O’liva Healthy Local Cuisine & Tasting Room

What a great find! The food here is fantastic and a nice departure from the heavy fare usually found in SA. I was particularly fond of the chef’s table made up of sides (weekends only). There’s also a nice selection of pantry items for sale.

Went here on Saturday evening at about 5:30 pm. Loved the inside of place. Greeted right away and our server was excellent. However, Happy Hour was supposed to be from 4pm-​7pm. Got the bill and we didn’t get HH prices then was told it ended at 6pm so only got one round on HH. Very small menu-​and out of two main courses and ice cream. At 5:30pm? The Steak Special was supposed to be sirloin and a salad for $ 18.00. It was a skirt steak about ¼ of an inch thick and medium well is not rare. Husband had the beef rueben sandwich and the beef was so tough to chew through he didn’t finish it. If we are going to pay over $ 70 for two people we would have gone elsewhere,.

We had a great time at brunch here on a Sunday afternoon. The restaurant was quiet and bright and the staff was very friendly. They were able to adjust the brunch options to be vegetarian which was very much appreciated and gave us mimosas on the house. Delicious food, good people and great concept! Will be back next time we’re in San Antonio!

O’liva was absolutely wonderful. My best friend and I came here for dinner, wanting to try something new, and we are very glad we did.
Everything was simple, but done well. The wind selection has about fifteen artfully selected bottles, ranging from $ 30 to $ 80 per bottle. The food replicates your typical $$ wine bar, taking things a step further by incorporating subtle yet unexpected flavors. For example, the hummus had a touch of yellow curry and the salad dressing suggested hints of turmeric. The subtle undertones bring out other flavors without overwhelming the palate or scaring off your less-​adventurous friends.
I would love to see this place turn into a trendy-​hot spot, as I think it’s well aligned with the upscale-​chic phenomena that’s sweeping through San Antonio right now. This place would be a great place to take coworkers or a just-​fancy-​enough date. It’s a good spot to have intimate conversation, as there is a lot space between the tables and a high ceiling that prevents eavesdroppers from getting too personal.
The owner came out at the end of the meal and made conversation with us. He is an incredibly sweet man, and it’s obvious that he cares about the quality of the food and the satisfaction of the customer. ¹⁰⁄₁₀

O’liva is our favorite place to eat in San Antonio. Their excellent, healthy international cuisine enthusiastically served in an elegant yet unpretentious environment is very refreshing in an area where the norm is mediocre, tourist-​focused Tex Mex. Great value and highly recommended. Vegans and meat eaters will be happy here.

Great dinner on New Years Eve! Loved the fresh pecans on the table to munch on while we looked over the menu. Loved the salad and assortment of breads and hummus. The beef tips were tender and flavorful and the haricot verts were devine. The surprise tonight was the friendly service from our waiter and the lovely conversation with the owner following our meal. We would definitely recommend this new restaurant!

According to their blog, posted today, December 28, they have a happy hour running from 4:00 to 7:00. After we were seated and inquired about the happy hour, we were told that there actually was NO happy hour, but there would be on Friday, January 1. It was blamed on the holidays and them being out of stock of much of their wine. We ended up leaving disappointed. Whoever posted their blog article needs to get in sync with the actual restaurant.

Went in based on a recommendation from one of the owners of Nectar. Service was great. Food was tasty.

Was downtown for a business meeting and decided to try this place. Had heard that they specialize in farm to table and fresh ingredients, which would be a nice change in San Antonio.
I was all ready to like this place. Everything started out fine. The waiter seemed to be quite informed about the food served and was knowledgeable and quite personable at the start. He even pointed out all the vegetarian and vegan options for my friend.
As it was a late lunch, we just shared 2 items on the menu, a simple salad and their bread with Baba Ganoush, Hummas and Muhammara. Fresh and Good!
Everything was doing great, when there was an extremely ugly incident at the restaurant. Our genial waiter went all Mr. Hyde and started an extremely loud profanity laced tirade against the restaurant manager/​owner about not getting paid. Several women at the restaurant, including my companion, were very anxious about the potential for violence. While I can not blame the restaurant for this incident, I do put blame on them for not getting an immediate grip on the situation and taking action to end the ugliness and then address their customers to apologize for it. Shows an extreme lack of leadership and management

¹⁰⁄₁₀ would dine here again. Very friendly staff. Service was fantastic — I sat at the bar.
Restaurant is small but atmosphere is light and open. LOVE the open kitchen. The restaurant clearly prides itself on transparency with the food, so it makes sense the kitchen would too.
Love the local, fresh, and ever changing menu. I have the Kale and Spinach Salad. I added shrimp for a few dollars extra. Definitely worth it. That salad made kale taste delicious (not an easy feat!)
Enjoyed the soup of the day as well, lentil. Very hearty.

