olive branch

greek cravings satisfied. stopped in for dinner early saturday. in the midst of the tornado damage to cahaba heights, olive branch stands unharmed and serving the community and visitors and they rebuild. i couldn't resist the gyro on toasted pita with the tabbouleh. so warm and savory. i ordered the spicy grapeleaves and the new menu item fried cauliflower with lemon. delicious! service is excellent and the new deck space will be packed when this area of alabama remembers it's may.
if you are at the summit shopping and want the best greek food birmingham has to offer, and want to skip the long waits at summit restaurants, go out thebackway of the summit, to olive branch. this is a local family owned gem. very casual, very casual dress. always great value

bad experience. this place came highly recommended and i couldn't wait to eat here. i had a pretty rough day and i was excited to eat some good food. 1st issue- we were seated right next to another table, mybackwas touching a strangers back. (not a big place but had plenty of open seats). 2nd issue- ordered an app, came out after our entrée. still, these issues were nothing to write home about. 3rd issue- had to ask for the check 3 times, still nothing so i walked up to the register to pay.
4th and final issue- the one that broke the camels back, our waitress/cashier didn't even look up at me when i ask to pay she grabbed my money and grabbed some extra cash from the office. she placed my change near her behind the cash register and walked off. i had to reach over the counter to get my change and she never said a word. food was fine (not any different than the other greek place right down the road). service was terrible and for this, i will never go here again. i gave them so many chances and they just took it and ran. honestly i feel that i was discriminated against because i was not a rich middle aged woman, sitting there pounding down bottles of wine.

decent food, but bad service. when a friend mentioned wanting to eat here for her birthday and i was not familiar with it i decided to check it out on my own prior to us going. my first experience on my own was fine. the food was good, the service quick and the over all experience was exactly that - fine. when we wentbackfor her birthday and it was me, her, and another friend the experience was badddddd. i ordered a plate that was served in a pyrex cooking dish (the waitress explained they were out of plates - seriously? - you are a restaurant and we were the only ones there at the time), one friend's was in a skillet, and the other was on a chipped plate. i have no complaints about the food - it was exactly as ordered and tasted decent. but i've had better. my total was $13.50 including everything and i included a $2.50 tip bringing it to $16.00 even (15.62% tip, if you want to be specific). the waitress preceded to talk about me openly after picking up my credit card slip [which is hard not to hear as the place is one big room] and say that i was "cheap." if i hadn't already given her my credit card slipbacki would have given her no tip. i gave her a decent tip in respect to the service received and the amount i paid. one friend found it funny (it was a kind of omg can you believe that they did that situation) and the friend whose birthday it was very embarrassed but i haven't beenbacksince. i don't think she has either. very unprofessional. i waited tables at one point in my life too and would've have neverbacktalked like that in a restaurant and kept my job. none of the managers i worked with would've have tolerated it. very poor.

one of my top five restaurants. nestled on a side road of a side suburb of vestavia pressed up against the swankiest village in the birmingham area is a mediterranean hole-in-the-wall called the olive branch. you could drive buy it thinking it's a dry cleaner or park in front of it thinking it's a good place to turn around.

or you could do like i did on accident a few years ago after noticing the coca cola sign out front, step inside to eat.

you'll be welcomed by the owner, a commanding yet delightful woman who most likely will know your name by the end of your meal. you'll then step inside the quaint dining area which is redolent of grandma's living room that seems so grandiose in the memory of your childhood yet average in the bland opinion of adulthood.

the patrons will be diversely dressed. some are on a romantic outing for two, donning elegant dresses with high heeled shoes accompanied by button down shirts with gold plated watches. others are in for a quick bite to eat after work. a few are at the counter in sweatpants and t-shirts waiting for their take-out to be put together.

the food is family style. no, really. it will arrive in pyrex containers. the portions are large and the menu is small. you can have kibbee or you can have gyro. you can have chicken kabobs or you can take one of the three meats and make it a sandwich. it's not a difficult choice. just pick one. you'll be happy.

before you leave, you'll need to sample the best option on the menu, the grape leaves. richly spiced, slathered in olive oil, stuffed with ground beef. they're the best in the city.

when you step out of the olive branch and look ahead, you'll see a fire station. it'll be brightly lit and hopefully without errand. down the road is a gas station and a turn to head into mountain brook or a turn to headbackto the hustle of the summit shopping center. but in front of the much-too-dim to be american sign, you'll feel comfortably at home where your belly is always full, the women of the house care about that smudge on your cheek, and your clothes don't reveal any superfluous details about your character.

good greek. i’m not a connoisseur, but they have easily the best taboulleh i’ve ever had. lots of acid from lemon juice, herbs and the nutty cracked wheat combine for a delightfully fresh, scene stealing side. the hummus is second to none. lamb kabobs and vegetables were good, but the rice was mushy, the greek salad a thoughtless plate filler with only 1 olive and a tiny cube of feta. oh, well. it’s still a good value, especially the lunch options. the outdoor patio is comfortable and the service is casual but timely. i hope to bebackfor the falafel soon. one of my lunch companions ordered the grilled chicken, and even that looked good. what a let-down to trudgebackto the office after such a pleasant lunch!

