Los Olivos — Restaurant in Tucson

After watching too many Italian cooking shows, my wife and I were craving good Italian food and our previous experience at Los Olivos took us back. This unpretentious restaurant did not disappoint. Very good, homemade Italian food with reasonable prices and excellent if minimal service makes Los Olivos a great choice for Italian food in Tucson. This is a small restaurant, where you order your food and drinks as you enter and then take a seat and the server brings your meal. The woman who served us was very friendly and knew the menu and the wines. The restaurant seems to be a converted house and inside seating consists of a number of tables inside. There is also an outdoor seating patio that was closed due to the wind during our visit. We inquired about bringing our dog and our server said they would be happy to open up outdoor seating for us anytime, if we wanted to return with our Pug, Pearl. I ordered a classic spaghetti and meatball dinner and my wife opted for fettuccine Alfredo. Both meals came with toasted garlic bread, made from a chewy Italian bread that had a slight sour dough taste that tasted like it had just been made. I opted for a small house salad that in addition to leafy greens also had artichoke leaves, green olive and other tasty bits served with an oregano vinegarette, delicious! The recipes are unique with complex flavor far better than you would find at say an Olive Garden, my pasta was cooked Al dente with a flavorful sauce and four large meatballs. The meatballs were unusually good and I believe contained ground pine nuts. This is the kind of tasty dish that keeps us returning to Los Olivos. Our two entres, my salad and two glasses of a house Pinot Grigio came to only $53, very reasonable for such good food these days. Los Olivos is clearly popular with many returning customers, and with tourists who make it a point to eat there, when in Tucson. Again, if your craving good, fresh we’ll-made Italian food in a friendly environment at affordable prices, look no further. I’m coming back next week to try one of their fabulous...

I consider myself a Pizza expert having grown up in Chicago so know good pizza and bad pizza. This was my first visit and I was HIGHLY impressed! I loved the atmosphere and wish I could have eaten there. They had the perfect music playing for an Italian restaurant, think classic old world lounge. Tables were spaced nicely and decor was pleasing. I ordered 2 slices and added on 2 ingredients per slice. Price wise, it was perfect. Nowhere in town offers this quality for the price. After plowing down both slices I sighed because I wish I had 2 more! The crust and sauce were both excellent. The crust was thin and fairly crispy and thankfully not overly soft/doughy. The amount of cheese was PERFECT and exactly how I would make pizza from scratch if I could. You aren't drowning in cheese here which is something I really enjoyed, again, the amount was PERFECT. The vegetables on my slices were also cut and cooked perfectly. Cooked but not overly and still with some crispness. YUM!! I'm instantly a fan and will be returning many MANY times in the future.

My only recommendations are an updated website, some marketing and a strong social media presence. With that in place, this business could expand BIG TIME and become a very successful nation...

I was excited to try their pizza based on reviews but was unfortunately underwhelmed. I order a margarita and vegetarian pizza. The vegetarian pizza was the worst I have had. The vegetables consisted of hard chunks of carrots, rubbery eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, and basil. There were no peppers on it even though advertised with peppers too. The vegetables were all undercooked and crunchy with not much sauce or cheese. The margarita pizza was better with plenty of basil and tomatoes but hardly any sauce or cheese. The cheese was so sparing that only some of the pieces of pizza even had small dabs of cheese. The Los Olivos salad dressing was good and had fresh vegetables but the lettuce consisted of stalks of romaine lettuce and no leaves. I did go close to closing so maybe they were in a hurry or had run out of cheese. The cook was very friendly and the atmosphere was pleasant. It's just the food...