Olive Delicatessen

On a recent visit to the wonderful city that is Manchester we stayed in a hotel on Canal Street and with our room breakfast was included which was great (although for some reason even though we stayed 2 nights we only had 1 card for 1 days breakfast…) we assumed breakfast would be made in-​house but instead we were given our breakfast card & told to visit here, luckily only a brief walk away.
The first thing that hit me about this place was the openess & airness of it ~ it was a warm Summers morning so the lovely breeze was most welcome to us. We weren’t sure of what breakfast allowances we had so we enquired at the counter; the staff were all really pleasant, welcoming & helpful. We both opted for the fried breakfasts; mine veggie & my partners full on MEAT. I also had a coffee & my obligatory glass of water (which came without need for a prompt like in most places!).
We sat down on one of the long bench tables & enjoyed the setting before our food was swiftly presented to us. My veggie breakfast was really good ~ 2 veggie sausages, beans, 2 fried eggs, fried tomato, fried mushrooms & yummy granary bread toast & butter. Yum. I practically inhaled it & left nothing! My partner really enjoyed his breakfast too & again a clean plate was all that was left.
Being a delicatessen as a tourist I wouldn’t have guessed/​known this place even served hot breakfasts so it was a nice surprise & set us both up for the day ahead.

I’ve been to Olive many times so decided it’s time to share my thoughts after calling in for an off-​site work meeting today.
Put simply, Olive is an excellent independent bistro — exactly the type that I’d set up if I embarked on such a venture. It’s multi purpose, spacious and serves a wide variety of drinks and food, including homemade cakes, hot lunches (lasagne, panini etc) and even breakfast (yes they open early so you can grab your freshly cooked bacon butty, and more, before work!).
The staff are great and always helpful. Olive also offers a selection of papers to read if you just fancy calling in for a coffee. It has a licence for alcohol too, meaning it caters for evening trade, although I’ve never been — mainly because it’s not in a central location — so I can only judge it on the daytime offering, and on that note it’s pretty much faultless. Forget your ‘chain and branded’ coffee shops dotted along Oxford Road and head here instead!
Overall, Olive is the perfect place for coffee, lunch or just grabbing take out treats such as their huge slab of mars bar or rice crispy cake. What I like best is the European deli feel that it has. It’s also unique without being pretentious.
The only downside is that they don’t accept card payment. Small price to pay though. Excuse the pun!

Olive was right next door to my previous work place, and my colleagues loved it for some reason. I decided to try it purely because the hype two of my colleagues had created about this place (because they obviously cant cook).
The place is very well done up for a café, looks quite posh and very corporate I must say but sadly I cant say the same about the food. They have a very limited menu, and their attempt at making curry is absolutely disastrous (I am very hard to please when it comes to curry to be fair). The only things I liked here would be their meatball pasta and cupcake. They are over priced as compared to their competitors like First Taste or New York deli so I would much rather go to those places than come here for a very average meal. But if you are not too fussed about what your food tastes like then you definitely will like this place because it has everything you expect in a café or lunch place.
Verdict: Great interiors but could improve their menu!

