West Chester Dish

Went Saturday night and the service was great and we ate everything on our plate, the fish was cooked to perfection, both the salmon and stuffed flounder were out of this world.

I would NOT recommend eating here. My husband and I went last night and everything was off...we ordered tapas style and waited a half hour for our first course, then everything seemed to come at once! And in the improper order...lamb before crabcakes, etc. The seasonings were off on just about everything. The lamb came to us raw and we sent it back only to have it replaced with an overcooked version. The lobster mac and cheese (which our waitress highly recommended) was so goopy it was nearly inedible. I think they should stick to learning how to make a few things well, and forego the tapas idea. But I won't be going back to find out how they make out....

We went with a large group of WC Tweeters last week for girls night out, and WOW! What a treat! I had the special, Lobster Cakes, which totally blows even the best crab cakes in the county off the map! I returned this week with my hubby and had an equally fabulous meal with equally fabulous service. This is the place to go before everyone else finds out about it!

What a great place! Fantastic service, exceptional food and lovely atmosphere. Accommodating of large groups (I was there with 16 lovely ladies). I would definitely return to this BYOB.

Enjoyed a delectable dinner with superb hospitality. I was with a large group and the service was right on. Wonderful selection of dishes and great specials. The veggies were fresh and presentation pleasing. Each dish is prepared when ordered. We will definitely go back in the near future. I highly recommend The Olive Branch for intimate dining, family, or group meal.
Bon Apetit~

I went with a large group last night and we had a lovely time. The food was fresh and very delicious. They cooked to order so you could do almost anything you wanted from the menu. I thought everyone was very accommodating considering we had so many people. They took good care of us. Will definitely tell my friends and family about this gem of a restaurant.

I have enjoyed the Olive Branch's food on several occasions. The specialty drinks are creative and delicious! I particularly liked the Blood Orange concoction they invented for Valentine's Day. The tapas portions are perfectly sized for a flavorful experience without getting overly full. More room for dessert! Wow, the chocolate cake, tiramisu, and cheesecake were out of this world. (I shared with friends, so I could try several!)

Above all the service is very attentive and patient, and Marie, the owner is easy to get to know. You'll feel welcome!

I went there for the first time last night and we had a group of 16. I thought the service was good for the amount of people we had, they kept the food coming and the drinks full. They were always checking on our table and making sure we didn't need anything. I thought the food was excellent - the menu had so many different options, I had a hard time choosing but went with the entree version of the Shrimp & Mushroom Risotto - this was my first time having Risotto and I loved it. The portion was enough to fill me for dinner and I took home enough to have for lunch today. I already recommended it and plan to come back! :)

My mother a friend and I had a very memorable Thanksgiving dinner at the OB and it was great. Thanks to Marie for making it one of the best we have had in quite a few years. Keep up the hard work!

This tiny candle-lit restaurant serves delicious Tapas style bistro fare at surprisingly reasonable prices. The Friday evening experience had me day dreaming all week about creamy pork tenderloin and a variety of home-made pastas. All dishes were great, but the seafood ones stood out in particular. Sweet scallops practically melted in the mouth and the oven roasted tilapia was crisped ever so gently as to not tear its fine skin. Chocolate Chip cheesecake for dessert was commendable and bread pudding simply yummy. Instead of overpriced and overpowering cabernet and chardonnay like other places in town, this particular restaurant is more food-friendly and offers byob as well as an exceptional mixer bar with a delectable variety of innovative specialty drinks in which you may bring your own liquor and add it for no additional charge. Best of all they offer a chef’s choice tasting menu with all the fixings, enough for everybody. Accommodating all mouthwatering needs this was a great option, or you can choose any two courses from each and every section of the very impressive regular menu for your party and they will serve family style for the very reasonable price of $45 . It seems reservations are a must on weekends, as they fill up pretty quickly.

