Blue Olive Cafe

Updating my rating from 2 to 3. Returned here after a long wait and was happy that the service was much better. I enjoyed my falafel, but wasn’t too impressed. Definitely an improvement!

Great Middle Eastern home cooking which is wonderful every time we go to this restaurant. The wait staff is wonderful, especially Lisa, and the owner, Farzod, is super friendly and welcoming. Our favorites include the humus, avgolemono soup, kabobs, mousaka, pasticio, spanakopita and baklava. Everything is made in their own kitchen and is consistently delicious…
We are sorry to hear that the Northwest location is closing after New Year’s but we look forward to coming to the Alberta Café many times.

We ate here on Christmas Eve of all days. They were open so we thought we would give them a little business to help the time pass more quickly. The food came out fast and was very much enjoyed. We had the gyro special, the lamb platter and the falafel. All three were excellent. The lamb was tender and juicy and the gyro meat was flavorful and not lost among the other flavors of the gyro. Additionally the sauces were really well flavored. The tzatziki was delicious and the tahini that came with the falafel was Unique and well rounded. We can’t wait to eat here again.

Just ok! With plethora of mediterranean restaurants in Portland area, they need to do something more to stand out. Their food is more like. yeah I have had this ten thousand times before.
We ordered an appetizer and a main course. The cashier asked for the appetizer twice and in the end it never came out!
Decent quality falafel and meat. Nothing special.

I was raised on Mediterranean cooking, and I tend to be picky about it. This place did not disappoint. The dolmas were so rich and they give a generous portion of tabbouli. I will definitely be back.

Best food! The gluten free pita bread was amazing ! Falafels, amazing! Bubba and hummus outstanding!

This sweet little café holds a special place in my heart! I constantly crave the Blue Olive salad with an order of Baba Ghannouj. The Blue Olive salad is an amazing Greek salad with their signature lemony zested potatoes on top. The Baba Ghannouj is an eggplant dip served with fresh pita bread… you’ll go back for seconds on the pita. Falafel’s there are so delicious, alone or in a pita sandwich. You’ll leave with your belly full and a smile on your face knowing you found an amazing place :)

This is a great lunch spot. Pretty cute for a little spot on Alberta and the food definitely hit the spot. I had the falafel sandwich with roasted potatoes. I so appreciate that their sandwiches come with a side, you choose roasted potatoes, fries, or salad. It also appears that they have a great happy hour, $ 3 hummus! I would certainly return but it’s important to consider how much time you have to spare. I waited a considerable amount of time for an easy take out order. Not as quick as I would expect, especially since I was the only customer there.

Fantastic food! So great and so filling. BEST GYROS EVER. Just made a mistake going to Yaras… ew, because blue Olive was closed. Anyway, we will not stray again! Stay open later Blue Olive, Portland needs you!

Great fresh food, friendly service and great prices. Nice to actually dine at a place in Portland where you don’t deal with hipster bullshit server attitude and the food is a great value.
Love this place!

I have eaten here many times before and really enjoyed the food and the service. Tonight was a disappointment. When I asked about a kid’s menu, I was told there was not one, but I could order sides. I happily ordered a side of rice and chicken skewer right away for my son. Besides the fact that his food, ordered first, came out behind 7 adults meals, it was charred and spicey, unacceptable for a 5 year old’s meal. I will come back but, never with more than 2 – 3 people, and certainly not with kids.

Friendly staff, and reasonable prices, but the food is very underwhelming. They miss the mark on even the basic dishes (e.g. Greek salad, taziki). I’ll be going to Hodas or Habibi next time.

So reasonably priced for such delicious falaffel, fresh made hummus, and fresh made red sauce (forgive me I don’t know the name of the sauce). I’m not really into the gyro though (meat was dry and they over stuffed the pita). Hey the burger here is even rad. Also the service here is excellent and friendly.

Friendly Mediterranean café. Came in for the lamb kebab dinner and the gyro plate with fries. I had ordered my lamb medium rare, but it pretty much came well done. Not a bad place to grab lunch or dinner for affordable prices.

The blue olive is a sweet little place where you order at the counter and get your own water, silverware, and napkins. When we (me, hubby, and my sister) got there early –around 5:30 — for dinner, no other customers were there.
Service at the counter was friendly and prompt. We ordered baba ganouj and received a small (but large enough for the three of us) dish of smoky eggplant with just right seasonings accompanied by soft and warm pita triangles. Refills of pita were offered and gratefully accepted.
One small criticism: I ordered hot cardamom tea and the water wasn’t hot enough for a proper cup of tea. I’ve found that is true in many restaurants — I’m a tea geek so that is important to me.
I got the lamb kabobs and loved the tender and juicy lamb. It had a nice rich and smokey grilled taste. Kabobs came with a very tasty Greek salad, roasted potatoes, white rice, and tzatziki sauce.
My sister got a sampler plate and I tasted the hummus — creamy and good, falafel — crisp, fresh, and excellent, and a teeny bite of spanakopita — good.
Hubby had chicken kabobs and the meat was tender and juicy.
We ended our dinner with nicely cinnamony baklava (loved the tiny bits of candied orange and nuts garnishing it).
Overall, we enjoyed a very satisfying and well-​prepared meal at a reasonable price. I’ll return to get more of that delicious falafel!

Great little Mediterranean Café, and the food is outstanding. Low prices for the quality too, they easily give some of the more upscale restaurants a run for their money. The dolmas were perfectly moist, flavorful, and had the right texture/​firmness. I really enjoyed my gyros sandwich too, with an extra side of feta. There was more meat in it than a lot of places give you, and we got a basket of pita bread on the side for dipping in various things as well. A+

I love the food here! I crave their baba ganooj!
The servers are super nice and professional, but still approachable and laid back. It’s an order at the counter café, but the price point reflects that.
I like that they have more classic geek dishes outside of spanikopita and dolmas. I usually order the vegan mezza platter or a wrap, but they always have lovely specials. Extra bonus: French fries. I would have never ordered them, but they came with a falafel wrap and they were SO GOOD. I am not one to order Americana food off of a Mediterranean menu, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Overall, would recommend. This isn’t a portland foodie restaurant, just simple food done well. I support them and are a great option in our neighborhood.

The gyro and falafel sandwiches were yummy, but I think I would go a la carte next time instead of getting the side salad with my sandwich — wasn’t worth the extra $.
Looking forward to going back to try the soup — it seemed like that’s what everyone was ordering for lunch today and it looked good!

Meh. I’ve experienced better.
Service, meh.
Food, meh.
Decore, meh.

This restaurant is great, but be aware its counter service and «fast foodish» not a sit down like we were expecting, you even have to clear your own dishes. They have a limited menu but everything we tried was good, especially the home made baklava.
For a quick and easy lunch or dinner, I would recommend this place.