Olea — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Oh boy, oh boy! This place is a must visit if you want to become the victim of a food con.

Good points: Aubergine, Seafood Orzo. Both stellar flavours. Very enjoyable. Special mention to the potatoes (only the potatoes) served with the chargrilled octopus tentacle. Why only the potatoes? I'll get to that. Atmosphere was beautiful, lovely interior!

Bad points: Chargrilled octopus tentacle. The first few pieces were tough to get through, but the rest was completely inedible. Let's be honest, I'm not here for a jaw workout, or indigestion. I literally could not chew through the octopus. But I persevered, chew after chew, but it was relentless. It could not be defeated.

The best part of this dish was the super defensiveness of the waiter. He kept repeating that the texture is meant to be like this. He offered to replace the dish but explained that the texture would be the SAME. Or he could get the chef to further cook the remaining pieces and serve it back to us, but the texture would be HARDER. Why would I want the same texture, or harder? So we declined. I asked another waitress to take it off the bill. She said, sorry about the dish, I will get my colleague to fix the bill.

He took a damn while to fix it, texting and texting (I'm guessing texting the chef). When he came back he said he couldn't take it off the bill because the chef said it's meant to be like that. Bravo, chef, you have a big ego. Reluctant to admit fault I see. I asked if the chef would be able to eat this dish, the reply: "I'm not sure". Well, if the answer isn't a definite yes, then why the heck is it even on the menu?

The waiter did explain multiple times that he tried to replace our dish and that the texture would be the same or harder if recooked. And again I replied, why would I want the same inedible dish, or a harder inedible dish? It just doesn't make sense.

He ended up taking the 6% tax off the bill. Wow, such amazing service recovery. He also offered to take off the 10% service charge AFTER we tapped the card for payment (how convenient).

To give him credit, he did try offer us dessert three times. We declined. If you're that desperate to offer service recovery, just do it. You already knew what I wanted - take the inedible dish off the bill, not bloody dessert.

You can defend and defend and defend until the cows come home - keep repeating that the texture is meant to be like that. At the end of the day, your dish is inedible, and you should be ashamed yourselves for subjecting your customers to such...

In short, if you’re curious, definitely give this place a try. This restaurant is new(at the time of writing) and they’re open to feedback in their soft opening phase. Service and ambience is there, but food price and portion spoils what is already an unimpressive tasting menu.

I remember when a close friend opened a restaurant back in 2015, the 5 star reviews from friends and family flooded in hours after opening. I’m guilty of writing one myself. But our hollow reviews couldn’t prevent the inevitable “for rent” sign that hung in their doors not even a year into opening.

Sorry Olea, I understand the industry is tough, but here’s an unaffiliated honest take.

It’s refreshing to see this menu in an area that already boasts some great options for dining. Then you hit the nail on the head with the ambience. It’s intimate but spaced out enough to feel some privacy. The music at a perfect volume, playing 70s soul and r&b music. To all the single folks, bookmark this place under “first date ideas”.

We ordered most of the recommended dishes, which the staff was eager to share. Granted we were one out of four tables I felt that the hospitality was above and beyond.

Now here’s where the two stars went missing. The portions were shockingly small. Not “12 course fine dining” small, but more like tapas style small. If you’re a party of 4, I’d bet you can order everything on the menu and leave comfortably full.

With portions this small, the pricing is now falling into exorbitant territory. The only thing to save it now is taste.

Unfortunately the taste and execution was lacking and subpar. The feta blocks were too big compared to the figs that the already sharp cheese overpowered everything. The orzo was perfectly tender but the sauce was mediocre and seafood seemed like an afterthought as it lacked in freshness. Lamb chops were my favorite but the mashed potatoes were thin in texture and taste, not even the garlic chips could save it. Finally, the gelato was boasted to be dressed with EVOO but I failed to find the appeal as I ate it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m rooting for this to be a success but I probably won’t be visiting again for a while. I will however keep an eye out for more reviews to see how everything...

My first two visit, food was great. But this third time was disappointing.

The eggplant and hummus still maintained yummy. We enjoy it.

Seafood Orzo - we order two plates. First plate was superb, but the second serving was disappointing, as the prawn had an unpleasant mushy texture. (We did not confront to the service crew)

The Grilled Prawn, which had been a highlight during my last visit, arrived undercooked this time, leaving the meat near the head raw and unable to chew. When we inquired with the waiter, the chef assured us it’s fine to be eaten abit raw ??? Really?

The octopus tentacles were overly salty, 3 of us only took a bite and my friends couldn’t take it. So despite expressing our concern to the Chinese waiter, he show sour & impatient face and asked us what do we want him to do?? I mean, he could had check with kitchen first right?😅😅😅 after we ask him to have the chef to check it, only he went to kitchen and the chef's explanation of saltiness due to seawater. The waiter was the bartender too I think? He looks like he hates his job..

It was my friend's birthday, and we had brought a cake, the waiter cleared our plates after dinner and presented the cake without asking any of us if it’s fine to take the cake out.. feels like they want us to leave soon..

Lastly, we asked for the dessert menu and was told that the Kitchen is closed already 😅😅😅 but they didn’t mention last call or anything and there were still customers around eating.. however we did not dare to say a word as the service crew seems unhappy. then after a while the waiter came back saying we can order dessert….

We customer just want to have a good time honestly, when the service isn’t cool, it can totally ruin the vibe.

Last note, I forgot to get her name.. one lady waiter in short hair… she’s the only one smiling the whole time!

Looking forward for...