Fig & Olive

Ambience: 4.25
Food: 3.75
Service: 4.25
Value: 3.5
Came here with the family (8 of us). Decided to have dinner in the lounge because there was space and it was so comfortable. Had a selection of crostini which were very good. Had the octopus and scallop appetizers which were above average. Ordered the tomahawk steak, lamb chops, sea bass, paella, and branzino. Only the paella was disappointing. Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves. Definitely will be back for the crostini.

Came here with a group of fifteen
Service was friendly and attended to our needs, they seated us right away in our private room which we had reservations for and I give them props for working around all the crazy little kids running around.
Had the chefs choice crostini it was awesome I loved it.
The tomato gaspacho soup was alright
The riviera salmon entrée took awhile to come out, and when it did it didn’t blow my mind.
I loved the long islands here it was so good I had two of them.
Would I come here again probably not

Came here at night for the summer series DJ event– all white party. Truly had an amazing time. The manager who was working was so friendly and made sure my girls and I had a great time. They had a great DJ and live saxophone player who absolutely crushed it. That saxophone player was everything! Phenomenal entertainment that night. Our server was also sweet. Yes, it’s pricey here but you get what you pay for. Very beautiful upscale place — perfect to take pictures. Loved the ambience.
Only downfall: wannabe boojie girls where the only muscle they exercise is there eyes… (Eye rolling) get over yourself and stop hating on other happy girls :)

Great place and great service — was tempted to take off a star for the thumping and unnecessary background music which is meant for the bar (and there you can actually hear the music) …but in the restaurant, you just get the bass thumping at a low level and it is merely annoying! – but the food is great — Cristinis– superb, scallop salad – excellent, paiea is great, pasta tubes with a chicken char skewer was terrific – moist, tender with al dente pasta.
And the chocolate pot for dessert– perfect. Worth another visit!

This past Friday, ⁶⁄₁₇ was BFF day… beginning with lunch at ‘Fig and Olive.’ We both thoroughly enjoyed the incredible food, drinks, and service of this Mediterranean style restaurant! Simply put — spectacular.
Tip: Must try their «brand new» Summer menu! It’s outstanding! Can’t wait to return.

I love the Mediterranean atmosphere. It’s huge and quite lovely. Service is great. I got the groupon for $ 99 for 2 drinks, 3 crostini, one appetizer and 2 entrees.
For the 2 drinks, I got Manhattan sour and raspberry mojito. Both were refreshing.
We went with mushroom, pea and prosciutto crostini. All were delicious but I loved the mushroom.
For appetizer, we got the octopus gallega. Octopus was cooked perfectly. So incredibly tender.
For entrees, we got rosemary lamb chops and paella Del mar. Lamb chop was smoked and a perfect medium rare. The seafood in the paella Del mar was so fresh and done flawlessly. I never had mussels that just melted in my mouth. I am not a huge fan of mussels, but these were amazing. Tiger shrimp, scallops and calamari were yummy as well.
We decided to get the fig and olive tasting dessert. It came with Amarena cherry crostini, chocolate pot de crème, crunchy praline & strawbery vacherin. My favorite was strawberry vacherin. I can taste summer in a little cup.
Fig and Olive, I am a fan.

I’ve been here twice both for very different occasions. First was on a Friday afternoon for drinks with a bunch of girlfriends. We had a table outside on the patio which is where you want to be. Otherwise you can crowd around the bar and try to get a drink. This whole place is about the ambiance and environment. That’s what you are basically paying for. It’s the place to be seen if you are into that type of Newport «fancy schmancy» crowd. Definitely upscale. Drinks are definitely pricey as well as food. For the price, everything just wasn’t up to par for me. I was totally paying the price just for the beautiful location and décor.
My 2^nd experience was recently on a Sunday for brunch. Brunch was around $ 34 per person. There was not that much variety and I really didn’t enjoy it. There was a «carving station» that consisted of lamb and a small game hen like chicken. There was a small omelette station with very limited filling choices. Then there was the buffet area that consisted of breads (croissant and sliced bread), desserts (a few pastries and yogurt), salad, grain salads, tomato salad, smoked salmon, cheeses, sliced meats, and then potatoes, bacon, sausage and quiche. If you want alcohol like mimosas and Bloody Mary’s that’s extra but not unlimited.
Service was great and the ambiance is definitely nice but I’m all about substance. It’s like going on a date with someone who is gorgeous but has nothing to offer. Not coming back.

