I've been waiting for enough time to write a review of this place. In a word, AWESOME.

For those who don't know, the Olive Branch is a new Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cafe located on the NW corner of Sheridan and Hudson, directly across the street north from Stage Center (in the former Abraham's location).

I've been there 3 times in 2 weeks. Twice I had to get "to-go" boxes, but each time it was great.

Decor[/B Decor is very mom and pop-ish. For those familiar with Abraham's, they kind of curtained off the kitchen area, so it is no longer visible, and added some fake floral vines to it. Floral tablecloths (I think), middle eastern rugs, I would say top capacity about 45. It's comfortable and casual. Perfect for lunch. Decor, especially for lunch places, is really least of my priorities. Unless I am looking for a specific "experience," especially for an elegant evening meal, I'm much more interested in quality of service and food.

[B]Service Service is very friendly. I believe most servers are family members, so they are all warm and hospitable. I haven't had bad service yet. It seemed a bit slow today, but they were absolutely packed to the gills, which I was thrilled to see. The first time I was there, with a co-worker, she asked if they had a favorite Middle Eastern salad she likes - an item not on the menu - and they were more than happy to make it for her.

Food Hands down, Best. Hummus. Ever. Light, perfectly creamy, generous portion, not too much garlic or tahini (a frequent hummus sin), and a nice bit of roasted red pepper and paprika on the top to give it just the right kick.

It is served with a generous portion of hot pita slices and is absolutely divine.

The first time I went, I ordered the "gyro-portabello." Definitely an interesting combination. The gyro was very nice, freshly cooked, not overly done, and spices just right. My co-worker had a sandwich with falafel which she also said was very good.

My to-go order from today was the veggie plate. It had stuffed grape leaves, baba ganooj, tabouli, hummus, falafel and who knows what else. Again, it was DIVINE.
Grape leaves were perfectly done. Not mushy at all. Since this was the veggie platter, they were stuffed with rice. It was just a bit "al dente," so again not mushy, and they did not fall apart when I bit into them, a big grape leaf no-no in my book. The tabouli was fresh with a nice crisp dressing that wasn't too vinegary. Falafel was also very good, perhaps my only "not perfect" mark. Not overly spicy, and just a tad (and I mean a very slight tad) overdone.

The salad I referenced earlier is called "fatoosh" (sorry if my spelling is off). It's a chopped salad with a light vinagrette dressing and "croutons" made from dried pita that has been lightly baked in olive oil. Delicious.

All in all, I have to say this is a new downtown favorite.

I really hope the place makes it, since I know for a lot of downtown workers, it's a bit out of the way.

wow this sounds great, i'll be sure to check it out.

I took pictures last week of this place, will try to post it soon. I think I may already have in the other Olive Branch thread in Metro Area Talk section.

FritterGirl, thanks for the review. If the place can make it another 4 years, it will have plenty of Devon employees patronizing it!

My wife and I ate at the Olive Branch a couple weeks ago. We were really looking forward to going to it.

First thing, the hours of the restaurant are great. For example, they are open till 9 everynight and they are open on sundays.

I am concerned about their business. The place is deserted most of the time I walk by, even around dinner time.

As far as our experiences, the place was okay, but the service was horrible. We walked in around 6:30 pm and there was one other couple in the restaurant. The sign said to "seat yourself" so we sat down and waited for a waitress to come by. The first table we sat down on we soon noticed had crumbs and salt on it so we moved. We waited about 10-15 minutes and never even saw anyone. Finally, I decided that I needed to take charge so I walked back into the kitchen and announced my presence.

The waitress who served us was curt and surly, not helpful at all. At some point during our meal, she actually left the restaurant and took off in her car, only to return 15-20 minutes later.

For an appetizer, we ordered pita and hummus. It was pretty good. The pita bread was a bit greasy, it seemed it was doused in a lot of butter.

I played it safe and ordered a gyro, which was actually pretty good. The meat was good, and they had a lot of good vegetables in it. My wife ordered the "vegetarian platter" which consisted of all sorts of things that I don't even remember the names for. Our new waitor came out to explain what was in the vegetarian platter. He was real nice and definitely an improvement from the other waitress. Although the vegetarian platter was very, very authentic, it unfortunately was a bit "too authentic" for our tastes. It just didn't taste that great, but I'm sure that someone really into greek food would appreciate it.

Ultimately, the service of the restaurant made us not want to go back. From not even being seen for the first 10-15 mintues of us being there, to the fact that we would go a long time without ever getting a refill on our water. I should note that the second waitor we got was actually really nice, but the first one was atrocious. Like I said, my gyro was pretty good. However, beware of ordering something that you don't really know anything about, you may be in for a surprise.

been here several times. by far THE BEST med. food around. kills zorbas, nunus, and zam zam. kaboba cooked perfectly, HUMMUS is blened to a creamy finish with a topping of paprika and some red pepper sauce in the middle with olive oil on top served with warm pita bread ( wich is great). i have had many items on the menu kabobs, traditional salads (fatoosh and jerusalem being the best) , baklava is homemade and is just divine. service is exceptional, the owners are the servers and are so friendly. the also have recently added a lunch buffet with alot of delicious items as well. it has ((all being homemade)) lasagna, green bean caserole, ribs, sweet potatoes, meatballs, baked chicken and many more that i cant remember. in all i tell everyone to eat there!! prices are very reasonable..not more than 10-15 a person. ((thats ordering the most expensive items))