Oliveto Cafe & Restaurant

Doesn't Recommend

phields

Joined 10 years ago

Why is this place always hyped up as so wonderful?. We gave this restaurant another try after 7 years of a boycott because our friends wanted to go there. Boy, was this a regret!

Our waiter was unfriendly and acted like he was bothered to describe the dishes on the menu. But we had to ask because we couldn't understand anything on the menu. They try too hard to try to make the menu sound fancy with pasta names,etc. but it's annoying. It's not like we are hillbillies from another planet - we go out to fancy restaurants all the time and consider ourselves foodies.

When I finally got my fancy-can't say the name pasta, it was horrible. It tasted like dog food! To be sure I was not out of my mind, I had the other 3 people at my table taste it and it agreed. Yuck! I had to send it back and switch it out for the fish which was edible but not that much better. These people are the smartest people on earth! Let's serve crappy, can't say the name pasta and other food because people won't know the difference anyway. Well, only non-foodies or someone without a taste bud!

We will never return to this restaurant again. They can fool other diners but we done with the charade.

Doesn't Recommend

nydaniele

Joined 6 years ago

Sooooo, is this what is all about?. Probably the chef would be better off staying in the kitchen (probably) instead of making some bad imitation of salumi.

Disappointing dinner and disappointing his salumi that I have tried several times.

From a native Italian (from Piemonte) point of view, tonight's dinner was merely ok, carne cruda was not anything close to what it should be (why the hard-boiled egg, there should be a raw egg yolk in there, or are you afraid no one is going to order it?). The pasta was overcooked and the bolognese way too spiced up. Sorry but you can't still (and probably never could) call yourself authentic.

Ciao.

Doesn't Recommend

tandmsimmons

Joined 6 years ago

Oliveto - Past Thier Prime.. Been there before but will not be back again. The service was lean and hurried making you feel somewhat unwelcome, not a smile or suggestion to be found. We were promptly notified that of six entree's on the menu only four were available to us. Well I didn't go there for steak or chicken so now I'm down to two items. The SMALLISH plates were very good leaving you begging for desert which could have salvaged the evening however the desert was simply an enticement for what must have been a cruel joke. Some soupy toppings were poured on a plate and served up ... I was astonished. If you can't make desert just say so at least the time and money would have been spent else where, which is where I will dine next.

Doesn't Recommend

joncany

Joined 6 years ago

Good food and ambiance but. very expensive and overpriced. The porcini mushroom and celery salad was $16.50 and weighed about one ounce!!! Just a few thin slivers of veggies with a little cheese and olive oil spread out on a plate. You'd think they were doling out caviar. The wine and entrees were also way too expensive. Fill up on bread and water or leave hungry or poor. They deserve credit for the quality of the food and the pleasant setting, but you can have a better overall dining experience down the street for less money.

Recommends

ctdata

Joined 6 years ago

Great Food, Horrible Service!!!!!!!. Great Food, Horrible Service! It took 15 minutes for our waitress to come by our table to say hello. We ordered wine then she disappeared again. We were served water but had to poor it ourselves. We often go to this restaurant and they are usually good about sharing and serving in courses. Our food came all at once!!!! The good news is that they DID bring share plates.......... We felt completely ignored during our entire meal. When we ran out of wine our waitress took away the bottle and never asked us if we wanted more. The check came quickly but we had to wait another 15 minutes for our change. Despite the fact that the food was fantastic the service ruined our evening.

Recommends

ebgirl

Joined 11 years ago

Service is horrible!. I used to go to the cafe downstairs quite frequently. I love the homey feel of the restaurant and the food is quite good despite a limited menu. However, the last 3 times I have gone have been terrible experiences. The service has been horrible, horrible, horrible. On 2 occasions, when we sat outside, we were completely neglected and had to keep going inside the restaurant to ask for a server or anything we needed. Yesterday was the last straw - I brought a friend who has never been to the Rockridge area and we walked in at 4:30. I asked the hostess if we could just have dessert and coffee and she said that was fine. We sat outside and couldn't get a waitperson to help us, despite asking twice. When the waitress finally did come outside (after we waited for 1/2 an hour) and we told her we just wanted dessert and coffee, she said "just so you know, we don't usually serve only dessert and coffee here." I told her we had asked the hostess and she said it was OK, but the waitress insisted they "don't do that, but would let us do it this once". The restaurant was very slow at this time, so it's not as if we were taking up seats at peak dinner hours. I was so embarrassed for bringing my friend there, but we just got up and left. I'm never going back here again and it's a shame because I used to frequent it. It seems like they've gotten new staff in the past few months and it's all gone downhill.

Recommends

baldocchi

Joined 6 years ago

Not bad but not all it's cracked up to be.. We went there to celebrate an honor bewtowed on my husband. We had been waiting for a special occasion. Unfortunately it did not live up to its reputation. The food, what there was of it, was very good. The service was indifferent. The atmosphere was pleasant. Basically not all it's cracked up to be. There are a lot of places we will explore before we go back there.

Recommends

sfdining94123

Joined 7 years ago

Phenomenal food, good prices. We ate at the downstairs, where the prices are reasonable. Phenomenal food. I had the pizza and our other guests had the pork/polenta and the penne. Each dish was excellent. No complaints. Our dessert, the pear/ice cream thing, was outstanding. Wines by the glass were quite pricey, but very good. Overall, I can see why they rate this place so highly.

Recommends

jimd

Joined 9 years ago

User review by jimd. Oliveto easily stands as one of my favorite restaurants in the bay area. The food is always reliably great and at times outstanding. The pastas are fresh and usually excellent. The grilled meats are succulent. One of my favorite things is to sit at the bar, order a few appetizers and let John, the sommelier, pick out the wine. I highly recommend their special dinners they organize around such items as Hogs or Truffles. I think what really brings me back time after time is the warmth of the atmosphere and the wonderful staff.

Doesn't Recommend

fradford

Joined 7 years ago

Gone way downhill. It used to be terrific but my recent dinner there was a tremendous disappointment. Probably the worst food I've had in a high-priced restaurant in the Bay Area in the last 15 years. Dry, tasteless, grey meat. Service was inept. Three of us ordered the same dish - it was brought out at different times to each of us. And plunked, not placed. It was also very slow, perhaps to disguise the fact that the place was more than half-empty.