Wild Olive Restaurant - Johns Island, SC — Restaurant in South Carolina

10/10 recommend this restaurant. Make reservations so you ensure you get a seat this place is understandably in high demand.

Starting in reverse because dessert is soooo important.

GET THE PEACH PIE it was absolutely perfect.

I’ve never had a peach pie before but this was to die for. The crust had some kind of nut mixed in I’m assuming walnut. All deserted are made from scratch in house and you can tell. This was genuinely the best dessert I’ve ever had. My husband had the death by chocolate cake which wasn’t what I expected when you hear the description you expect a tall traditional cake. This looked more like a pie. But it was the perfect size because it’s so rich but in a perfect way. The mousse balances it out and the little crispy things on the top were my favorite. We also had the biscoff blueberry cheesecake to me it was just okay in comparison to the peach pie which is surprising to me because I’m obsessed with biscoff. For entrees we had the braised bison brisket and the chicken parm. Get it. Get both my husband preferred the chicken parm and he’s generally a red meat guy but the chicken was amazing something about it just stood out on its own without any sauce or anything it’s perfectly cooked and had amazing flavor. The pasta was also not what I was expecting it’s a different style noodle but wow. And it was tossed in Alfredo sauce then plated on marinara and topped with the chicken. Usually I’m a pictures person and that’s the one thing I didn’t do but it was perfectly plated and could absolutely be split between two people. The braised bison brisket with Parmesan polenta, braising sign, gremolata. I had no clue what half the words were but it tasted amazing. The polenta was similar to a cheesy fluffy grit in my opinion. I’ve never ordered an entree and not wanted to add something weather it be salt pepper anything. But this was a first. We had the crispy calamari which wasn’t very good but after the entrees I gaurantee anything you have will be amazing. Next time we will be trying the charred octopus because that looked amazing and so did the warm bread.

The biggest thing that made this meal stand out was the service. Our server Latasha (forgive me if it’s misspelled) was the type of server that shows you what’s missing in the service industry these days. Great personality, great attitude, friendly, personable, genuinely excited about the food which is huge. When you can ask your server for recommended and they light up you know you’re in good hands. She was able to spout off descriptions of everything we had or were curious about she knew the answer. We have not had that level of service since moving to Charleston a few years ago. She’s attentive and full of recommendations. We will be back and we will be specifically...

I’d like to start by stating the food at this restaurant was very delicious. This review is to post our personal experience of how me and my family were treated, not by our server but by his fellow staff and the hostile environment it created for us as a result. I’ve decided to not include descriptions of the staff members involved for obvious reasons and with the hope that the right people take of the situation as necessary.

I post this review with a heavy heart. I regret to inform that not all the employees at this establishment respect paying customers. Our server was great and treated me and my family with respect, but the same can’t be said for other servers. My brother in law having recently come from Cuba has a very sensitive digestive system and is still getting accustomed to trying different types of food. After trying the smashed fried garlic potatoes as a side to his steak, he let me know the potatoes weren’t agreeing with his stomach. I requested that our server give him a side of Parmesan mashed potatoes instead. He left and from the kitchen, not 8 feet away from where we sat, one very rude server could be heard from the back very loudly complaining about the audacity of us asking to be accommodated. She laughed and threw us very dirty looks as well. I was shocked and didn’t know how to respond at first. I mentioned her behavior to our server when he came back and naturally, as one does for a fellow colleague and friend, he tried to cover for her behavior as no one has ever complained about the potatoes before and it was a joke. Like I said at the beginning of this review, food was great. But not everyone at my birthday dinner could enjoy it.

After some time passed, I decided to muster the courage to ask for his manager. And he did come to hear me recount the story. I let him know our server was great and how rude the lady in the back was. At first, he was appalled. Incredulous that one of his staff could act like this. I described the woman and he even tried to deny one of his staff looked how I described her. Once I pointed her out, he couldn’t really deny it. He asked how he could make the experience better and offered dessert. I refused the dessert and asked for my check.

Our server came back of course very scared and I reassured him that he wasn’t in trouble. Again I was asked if dessert would make things right. I let him know I wasn’t comfortable accepting it. I paid for the meal (the receipt in the post) and left 20% tip for our server.

I didn’t post this to complain and whine about how unfair life is or how pervasive micro-aggressions make life unbearable. But if you’re looking to be accommodated and you’re not white, this may be your...

My husband and I accompanied another couple to Wild Olive last night. They had made a reservation, but the staff couldn't locate it from a couple phone numbers. We had arrived early, so getting a table wasn't an issue, but I found it strange that they didn't ask for a name instead.

Our server arrived early and described the specials. Our friends ordered calamari and olives as the server was leaving. The calamari was very good.

Our friends asked if the hot spices could be removed from one of the dishes, and the server said no. Then they asked if he could just get a creamy garlic butter pasta with shrimp or scallops. The server wasn't sure and asked the chef. She came back and said they could do a garlic butter pasta. She asked how many shrimp and scallops they wanted, so they both ordered that with 2 scallops and 4 shrimp. I asked her to repeat the last special with the snapper, which she did. I asked if it was a filet, and she said it was, so I ordered it. My husband got the spicy pasta dish.

Everyone else's order arrived first, and mine arrived a few minutes later. I took just a quick look and saw both the head and tail of the fish and said I can't eat that (I couldn't look at it). They called the server back and said to remove the head, so they did that and it still had the tail, which I wouldn't eat.

Our friends in the meantime tried eating their food and found it overwhelmingly spicy with visible red pepper flakes all over. The server came back to take my plate, and we said she could pack it up for our son. She asked if I'd have what our had without the spiciness, and I said ok. Our friend said he was still hungry because he couldn't eat his spicy dish, and he said he'd just have the garlic butter pasta.

Our dishes arrived, which we ate. The scallops were really good and shrimp were ok, but I found the pasta to be too salty. My friend ate his pasta and enjoyed it (probably because he was starving).

Each couple did order dessert, which we all enjoyed. We had our entre leftovers packed. Our friends paid for everyone's meals, and the server said they comped his first dish, but actually 3 of the entrees were not as expected, so I'm disappointed that they didn't do more.

When I got home, my son decided to try the snapper (which was spread to be a filet). He told me it had a lot of bones and I wouldn't have liked it. This morning I saw his compost pile which contained the bones, and it clearly was NOT a filet (see picture)! Based on this experience, I don't plan to return anytime soon and cannot recommend...