3 olives

3 olives is a nondescript, cozy family restaurant near newtown station which offers a range of greek cuisine from the staple salad to grilled lamb/chicken and moussaka. the dimly-lit interior and friendly service team adds considerably to the relaxing and laid-down atmosphere.

if you were expecting some plate-smashing and tantalising greek cuisine at 3 olives, you might be disappointed. the chargrilled souvlaki was neither "grilled" in the big open charcoal fire nor marinated with the familiar garlic, herbs, olive oil and freshly ground pepper. chicken thigh fillet would certainly be preferred to the dry and tough breast meat too. for a price of $24 (compared to the 7 euros or so in athens), the meal is certainly overpriced and not worth your penny.

great food and service. the best greek restaurant in sydney. i will come back again for sure. prices are reasonable too. congratulations to the owners.

went here for dinner on a cold rainy evening. what a great decision that turned out to be. it was the best dining experience we've had for a long time.

stepping into the warm medium lit space from the wet cold street felt awesome.

the hosts were warm, kind people, very accommodating of our specific choices.

we started with 3 dips (tzatziki, garlic, and eggplant) with warm pita bread. the dips were very good especially the garlic dip. the pita was warm and soft. just the stuff to get us going.

we then had the fassolatha, a vegetarian dish with white beans in a tomato salsa served with crispy bread. although the bread was a tad oily it went well with the overall dish.

usually that would have been it, but with rains outside and a nice warm setting surrounding us we decided to stay on for a bit. sit and chat is just not our way and so we ordered the yamista ( vegetarian version).

this dish was the highlight of the night. the tomato, the zucchini, the rice the cheese.. everything about it was perfect.

we capped off the evening with sweet greek coffee which the hosts graciously served with greek delight ( similar to turkish delight apparently). the coffee can be had sweet or plain.

recommend 3 olives whole heartedly. will be visiting again soon.

stumbled onto this humble greek restaurant on king st. we ordered the fish and lamb. very surprised about the large portions and extremely friendly service. food was also very tasty and fulfilling! only improvement i would suggest is the wine list...tried both house red/white and it wasn't very drinkable. thank god it was byo.

the most beautiful dinner experience i have had in a long time. we were able to make our booking via leaving a voicemail and i received one in return to confirm. the atmosphere was lively, welcoming and friendly. the staff were so accommodating and personable. the food was delicious and authentic.
i cannot speak highly enough of the staff. the gentleman went to great efforts to ensure my food intolerances were catered for and did not make me feel like i was difficult or a problem. thank you so much for making our evening so enjoyable. will definitely return.

came with a group of four people and was slightly disappointed in the food. flavours were ok, but i was expecting better. nice service and the atmosphere is good, but the food isn't worth the hefty price-tag.

the moment you enter 3 olives you can smell fresh sea food and greek herbs. you are welcomed by an incredibly friendly staff and the whole big greek adventure begins. we had dips for an entree, including taramosalata, tzatziki and meliziana- all 3 were fresh and tasty but taramosalata was the absolute favorite. this was followed by the mains- saganaki prawns and moussaka meliziana. both orders were delicious, freshly made and tasted amazing. portions were so big we could have fed one more person from our order. i have to admit that i did not enjoy moussaka when i traveled to greece but this one was just mouth watering. we have been recommended to try the traditional greek wine- lafkiotis, retsina and we hit the jackpot with it. went perfectly with all the food. this place is a big yes, will definitely come back to try more of the menu and hang out with the fun staff!

delicious entree, mains and desserts in a lovely, cozy restaurant on king st! everything was very reasonably priced, the staff were brilliant and very knowledgeable (funny too) and it all made for a great dining experience. we had the calamari and platter entree, slow cooked lamb main (hearty, delicious and succulent) and the greek custard for dessert...followed by complimentary turkish delight that the staff happily gave us more of to take home for free! will definitely be back!

would recommend byo wine if you're picky as the wine list is limited.