I know food is always subjective, so here is my best review and take on this place.
This restaurant is beautiful, sexy and sleek. It is elegant and yet can be causal if need be. Remember we are in Southern California and thing are never that fancy at a restaurant.
I think of this place as a date place or for a special occasion.
As for the food, it’s tough. Everything is always prepared very well! Played beautiful, great service a pretty good. Please don’t come here if you are planing on eating cutting edge creative or gastronomy. It’s pretty standard high OC food.
You will also get heavy up sell on everything from the server. Just an FYI

I expected a lot more from this place. 3 stars is because I really liked the atmosphere and how the place looked. It had a loungey sophisticated look to it. Expensive looking.
I sat at the bar and it was during dinner time so there were a lot of people just getting drinks or waiting for a table.
I think the bar tenders are kind of all over the place. I believe we had 3 different ones trying to help us out. They placed different table settings for all the people deciding to eat at the bar and they don’t know if you have a tab open unless you tell them.
We ordered a couple of items but no entrees. We got the octopus, tartare, sautéed mushrooms, jamon iberco, and half a dozen oysters.
The octopus was okay. They were thinly sliced and a big portion. Flavor was not bad also.
The tartare was a big disappointment. It wasn’t even red. It was brown and looked old. It also lacked seasoning and the sauce was broken.
Sautéed mushrooms tasted good. How they’re supposed to taste.
The jamon was good but you can’t go wrong with that. I did like the bread it came with because it was a soft crostini. But the tomatoes on t kept falling off because it was that texture.
The oysters were also disappointing. they ran out of Kumamotos so we got half and half of the other 2. One of them had no taste whatsoever and the other one tasted like you’re at a 99 ranch… A not so pleasant seafood smell.
Womp womp

Upscale atmosphere, situated right by Fashion Island. Came for happy hour where they have deals on their cocktails and their crostinis.
Cocktails are $ 8 and Beers are $ 6, pretty cool drinks here. really enjoyed the manhattan sour.

Burrata, Tomato, Pesto, Balsamic Crostini (Mix and match — 3 for $ 12, 6 for $ 21) is creamy from the velvety smooth burrata, herbaceous from the pesto and microgreens, and sweet and tangy from the balsamic and tomato. Rating: ⁵⁄₅
Manchego, Fig, Marcona Almond Crostini (Mix and match — 3 for $ 12, 6 for $ 21) is simplicity at its best. Even though it is simple, it is rich and powerful in flavor from the nutty manchego to the sweet fig. Rating: ⁴⁄₅
Shrimp, Avocado, Cilantro, and Tomato Crostini (Mix and match — 3 for $ 12, 6 for $ 21) has a perfectly cooked shrimp with a nice snap. With an almost Latin flair, the ingredients work well together from the creamy avocado to the sweet tomato to the refreshing cilantro. Rating: 4.5÷5
Octopus, Hummus, Pimenton Crostini (Mix and match — 3 for $ 12, 6 for $ 21) is lovingly topped with tender, thinly sliced octopus. The hummus adds a creamy flavor for a Mediterranean flair. Rating: ⁵⁄₅
Pata Negra, Smoked Tomato Concasse Crostini (Mix and match — 3 for $ 12, 6 for $ 21) has a Spanish tapas influence. Pata negra (also known as jamón ibérico) is a cured ham produced in Spain and Portugal from black Iberian pigs or cross-​bred pigs that are at least 50% Iberian. The cured flavor of the pata negra pairs well with the smoky, rough chopped tomato. Rating: 4.8÷5
Crab Salad ($ 15) combines jumbo lump crab, celery, celeriac, snow pea, green apple, lime, cilantro, scallion, horseradish mayo, and pink pepper. This salad is a clean, refreshing way to start any dinner. The vegetables and green apple add a crisp texture to the moist, tender crab meat. Great dish for spring! Rating: ⁴⁄₅
Paella Del Mar ($ 32) includes black tiger shrimp, sea scallop, calamari, mussels, saffron rice, green pea, red bell pepper, artichoke, saffron aioli, pimenton, and oregano. The saffron rice is creamy like risotto. All of the seafood components are cooked to perfection — the shrimp has a nice snap, the calamari is tender, the scallops are nicely seared, and the mussels are succulent. The peas, bell pepper, and artichoke help tie everything together with a nice fresh flavor. Rating: ⁵⁄₅
Rosemary Lamb Chops ($ 39) are grilled, smoked à la minute with a bouquet of Herbs de Provence, goat cheese & chive gnocchi, braised eggplant with honey, thyme, and rosemary garlic olive oil. The presentation is lovely with smoky dome. Using a bit of artistic flair, the server removes dome in a swirling motion so the smoke spirals up into the air. Then, they top it with an olive oil drizzle. The lamb has a Mediterranean flavor profile from the rosemary, garlic, and olive oil. The goat cheese gnocchi are a nice creamy, starchy surprise. Rating: 4.5÷5
Caramelized Apple Tart ($ 12) is a crisp puff pastry with caramelized apples and topped with vanilla ice cream. It is a very light dessert, reminiscent of something you would pick up for breakfast at a French bakery along with an espresso. The vanilla ice cream makes it a bit more decadent with its creamy flavor and texture. Rating: ⁴⁄₅
Chocolate Fondant ($ 12) is flavored with candied orange and topped with vanilla ice cream. This dessert is like a marriage of a chocolate lava cake and soufflé. It has a slight chocolate lava-​like center, but is light like a soufflé. The vanilla ice cream acts like a crème anglais as it starts to melt into the nooks and crannies of this cake. Rating: ⁵⁄₅