I don’t want to give 1 or 2 stars, because I didn’t even get to experience this place! We walked a mile to get there from our hotel Saturday night around 6:30, only to see a closed sign :(Yelp says they are open until 8:00…may want to update.

What a meal.
O’liva is a new restaurant just behind City Hall down the block from the Spanish Governor’s Palace. We stopped by for dinner before the light show at the San Fernando Cathedral.
Small but great selection of wines. Small but great selection of entrees, including two meat, two seafood, and one vegan selection. My stepdad had the seared Mediterranean tuna (which was served over delicious chickpeas), and my mom and I had the vegan «portabella enchiladas,» which is a porabella mushroom stuffed with vegan «chorizo» (quinoa, rice, lentils) served with pickled veggies and a black bean sauce.
For the price of your entrée, there is an all you can eat salad bar, which changes. When we were there, there was a noodle salad, vegan chorizo salad, roasted veggies, roasted potatoes, fruit, cookies, hummus and homemade pita chips.
The restaurant is beautiful. Exposed beams, limestone wall, wood floors. When we were there, there was a wonderful jazz trio playing. And the service was excellent. Our server Daniel was the best, always checking in on us to see if we were satisfied. And we always were.
Overall, we LOVED it. I’m sure we’ll be back!

Good food, earnest service. I sense some growing pains (not enough coffee cups, Smuckers grape jelly as the toast option), but I’ll be back.
Let’s get some more veggie-​friendly options, though, guys!

Excellent, fresh food, good service, great space. Bread, lavosh with olive papanade, baba ganoush, roasted red pepper spread appetizer is amazing. Seared tuna with jicama, chile pepper sauce; roasted chicken, couscous, roasted vegetables; NY strip was AMAZING!!! Great pie desserts!
All around 100% Great!

Came for Sunday lunch and it was fabulous. Our server Delia was delightful. I had the barabocoa over scrambled eggs. The meat was tender with crunchy smoked edges. The feta cheese and smoked paprika grits were to die for. Only open 2xmonths, this gem has got their game on in a big way… im making reservations for a birthday dinner. Note. They dont have the a liquor license yet so its BYOB… even Better.

Every Tues. they bring in a Guest Chef that prepares a fabulously unique menu that is worth checking out! They call it Downtown Tuesdays. Ask for Daniel, he’s the best. ;)

Fantastic find! Had business at city hall and decided to walk around afterwards. It was just past normal lunchtime so very happy it wasn’t packed. Loved the mint tea! Perfect compliment to the curry chicken sandwich I had. Absolutely wonderful seasoning (that I will be replicating, I loved it that much) the taboulleh side was really yummy as well. The ciabatta roll was perfect, not too hard, not über soft. My husband had the turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato. Seriously delicious as well! We shared the peach/​blueberry cobbler for a treat. Love, love, love this place. Great décor and our server was outstanding. Very informative and not pushy! We will definitely be back. Need to go for the chef’s table next.

4 stars because I really enjoyed most of our experience there and want this place to make it because the food all sounds great, not heavy but still filling. There were 2 things that might make someone else knock off 1 or 2 stars. First off, the man who ‘greeted’ us didn’t seem to care if we stayed or not, as if we interrupted what he was doing by walking in, begging for food and drink and offering money. The second thing was a small part of my chicken was raw (even raw chicken bothered me less than that man). Good thing there were only 2 or 2 bites left because that watermelon fig salad was delicious and the cooked part of the chicken on it was really good. My husband got the chicken sandwich with tabouleh and that was the best bite of sandwich I’ve had in a long time. The server was extremely nice and attentive.

Brunch there was pleasant. The waitress was unattentive. She seemed bothered that I wanted to perhaps order from the menu and not the buffet. The food was light and eclectic. Presentation seemed to be more important above all else. Some of the dishes on the buffet were more for a salt and savory pallette than for the breakfast I was craving. I may return to give it another try. The marinated fruit was a fresh flavor. I got seconds on the humus.

This is one the best restaurants I have ever eaten in!!! I stumbled upon it and what a find! I ordered the watermelon and fig salad. Everything is locally sourced and fresh and you can taste it. The watermelon was so sweet! It was served on a bed of spinach with goat cheese, sunflower seeds and a little locally made EVOO and balsamic vinegar. It is the most perfect thing on a super hot day! After that I ordered the stuffed grilled portobello mushroom filled with the chefs special vegan chorizo! I don’t eat pork so I was excited to try this and the seasoning was dead on! It was on top of a black bean and green chili purée with Israeli salad served on the side! My tastebuds didn’t know what to do cause the meal was so flavorful!!! My server was super sweet and always checking in and she gave me great tips of other fab spots in San Antonio. I went there during their soft opening, where they only offer brunch and lunch service but when this spots officially hits the scene it will be the talk of the town! I want to come back to San Antonio just to eat there!