostess was still ignoring us until finally she agreed to give us complimentary glasses of wine, which she obnoxiously served to us while saying "these are $14 glasses so I hope you're happy!" Keep in mind, this entire time we're standing uncomfortably crowded in the front entryway, constantly moving out of the way of waiters and being shooed away from standing too closely to the menus stacked on the divider in the entryway. Finally, we were seated after waiting for over 30 minutes (40 minutes after our reservation time). The food was good but it's not worth being ignored, brushed off, and not given an appropriate time frame when we had planned ahead and made a reservation. Moral of the story: don't make a reservation here unless you're okay with being ignored and treated like a second-rate citizen. read more

I consider The Black Olive as one of Baltimore's most valuable gems. Their food is so clearly of the highest quality, and the intimate atmosphere is just perfect for a special occasion. They truly welcome you like family, and treat you as one of their own. The servers are very knowledgeable and attentive, but do not hover. Do yourself a favor and plan your next special occasion dinner here ! Actually, even on a casual note, pop in and sit at the bar for a quick glass of wine and some great food and conversation :) read more

Food was amazing the fish dishes are out of this I would recommend everybody in one hour radius to head down here enjoy this special place

I'm so surprised by the string of recent bad reviews! The service is fine, nothing outstanding, but the highlight of The Black Olive, for me, is the lamb. It's so tender and flavorful. You can't go wrong with the lamb kleftiko or the lamb shank. The baklava ice cream was good, and the loukoumades were excellent and freshly-made! The restaurant is expensive for a grad school budget but worth it for special occasions! read more

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