Pita and Olive — Restaurant in Town of Clifton Park

Not a "fast" food restaurant, don't be fooled by the counter.

Decided to check out the newly opened Pita and Olive and because I looked through their pictures I had thought this was a faster food type of establishment, I mean, what sit-down restaurant do you order at the counter from? That's news to me.

Turns out that is exactly what this is, a sit-down restaurant, not a restaurant where you will have your meal within minutes. Expect a 20-30 minute wait for your meal, possibly longer if they are as bumping as they were when I showed up. I swear, everyone and their grandmother decided to check out the new place at the same time I did and you could tell.

The staff in the kitchen looked pretty experienced but they were running hot, the servers were far more fresh faced and had to keep asking around for help with the registers or where orders had to go. I sat at a nearby table waiting for my meal I placed at the counter after being told it would be 20 minutes, so I got to take it all in when I'm normally out the door with my meal in hand for these types of locations.

Ended up going with the Garlic Dip Trio, Truffle Fries, and the Chicken Kabob platter. Came to a bit over $27, not bad, especially considering you get a pretty good meal out of just the platter itself as it comes with rice, vegetables, pita bread, and garlic yogurt dip.

Took roughly 18 minutes for my meal to be handed off to me, which was faster than expected given the ETA by the counter, but still far longer than I was anticipating when I initially misjudged this to be a fancier take-out location.

How was the meal itself then? Well back home I was met with a pretty mediocre spread. The chicken kabob, the big dish, had only a couple small vegetables and the chicken was rather paltry and dry. The rice was nice and the garlic yogurt dip was fantastic, but did not make up for the meager meat proportion. The truffle fries has some great flavor but they were rather cooled off by then, they did dip very well with the accompanying dip trio however as they were still pretty rigged. Unlike the pita bread that was included with the dip trio, which was put in this insulated bag which steamed the bread, including the crispy pieces, so they were all floppy and had to be rolled up to drip properly. As for the dips themselves, I don't know if I'm just spoiled to intense garlic flavors, but these really lacked any kid of garlic punch. I was expecting far more vampire warding taste, but no, it was just every so subtle. Tasted more like Ranch dip if anything.

Overall the price was nice, the restaurant itself is interesting what with the tree decor they ran with, the current state of the service is hampered by the sheer number of guests trying to check out the new place, and the food is comparable to any number of other middle of the road mediterranean...

INCREDIBLE Mediterranean food in the Capital Region. This is going to be an absolute gem in Clifton Park! The bistro itself is absolutely beautiful and feels very upscale for a fast casual eatery.

I sampled 3 plates from their Mezza menu and was delighted with all 3. The hummus is a generous portion and is topped with a bright and fruity olive oil. I’m definitely a lemony hummus fan and would love to see this with a bit more lemon but that’s a personal preference. The hummus is served with fresh pita and crispy pita which were both absolutely delicious.

The dolma are easily some of the best I’ve ever had. They taste incredibly fresh and vibrant and hold their shape beautifully unlike some I’ve had at other restaurants that seem to fall apart. They are so tender without being mushy or soggy. They’re honestly the perfect bite.

The star of the show is absolutely the Kofta meatballs. They were tender, complex in their flavor, cooked to perfection, and served over the most amazing garlic yogurt sauce that was perfectly balanced - not too garlicky at all and just the most robust flavor. The onions on top are such a nice touch and add a sweet and savory element to an already incredible dish. I simply cannot recommend these enough! AMAZING with the pita too. I can see how these would be incredible in a wrap.

The service was great. Ordered at the counter and my food was brought to me at the table. Everyone I met was polite and genuinely excited to be serving new customers. I already can’t wait to come back.

This is a perfect spot for date night, girls night, work lunch, and family gatherings. I highly recommend coming with a few people and ordering a bunch of different dishes and mezzas for a fun and flavorful sharing experience in an incredibly beautiful restaurant.

It’s family friendly with menu items for more adventurous and picky eaters (I also noted 2 high chairs). There are vegetarian options as well. Definitely...

I had a lengthy discussion with the girls at the counter about how I was allergic to pistachios. I ordered the Greek salad that does not show as having pistachios on it, with salmon that again does not show as having pistachios. I was brought a salad with pistachios on it. I went ahead and ate some without thinking and got a few bites down before I noticed the finely chopped green nuts. I brought it up to the counter and it was confirmed: pistachios. I kind of expected them to take the initiative and apologize/offer some kind of remedy but as I was just getting that "oopsie" look I reminded them that I told them, twice, that I was allergic. They offered to remake the salad - fine. I sat back down and a few minutes later the manager came over and offered an apology that was more of an excuse that one of the girls was new, and then an explanation of all the things that were supposed to happen when someone says they have an allergy: the pressing of a special button on the register, the changing of gloves and use of uncontaminated surfaces - sounds lovely, if only... He went away and came back a minute later to offer me some hummus or baba while I waited for my salad. I took the baba, and they can have 1 more star than I was going to give them for that. It felt like they were trying to fix this while staying ahead on the bill as much as possible - at any restaurant I've worked at, we would be comping the meal and then some. Aside from this whole screwup, the place was south of mediocre. The food was OK, fresh enough, but the portion was tiny, like an app salad rather than a dinner salad. $20 at your typical Greek/Mediterranean counter place gets you a salad with meat and enough to take home for lunch the next day. I guess the fake trees "growing" out of the tables should've tipped me off that the...