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    The Green Olive

    4.6 (35 reviews)
    Open • 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
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    Business Info

    THE GREEN OLIVE ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - The Green Olive

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    Beef kabob with a side of Gyro meat and a side salad!

    Food was fantastic! Very fresh and authentic. Very big portions with enough to take home for dinner. Service was also excellent. Thank you for a great healthy meal!

    Laura S.

    Awesome lunch, first time here. Family Run, get food, great service. My friend and I split the #7 and each tried their home made aguas fresca, she had pineapple and I had Cantaloupe. Refreshing!

    gyro sandwich with fries
    Corey H.

    This is homemade, delicious, incredible food served by friendly people. I only wish I lived nearby so I could go there often. The decor is basic stripmall. The menu has pictures so you can easily decide. The portions are large. My leftovers fed my 18 year-old son dinner!

    Christina W.

    THIS SECOND LOCATION IS FIRE !! Finally made a visit to their West Des Moines location and it satisfied every craving we had. Ever since having my food experience in Burbank, CA December 2023, I was on the hunt to find the best Mediterranean close enough to taste like the west coast. Found Green Olive right after my trip and have been eating here for a year now and I can't stop. Won't stop. THE GREEN OLIVE is theeeee place. The kofta and steak kabob are the best. Can't go wrong with the lamb or the salmon kabobs either. Total for two meals and a drink $40.xx before gratuity. Everything here is excellent and consistently hot and delicious. Favorite drink here is the mango aqua fresca. Meals are HUGE and can be shared for $2.99 plate split fee. Desserts and appetizers made in house. Water, pop, and iced tea are offered for drinks. I love this location and the layout of the restaurant. Very spacious and open. Large windows and very inviting. Service is always excellent and very welcoming. I appreciate their consistent kind service and willing to please their customers. I've never experienced an "off day" with their service or food. I've meet Veronica, the owner, and her daughter. Got their story on how they made it here to Des Moines and why they started the Green Olive. I absolutely LOVE their story and admire their love for food and people. Highly recommend and love supporting their food and family!!

    Not a menu item but they let you make your own plate! Substituted the salad and hummus for the amazing Greek spicy potatoes.
    Kimberly G.

    Lunch go to! The staff are attentive and food comes out fast and fresh every time. Both locations are great but the Grand Ave location has a much larger dining room.

    Appetizer Platter

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    10 months ago

    Very good! Wouldn't say amazing but for Des Moines and fast there probably the best! Go with the sampler and you won't be disappointed

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    2 years ago

    Food is great and the service is also excellent. Visited this place 3 times and tried the combo selection. The food is authentic and tasty

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    1 year ago

    The food was absolutely delicious! Highly recommend checking them out! If you need good mediterranean, this is it.

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    1 year ago

    Great service. A++++ amazing breakfast burrito Sunday morning. More addicting than crack. Had withdrawal symptoms today

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    Spice Pot - Breads & Biryani

    Spice Pot - Breads & Biryani

    3.5(30 reviews)
    3.5 mi
    •$$

    Awesome food! I go here with the same friend so we keep a running list of what we like. LOL!…read moreYesterday we had our staple of Samosa, always good. It comes with a green dipping sauce that is enhances the flavor. For our entrees we had our usual, Chicken Tikka - also always good! Then, at the recommendation of our waiter, we tried the Chicken Korma. Oh my goodness! Our new favorite. Both dishes are served with white rice and we have to Naan (garlic is best) to sop it all up. It's a little pricy for lunch, but definitely worth the splurge. Oh, we ordered both dishes at medium heat which was perfect. Enjoy!!

    Despite living in Iowa pretty much all of my life I'm still one to stay in on cold nights…read more.. Indian food sounded good. It's been a while. I used mytown2go to place an order last night so I didn't have to leave my couch. I've never visited Spice Pot before and the reviews I'd read online seemed all over the board. I ordered chicken tikka masala (medium heat), chili cheese naan, and chicken dum biryani (medium heat). My total ran just under $27 before fees and my driver's tip. The fundamental taste of the food was really good. The sauce on the chicken tikka masala was rich and flavorful. The elements in the biryani complimented one another from the chicken, to the rice, onion, the lime, spices, and the mint. Overall I was happy with the food... That being said... I'd call both dishes I received mild...rather than medium. I assumed the biryani would be bone-in... However the pieces of chicken appear to have been taken apart with a cleaver and there were shards of bone that made the dish less than desirable for me... It might be authentic...but it's not for me. The naan... Very good, but once again it lacked the heat I'd expect from something with visible chunks of chili peppers embedded in it. I'd order from Spice Pot again...or stop in for dine-in...but I'd adjust my order a little from this experience. Try some other dishes on the menu... And I'd up my spice level to "hot"... I don't consider myself a chili-head; I like a heat level that is noticeable, but isn't overpowering. About mytown2go... This is the second time I've used them. The app is easy to use. Both times the service has probably left me more impressed than the food I received. I placed my order at 614 pm and it was delivered at around 647 pm (estimated time was one hour...714 pm). My driver was a Pleasant Hill school teacher who delivers as a part-time job. He was personable, polite, and provided excellent service. A really nice guy. He said he hasn't been delivering long. I wish him the best.

