Olive Cafe

I absolutely love this place, I’m addicted to both their falafel wrap and their Gyro wrap. I will admit part of my obsession is the convenience and it’s not food to die for, but it’s great for the price and a good place to grab some food if you are in the area.

I went in today for a quick lunch. My takeout order took 30 minutes and the entire time 3 employees were having a non-​stop shouting match in Spanish. Completely unacceptable to have employees quarreling loudly in front of customers.

decent food, friendly owner
A-​ok indeed

They make some good Greek food, but they are inconsistent. I spent over 1.5 hours waiting on an order today-​everything that should have been warm arrived cold. I had to call 3 times, and the lady kept saying it was out for delivery… can something really be out for delivery for 1 hour and still not arrive. Add to that I said, «can you call your driver and give me a legit ETA?» after having waiting 1.5 hours and she said she would call him but then hung up on me. You have to be honest with your customers even when the answer simply is, «I don’t know». We won’t be ordering from Olive Café in Cambridge again.

I don’t typically leave reviews but I really like this place and thought I’d do what I can to convince others. I have a pretty high bar for food and this place is definitely above average.
I’m guessing some of the variation on rating is the food content. I haven’t tried them as they’re not really my thing so I can’t speak to the onion rings, wings, etc. I’ve tried the pizza once and it was ok — probably just average (which in my delivery radius is one of the better places) but still good. Have tried a couple of sandwiches and for the price they are worth it. Can be too cheese heavy but then again, it was a grilled cheese.
However, this restaurant shines on the «Mediterranean» portion of the menu. Items I’ve ordered and recommend are the grape leaves, hummus, greek salad, vegetarian platter and veggie wraps that fall in that cuisine. If you have the option, choose the tahini over the balsamic (again, sticking to the cuisine). When I ordered the first time and saw the massive size of the salad and sides I assumed the food would be mediocre at best. The hummus (a giant tub for $ 3.99) is far better than anything you can buy at (I’d argue any) typical grocery store. The salad is composed well and ingredients quality and proportioned well. Throw in the modest delivery charge and minimal dollar minimum and this place is a definitely in my regular rotation.
Oh and they actually pay attention to the comments you write on your order. For example, no coleslaw turns into extra fries and they’ve included hot sauce every time I’ve asked. Minor I know but I’ve had «extra sauce, light cheese» go ignored by countless pizza places.
Hope someone finds this useful and gives Olive Café a shot.

Typically if you want a good experience in this place I have to say that you have to eat there. Anytime you get delivery from anywhere the food is not as good and I see a lot of Unilocalers complain about that.
I generally eat there once a week and my go to are steak and cheese, chicken caesar wrap or salad, or the pizza. Wherever they get that pita bread it has to be the best in the area. I’ve had plenty of steak and cheese subs around here and they have the best.
And one other thing they have never gotten my order wrong and I’ve been eating in there for 3 years.

Stay clear!!! ordered two steak tip salads with 6 dollars in extra pieces only to get a normal size salad I called and they explained they put extra pieces in the food stunk customer service even worse !! I would avoid at all costs food sucks

According to the menu, the salad I ordered doesn’t contain onions. Yet, it shows up at my office covered in chopped onions, rendering the entire thing inedible. My office orders from here a lot, and the kitchen just doesn’t give a crap about doing things correctly. Orders are frequently wrong, even if you don’t change anything from the menu. Terrible.

Just had a surreal interaction at Olive Café.
Wandered in for lunch today. Ordered off the menu posted on the wall — Chicken Shawarma Platter. There’s an annotation just below that platters come with salad and french fries or rice. I gave my order for the shawarma with fries to one of the women at the counter.
Guy comes over to ring me up. I tell him I ordered the shawarma platter with french fries and a coke I pulled from the cooler. He tells me «shawarma comes with pita, sauce, and salad.»
«But your menu says fries or rice. I want fries.»
«Well, I can give you fries if you want, but it doesn’t come with fries.»
«Ok, your menu — right there on the wall — it comes with fries or rice.» He points to it and squints, as if he can’t quite see it, giving the impression that it really doesn’t say that.
«I want what’s there posted on the menu.»
«Well, I can give you that if you want, but that’s extra.»
«Thanks,» I said, and walked out.