Olive may just be the saviour of my postgraduate dietary failings. Being less than a stones throw from the University library that I mostly frequent and equidistant from the heinous campus canteen.
Now the food isn’t awe-​inspiring but it is tasty, freshly made on a daily basis and I find that the home cooked style is perfect fuel for the weary academic. It is also a slightly healthier and welcome change from the deep fat fried on-​campus offer.
For less than a pound more than what I would pay for a plate of beige at university, I can get a satisfying hunk of chicken and chorizo lasagne, a steaming bowl of lentil curry or a slightly indulgent goats cheese panini with generous side salad (it’s exams week, don’t judge me).
They also do great coffee and are happy to knock a few pennies off if you bring your own cup.
The staff are really chipper, always happy to help. I’ve noticed that other Unilocalers have complained about the unusual high bench seating. I actually find it makes grabbing a solo quick bite to eat in between lectures a lot less formal and awkward.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what’s happening in the Gay Village, or when club nights are, or when Manchester Pride is, or anything else related to being queer… you’re likely to find a flyer for it at Olive Delicatessen.
Along with all the details you’ll need to get some man-​on-​man action, you can also score yourself a fine meal, whether or not that’s something already prepared for your immediate enjoyment, or something for you to take home and make yourself.
Various and sundry sauces, oils, crisps, and cookies can be had from the towering shelves that take up the vast majority of the space here. But the counter with pre-​fab sandwiches is what caught my eye. Have you ever had a cheesy chicken tikka masala panini? Neither had I. It turns out that processed dairy product, seasoned chicken, and jalapeño peppers heated inside an envelope of crispy starch product is pretty nom-​worthy.
Between the enjoyable edibles and the pleasant people working here, I expect that only good things can come of a visit to Olive. And if you happen to be into the menz and need some directions on where to find them… well, Olive can help with that, too.

Great lunch spot. Real San Francisco feel to the place: industrial décor, tattooed staff, artisan food, plastered with events flyers. Decent sized selection of fresh sandwiches, wraps and salad all with top quality ingredients at the deli counter. Forget about buttered baps, their paninis come on the loveliest sesame seed flatbread. The place is also a mini-​mart with niche brand items (Kettle Chips, Illy canned drinks, chilled beer and wine) and now that I’ve read they stock Snapple, I’ll be back in a heartbeat.

If you’re feeling peckish and a little flush, pop into Olive Delicatessen and spoil yourself rotten.
Offering a great selection of hot and cold food to take away, Olive can satisfy pretty much any appetite or weird mid-​morning craving with it’s stock of delicious fresh produce. Alongside the sandwiches (try the Greek Salad Sub) are quiches, samosas and other savoury specialities. To drink there is great coffee and a nice selection of juices, and for dessert stuff yourself with all manner of cakes and chocolates sitting on the shelves.
Olive is pretty pricey so if you’re looking for a regular place to pick up your lunch I’d head up the road to Jenny’s Sandwich Bar where you can get a cheap butty which does the trick, but if you want to push the boat out and spoil yourself, go to Olive.

Upon entry into Olive you’re inundated with posters and flyers informing you about Manchester’s hottest club nights. You then climb the stairs and wow, Mr Freeze’s ice pops on sale for 30p. Haven’t had them in years. Amazing.
Olive is a delicatessen but it’s quite overshadowed by the range of groceries, alcohol and other confectionary on sale. However it’s range of cheeses was impressive and well if a deli didn’t have a good range of fresh sandwiches, soups, juices and cakes then it’d be damn useless. Olive is an ideal place to stop and grab something really fresh and tasty and I imagine those local to it come here for their essentials when they’re running low. There’s a good local village shop vibe to it which I like. I’m just rarely down this area for me be to purchasing regularly.

Sandwich bars are always something I think I should go to more for a snack or lunch, but I ultimately always seem to wind up heading straight for a takeaway instead. I guess some habits are hard to shake.
Olive Delicatessen does sandwiches as well as a variety of ice cream, Italian food, coffees, beer and alcohol. That may seem like a bit of an odd mash-​up, and I’d be inclined to agree. However, since it’s almost all of great quality there seems little point in arguing with it.
The prices aren’t cheap, but this is the city centre, and demanding student prices would be childish. Besides, you pay more, you get better in most cases, and Olive Delicatessen is certainly one such case.