don't waste your time or money. i have eaten here several times and after the last time, decided never to waste my money at this place.
the food was much better several years ago, but not near as good now. the middle-eastern food is 10 times better at the pita stop, less than a mile away.
i ordered the rolled grape leaves and they tasted like they were old and were very mushy with not much flavor. i could swear they had been heated in a microwave, which kills the flavor of foods. i also ordered their tabbouleh salad. it had mushy cucumbers in it that watered down the taste of the salad and again, i would bet it was made the day before. also, i tasted kibbee plate. i have eaten kibbee all of my life. who ever is cooking here doesn't know how to use salt! if you don't use enough salt to bring out the flavor of middle eastern food it doesn't taste good at all.
i saw someone else who had a problem send their foodback(i wish i had) and the man on the grill looked as if he could kill. i heard the middle aged woman, who is nice looking and kind of thin, who i think is one of the owners, talk about the person who sent their food back, which i thought was very rude.
once before when i was there i saw either a manager or the owner park in the handicap spot, blocking the so-called ramp (a joke for anyone with disabilities) . there was someone in a power wheelchair who could not get to the ramp. he had to park in a spot that was not handicap and had to dodge cars on the street only to find he couldn't get up the ramp.
if i was a restaurant owner and someone has an issue with their food, i would not talk about them, especially in such a small place.

wonderful food, wine, and service. my husband and i have tried all of the mediterranean cuisine restaurants in birmingham and this is by far our favorite. there are great prices on the glasses of wine, the food is amazing and so reasonably priced, and the service was outstanding. we ended our evening with a piece of pistachio baklava and i can not wait to getbackand get some more!! the atmosphere is comfortable and can be romantic for a date or more casual for a quick dinner out. definitely one of our new favorite spots in birmingham for dinner.

delicious fare. my wife and i went to dinner last night and were definitely fans. i had the grilled kafta sandwich and she had the gyro deluxe. both were quite large sandwiches and tasted very good. for a quality sandwich i think the prices are quite reasonable. we will be goingbackfor sure. also, the location is great as doodle's is right next door for some dessert.

poor food and service. i had not eaten here in a long time. i remember my wife and youngest loved their tabouli but for some reason there has been a big gap in time before my visit for dinner last night. i picked up a couple of groupons on the 1st. i bought two $14 lunch and two $20 dinners. we arrived early, about 5:30 and were one of the first customers of the evening. place started to fill up before we left. the atmosphere is pleasant, a bit small. nice patio but was too hot to eat out yesterday. booths sit you too high for the table.

anyway, the meal ended up being a disaster. i ordered the gyro plate (over priced for sure at $13.50, small portions). i saw the gyro pit operating so when my plate was delivered and the meat was room temperature, i was confused. i called our waitress over and she was pleasant and apologetic. i watched her bring the two plates to the cook. he scowled when she delivered our message, said really, and although he had on plastic gloves he proceeded to grab the meat off our plates with his hands and throw itbackon the grill. i was freaked, had eye contact with him and objected from a distance. the manager came over at this point and i explained what had transpired. the new plates came out, and, i swear on all that is good, the meat was room temperature. we looked at each other, decided to deal with it and pushed on. with the plate, they serve a spicy yogurt sauce instead of hummus or taziki. taste was good but it was too watery. barely any rice, which at its cost, you would figure it would be abundant. the salad was mostly iceberg, which is not cool. i had another conversation with the manager and asked if the gyro was pressed beef and lamb. i was told yes, although before that conversation i thought i had figured out that there was no lamb in the meat, the meat was not as tasty as i am used to.

the meat was limp, think of picking up a traditional piece of gyros with your fingers. the olive branch meat just broke in half. fresh gyros right off the pit has a nice fire burned crust on the outside, which provides a subtle crunch as you bite into the moist uniquely blended beef and lamb. i have had much better gyros at the pita stop, now just around the corner from them, al's, purple onion, and sinbad's. i called groupon today and they refunded me on the other unused coupons. we were $58 with a tip for three. left feeling like we had been taken. my boy still liked the tabouli, but they lost us for good.

a favorite!. follow up to my other post.....................
oops! make that once a month at a $$$$ restaurant (not once a weekend - couldn't afford that!).


-----04 dec, 2010-----

a favorite!. upon moving to b'ham 2 years ago, we kept noticing a crowd of cars at olive branch. also noticed patrons recognizing others in the parking lot so then knew "locals" were dining here. we decided to try it. upon arrival, we were immediately impressed when 4 waters and 2 ice cold beers suddenly appeared at an empty table next to us. within about a minute, sure enough, the patrons (2 young couples) for that reserved table arrived...with.ice cold beverages ready for consumption! now, that is service!!! i ordered the beef kabobs (waiter explained the beef was filet mignon) and it was wonderful! this restaurant truly is one of the best kept secrets in birmingham!! service is great, food is great and it is locally owned! my husband eat out almost every weekend at restaurants in the $$ - $$$ category, with once a weekend at a $$$$ restaurant and this is definitely one of our favorite restaurants in town! our only wish, albeit a minor, is that they would "upscale" the place a little bit....make a nicer bar area, adjust wall seat to proper height to table and upgrade the exterior...it would be so easy to do without a lot of cost.. but even without it........this is definitely a place you don't want to miss!! we'll keep comingbackwithout a doubt!!!

killer mediterranean.. wentbackto the olive branch for the first time in years today, and boy am i glad that i did. this place does it right. the tabbouleh is top-rate and probably the best in the city, as well as the lamb kofta--which was unbelievably succulent and flavorful. no kidding, this place is right up there with some of the best kebap establishments i've eaten at in istanbul. can't wait to go back!