Blue Olive Greek Taverna — Restaurant in Halifax

Unacceptable take out experience.

I ordered take out from the Blue Olive for my family this evening and every part of the experience was frustrating.

It began with a long wait - a minor point, but included for completeness. When we placed our order, we were told to pick up the food in 25 minutes. We arrived on time, but my wife had to wait an additional 30 minutes to take our food away while I waited in the car with a screaming toddler. To add to the frustration, we watched another customer walk past a line of people waiting and get immediate service when he announced he "knew the owner".

When we arrived home, after all that, WE WERE MISSING AN ENTIRE MEAL. We had paid for THREE meals, but only TWO had been included in the bag.

When we called the restaurant to figure out a solution, their response was "Oh, we must have given your other meal to someone else."

There was no offer to REPLACE the meal we paid for but did not receive. There was no offer to REFUND the meal we paid for but did not receive. There was no APOLOGY for the inconvenience of ordering a dinner for three, and receiving a dinner for two.

The only response that they provided was that the manager was "At an event" and that they couldn't fix the problem right now. They took down my number, and said the manager would call me back at 9 PM.

Fine. Infuriating, but whatever. We split up our meals and ate.

The manager didn't call back.

When I called to see what had happened, the staff told me that the manager wasn't back by the time he said he would be, and that he'll call me tomorrow.

This was the most frustrating take out experience I've ever had. This restaurant had to temporarily close a few years ago because of mismanagement leading to financial issues, and based on my experience tonight, I'd say the management situation has not improved at all. "One star" doesn't capture how incredibly frustrating this was.

-- UPDATE: The following day the manager did not call me; however, I did drop by the restaurant, and when I arrived he was quite apologetic. He offered a full refund and a $50 gift certificate to make up for the inconvenience. Even though the initial experience was quite frustrating, I felt the gift certificate to be a generous apology for what the manager claimed was a particularly bad night for them, and I've updated my rating to...

I ordered food for delivery and was disappointed that there was no cutlery provided as well as no napkins. Before placing the order, I called the restaurant to verify that they still deliver to the Oxford Taproom, which they did, thinking that they would supply cutlery. After placing the order through their online delivery system, I was given a 40 min wait which is completely acceptable given that it is a busy summer day. After 57 mins of placing the order, I called to check on the food and was told it would be there shortly. An hour and 10 mins after placing the order, the food is delivered without cutlery and napkins. When I called to ask about this, a few hours after eating, I was told that the taproom I had my food delivered to had been supplied with cutlery and napkins. No apology was given and I was disregarded and hung up on. Very bad service. This is not how to treat customers. I was also given the excuse that the Blue Olive is short staffed and that was why the food took so long. I work in the food and beverage industry and would NEVER tell someone that the reason their food was delayed was because of...

An update to a long time favourite restaurant.

I have eaten in on quite a few occasions and also ordered a few deliveries.

You can real tell the quality of a place by how they respond when something goes wrong.

The last time we ordered food for delivery, there was an issue, (those specific details are not important). It was a busy Saturday night in the middle of service. When we called to bring the issue to their attention, it was brought to the attention of the people at the top.

They immediately stated they would fix the issue. Then called to update us on the status of the replacement and when they were ready to leave.

They were incredibly apologetic and made everything right. I was left feeling very happy with the overall interaction. Obviously accidents happen, it is how they responded that truely knocked this out the park.

In the restaurant the service is always good and they are really friendly. Their food is fantastic and the portion sizes are good. I have always left there premises feeling full and satisfied.

I will definitely...