Won't be eating breakfast here again!
I had breakfast at Taste of Olive today. Breakfast wasn't very good the first time I was there several months ago but we thought we'd give it another try.
Both times, only 2 tables were filled and although the servers were very nice they were very very slow. So slow in fact that breakfast was cold.
I had french toast which was terrible. Thick pieces of grainy bread that were barely saturated with the egg mixture. So basically I was eating cold coated plain bread. Luckily it did come with real maple syrup so I dipped each piece in that to be able to eat it. My friend had eggs and potatoes which not only were cold but tasteless. The potatoes looked good leading me to believe they were prepared the night before and just warmed up.(and then of course left to get cold again).

When our server asked, after breakfast, how everything was and I told her not good, she just shook her head and walked away.
I've heard lunch and dinner is good here and I might try it but its the last time for breakfast!

One of the best places in West Chester for a nice sit-down lunch. (Not a crowded tacky buffet like others)
This little place is a hidden gem with innovative dishes and lovely european style sidewalk seating in the summer.
The menu is seasonal and changes regularly. Lobster bisque, Mini crab cakes,Shrimp with mushroom rissoto were outrageously good on our last visit. Dessert was very good, Banana Foster Bread pudding is a must try for anyone in the borough
xoxo deliah

I'm a big fan of Olive Branch (yes, call me the one trick pony) but go to there hungry. It's not really a tapas bar, portions are big. Perfect for sharing, yes, but not at all small like traditional tapas. I just had a new dish - Mom's Stuffed Pork Tenderloin - there last week. Served with a fantastic side salad and homemade dessert. Yum!

Really nice ambiance, too. More traditional small plates for sure and a lively atmosphere.

Hi! Mega Disgusted
I’d like to echo Mike C. So, you were a party of 4 in a 7:00 seating (let's tell the truth here)you had no reservation, you actually showed up at 7:30. and the restaurant still happily acomodated you. I know this because I sat next to your table the entire time you bitched like little girls, and I am a regular here. Let's re-read your post shall we......
"and they couldn’t completely serve us by 10:00PM! They couldn’t deliver the 5 course in 3 hours!".
How did you wait 3 hours for dinner when you say quote on quote ..
" Yo jerkface, we waited 50 minutes for an entree".
OK, so at this point You had 4 out of 5 courses in 50 minutes!!! I hate to say this about any paying customer anywhere but YOU ARE AN IDIOT!!!! Simply put. Don't you dare put down someone's hard work and effort a month later like you have a clue.

Get a life IDIOT!

must have been so unhappy to wait a month to make a comment. Things couldn't have been that bad. Remember it's amature night and you must 'FIT IN" no place is ever great on New Years Eve. Stay home. Keeping quite at the restaurant than writing is a cowardly approach. Next time you dine unhappily "Speak Up". It's a pleasant BYOB with great food. Been going there for months and always delicious

I'd like to echo "Disappointed"'s terrible New Years experience. We were a party of 4 in a 7:00 seating and they couldn't completely serve us by 10:00PM! They couldn't deliver the 5 course in 3 hours! With the 5 courses, not one of them came in a timely manner or even at the same time. The music was too loud and it was kinda lame.

Now, were kind of laughing off the terrible service. We're with friends we do not see often and trying to have a good time in spite of the circumstances. We didn't complain once about anything to the waitstaff. That is, when they made an orbit within a couple feet of our table.

After dessert, we're not given the option to have a coffee and they plop down the bill -- the first thing that came to our table in a timely manner. While I'm trying to flag down the horrendous wait staff to get a coffee, some employee we had never seen before comes out and harasses us about leaving since they had people waiting. Yo jerkface, we waited 50 minutes for an entree in the middle of this 3 hour debacle and you're trying to kick us out now! Where were you the last 3 hours while the "waitstaff" floundered around like... ummm... flounders, not being able to handle the simplest of tasks like open a wine bottle!

Attrocious, dreadful, and horrific customer service aside -- let's talk about the food. It wasn't horrible. Some of it was almost good, some of it was bland. But far from good enough to make we want to step food in there again even if the service was adequate.

Come to think of it, the lame music was the best part of the night.