I came here about a month ago with my coworkers and we had a party of 12 for lunch.
The décor is nice, the restaurant is open and beautiful but that’s basically where the good part ends.
I personally ordered a panini with fries for myself and wish I had paid more for the truffle fries because those were good, but to be honest, I wouldn’t give the food or this place higher than 3 stars.
I don’t think it was our head waiter’s fault, but when the food arrived they misswapped our food and gave me my coworker’s panini (she wanted no tomatoes) and mine in addition to meal swapping another two of our coworkers who had burgers with a few items out here and there. Unfortunately none of us noticed until a few bites into our meals and we were hungry by then so figured oh well.
Our waiter was very friendly and I give him credit (and a good sized tip) for being knowledgeable and always checking up on our large group. Overall, I’m really not that impressed with this place and probably wouldn’t hold a large party group outing here again.

This was a fun, classy vibe… The bread comes with a selection of olive oils for you to try… And the wall is covered with hundreds of olive oils that come in different flavors.
I had the cheese plate which was amazing. And a salad which was yummy and clean! The service was great and they brought a yummy dessert sampler for my friends bday celebration!!!

I visited Fig and Olive during OC Restaurant week for lunch with a bunch of co-​workers. I had made reservations, which required a $ 75 deposit for our group. When we arrived we were taken to the back dining seating. This place is huge and it has a very modern and bright Mediterranean vibe. I really enjoyed the ambiance here.
Lunch consisted of a starter, entrée, and dessert.
Before our meal began, our table was provided with some bread and 3 different types of olive oils to try. The bread was fresh and each of the oils tasted great. I ordered the following items:
Appetizer:
Salmon Crudo– Orange, grapefruit, dill, lemon, scallion Arbequina olive oil. The salmon was incredibly fresh and was of sashimi grade quality. The orange and grapefruit provided a nice bit of freshness to this dish. This was a wonderful way to start a meal and I was impressed with the salmon.
Entrée:
Paella Del Mar– Black tiger shrimp, calamari, mussel, saffron rice, green pea red bell pepper, artichoke, saffron aioli, pimenton and oregano, and Hojiblanca olive oil. Everything in this dish was cooked to perfection. I enjoyed all of the sea food items and nothing was overcooked which would have ruined the shrimp. This was an incredibly tasty dish and the flavors really stood out.
Dessert:
Dessert «Crostini” — Amarena cherry, mascarpone, pistachio shortbread with micro basil. This was a great dessert. Everything went together so well. The shortbread provided the proper amount of crunch with the soft mascarpone.
Service was good as our water glasses were always refilled. Some of my co-​workers asked multiple members of the wait staff to bring additional bread, and although each of the servers said they would bring it, they never did. Other than this minor hiccup, everything else was perfect. By the time we left the restaurant, the place was filled to capacity. I imagine this place could easily accommodate 300+ people, so reservations are highly recommended. I enjoyed my lunch and look forward to visiting again. At $ 20, the restaurant week deal was great!

