Oliver's Italian — Restaurant in Greenwood Village

I was so excited for this place when it opened in our neighborhood! As a big fan of Blue Island Oyster (owned by the same people) I was thrilled to have a similar restaurant close by. The first couple of times we dined here, both the food and ambiance were lovely. Service was a little shaky at times but I chalked it up to a new team that was getting acquainted to a new environment. However the more we went, the more service declined. From the host staff to the wait staff, there is an air of annoyance that reeks the place. The last time we were there, we waited at the host stand for at least 5 minutes. Multiple staff walked past us and did not acknowledge us once... also important to mention, they were NOT busy at all. After being blatantly ignored, the person I was dining with ended up waving down someone to help us. I believe it was the manager who finally sat us down and apologized for the wait. The food was great! The food is always great, which is the only reason for the two stars I am giving them. For that reason, and that reason alone, I decided to give them a couple more shots. Although the food is definitely overpriced and the portions are small. However, as I mentioned, I live in the area so it is a convenient place to dine at. I have brought several people there, my parents included who do not live in the area and they instantly mentioned the bad service. And after our trip this weekend, I will never go back.

My boyfriend and I went in for brunch as we had never tried it and were curious about the experience. As soon as we sat down our waitress, Lisa I believe was her name, was immediately annoyed for some odd reason. It's as if she didn't want us there? Sad to say, because of the color of our skin we're petty used to it so we did our best to ignore her attitude and enjoy our time. As the brunch progressed, her attitude was so awful that we felt as if we were walking on eggshells. We tried their bottomless spritz that they offer for brunch, I got the aperol spritz and my partner got the Bianco. The first round of aperol spritz was so watered down, even the color of the drink was a very light orange that even she noticed. I politely asked if I could get a side of aperol to mix in the drink and she reluctantly accommodated my request. The next round came and it was the same issue, and this time she refused to accommodate us. So he kindly said that it was fine and just drank it as we couldn't deal with her unwillingness to accommodate us anymore. We're big foodies and brunch people and were planning on ordering more because as I said the food is great and at this point we both agreed we wouldn't come back so we were trying to make the most of it. As soon as we were going to order more oyster, our server closed our tab without asking if we wanted anything else. She just made the decision that we were done. My boyfriend and I sat there uncomfortably and were just going to close the tab even though we really wanted the oysters... I assume our discomfort and confusion was obvious because the manager came in checked on us and asked if we need anything. We let him know that our tab was closed a little too soon and that we'd love oysters. He also refilled my boyfriend’s aperol spritz and somehow - the drink was made to perfection! Although he was helpful with ringing in our oysters and giving us an up to par spritz, he also didn't have the managerial instinct or care to investigate what was going on and how to make the experience more pleasant. Nonetheless, we were grateful for a good spritz finally, something that our waiter was for some reason unwilling to make happen. I am a big fan of blue island oyster and always get fantastic service there, it is a shame that Oliver's staff doesn't believe in customer service. Or, perhaps they do not want us there and if that is so, that message was heard loud and clear. We will...

You have to check out this new Italian spot in Greenwood Village! This was our first-time dining at Oliver's Italian, and it certainly won't be our last! We arrived and were seated in the main dining room. The aesthetic was lively with booth seating, string lights, and a large tree gracing the interior. The service was great and the boss, Kevin & Van ensured our meal ran smoothly and that we had everything we needed. Our server Sky was so sweet and had great recommendations; she was attentive & quick with service.

For cocktails I had the Blood Orange-Aperol Spritz (also known as the goblet of fire) and Ross had the mocktail, Thinking of Summer. The Thinking of Summer was made with vanilla, lemon, peach, shaken pineapple juice, & non-alcoholic bubbles.

Oliver's Italian is owned & operated by the same restaurateur of Blue Island Oyster Bar, so you know we had to start with some oysters. We got a dozen east & west coast (make sure to ask for the Blue Island hot sauce). 'Oliver's La Dolce Vita' from Great South Bay, NY had medium salinity with a mineral finish. The 'Pink Moons' from New London, PEI were salty and creamy.

Oliver's Meatballs were served with marinara, ricotta, pecorino romano, & polenta.

The Roasted Eggplant Dip was made with olive oil, roasted garlic, & served along pinsa bread. We were surprised & impressed with the eggplant dip (it actually was our favorite starter). The cool dip on the hot pinsa bread made for really satisfying bites.

For Oliver's Pinsa Romana (Roman-Style Pizza), we had the Mortadella & Pistachio made with fresh pesto, fior di latte mozzarella, roasted garlic crème, & pistachio. The Mortadella & Pistachio pizza blew our minds and was our favorite dish of the night. The mozzarella cheese was soft with a delicate sweetness that was complemented by the silky, rich mortadella & crunchy pistachios. 10/10 & a must order.

For Pasta we had the Potato Gnocchi made with Italian sun-dried tomato pesto, burrata cheese, & zucchini. The gnocchi were tender pillows in a full-flavored, savory and bright tomato sauce. The fresh, milky burrata cut through the acidity of the tomato sauce well.

For Mains we had the Veal Milanese Chop made with salsa verde, tomato confit, dressed arugula, & parmigiano reggiano. - a showstopper. The veal chop had been coated in breading & fried. The outside was crisp while the texture of the meat itself was tender with a delicate beefiness.

For Dessert we had the Tiramisu - absolute creamy, fluffy delicious sweetness and one of the best tiramisus I've...

I feel compelled to write a review because so many people seem to love this place and I wanted to voice a counterpoint for those reading reviews to decide where to eat out. I myself decided to try Oliver's because of the many glowing reviews. Either the cook staff had a rough night, or I ate at a totally different restaurant.

The atmosphere is fine, nothing compelling or detracting. There were areas of the restaurant that didn't seem finished (like near the bathrooms). The waitress was good and attentive and seemed knowledgeable on the menu. What really hurt this place is the food. I ordered Saltimbocca and was not very impressed. The chicken was overcooked and luke warm, the sauce had no flavor and for $30, I expected at least a little panache. This was two luke warm fileted breasts and a little pile of sauteed greens. Not close to a $30 meal and 4 other people at my table ordered it as well and had the same experience so not a one off mistake. My wife ordered the gnocchi which was gummy accompanied by a lackluster sauce. My wife added fried chicken on the side which was actually decent fried chicken cutlet. We paid $26 for gnocchi, the chicken add-on tacked on another $7, which in retrospect was the best choice we made all night because the chicken was decent. We then shared Tiramisu, which overall was ok, but lacked the signature espresso and dark chocolate/cocoa bitter notes that you expect to round out the sweetness of the mascarpone, and again pricey at $10.

Overall, the menu is over priced for what you get and could use some better thought out sides or additions to make the guest feel like they are getting decent value. Maybe it was an off night, but you would think your A-Team would be on shift for a Saturday night, so I don't know. What I do know is that there is much better Italian for similar or lower cost that will leave you fully satisfied.

Edit: The owner has been kind enough to invite us back to give Oliver's another try. I will be withholding a final review until then. Either way, Oliver's does have a very attentive owner that cares deeply about his restaurant, so I'm really hoping the next time is better. I will write a final review after that and I really hope I can rave about it like the...