If you enjoy the fine dining establishments in Philadelphia, you will enjoy Olive Branch. The food is every foodie's dream. Prepared fresh and with love, Olive Branch always makes my stomach happy.

We went late in the afternoon and had a scrumptious variety of tapas plates. Stuffed Olives, Scallops, Root Beer Braised Short Ribs,were definitely the highlights of Dinner, all to die for. Dessert was not our intention, however when we were informed that they were all homemade fresh baked and not frozen, it was a no brainer we couldn't resist... and I'm glad we didn't! The Banana bread pudding is undoubtedly the best thing I have ever put in my mouth, savored every bite. As we passed around the table the flavors of all were more and more delightful. The staff was very friendly and courteous to our family, we appreciated that. I could go on and on, but simply stated I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Please don't go anywhere Olive Branch you're the best thing to hit West Chester

While some restaurants are closed on Mondays, the Olive Branch is open....and we are VERY GLAD that they were. Located on Gay St in West Chester, this is a very quaint location. The food is wonderful. I had the Chicken Pesto sandwich with Havarti cheese, while my daughter had the Spinach salad. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals and the portion sizes were perfect - it filled us up, but we did not overeat! Furthermore, the restaurant is family owned and run - and it shows! Service was kind, friendly and timely. When asked to change an ingredient in the Spinach salad - it was no problem! I highly recommend the Olive Branch to everyone! Oh...and the prices are very reasonable too!?

My husband and I had the pleasure of dining at Olive Branch on Sunday. We had the bread basket as an appetizers which we shared. Great hot rolls and muffins with a homemade orange cranberry butter. Short ribs was my main. Excellently prepared. My husbands main was Moms stuffed pork tenderloin. Which he thoroughly enjoyed - no leftovers coming home there! The specialty drinks were amazing! We will definitely be back?

In Response to "Get Real Jeff": I was also there Saturday night and I did ask the waiter to turn down the volume. Our request was ignored. Our food was horrendous too. The duck nearly made me gag. And, I don't think "Jeff" would have minded the game at Spence, since it's expected there. The bigger concern is the obvious inconsistency in the food presented. My table of 4 was very dissapointed. Not sur ehow a large table can have good food and two smaller tables had junk. I'm with "Jeff" - we won't be going back.

Had Dinner here Saturday evening with a group of couples. Great food, Excellent Service. Best of all the Manager was kind enough to put the game on for us. The wives were fine either way but for us gentleman there's nothing better you can ask for than an unbelievable dining experience and a Philadelphia playoff game (even though they did lose to Dallas). We've been here several times it normally is a quaint little place with great ambiance, delicious plates and there is no tv on. However "GET REAL JEFF!" it was a Philadelphia Eagles playoff game and if you have something to say just say it then, don't hide behind your computer and be negative. Be a Man.
P.S. FYI just so you know Spence did have the game on that night as well

We had a large group, with a chef's table of food, and it was wonderful. It was a continuous service of delicious dishes that was personally brought out by the chef. Everything has most appealing, our favorite was the short ribs. We are a group of good friends that rarely meet, and try new places. All of us enjoyed the night. Our husbands did request the game, sorry.

My wife and I went for a romantic dinner Sat Jan. 9. The food was bland and the service was so-so. There was barely any sauce on any of our dishes, so flavor was greatly lacking. What made the evening terrible was that someone decided to put on the Eagles game and blast the volume. COME ON! How tacky. If we had wanted to go to a sports bar for dinner, we wouldn't have gone to the Olive Branch. We were willing to try a new place but lesson learned - we'll stick to our tried and true favorites like Spence or Avalon. Don't bother with the Olive Branch.

Thanks for a great night

Joined the Olive branch for dinner. everything was wonderful. Food is what this town need. Fresh, homemade and satisfying. Look forward to returning

I was here for New Year's Eve (the earlier sitting.) The food was okay, but I really only came for the live music. That was good.