When my boyfriend and I decided to move into the city centre like real grown up people, we were super excited to find that there was a delicatessen 10 minutes away from our flat. «A delicatessen!» we squeaked «Oh, what raptures! What joy!» Obviously we were picturing a goldmine of exciting continental meats, buckets of olives, fresh bread! So we were a bit disappointed when we discovered that apart from the odd chorizo sausage and the occasional pickled jalapenos, Olive Deli is basically a sandwich shop that also sells a few groceries. The sandwiches look nice, but when I think delicatessen, I don’t think ready-​made sandwiches. However, props for the takeout coffees, which are great.
What Olive lacks in food it almost makes up for in booze. The beer selection is pretty good, and most of the lagers are chilled so are ideal for picking up on your way to a party. The wine selection is OK, but red drinkers beware: the £6.50 Cotes du Rhone might seem like a safe bet but it’s best avoided, really. They do carry a few well known names such as Wolf Blass and Hardy’s, so you’ll be able to find something drinkable at least. One thing I really like about Olive is the array of spirits behind the counter. Great for those times when you’re like «oh no, we need more rum!» and slightly cheaper than nearby Spar.
For a local shop, it serves well enough. The household section has all the stuff you might run out of, and the 10pm closing time is great in these cases. I guess I’m just a little disappointed that what could be a great neighbourhood deli turned out to be a convenience store.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best Delis in town, and a great choice for a quick sandwich or panini at lunch time, but equally as good for breakfast and dinner too as it’s open late 7 days a week.
The choices are endless, and if you don’t see something you want, ask one of the ladies and she just might russle it up for you if she’s not too busy. Great fresh ingredients, Italian dishes including salads, wonderful home made lasagna, spaghetti and of course ice creams to die for (try the pisctachio).
It isn’t cheap, but doesn’t quality always come at a price?

For a long long time I was suspicious of delis. I was nervous of maturing into some middle class ponce who bought expensive cheese and could taste the difference between good and bad wine– so proud was I of my working class roots and stubborn immaturity! But after being introduced to the delights of a deil-​bought anti pasta by my more cultured other half I have to admit that I’ve slowly come around to the idea of delis and yes, these days I do understand that you can’t beat a bit of Caciocavallo Podolico with crackers!
Though nothing will ever replace Delifonseca back home in Liverpool, The Olive deli has been a worthy surrogate. From condiments, olives, baklava and paninis to humus, marinated vegetables and beautiful looking cakes and pastries, the Olive really does have it all if you are looking for the ingredients for the perfect dinner party at home. They also make the best coffee for miles around. The latte is perfectly foamy with just the right quantity of steam to cream. The hot chocolate is made with real Belgian chocolate and there’s also a huge selection of Twinings teas including Earl Grey and herbals. Make it your business to stop off for a brew when stocking up for the home.

I will tell you what attracted me to this place… surprise surprise its OLIVES. At times I have questioned if I am indeed ‘with child’ my cravings are so intense for olives, but fortunately everytime I have come to the conclusions that: no I just love olives and get a little greedy if they are presented to me.
Maybe my love for Olives is due to the fact I tell myself they are the only way I will get my ‘five a day’ as I am so disinterested in all things healthy– eek. Maybe its the fact that there are sooo many varieties: manzanilla, picholine, kalamata, niçoise, liguria… the list goes on.
To find a shop that sells all these varieties and more AND sells all the lovely delicatessens joys I love to indulge in, well its SENSATIONAL. I will also say they do far far better coffee than STAR*UCKS, FOSTA and CAFE ZERO-​excuse my spelling mistakes.

Good deli for food and drink alike. If you are looking for something special then this place usually has it. Good sandwiches and a small eating area with free papers make this a nice lunch spot.
It is a little pricey but I imagine that quality ingredients are used. I used to enjoy the discount that my Bannatynes gym card afforded me. I found the staff friendly, and they also have a good range of foreign spirits which includes my favourite Bacardi Oro.

Olive is a good little delicatessen in the centre of Manchester. It stocks all the essentials that you would expect, and also some more unusual things that you wouldn’t be able to find in a supermarket — a great selection of pickles and jams in particular!
They have a small seating area where you can enjoy a coffee or freshly made sandwich.
It’s a bit on the expensive side, but worth a look in when you’re in the mood for something a bit different.