olive branch

thefoodhere was outstanding! i would recommend that you try the chicken kabob complete with a greek salad, hummus and pita bread, and fresh fruit all served in a casserole dish! top that off with walnut baklava, and it's obvious why we will be back! i love this place!

best greekfoodever!!!. i'm must admit this place is awesome! there was a slight mix up with my order but they fixed it right away. they have excellent customer service and did i mention that thefoodis superb!! i ordered the deluxe gyro, baba, and grape leaves. if you are in the birmingham area go and check olive branch out you won't be disappointed!!

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 greekfoodbirmingham has to offer, and want to skip the long waits at summit restaurants, go out the back way of the summit, to olive branch. this is a local family owned gem. very casual, very casual dress. always great value

we have eaten here several times and thefoodis just amazing and the service is always on point, personal, and welcoming. the owner often visits the table to see how you are doing to check on how your meal is going, very smart and very welcoming. we rave about the falafels they are the best we’ve ever had, so fresh and full of flavor, the gyro is amazing and we love the way the grill it with some crispy edges a real treat. the chicken dishes are great the chicken is always tender cooked perfect and full of flavor. the steak kabob is one of my favorites, they use a quality cut and it is so tender and full of flavor. the atmosphere is charming and we love it when the weather is good because they have an amazing patio with a great view of the area. all the staff here is great, but we always ask for jennifer, she’s wonderful and so attentive and knows the menu backwards. and we always say hello to the kitchen staff, with the open kitchen it’s easy to do and they do such a great job!!

the small place reminds me of a nyc restaurant with its small tables and tight quarters. this is a family run place where mama stuffs the squash every day and it shows in the quality of food. frankly, if this was the only time i've been here this wouldn't be the best of reviews as this was not one of the best meals i've had here but i've eaten there many times and know it's a great place.

the stuff squash is a specialty but the gyro, chicken, kibbeh .... it's all good served professionally with a reasonable prices. try their homemade salad dressing or the tabouli. this is a good place with goodfoodi highly recommend it.

love this place!! it's a quaint little place hidden at the backside of the summit. it is always clean, thefoodis always consistent and good, the staff is always exceptional, and they have indoor and outdoor seating. it's table service unlike al's or purple onion.

greek / lebanese - outdoors\ dining. the olive branch mediterranean cuisine
3236 cahaba heights rd
vestavia hills, al 35243
http://www.olivebranchbham.com/

we had a lovely dinner at the olive branch last night. they are located right on cahaba heights rd and while parking in front is limited there is extra parking behind.
olive branch has a large outdoor deck with umbrellas so outdoor dining is available. our server was kara and she was attentive, friendly and quick to reply to requests. thefoodwas great. we had a party of five and after we ordered it was only a few minutes until all ourfoodcame out together. we both had the gyro salad which basically their rendition of a greek salad topped with sliced gyro meat. for less than $9 it is a bargain. it also comes with pita bread. our other guests had franks philly and said it was also good and plenty.
they also have a good selection of wines and bottled beer. we had the meiomi, a california pinot noir that was very smooth and light.

we will definitely be going back, they are also open for lunch.

urban cowgill

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, my back was 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.foodwas 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.

the best greekfoodaround!. i love this place! they have the best falafels around! when i go i always get the lamb gyro. it is the best! when you walk into the restaurant you can see the lamb roasting and them shaving off your slices of meat.

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. thefoodwas good, the service quick and the over all experience was exactly that - fine. when we went back for 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 thefood- 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 slip back i 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 been back since. i don't think she has either. very unprofessional. i waited tables at one point in my life too and would've have never back talked like that in a restaurant and kept my job. none of the managers i worked with would've have tolerated it. very poor.

consistently goodfoodand service. great take-out option.

the olive branch again delivers with the best middle eastern food. my wife loves the stuffed squash and i got the gyro plate. we also ordered a couple of falafel. thefoodis always fresh hot and served with a smile. go you won't find better.

this place is fantastic. i assume the few negative reviews are by people associated with the pita stop, which i think sucks. went to the olive branch today for lunch. had the sampler plate to start. very good hummus, but that's no big deal, because i can make it myself easily. also good baba ganoush, which is a little harder to make than hummus. as other posters have said, the falafel is transcendent. it is crispy on the outside, and succulent, slightly spicy, and intensely flavorful on the inside.

the kafta is also really good. it has fresh lemon and black pepper flavor, very moist and flavorful.

grape leaves, stuffed squash, and gyro are also incredibly delicious.

best middle easternfoodin town, by a wide margin.

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.

thefoodis 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 head back to 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.

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.
thefoodwas much better several years ago, but not near as good now. the middle-easternfoodis 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 easternfoodit doesn't taste good at all.
i saw someone else who had a problem send theirfoodback (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 theirfoodback, 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.