The 5 star rating is based on this place’s comparison to other pizza/​sub shops I’ve ordered from in the Cambridge area. Olive’s is top notch when it comes to a local pizza/​sub shop. I work from home and live down the street from Olive’s, so I’ll regularly order a sandwich or wrap from this place. I’ve never eaten anything from Olive’s that is anything short of awesome. The people who work there are always friendly and they’ve never gotten one of my orders wrong. Chicken parm sub? Delicious. Steak and cheese sub? Awesome. Steak tips? Always great. Pizza? I have’t ordered pizza from there in a couple of years, but from what I recall it’s very good. So my point is, if you’re in East Cambridge and you’re hungry, go to Olive’s. You won’t be disappointed.

Lunch while I was working in the area today. Very friendly people. LOTS of vegetarian options. Falafel wrap was pretty good.

Great rollups and subs (all fresh ingredients) but they lose a star because they get my order wrong too often. You save a couple dollars here vs large chain sub shops. Definitely worth going here, just double check your order to make sure they get it right.

Took me forever to stop in here as its a bit out of view a block away from Cambridge Street, but now I’m kicking myself for not trying it sooner. Far and away the best pizza in the area and frankly among the better pizzas I’ve had in all of Greater Boston. With so much pizza in this region being underwhelming, this was an amazing find. Its an Italian style pizza, more in the model of a generic NYC joint but without Boston’s tendency to prefer doughier pizzas. Plenty of flavorful cheese, decent but not memorable crust, fine, unobtrusive sauce.
The décor is very basic. The chairs in particular seem a bit shaky, but there are plenty of tables and the staff has always been friendly and were quick to remember me making for a pleasant experience whenever I stop in. Wish I didn’t just work near here as I’d love to order from them more often.

Solid, had an American sub here before a night out. Very fast service, cheap too.
Good grub, nothing world changing but great to have a good option in the area.

I’v definitely experienced better. This is (was) my go to place but the last food I ordered was soggy, and slightly cold. It was definitely frozen and then reheated like one of those microwave dinners you get from Costco.

Love it. I live right down the street and we always go here for a quick cheap take out dinner. The pizza is pretty good, but could use more cheese and a bit of a thicker crust. But come on, a large pizza is $ 10! Such a good deal. I’ve also had the wraps there which are giagantic and really tasty. The staff is really friendly, and you can order online which is really easy.
For a good serving size, good food, and good service, go to Olive’s!

This has to be one of my favorite places to go for lunch during work! Most of the time I get a Chicken Cesar Salad and I have to tell you that you’re not going to find someone who cares about the food they produce in the quickest time possible then these guys. The food is always delicious, plentiful and a great value! I would totally pay more for my salad, its cheaper than Panera and way healthier and tastier.
I’ve tried their pizzas and subs too, just as great as my favorite salad! Plus it helps that you’re always greeted by a smile :)

LOVE their buffalo chicken pizza with blue cheese. The crust wasn’t quite as melt-​in-​your-​mouth as I would hope, but it was still totally fantastic! My small pizza was about $ 9 and I ate it for two meals. Perfect!
I’ll definitely be ordering from here again and again.

I’ve ordered from Olive Café six or seven times, and EVERY time I end up getting the Smokehouse Panini on ciabatta bread. Smoked turkey, bacon, sun dried tomatoes, three cheese and honey mustard?
I dare not think about how many turkeys, pigs, tomato vines, dairy producers, and whatever the hell mustard is made from were sacrificed to allow me to eat so decadently, but frankly I don’t care.
All served for $ 8 with a side of fries? Let the carnage continue…

By all rights, Olive Café should be a popular office-​worker lunch option, but I think the combination of a bad location and poor reviews by some locals has kept it relatively unnoticed.
From what I saw, the dining area was simple and clean, with a setup identical to your average sandwich/​sub/​pizza shop. Service was quick and friendly. I ordered a BBQ chicken pizza to-​go, which took about 15 minutes to prep and cook. The guy who took my order was nice enough to check up on me halfway through and let me know how long it would be until it was done.
The pizza itself was pretty darn tasty. The crust was soft and chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Most BBQ pizza sauces are ridiculously sweet and sugary, but this one actually had a hint of spice to it, which I liked. The toppings weren’t terribly generous for a $ 9 small pizza, but overall I was still satisfied and very full by the time I finished it off. Any time I’m in the mood for pizza for lunch, I will definitely be getting it from here.