Class, Sophistication, and an Etherial ambience~
Dear interior designer of Fig & Olive, please build and design my future home.
Let’s be honest or should I say i «IMHO,» you are paying more for the experience than the food itself. I mean I came here on a Saturday afternoon & I felt like Princess dining in her Grecian castle.
S E R V I C E /​/​OVERALL E X P E R I E N C E:
*YES — Extremely Fast service & I mean I was impressed (⁵⁄₅)
*YES — Servers, bussers, staff = phenomenal (⁵⁄₅); Went to the restroom & came back to find my napkin that was left on my chair nicely refolded and placed on my table.
D R I N K —
*Blood Orange Mimosa ($ 10): a upscale version of your traditional Orange mimosa
A P P E T I Z E R S:
*Octopus Gallega ($ 18): the most thinly sliced pieces of octopus. I mean the chef must have crazy knife ninja skills. Each piece of octopus is carefully placed on the plate that it looks like a completed puzzle masterpiece. The octopus is lightly drizzled with olive oil & topped with arugula, bell peppers, and heirloom potatoes.
— this dish is UNCOOKED/​RAW OCTOPUS.
— hard to pick up each tiny round piece of octopus (⁴⁄₅)
* Salmon Crudo: (only on OC Restaurant Week menu):
+ Salmon was very fresh, meaty, and also raw/​uncooked;
+/​-​Basically sashimi with olive oil over it, instead of soy sauce. (4.5÷5)
F O O D —
*Poached Eggs with Prosciutto ($ 17): poached eggs cooked to perfection
+ the hollandaise sauce was so creamy, yet so light
+ the side salad is dressed with the most delicious olive oil = had a sweetness to it (⁵⁄₅)
*Paellea Del Mar (on both OC R. Week menu & Reg. menu):
+ Added Scallops for $ 7
+ Seafood is SO FRESH = literally the most juicy scallops, shrimp, and mussels
+ Rice was cooked nicely = moist & soft
— Maybe it’s the asian in me… but I was dying for an added kick — where’s the heat!?! Sure, this dish was tasty & seasoned well… but like I said, I just felt like this dish needed to be elevated and that it was was missing something… (aka Sriracha please? LOL)! Also, this dish turned COLD so fast. It was served lukewarm (despite the extremely fast service), but midway through lunch I noticed how quickly the rice & seafood turned cold & dry= (²⁄₅)
D E S S E R T —
*Dessert Crostini (on the OC R. W menu): (¹⁄₅)
*basically a shortbread cookie topped with marscapone & cherries
— Dry cookie
— Super sweet cherries
— I think there’s a reason why its on the OC.R.W menu & not the regular dessert menu

— Additional notes—
*FYI — every SAT./ SUN. serve all you can eat buffet for $ 32
*FYI — make a reservation (usually packed)
*FYI — ask to be seated in the sunroom (more quaint & private)
*FYI — Tip % already provided on receipt = just check/​select % of your choosing
*IMHO — 5 stars for the Overall Experience/​Service; 3.5 stars for the Food
*IMHO — Bring your lady friends, moms, grandmothers… etc. (*not for the men/​boys who enjoy good hearty meals & could care less about pretty food …)
—- Overall —-
Highly recommend ~ Perfect location/​setting for Girlfriends/​Ladies/​Mothers to:
+ Grab brunch/​lunch during week or weekend
+ Enjoy a light meal,
+ Enjoy quality girl time,
+ Dress up & feel pretty
+ temporarily escape from the boys/​husbands/​men in our lives

Came here on a saturday for my best friends birthday brunch, and I was blown away by the absolute BEAUTIFUL décor, both inside and out. The inside has high ceilings, very organized yet warm interior design, and very spacious. Our brunch happened to be on the outside, and it was a beautiful spring day which made the setting so much more intimate. I love how the outside has couches and a very casual layout for people to lounge (and eat their brunch buffets) with super cute décor, yet the high glass walls and ceilings let just the perfect amount of natural lighting in. Honestly this place has one of the best décor I’ve ever seen!
SERVICE:
Excellent service! Our waiter was very attentive, and was always checking up on us. I asked another waiter for extra marscapone & jam for my french toast, and he brought 2 extra servings just so everyone at our table could have some (we only ordered 2 french toasts. ahaha).
FOOD:
I got the brioche french toast which was super yummy! It was a little on the sweeter side, and I wish it had more fruit, but it came with a marscapone cream & a fig jam (?) that was super delicious and paired well with the french toast.
My friends got salmon dish & pancetta dish, both with poached eggs. They all said it was delicious.
The only reason I would give this place ⁴⁄₅ stars is due to the price. I definitely feel that the amount of food you get doesn’t justify the price you pay, but I guess you are mainly paying for the ambience.

