Lemon and Olive — Restaurant in Newberg

We tried Lemon & Olive shortly after it opened (or reopened?), and had a fairly good experience. The food was good, and you could tell they put forth a good amount of care and effort into their dishes. At that point, I would have rated them 4 stars.

Fast forward a few weeks/months: We returned, excited to have more of what we experienced the first time. Sadly, we were left feeling disappointed this time around. The quality of their cuisine/dishes seems to have deteriorated, and does not correlate well with their pricing. We got rice bowls, and they were not very flavorful (both the rice and the lamb-beef were very bland). The most disappointing item was their spanakopita. Both pieces included in the order were incredibly oily, flat, mushy, and tiny, for a regular appetizer price of $7. I may be wrong, but they almost seemed as if they were leftovers from the day before, and microwaved. For reference, I placed both pieces on a tiny dessert dish in the photo I've included. For $6, we also shared an order of the baklava, and, like the spanakopita, both of the tiny pieces were flat, mushy, and very oily, and not crisp and fluffy like other baklava we've had elsewhere - and nothing like what we had when they first opened/reopened. Their zaatar potatoes were much more oily than in the past, but they were still tasty.

Being a small, but growing town, Newberg is desperately in need of more "life" when it comes to dining out and entertainment options, so I am hoping that Lemon & Olive improves over time, so we, and others, can continue to frequent them. It's nice to have an additional dining option in the immediate area, but, the quality of any restaurant needs to be sufficiently worthwhile to merit spending money on dining outside of home.

We are not giving up on this local place yet, though. My family and I certainly wish Lemon & Olive the best, and will return in a few weeks/months, in hope that they were simply having a bad week this time around, and things have improved. I would be happy to update my review at that time, if this ends up...

Over the years, we have had our share of bad travel food experiences, especially in small towns. This is most definitely not the case for Lemon and Olive. Traveling through Newberg and Dundee has been very rewarding including this hidden gem.

Another review suggested their Spano was frozen and could be found at Target. They clearly are clueless what quality Spanokopeta tastes like. If Target has this quality of spano hidden on their shelves, I will have a very happy girlfriend at home because she loves spano and she hasn’t stopped talking about how good it was. She asked if we were driving back the same way to get more. So, what makes it so good? Well, as someone who doesn’t like most spano, I tried this and found it refreshingly creamy inside, the spinach was gentle, not overpowering like so many other spanos are. The crust was flaky, adding just the right amount to balance the flavor.

Then there was the gyro, which I chose. Again, a perfect balance of seasoned lamb/beef, veggies and tzatziki sauce made for a great gyro. Many places tend to either put too much meat or drown their gyros in tzatziki, but not here. The pita bread was soft and stretchy allowing everything to be held together well.

I realize many people prefer quantity over quality, and gauge their reviews on more is better. I disagree. We prefer meals that allow you to savor each bite with balance and harmony among its ingredients. We found this balance at Lemon and Oil.

Atmosphere wise, I love it. It feels like the hidden gem that it is, entrance located along an alley. It feels like a place where those in...

I had the pleasure of being treated here from a friend and we both were glad to come here. The staff greeted us upon entering and answered any questions I had about the food. I got the lamb gyro combo and it was amazing! The fries and sauce really stood out. You can taste the various herbs in that sauce and combing it with the fries was a solid! The lamb gyro had a beautiful mix of flavor, nothing was overpowering. I have not had Mediterranean food in a long time and this reminded me of the amazing Mediterranean spots I would frequent back in Rancho Cucamonga. They had indoor and outdoor seating which is close to the farmers market. Once done eating you can enjoy a nice walk around the area. It’s in a nice spot to sit and eat for sure. Very much...