    Photos
    Spice Pot - Breads & Biryani
    Spice Pot - Breads & Biryani
    Spice Pot - Breads & Biryani - Very spacious

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    Very spacious

    Mo'z Mediterranean Grill - 10. Combo Plate

    Mo'z Mediterranean Grill

    4.3(24 reviews)
    3.2 mi

    Despite being one of the few halal restaurants in the area, we won't be returning. We'd honestly…read morerather settle for a vegetarian meal elsewhere. The hummus was grainy and overly sour--I've had better from the grocery store. The kebabs were extremely dry, lacked flavor, and were only edible after drowning them in sauce. The side salad was soggy, and even the olives tasted like the inexpensive canned variety. Overall, the meal was disappointing, especially considering how hard it is to find good halal options nearby.

    "Do I order here or sit down..." roughly what I asked as well as the next guy who came in while we…read morewere eating. Whoever is at the front desk should proactively greet each person and ask "dining in or to go?" Instead the lady waited for me and the next person to takk with her first. Then she asked if we knew what we wanted. If they fix this, your answer should be "to go". While the ambiance is lovely, the fact they make you buy bottles of drinks instead of having cups of water or other drinks available really decreases the value of sitting in and cheapens the experience. The restaurant ambiance is also marred by all the items for sale like a local market. Perhaps it makes it feel more genuine, but definitely makes it feel less fine dining. That and the music gets interrupted by what is likely alarms or timers on the phone playing music. Perhaps it shouldn't be thought of as fine dining, and more of a foreign family diner. The service was nearly non-existent. As mentioned before you had to proactively ask how things worked, there were no refills as it's just bottles ... and the bottles just sit in a fridge. Outside of that she sat at the front desk on her phone, though she did ask how everything was... once... after we got it. She also thanked us for coming when we left. It took about 10 minutes to get food... not bad since the food seemed fresh. That said the food was good enough. I've had better chicken shawarmas, but nothing tasted bad. It's slightly above average experience hence the rating. I wouldn't go so far as to say you must try this place, but I wouldn't say don't come here either. I hope they improve the experience over time. This review is meant as constructive criticism.

    Photos
    Mo'z Mediterranean Grill - Persian Lamps

    Persian Lamps

    Mo'z Mediterranean Grill - Chicken Shawarma Sandwich

    Chicken Shawarma Sandwich

    Mo'z Mediterranean Grill - Interior

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    Interior

    Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery - Mixed Appetizer, again sorry after we ate some.

    Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery

    4.4(38 reviews)
    3.8 mi

    I really like how spacious and fancy this place is inside, and I appreciate that it's one of the…read morefew halal Turkish restaurants in Iowa. I have pretty high standards when it comes to Turkish food though lol--I've had some of the best Turkish food in NY and in different cities throughout Turkey, so I definitely have a lot to compare it to. With that in mind, this place has been a bit hit or miss. There have been times when the food wasn't as fresh, was overly salted, and was overall pretty mid. But I've also had meals here where everything was really fresh, well-made, and genuinely good. I do really like the variety on their menu, especially because it goes beyond just BBQ and grilled meats. They have a good selection of other Turkish dishes, which I appreciate and makes me more likely to come back and try different things. Overall, I think it's a nice option to have in Iowa, and when they're on their game, the food is definitely worth trying.

    Ordered to go. The mixed grill meat platter was delicious. The lahmacun was fresh and very tasty…read more Turkish bread was freshly baked and yummy. The grape leaves (pictured) tasted like they came out of a can, absolute mush and tasteless. Took one bite and threw them away. The rice that came with the meat platter was sticky and wasn't that nice, I was expecting something more like basmati. Overall we were satisfied and happy with what we ordered.

    Photos
    Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery - Dining room

    Dining room

    Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery - Bread and dipping, sorry after we ate some.

    Bread and dipping, sorry after we ate some.

    Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery - Specialty Baklava (4 Pieces)

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    Specialty Baklava (4 Pieces)

    The Green Olive - mediterranean - Updated October 2026

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