HORRIBLE!! HORRIBLE!! We went with a group of friends on New Years Eve. Most of us who were prevoius servers know not to expect great service on New Years, but this was brough to new levels. We weren't sat until 1/2 hour after our reservation- when we were sat there weren't enough seats or silverware or napkins. We were to have a 5 course meal and the owner told us that instead of ordering she was going to bring out everything family style. What was brought out was only a select few things and not nearly enough for the whole table. The food, when brought out was cold and served to us in a very unprofessional way. They called out what it was and waited for people to raise their hand. The soup was cold and not served together - some finishing before others got their soup - not even everyone got one. Then the meals were served to us at Midnight (we had a 9:00 reservation) Two of the meals were served a good 30 minutes after the rest.

The service was entirely inattentive and almost rude. The food was mediocre, but cold. They actually expected us to pay full price at the end - even though they left off one of the 5 courses and only served a portion of the others. We got out of there with cutting off $20 per person - but that still didn't leave us feeling good about it. TOTALLY NOT WORTH IT.

Our group was all local, young professionals, most of which have worked in the restaurant industry in West Chester and are normally pretty understanding about restaurant snaffoos, but this was to a new level.

I was looking forward to the experience, now I am pretty much looking forward to forgetting it!!!!

This place is outstanding. I frequent The Olive Branch and even booked a holiday party this year for some of my closest friends. The food is always terrific and prepared exactly as it is ordered. The staff are friendly and helpful and we are very happy about frequenting such a terrific establishment.
The chicken dishes and desserts are always our favorites and highly recommend going with a small group. The setting is intimate and cozy and it almost seems as if you are dining at a relative's home----because everyone there is so inviting.

As a loyal patron to this restaurant I highly recommend it. Having dinner there this weekend was a knock out of the park. They have become extremely busy as I have watched since the summer, but the food is well worth the wait. We went as a larger group and tried the chef's table. That was continuous sample of so may delightful dishes. Each plate was more pleasing then the one before. A great evening of food, wine and friends.

Thanks Ken and Mike appreciate the loyalty. Did exactly what you ordered this morning, sorry it was misscomunicated to us we'll be happy to refund the money for all past orders. Hope you'll be happier somewhere else.
-OB

As a local resident for years now, I support local establishments vs. corp America that shouldn't even be in the boro, but that is another story for another time! 4 times I have tried to have a quick breakfast sandwich at Olive Branch and 4 times it has been made badly or just wrong. 1st time was bacon, egg and cheese on whole wheat toast. What did I get bacon, egg and cheese on a whole wheat bagel - NOT even toasted. 2nd attempt; sausage, egg and cheese on english muffin, which is exactly what a received ON A RAW ENGLISH MUFFIN. Is it necessary to ask for an english muffin to be toasted? Who eats raw english muffins? 3rd attempt, which I must say is a rarity for me to give anyone a third attempt, but I did. 3rd order; sausage, egg and cheese on a 'toasted' english muffin (and yes, I did say toasted to the individual that I was ordering with) the egg this time was so crispy on the edges due to the overly huge amounts of butter that it was fried in. 4th attempt, yes fourth! I didn't want to do it but was persuaded by a guest that was in town. I ordered a sausage, egg and cheese on english muffin, he ordered bacon, egg and cheese on wheat toast. We received (upon getting back to the house) a bacon, egg and cheese on an english muffin and a sausage, egg and cheese on wheat toast - right order wrong bread. To me breakfast is one of the simplest things to do. Maybe it's not for everyone, but then again there is also the training factor and what, what would you say....listening skills??

1st experience not so good, 'they are newly opened' 2nd experience, still not so good. 3rd times not so charming. 4th time it's consistent and consistently NOT GOOD!

Needless to say, I will not be contributing to this local establishment anymore. I wish them well, and can only hope that a) dinner it better than breakfast and b) that someone would open up a decent place to get a good cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich made properly!

This was really good, I ended up here on a friday night when we were out looking for what we thought was not too much to eat. The other places were crowded so we went here and it was really good, th tapa style was great for sampling a ton of different types of tastes and everything was top quality. This place is good.

