Olea Restaurant

02/09/09

Best meal in ages

by BKDO

I was looking for a nice local place to take some friends on a Saturday night, casual but a bit off the beaten path menu-wise. This place overdelivered! We got a table immediately, had attentive service, and the food....drooling. Sorry.

The food was excellent. It was so good that after we'd all finished the entrees (which came after multiple tapas), we wanted MORE tapas (b/c everything else was so delicious, not due to small portions or anything). The atmosphere is eclectic, which I appreciate. It didn't really feel like New York, which was a nice change of pace from all the Smith Street staples.

Olea is worth checking out. I'll be back.

• Pros: neighborhood, atmosphere, food, sangria!
• Cons: none

09/28/08

great restaurant...

by SMALLO1

Yippee!

What a great restaurant! It is very refreshing to eat food that is different yet meets all the expectations of Turkish cuisine.

The service was terrific: we were under time constraints to get to a show. I had told them at the time of reservation. The waiter was fully aware and guiding us through the meal selection and timing very gracefully. We were on time.

We had the Mediterranean salad (excellent and refreshing, no surprise), the Grilled Sirloin Steak Roasted (that was special), the Rigatoni (i still have the flavor in my mouth), and the lLamb Keftedes Meatballs .

It was only our second time. We definitely need to go more often.

• Pros: fresh food,staff

07/17/08

First time's a charm...

by stanhopesmith

This is my first time writing on here, but I'm impressed so I thought I'd give it a shot. Last night I organized a large birthday dinner for a friend at this joint in my new Brooklyn nabe (landlord recommended). Nobody in my party had been before, but everyone had a great time. The service was friendly and accommodating. Our waitress recommended that we all split tapas and small plates, which worked out great for our group. Three words: bacon wrapped dates. How can you go wrong with those? The kitchen had no problem with a few special requests, which is refreshing in light of the current trend of "no substitutions" and plate sharing fees. It gets hectic in there! The bar was mobbed and there was an acordian player that makes it sound like Paris. Good wine list, and much better pours than the city for sure... though the cocktails were really different also. My friend raved about the special margarita on the list.

• Pros: staff has an anything goes mindset. tapas are great for groups.
• Cons: it gets loud! and crowded.