Dolly Olive — Restaurant in Portland

Romantic and flavorful, a great place for Date Night

Dolly Olive was our choice for date night, as we wanted a fun italian dinner in Downtown Portland. Althought the seats were a bit close to other couples, we did enjoy the moodier lighting and kind service.

DOLLY FOCACCIA (9/10) A great starter, the bread was garlicy and full, and the olive oil was tangy. It really set us up for a good night.

PROSCUITTO AND CHERRIES (9/10) Now this was one was especially pumped for, and it totally delivered. Everything came together very nicely, the Prosciutto was chewey, the cherries provided some juicness, and the cheese and other toppings just enhanced all the flavors. It felt fresh while tasty, a really good salad that can stand on its own.

MARINATED ARTICHOKE (6/10) This dish was okay. I personally am not the biggest fan of artichoke, and this didn't convince me otherwise. I did like the citrus oil on there, and my wife did love this one, so maybe you can be more excited if you are a fan of artichoke.

TAGILATELLE AL BURRO (9/10) The pasta came out Al Dente, it was cooked perfectly and provided the perfect bite. The toppings were subtle, and while I am not the biggest fan of cecio de pepe, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. All of it combined into a good bite, and by now I started getting filled up as it was so much carbs.

BRAISED SHORT RIB ARANCINI (8/10) This came out differently than I was expecting, but I really liked it. It came out looking like a big breaded meatball, but it punched a lot of flavor The short rib was chewey and it was memorable.

CLASSIC ITALIAN MEATBALLS (9/10) It was meatballs. They were big, and they were flavorful. In all honesty, this was a really good dish. it could go well with anything you still have on your table, and I liked how chewey they were. The tomtato sauce also felt fresh and flavorful.

We really enjoyed our time at Dolly Olive and felt like a place you should check out while in Downtown Portland. All of our food came out fast, and while it may be overwhelming, we enjoyed evert...

The food and ambiance were amazing. The service was terrible.

Pretty sure we had like three different “waiters” the way they were circling our table.

We asked to move and were told by the host very passive-aggressively that she didn’t know if that would be possible (despite there being many open seats) but that she would check with our waiter. Mind you, we had only been sitting down for maybe 45 seconds. But we were sitting by the kitchen. It kind of smelled funny (not anything very overwhelming), but it was chilly and people kept coming in and out of the door.

She did move us to a much better seat but made a snarky comment saying “Idk if its going to smell any better over here”.

Then after we had finished eating, people were still drinking their cocktails at the table. We were asked (by some lady who wasn’t our server) if we were done or wanted to order dessert bc they have “another group coming in about 15 min.” We hadn’t even been there an hour.

She came back and said if we did order dessert she could “probably squeeze it in” but basically was making it seem like we had to order right away or leave promptly.

The people next to us were like “what are they gonna do, kick you out? Order another drink. Enjoy your meal”. They were just as baffled as we were. Not understanding why you would ever rush a table and make them feel unwelcome or uncomfortable.

Oh, and then we had asked for our bill to be printed separately. We were told by the host that she didn’t know if that was possible but she would check with the waiter. She returns back and places a single bill on the table and walks away.

Funny thing is none of us are from OR. So when we shared our experience w our Lyft driver, he said “Let me guess, it was some snooty young kids?”

Nail on the head! That was EXACTLY what we had experienced.

I’d order...

If you are looking for a spectacular meal, in a beautiful restaurant, with exceptional service, in downtown Portland, you will find it all at Dolly Olive. The moment begins when you enter this beautiful restaurant. The floor tiles, wall colors, accent wall, brushed bronze tables, and big corner windows all work together to promote a sense of calm and welcoming vs the hard and loud you see in so many restaurants these days. The food is served Family Style, which had us worried, but our wonderful waiter Nicholas did a great job of explaining the process, “coursing” the many items we chose, and keeping the flow of incoming food and outgoing dishes at a perfect pace. There were three of us eating and each item we chose seemed to be perfectly portioned to be shared by two or three, so keep this in mind when you are ordering. As for ordering, we ordered seven different items and they were all truly delicious. In fact, delicious seems like a low-level word for the amazing variety of flavors, sauces, perfectly cooked items we enjoyed. We also realized something else we loved. The small staff. There was such a nice calm and classy feel to seeing so few employees move gracefully around the restaurant, being an asset but never a distraction, and yet serving us perfectly. This doesn’t happen at many restaurants and that is why we noticed it. Nicholas and his co-workers did a great job of making our experience at Dolly Olive be one of loving the food and the experience. We have eaten in many restaurants in Portland and Dolly Olive surpasses them all. We can’t wait until our next...