I came here with my Unilocal friend Mimi L. (:
I had a reservation at 12:30 but due to traffic and stuff, I was about 10 minutes late. I called prior so they were very nice about it and seated us right away when we walked in. They have valet up in the front which was very nice and easy for the lazy people (like me). Their Valet clerks were polite and parked my car promptly as I pull up.
The ambience inside this restaurant is very cutesy and somewhat reminded me of restaurants in Miami. It was bright, clean and fancy. The noise level was not bad and it gives off a calm, peaceful feel. Food here is decent. In my opinion, the display/​look of the food is better than its taste. It’s nothing like WOW this is super good. The service here can be a little better but I do understand that it’s the weekend and everyone is out here. The waiters should try to be more attentive to their tables and make sure they’re ok. There are multiple times that my friend had to flag them down for more water.
I’ll come back next time and hopefully it’ll be a 5 stars (:
+desserts: chocolate pot de crème (get that if you’re a chocolate lover!)

I came here for my birthday and ordered the fixed menu.
They start you off with some refreshing bread paired with a variety of oils. Great flavors.
The zucchini carpaccio was so simple and light yet perfect for my palette. The salmon crudo had light seasoning, some may find it lacking flavor, some may find it just right.
The salmon entrée was perfectly cooked. I had it well done. The skin was perfectly crisp on top and was just perfect overall.
My friend ordered the lamb and was expecting it to be on the bone but it was presented similar to a skewer.
Both of us were really full by now since we had the bread and appetiZers so it was difficult to appreciate our entrees.
The chocolate dessert was good but a too rich (for me) and the cherry dessert was also good but a bit too sweet (for me).
What’s really sweet was that they had a little sorbet ice cream in a cup filled with whipped cream topped with a candle for me for my birthday. Very sweet and unexpected.
I really appreciated my time here and enjoyed my birthday meal.
Absolutely LOVED the ambience!!!

My husband brought me here for our 29^th wedding anniversary. When we walked in we were warmly greeted by the young women at the desk. They mentioned our wedding anniversary and offered to seat us early. We decided to go to the bar and get a drink first. We sat at the bar for about five minutes and there was no bartender, so we decided to just go ahead and get seated. As I looked around I noticed beautiful couches, and chairs with pillows in the entry area and also in the patio area. Bookshelves line the walls and the lighting is beautiful. Just gorgeous.
The restaurant is lovely and they did a great job with the décor. It is bright and airy, and has an awesome relaxed, California vibe. We were seated out in the patio/​atrium area by the fireplace. While this was absolutely lovely, the area became louder and louder as it filled up. In retrospect I would rather have been seated in the main dining area for a more intimate dinner. Our waiter was very nice and my only complaint would be that he continually rushed us by asking if we were ready to order. We were trying to chill a little and ordered an appetizer. We told him we were just going to go slow and he still kept trying to rush us. I am taking off one star for that.
We ordered the crostini appetizer and it was very good. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the selections that are offered. I ordered the Chilean Sea Bass and my husband ordered the Filet Mignon. The Chilean Sea Bass is a pretty small portion (for $ 41). It was prepared perfectly and the cauliflower mash, asparagus, carrots, and potatoes were good as well. There were two asparagus, three carrots, and three teenie tiny potatoes. My husbands filet mignon was cooked to his liking and he said the flavor was great. The portions on this plate were generous.
At the end of our meal the server brought a chocolate and ice cream dish for us with a candle in it. Nice touch. :) I’m not sure if I would come back. We live fairly far away, and there are other restaurants I like better. However, I am glad my husband picked Fig & Olive for our anniversary dinner, and we had a nice experience here.

I really wish I could give them four stars but I just can’t after having brunch here Valentine’s Day.
Our first experience dining here was really great. Our dinner was amazing, our server was charming and attentive and the atmosphere made it even more memorable.
We liked it so much we decided to come here for brunch on Valentine’s Day, and I now understand why this place has so many mixed reviews.
Our server paled in comparison to the guy we had before. He was kind of all over the place and was neglectful. We ordered the smoked salmon Benedict and while it was good, the portion was ridiculously tiny. Imagine two poached eggs on top of less than an ounce of smoked salmon served on top of paper thin toast. It definitely left something to be desired — more!
We also ordered French toast to come out a little after our main dishes and it took a really, really long time. I think 20 minutes passed between clearing our plates and the French toast arriving. The French toast was pretty good, I would order it again.