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Reserve a table at Black Olive Restaurant
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Posted by greateats on 6/28/2009
Somehow the owners of this wonderful Greek restaurant manage to maintain a warm and welcoming air despite the sophistication of the food and the crowds that flock to this restaurant. Every dish I've tried has been fresh and seasoned in a unique way; the staff are friendly and warm; the food even feels healthy to eat because of the organic produce that goes into every dish, and the owners clear love for bringing the diners the highest quality fish. Don't skip dessert...the carrot cake is my favorite!
Posted by mugsydog on 1/25/2009
We went to this restaurant during Restaurant Week. I had heard great things about the restaurant and was looking forward to the experience. We went during Restaurant Week because I thought they would be at their best. The wait service was very good. The bread was very good. 2 olives were served with the bread -- I am not sure why they only serve one olive per patron but it was odd. My husband had the Seafood Salad which was really nice. It was well flavored and had plenty of seafood. I opted for the 'traditional Greek spreads (Tzatziki, Tarama, Melitzanasalata, Humus). It was very flavorable but they only served 3 pieces of cucumbers and nothing else to spread the spread on. Luckily there was some bread left. The second course was lamb baked in parchment which was very flavorful. I opted for a spinach pie in a fila crust. It was actually presented in a regular pie crust and was burned. If I had made this dish at home I wouldn't have served it to family or guests because it lacked flavor and the burned crust permeated the dish. The baklava was dry and could have used more honey.
Posted by meteeter on 11/2/2008
Nothing to write home about. Not sure why everyone raves about this place...mediocre at best. Nice atmosphere inside. Quaint Fells location.
Posted by jcu111 on 7/11/2008
I attended college in Philadelphia and then worked in New York so when it comes to food culture and fine dining I know my restaurants. I have been living in Baltimore for about a year now and go out regularly to the town's cream of the crop places to eat... I am a fan of Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf's places due to the tremendous wine lists and the always perfectly executed food and of course Baltimore fine dining would not be complete without Spike Gjerde's Woodberry Kitchen and even the little known hot spot The Wine Market, all places deliver astounding cuisine and of course expert and friendly service with a crowd and an atmosphere that make the experience truly memorable, however The Black Olive is probably the worst place I have ever been too. The remarkable setting and the quaint dining rooms make for a wonderful first impression, and the fresh fish and produce set up, of course, adds to the first remarks. On the other hand, the service is less then accommodating and the assistance and the overall interaction is quite stale. The wine list is lacking in serious luster and shows no signs of being on Food and Wine's top ratings for the last 6 years, the staff is also pretty terrible at assisting in selections. The fish is mostly over-cooked to the point of being pretty awful and although I will never be able to eat a Dover Sole again in my life I am fine with that I would rather go to Kali's Court and order a properly filleted Bronzini with a wine list and an experience to put the Black Olive next to Wendy's on York Road. In conclusion, overpriced (coming from a guy who loves lavish food), out-dated and sincerely out-classed by more then 4 restaurants in walking distance. Save yourself a waist of money and spend it on a place that delivers great food, not an out-dated and pretentious place living off of its reputation.
Posted by DIDI22 on 6/11/2008
Pretty restaurant, but someone does not cook very well. All of the seafood was fresh but the fish and calamari were overcooked (not enough to send back but on the verge of dry and rubbery). The sauce for the fish was nice. Scallops were good. The olive bread pudding was nice but hardly exceptional. There were a lot of servers. All were attentive and pleasant although neither of the two who served the fish could debone it correctly and a lot of fish was removed with the head. Stop the pretension. If you like atmosphere more than food this is your place.
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