great staff, amazing food, and great ambience. by far one of our favourite restaurants in newtown. the breads and dips to start are amazing, and the souvlaki and moussaka are one of the best on the menu.
definitely recommend for anyone wanting some home cooked authentic greek cooked meals.

nice small family orientated restaurant. made a booking for 7pm was abit late due to no parking available in the immediate area. first time there and the manager remembered me making the booking. staff were prompt and friendly. we ordered the meat banquet which was alot of food and good and filling. the banquet gives you a good selection of what's on the menu. overall a great experience, and i'm sure not the last.

i came here with my partner on valentine's day, purely because we couldn't get in anywhere else because we didn't plan ahead. i'm so happy we went in because otherwise i wouldn't know about the quality greek restaurant so close to home! ordered the pita bread with three dips and the mussels. i don't even like pita bread usually but i smashed these so quick. the mussels were perfectly cooked and had great flavour. ended up having a fabulous night! the staff were absolutely beautiful as well, very friendly & attentive. i'll definitely be back. plenty of other dishes on the menu i'd like to try.

we visited 3 olives tonight : our first experience at this restaurant and it won't be our last either.
the service was friendly and attentive, our main server may explained the menu well and provided many recommendations.
the restaurant does byo, corkage is $2 but the wines on the menu were reasonably priced anyway.
we started with a euro plate to share which included grilled chorizo, grilled haloumi and marinated olives. the platter was well presented and tasted great, portion was generous for 2 for an entree.
next my partner had the lamb shanks (youvetski) and i had the lamb souvlakia. with the shanks, the meat melted off the bone and my souvlakia was nice. it was deconstructed, served with chips and freshly baked pita bread, side salad and tzatziki. the only let down was the lamb was a little tough but otherwise a generous, tasty serving. we both couldn't finish our meals but ensured we left room to taste a greek dessert considering we enjoyed our entree and main. we had the galataboureko, a custard filled pastry drizzled with honey. it was magnificent. easily the best greek dessert i've had!
would highly recommend this restaurant. it did get busy just as we were leaving so bookings are suggested. 5 stars!

we arrived a little before 8pm, and was rather surprised that there were actually many tables available, as most other places nearby, were completely full. after being seated and placing our order, the small restaurant started to fill up very quickly from 8pm onwards. it does feel a little cramped and noisy inside, as the tables are placed really close to one another, to fit more tables in. the tables themselves, are on the tiny side, so once you have a bottle of wine and water, glasses and plates and then the food comes out, it would be a struggle to fit everything on.

the trio of dips + warm pita bread, which seemed to be quite popular amongst other diners, came with a generous amount of pita bread. one of the worst things a restaurant can do, is give you too little bread! we also ordered the euro plate, which was a mixture of grilled haloumi, chorizo and marinated olives. they were both a great start to the night. the haloumi was delicious. the salt and pepper calamari was also great, with a light, crispy batter. overall great food so far. for mains, we shared the roasted lamb. in the best parts, it was tender, but in some parts on the top, the lamb was rather dry. it was a nice dish, but not great. i saw other people having the chicken or lamb souvlaki and i immediately developed the case of food envy. servings of all dishes were plentiful.

i would be more than happy to return, though i definitely enjoyed my starters/ mezedes more. i might try another main next time, specifically the souvlaki, or simply order a range of starters to share. the wine list is quite small, but they do offer byo.

popped in on a friday night on a whim and weren't disappointed. service was speedy and very friendly and the bbq octopus was divine! lasaga flatbread mezze plate was also delicious. only disappointment was the greek salad which was very cucumber-heavy. we'll be back to try more of the menu.

we have been here multiple times. service is always quick and friendly, and often they fit us in at the last minute (even though they are always packed). the food is fantastic - always seem to gravitate to the mixed starter and meat platter (the banquet deal). food and wine very well priced - for the two of us it's around $40/person which is amazing given the volume and quality of food. a king st favourite.