The Naked Olive — Restaurant in Kennett Township

If you're more interested in decor and atmo than well-prepared food and think heavy cream makes any dish better, you may like this place. But don't expect dishes created by a chef who knows his stuff -- based on what we got, the menu is the product of creative writing and the "chef" more like a line cook.

The bubbly waitress warned us their Greek salad was "authentic," meaning without lettuce. What we got was not as described -- mostly tomatoes with much less cucumber and onion and a couple of slivers of green pepper on top, with no discernible oregano except perhaps a shake of the dried herb. I love Greek salads and ordered it in part because of the promised Caper Berries and Mixed Olives; considering the place's name, I figured they'd be interesting. What I got was a few capers (NOT the berries, which are different), some kalamata olives (that's fine), and a couple of small Spanish olives stuffed with pimientos. (Really? That's what the Mad Men used to put in martinis.) Chain grocery stores have more variety in their olive bars.

The mains were also a bit off -- the Pesto Gnocchi had more cream than pesto and tasted just faintly of basil and garlic. And don't believe the description of Santorini by the Sea, which the menu says is mussels and shrimp in a "Mustard, White Wine, Garlic, and Herbs SAUCE" "SERVED OVER LINGUINE". It's actually a bowl of linguine in broth with mussels and shrimp on top, and if there was any seasoning, I couldn't detect it. The only utensil provided was a fork, so you couldn't taste the broth -- it won't stick to pasta no matter how hard you twirl. Though they replaced the dish when I protested, the manager came out to defend it. I said at least serve it with a soup spoon so diners can eat the broth; he claimed they usually serve it with bread and people sop it up. A) They didn't serve it like that to me and B) if that's so, what's the point of that big pile of linguine? And when I asked for some parmesan, I got a shaker -- what you expect to see in a take out pizza joint, not a supposedly nice restaurant.

Employees are pleasant and smiling, but I'd stop assuring guests how delicious everything is and work on making that true. I'm afraid the good reviews say more about local diners' taste than the merits of...

This is the second time here. The first time, I thought it was good. But I don't have any memory of any particular dish. My wife and I went there tonight and had a table available after 20 min. The hostess at the front was very courteous and polite. Our waiter was very nice but had drunk a bit of the Kool Aid: The speech was overextended and the descriptions of the dishes and customer experiences were so over embellished to the point of seeming confabulation. We had the grilled Octopus, which was (at best) okay. It had not been well cleaned, so there were still gelatinous bits hanging off it and it was drenched in the vinaigrette. My flat iron steak, as a part of the steak frites, was also average as was my wife's Branzino. Neither will be memorable. The espressos were reasonable and the olive oil cake was not good. It was too thick, too dense, too chewy. For $12.00 per a thin slice, I recommend passing on it. Then came the bill. I decided to use the QR code for payment. I placed a 20% tip. When I received the text alert for the payment, I noticed that the amount was a few dollars more than the bill+tip. I then went to the emailed receipt and saw that there was a 3.5% processing fee for credit card payments. Then I looked at the receipt on the table, and indeed at the bottom, easily missed, was the notification of the processing fee. This is what we call a bait and switch. I expressed my opinion to the waiter as I left, only to deflate his extreme exuberance about the QR code. Overall a terrible experience; nothing memorable to show for a $150 meal for two. Actually, a correction, certainly memorable, just not in a good way. I shall not be returning, partly on principle and partly because the food has not been that good, period. Certainly not worth a $150 for two. A restaurant I wanted to support, but alas - they are busy, they are full. I am certain will not miss...

Stopped in from visiting out of town. Looked on line looked good . I don’t mind paying higher prices if everything is WOW! but fell way short.. Place looked great, clean and neat. Entrees were very pricy for what they were. Wife ordered a gnocchi dish in a pesto sauce. Was $22.00 No extra meat added. Added chicken but came out with none. Chicken was another $7.00. So we said forget the chicken instead of waiting another long time. The killer was entrees do not come with salad or soup we were told?? This $22.00 gnocchi was also a small portion. I wanted an entree but not after what I see and the pricing? What a joke! Try not to laugh when looking at the entrees? I ordered a pizza. Still not as ridiculous as an entree. As far as quality, the pizza and gnocchi were very tasty well prepared, but not close to what they charge. At least serve larger portions with choice of salad or soup , like other quality restaurants.

As far as the toboulie salad for $15.00. Which we ordered because of no salad with an entree? It is not even toboulie salad , it’s all bulgur which is wheat with a few flakes of parsley in it? So disappointed! No good Mediterranean restaurant does not charge near that for good real toboulie. Orders also took very long. I ordered a cappuccino , another disappointment. This place thinks they are in NYC ! There are places which make you feel like these prices were well worth it , and you really enjoyed your meal on vacation.

NOT here! All about...