Olive & Finch — Restaurant in Denver

We went early on a Saturday evening before an event at Ellie Caulkins since it's about as close and convenient as it gets. The place was lively but not packed and we got a proper greeting at the entrance inviting us to sit at a table and order from the QR code, so we did. I'm actually a fan of the QR code ordering.

Their beer prices are very reasonable and the selection was limited but acceptable. The water was in a dispenser nearby for self-serve. I ordered the OF burger, and it was fairly decent. I enjoyed the chimichurri and fried onions on the burger--they gave it a nice little kick. The patty was very thin, however. My gluten-free companion ordered the grilled artichoke starter and the Goddess salad with seared tuna. Both were very disappointing.

The artichoke and the dip that came with it had good flavor, but the artichoke did not seem that fresh and barely had any "meat" on the leaves. The Goddess salad desperately needs to be clarified on the menu. It's a plate of cucumber chunks with a few thin slices of radish, mint leaves, and some capers. The avocado that they mention is supposedly actually mixed into the dressing. The seared tuna did not appear or taste fresh. It was somehow fairly dry, like it had been prepared earlier and sitting for awhile. We were expecting a salad, like with lettuce or mixed greens. When we complained to a server, he was just like "oh the cashier usually lets people know" but we ordered from the QR code at the table, like they suggested.

The place wasn't bad, but that cucumber salad is a miss. Even someone at the table next to us complained about it. It would make a great small side, but as a menu item it's 0/5 trash.

We had some time left and so I ordered another beer and an apple pie spiced chai latte for my friend, and a double chocolate chip cookie. She reported that the apple pie chai latte was great. I had to ask someone to bring me the cookie after about 15 minutes. Then, it didn't explicitly mention anything about being gluten free on the label so my partner did not trust it anymore. I thought it was OK, but maybe a little stale.

Oh, and be sure to notice that (as of this writing) there is a 7.5% "Equitable Service Charge" added onto the bill that we were not aware of until payment. Note that someone responded to another review about this saying that you can request that it is removed. However, they push you to order through the QR code where you have no such option on ToastTab. It wasn't worth arguing over, though. We just left no tip. If the restaurant wants to lie about their prices by tacking on hidden fees at the end, then I'll leave it up to them to pay their servers, as well.

Overall it was just a poor experience. I wouldn't go back...

Very underwhelming and over priced, do not recommend! My friend and I stopped in for lunch after viewing an exhibit at the Performing Arts . Was just a chaotic experience upon entering , quickly being told to order at the counter or find a seat. Very limited seating indoors, just felt cramped and the couple of open spots had not been cleared yet, so we opted to eat on the patio. Ordering using a QR code was simple enough though the fair majority of drink choices were marked as unavailable. Once placing your order is when you learn at check out there is a 7.5% Equitable Pay Surcharge and also required to leave a tip before even knowing how your service or food will be. Just all seems like a hustle and feel the restaurant should be paying fair wages instead of leaving that up to customers. The chaos continued as food was brought out staggered by 4 different servers. Dirty glasses were placed on our tables and we were told to serve ourselves if we wanted water. First one dessert was brought out, then our meals, had to ask twice about our missing drinks and other desert, then when drinks were brought had to ask yet again about the other missing dessert. While it took 4 servers to bring out our food not one of them ever came and checked on us at any point during our meal, had to chase someone down to ask for to-go boxes. The food was very bland, the French onion soup was literally the au jus with a stale piece of bread and covered in cheese. The crognet, which they’re apparently known for, was stale and nothing remarkable about it. I did not intend to write such a lengthy review, but I also didn’t intend to spend just under $100 for 2 for lunch and be so...

Apparently this place had only just opened 2 days before my husband and I went. The atmosphere is great, very clean asthetic. We had the 5 spice ribs for an app, my husband has the steak frites and I had the green goddess salad with tofu. The app was very good, very sticky and tender, I tried the steak and friend both of with l which were very good. The steak was cooked very well and was super tender and they had nice skinny fries like I like. My salad was good but it needed salt and about 2x as much mint and crispy capers but a little extra pinch of salt would have also tied it together nicely. For dessert we had a peanut butter and chocolate shortbread bar and it was literally to die for. It wasn't overwhelmingly peanutty and the chocolate was like perfect melt in your mouth ganache. It paired really well with the cappuccino. They do a really great job with the coffee too. The self serve baked goods is a great idea in theory but confusing if you have a table or bar seat but it did just open so maybe they will iron out the kinks in weeks to come. They also had mostly new staff with the exception of one of the guys behind the bar who had obviously been pulled from one of the other locations for opening weekend. I'm confident they will hit their stride. Would recommend for anyone looking for a pre-show dinner or after...