Oliva (CLOSED)

I am really a fan of this place! I love the bartendar, so friendly and warm. I dream about the skirt steak and potato's! The energy is great, especially when people are dancing in between the tables to the live music!

Came to Oliva on a recommendation from a friend the other night and was very pleasantly surprised. The space is small and a little loud (there was a great cuban band playing) but my boyfriend and I had such a fun night. The spanish waitress was super friendly. We had a selection of tapas including empanadas, spanish meatballs, and a plate of jamon and cheese which were all delicious. We drank some mojitos and yummy sangria. Best of all was the atmosphere, there were a couple of birthday parties going on and it was very lively. Might not be the best place for a quiet dinner but we will definitely be back.

I came here for brunch over the wknd. I was excited b/c I had heard good things about it, and the pics on the website looked cute. My first impression - not cute. The place looked dirty and rough around the edges. There was one waiter for the place. Which is fine, b/c it's small and there were only three other tables w/ppl. There was a little live band - which was nice - but WAY too loud for the space and lack of ppl to soak up the volume. I ordered the tres colores eggs (onions, peppers, tomatos), which came with a side of my choice and toast. I ordered chorizo. My food came, but where were the tomatos, chorizo, and toast? And I never got them. The food was good. But I sorta only got half of it. We had to call the waiter over to bring us water - he kept forgetting. I would understand if the place was packed, except it was mainly empty and he was sitting at the bar playing on his blackberry. We kept asking him to turn the music down (when the band wasn't playing) and he gave us a dirty look. My friend and I were shouting at eachother - that's not what I want in my brunch. Since there are so many other places in the city that do brunch, and do it well, I'm going to pass on ever coming back here. I was so not impressed.

Flavorless mediocre food, everything was underspiced. We went out for pizza afterwards. Not worth the price. Never going back.

Sangria was great, the atmosphere was great but the food was just okay. The portions were huge but this was one time i could have done with less. I would go back for more sangria.

This is truly a great little place. The food was good and authentic. The sangria was great! And the prices I must say are not too bad! It's cute and cozy. And the live music is a great touch. People dance around your table and you don't really feel like you are in the city. The only drawback is I would say it's a bit small and loud, but it's a great spot to grab a drink and dinner with a group or one on one. A fun spot that I totally recommend all the time and would 100% go back to again!

I'd been here twice and liked being able to get relatively authentic Spanish-style tapas in a mellow atmosphere. They have delicious tortilla and croquetas. Took three people there last night and ended up storming out of the restaurant the maitre d' had us wait an entire hour (all the while assuring us that we'd be seated in 10 minutes...in 10 minutes....in 10 minutes....) while he sat two consecutive birthday parties of about 10 people each and paid no attention to everyone waiting at the bar. Wound up trekking to 7A. Mohitos (the only thing we ordered) were pretty good. But you'd think a tapas bar would play Spanish music (flamenco, anyone?) and not salsa and merengue.