Dates and Olives — Restaurant in Natick

We placed an online order using the link on their website which takes you to toasttab. It said order should be ready in 20-25 minutes. Sounds reasonable for one salad and a side so I went with it. (Background: We were driving from Chestnuthill towards Worcester with young kids. Natick was a good midpoint to stop and quickly pickup something.) I got a call in 15 minutes saying the order will be ready at 11:40 instead of 11:15 as expected. I didnt want to wait so asked her if I could cancel. She said she cant refund the money via the app but can give cash if we stopped by. She offered the option and we were almost there so I decided to take the cash. When I said that she got angry and started yelling. "You want to stop by to pickup the money but not the food? Food takes time. This is not Starbucks. This is not Dunkin Donuts. Food takes time." At this point I told her she was being rude. She continued yelling 'Food takes time. Food takes time' and hung up on me. I tried to tell her that in that case just be honest about it on the online order and people will plan accordingly. And this is not lunch time rushhour. This is the beginning of the day. We got there and 1) Food was magically ready. 2) For someone who was so rude over the phone she wouldn't even make eye contact when she opened the door and thrust the bag in my hands. Door was locked due to Covid19 precautions I guess. 3) We got home and I realized that my millet tabouleh salad was substituted by a quinoa salad. This seems to be the trend here according to many other reviewers. They substitute things in your order without notice.

All in all not a good experience. Regardless, I don't care how good your food is, I don't need to put up with that attitude. Especially these days when people are going out of their way to support local businesses...

Yesterday was my first time going to Dates and Olives in Natick Center, and I can say I was truly blown away by the food and service. First and foremost you are greeted kindly when you come into the restaurant and the smell of delicious flavors comes over you. The ordering process is very simple, and everything is made fresh on the spot. I got the Chicken Shawarma with spicy hummus and I was IN LOVE. I inhaled the entire entree, the spicy hummus was the perfect amount of spice, the chicken was cooked and spiced to perfection and the veggies were fresh and bright. In addition, I had mentioned how much I liked the tabbouleh salad that my friend was having and a worker at the restaurant overhead me and brought me a little over for myself which was so kind. You can tell the people who work and own this location genuinely care about the customers. Most people who came in already knew the staff, and the staff knew them, their names, and often their orders! I have been dying to find an excellent, fresh and delicious Mediterranean restaurant in the Metrowest area FOREVER, but now that I have found Dates & Olives I can say I will absolutely be a repeat...

Not really Mediterranean. They might be middle eastern dishes, but they use a lot of Indian spices. Im not a fan of Indian food so I did not enjoy it. The only dish that tasted middle Eastern was the hummus. Everything else had an Indian twist to it. The restaurant is also not really great for "eating in". Everything is served in plastic bowls with plastic utensils. And no table service, yet your asked to tip. --- thanks for clarifying the origin of seasoning. But the dishes names are traditional middle eastern dishes (Lebanese and Syrian). You should call it something else, especially the chicken or list in the description how they are seasoned (ie. A Moroccan twist). Doesn't change the fact that I didn't like the food, taste, or the restaurant. The seasoning you use is way spicier than the traditional dishes. We have kids and they couldn't eat your food. We had to walk across the street to Comellas after to get them some food. So as a recap, maybe describe your dishes differently or rename and maybe you'll get more people who like your flavors and will give you...