The Green Olive Ventura — Restaurant in Ventura

This market offers authentic Mediterranean cuisine, and the food was absolutely delicious! We ordered the chicken kebab plate, which came with flavorful rice, fresh green salad, creamy hummus, and pita bread. We also tried the tabbouleh, Greek salad, and an extra chicken kebab. Everything was delicious. The place is clean and well-kept. While the service wasn’t overly friendly, it was efficient and professional, which makes sense since it’s more of a market than a sit-down restaurant. That’s the only reason I’m giving it four stars instead of five. We ordered our food to go while visiting Ventura (staying in a hotel nearby), and we’ll definitely be back to Green Olive Ventura...

LOCATION: This is inside the Santa Cruz market store where one has to pay at the cashier up front near the entrance after they’ve placed an order at the back of the store. Would be good if they had a different system rather than making customers walk back and forth twice. Maybe allow them to order up front then walk to the back to pick up once ready. Staff are friendly.

FOOD: The chicken shawarma plate was fantastic and it was a large portion. The hummus was my favorite as it was smooth, not overpowering and flavorful. The chicken wasn’t dry and tasted great with the hummus. Even the small side salad was good as was the rice. I did not eat the pita but it...

Service really depends on when you go. Last time it was great. Yesterday it was so bad that we canceled our food order and walked out while the waitress was still talking trash to me and being so unbelievably rude and unprofessional. The "manager" could not have cared less. So that's a roll of the dice but delicious food. Nice atmosphere in the bar/dining room. Hidden gem inside Santa Cruz market. And BONUS you can shop for all your favorite exotic goodies in the market. Looking for a 4 inch thick tomahawk steak? The butcher's got em! Epic. Beer, wine & liquor selection is...