Olivia's In the Village — Restaurant in Virginia

We are traveling in from out of state and regret not choosing somewhere else to eat for the day. I chose this place and we arrived at 10:20. We were told they stopped serving breakfast at 11- we had PLENTY of time to order. We sat down at 10:27 and were given breakfast menus. Nobody came to serve us. This was AFTER we watched a table of 6-8 get up and leave after not being served and the server being VERY rude to them and yelling at them. We should’ve known then. We chose to still give it a try. 25 minutes later, we had asked about a server and the busser said ‘well we don’t serve lunch until 11’. Okay, 1, still can we get a server? 2, we were here in PLENTY of time for breakfast! My husband went up and asked to switch to lunch menus since the server has ignored us. She switched them and then she still didn’t come over to our table. 11:05 comes around, FINALLY someone else comes over and her initial hello was ‘hi I just walked in the door I’m not sure what’s going on but I was told to come to your table’. With frustration, I explained what happened. Luckily she was very sweet but still we were not impressed. Food was pretty decent, but I will never return as the service was so poor. Watching a server yell at customers is NOT okay, even if you’re busy. And watching a server completely ignore tables and wait on (obvious) regulars that walked in AFTER us, again not okay. We would have left but it would have taken more time to load two small children up than to wait. But in the hour and a half we were there, we watched three tables get up and leave. This is a poor representation for...

Olivia’s – Where You’re Treated Like Family

Olivia’s isn’t just a great restaurant — it’s the kind of place that makes you feel welcomed. It was recommended by our Airbnb host and also a favorite of many past guests, according to the guestbook. So we decided to try it and we’re so glad we did!

The food was excellent — we ordered the Seafood Olivia and the Tortellini with Shrimp, both packed with flavor and beautifully prepared. I have a shellfish allergy, and the owner personally made sure my dish was customized without scallops. It wasn’t just a note to the kitchen — he took the time to talk with us, ask questions, and really make sure everything was perfect.

What stood out most, though, was the sense of community. The owner clearly knew many of the locals. He spent time getting to know us too, making conversation and creating a genuine connection. We loved the experience so much, we came back two days later on our last night in Gloucester — and the moment we walked in, he greeted us warmly and remembered exactly what we had ordered. That kind of attention and care is rare these days, and it left a lasting impression.

Set along a charming downtown strip in Gloucester, Olivia’s offers great food, personal service, and a cozy atmosphere that makes you feel like family.

We’ll be thinking about this place long after we leave — a...

The food is absolutely amazing! I would expect nothing less from the people who also own Scoot's BBQ. Also, I have never met a rude or lazy server there, they are always nice and doing everything they possibly can to keep up.

But there seems to be a very hands off management approach here which makes the service horrible every time. I have never seen a manager while in there, no matter what time of day, and there is no organization when it comes to service. If they changed 2 things Olivia's would be perfect:

1. The servers need to have sections, one server can have tables in both dining areas and outside, which makes it very hard on them and damn near impossible to provide good service no matter how hard they work. Servers should be able to see all their tables in one glance to be able to see who needs what, but they can't when they have tables in multiple areas that are not within visual range of each other.
2. They need one more staff member. They need someone who acts as hostess, answers the phone, takes/ manages to go orders, and manages the register. Right now the servers have to do all of that in addition to serving the tables, which means they can't focus on being servers.

It would also be nice if the entrance and exit signs to the parking lot in the back were actually visible, they're both small and buried...