I went to the Olive Branch with five friends recently and had a simply wonderful meal. We had two appetizers, a baked brie and a special of baked stuffed figs - delicious. Then we had 7 tapas, which was more than enough food for us. Everything was delightful, my favorites being the smoked salmon penne, the lobster macaroni and cheese and the melt-in-your-mouth shortribs. The dishes rotated out of the kitchen, one or two arriving at a time, which was a very enjoyable way to dine. We then shared two desserts, a mixed berry crepe and the bread pudding. We were too full to finish the bread pudding but it was delicious! Everything was perfectly prepared.

Service was attentive and very pleasant.

Everyone enjoyed everything about the Olive Branch, and we have already planned another get-together there. I highly recommend it.

Went to Gay St, strolled around looking for Sunday Brunch/Breakfast. One corner place was very crowded, so we meandered west until we found Olive Branch. Tables were open and it looked cozy and inviting. We were greeted and seated promptly. Service was warm and attentive. I ordered a simple breakfast of eggs over easy and scrapple, while my partner had a custom spinach and bacon omelette. Everything was superbly rendered. The home fries were well above average, the coffee was tastier than Dunkin Donuts, full flavored but not so strong as as Starbucks. Excellent brew. Eggs cooked perfectly. Importantly, their breads come from Le Bus and the challah and wheat toast we ordered were both delectable. And prices were modest! All very good, zero complaints, I will surely return for lunch and dinner.

My husband I went there on Saturday and really enjoyed it. We both had soup (butternut with apple/cheddar and lobster bisque) which we really, really enjoyed. I had a special of open face ravioli. It was in a cream sauce that had a delicate flavor. My husband had the short rib (which is why we went) of which he loved. All in all the service was pretty good (tapa style), but our waters were not kept filled as I would have liked. We did really like enjoy it overall and look forward to returning.

We could not agree with C BROOKS more,the food was wonderful, but not the service!Maybe she was at Olive Graden!!

It took forever to get dinner and deserts!

We will give it another try :)

THE BEST FOOD IN WC.

Had dinner there Saturday night and it was amazing! The service was great, the staff is so nice and accomodating. The food was wonderful - the best meal anybody in my party has had in a long time. The tapa portions are perfect and so affordable. I cannot wait to go back. I can't say enough good things about the experience.

My Wife and I with friends had breakfast there the other day, HORRIBLE HORRIBLE service. It felt like we were there all day , for breakfast for 4 persons. The food was good, when it finally came to our table.
Nothing came out together at all, my Wife was 1/2 finished her's before we even seen anything. The waiter asked me what did I order and di not even know what he took out of the kitchen to us.

We had to ask for everything over and over, it was a big mistake. Our friend asked to see an owner and they said neither were in yet.

There is a total lack of coordination from the management, to the kitchen, to the staff.

I am not sure if the 4 of us will ever consider even going to this restaurant again, if you can call it that!

This place belongs in west chester- its small, intimate, with excellent food in portions that are exactly what you need to be satisfied (its tapas style)

Tapas style lets you have wide variety of foods, with space inbeween for conversation and wine. (What is really nice is that this is BYOB, so your not confined to the restaurants wine list) I should add that they step up the BYOB by making several specialty drinks, which you can add your own liquor to.

Amongst the things we got which we really enjoyed were the baked brie, lobster mac and cheese, and rootbeer battered ribs. We had bread pudding for dessert and weren’t dissapointed.
There’s enough here to come back several times with your friends and have a whole new experience with the food; almost everything on the menu looked like an excellent choice- I wish I could have tried it all!

We went in on a quite busy Saturday, but honestly, the service and food didn’t suffer at all. In fact, its really impressive to see a restaurant offer such a wide menu and put out such good quality- You know the people that run a place like this must really put alot of soul and effort into it- which is one more thing to make you feel good about eating here.

