Lemon & Olive Cocktail Bar — Restaurant in Eugene

Such an eclectic little place. It’s the same ownership as Lion & Owl next door. The small plates to share are delightful both in appearance and taste. Reminds me a little of the food from the film The Menu (only from the start of the movie though). Cocktail selection is so much fun I wanted to try them all. Some remote friends of mine have a tradition: when someone is going to try a new bar they post the menu on the text thread and ask what drink to try. In this case each of my friends had a different suggestion. I only tried two on the first visit but I’ll definitely be returning. The menu is so intriguing. I had to google quite a few of the ingredients of both food and beverage.

4/6/25 Update: on my third visit here, a server really aggravated me. She was rude and condescending and most importantly, wrong. There had been an article in the Register Guard about a Negroni Flight, with accompanying food selections. She laughed at me and said THERE IS NO Negroni Flight. I was dining with my daughter (who’s a waitress), and she insisted I tip 25% (minimum tip).

I followed up with a scathing message in L&O’s DMs on Instagram but never received a response AT ALL.

Extremely disappointed and I don’t intend to return. I recommend others look elsewhere for your Eugene dining/drinking experiences. No one should be laughed at by wait staff, especially at...

My wife and I went to Lemon and Olive Cocktail Bar yesterday for a drink and some tapas. We were disappointed to say the least. To begin with the hours on the website and on the door of the business are not the actual hours of operation. Apparently, this has been true for some time but the owners can't be bothered to correct it (which pretty much sums up the rest of this review).

The food was so bad I doubt that the homeless rummaging through the dumpsters would eat it. For example, the vegetables that accompanied the artichoke dip were in various states of decomposition: slimy, brown and spotted. I was so amazed that I took a picture of it. Under no circumstances should this have ever been served to the public. On another plate we had deviled eggs. Two of the three were edible. One had an odd, effervescent taste indicative of spoilage. The third dish was a rather odd looking shrimp cocktail that didn't look like any shrimp I have ever had before.

The drinks were adequate, but nothing special. When we left we decided to try to salvage something of the day by going to Rye. It was a night and day difference. If you want a cocktail and decent food Rye is the place to go. Definitely not...

I think this new bar has much potential, but at this moment, the cocktails were a bit bland. Their ingredients for cocktails are so good, and because of that, they make good flavor. However, the taste was not that special possibly due to the skills of bartenders or the fact that I visited at busy time. I felt like those were just boozy and could notice the ingredients were not mixed well.

I liked the concept and the atmosphere: a cocktail bar does not need to serve heavy food or meals. The glasses were looking good, and they definitely put effort to make the space cozy. However, the bites plates were weak, and the taste also needs to be developed more. The housemade rolls were a bit dried for the taste.

Anyway, I am thinking of visiting this place maybe after several months. I hope they can manage to improve the taste well. I am really looking...