My husband and I had dinner last night.Not many diners for a Friday night. Our waitress was friendly and efficient. The food was of high quality and very tasty although the portions,even for tapas, were small. We especially liked the scallops and the lobster mac and cheese. The atmosphere was quite pleasant although I'll reserve this judgment until I see what it is like when it is more crowded. We will return.

Eager to try a new local place, we arrived without reservations, no problem. We liked the concept of tapas-size plates but entree-size are also available. The menu is appealing, there were also several specials. Somewhat off putting was the $3.50 bread basket -- nice homemade bread but not worth the money. The server seemed stretched thin but tried hard to supply appropriate attention. The food was good, not great. The big problem was lack of coordination from the kitchen - my dinner arrived way ahead of my husband's. I couldn't eat slow enough, my food was getting cold and I finished just as his arrived. The server was apologetic but for me this is an unforgivable situation and spoiled the evening. Hopefully, they will get their act together.

Went for dinner and the food was good and the staff was friendly and accomodating. I can't wait to try out their breakfast as I am so sick of the rude staff at Market Street Grill!

The food is not bad but it is boring (think good hospital food). Beware of $5 corkage.

This is fast becoming our favorite reataurant in West Chester. The food is delicious and the fact that you can order a tapa size gives you a chance to try different recipes at the same sitting.The owners are so friendly and accomodating. Also, the drinks are the best in town. We have been there many times and have never been disappointed. It is definately worth looking for a parking space in West Chester to eat a great meal and enjoy the ambience of the restaurant.Order the lobster macaroni and cheese --- it's the best!

My boyfriend moved to West Chester a few months back and we love the city! Every weekend we try a new restaurant and Olive Branch is by far our new favorite. On our first visit we tried the items in a tapas size to determine what we enjoyed the most. Every dish from start to finish was outstanding. The hummus and pita pieces were so good that we asked for seconds of the pita so that we could enjoy every last bite of the pepper-infused dish. The basil chicken is our favorite and the accompanying veggie of the day is always a welcome addition. Make sure that you save room for dessert because the cheesecake is like eating a sweet cloud....so fluffy and enjoyable.....if I had room for a second helping...I would have ordered another.
Olive Branch is an establishment run by an owner who obviously cares about the experience of the customers and will even visit your table throughout the dinner to make sure that the food is to your liking. I highly recommend the Olive Branch for relaxing dining experience.

Awesome cheesecake

So disappointed. We went for a nice breakfast. The menue says "REAL MAPLE SYRUP" and we got prepackaged high fructose corn syrup. I wouldn't have ordered pancakes if I knew. When I asked the waiter he insisted that "it's the same". No it's not, it's gross. The portion was small the cofee, horrible.

Amazing!! For a person who absolutely loves dining out and has tried a WIDE variety of places, this one certainly stands out! I came in for dinner a couple nights ago and absolutely loved the dishes! My friends and I all shared several dishes in the good ol' spirit of tapas and it was worth it. The caprese was so fresh and the baked brie left me speechless! Entrees were all well cooked with the scallops and ribs as my favorites. Service was great with friendly and attentive servers. Fritz, I'm sorry you didn't have the same experience. I can't wait to come back! Great job Olive Branch... keep the good tapas rolling

Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful!
It's great to finally see a business in West Chester that actually cares about people and appearance. Our Breakfast was amazing Eggs Benedict to die for, coffee is strong but you need that in the morning. My friends and I have been back for dinner and I can't even describe how mouthwatering those shortribs are. We started off with 1 tapa order but ended up ordering 3 more. I wish I could go on, but we were too full to try anything else, but trust me we will be back. Lovvvve It!

I had a terrible dinner experience here. If the food was ok, I could have overlooked the incompetent table service. Unfortunately everything about the meal was subpar to be kind.
If I was asked, even once, how my meal was, I would have told the server or management.
Because I was not, I will vent here.
If you plan to stay in business in downtown West Chester, get your act together Olive Branch.

Went this morning for breakfast ...great waffle , nice strong coffee ......we looked at the lunch/dinner tapas menu ....lots of things looked good ..we will be back