The Olive Tree Paraskevas

Great food. Great owner. Great chef. Wonderful experience.

Excellente découverte à deux pas de notre hôtel pour notre second diner à Bruges.
Situé en plein centre juste à côté du beffroi et de la grande place.
Ce restaurant grec donne dans la gastronomie et les produits de qualité et cela se sent et se goûte dans l’assiette. Je né me rappelle pas en effet avoir aussi bien mangé dans un restaurant grec en Europe, sauf peut être en Grèce même en 1977…
Il l’explique d’ailleurs en tête de son menu et j’aime bien les gens qui disent ce qu’ils font et qui font ce qu’ils disent! C’est le cas!
Nous avons pris le menu du soir à 39 Euros incluant l’ouzo de rigueur, un assortiment d’entrées chaudes et froides toutes excellentes et fines, avec un plus pour les dalmates très fines et parfumées pas bourratives avec plus d’herbes que de riz dans la farce.
Ma femme a ensuite pris une moussaka qu’elle a trouvé divine et j’ai pris des petites côtelettes d’agneau très bien servies (9 côtelettes).
Café ou Thé pour finir
Dessert offert: très bon gâteau à l’orange et aussi le digestif (vin sucré grec)
Le tout pour 86 Euros pour deux, ce qui est très raisonnable eu égard à la qualité des plats.
Nous vous le recommandons vivement.

We went to this restaurant based on the recommendation of our hotelier. It was amazing! The spices are more subtle than the greek food we are used to in the US, but the flavors were so rich and wonderful, heavier spices would have ruined it. I had the swordfish and my husband had the moussaka and both were excellent. The staff was wonderful and the owner brought us pieces of an orange cake and port at the end of our meal. They also had a live music — a wonderful guitarist/​singer — on a Thursday night. We had a great time!

They squeezed us into an early dinner reservation and I’m so glad that they did! In Bruges, it’s pretty hard to find vegan options so I was so glad to see they had a few. The place is very woodsy and we were seated on the top floor, next to the window that oversaw the central Bruges plaza. I ordered dolmas (the waiter made sure there was no meat/​dairy/​butter in the stuffing) and they were absolutely delicious! The best part of the dinner though was the pita bread. They were so good we probably ordered like 3 extras of them. Overall, a really great, unexpected find in Belgium!

Love this place! Our 2^nd visit, this time with family from Italy, everybody enjoyed the food, excellent quality, fresh ingredients, great presentation and friendly owners/​staff!
The menu also caters for vegetarians and children. The kids had fried calamari, the adults tried grilled calamari and swordfish. Everything was cooked to perfection.
Definitely try the sample dips as an entrée!
We’ll be back…

Greek restaurant with a high-​end flair. This restaurant filled up quickly and we were lucky to get a table because we showed up right when it opened. My friend was a picky eater because she is vegetarian, a preference especially hard to cater to in Belgium. As with the majority of restaurants here she did not have many options but this time thankfully the options proved to be delicious. She had a vegetarian lasagna that was a specialty in Greek Cuisine, it was well spiced.
I got pork medallions. They came smothered in a light veggie sauce of peppers. The #1 way to mess up this type of dish is to overcook it and make it dry and tough however I was pleased to find mine was soft, not only because of the proper cooking but also the complement of the sauce. The best part of dining here was the ambiance. It’s a softly lit space with furniture made of highly lacquered light colored woods. Live music with a traditional Greek flair fills the air giving the place an elegant feel.

Amazing Greek food and great service. I had misgivings about eating Greek in Bruges but it was recommended. Definitely worth checking out. The lamb I had was amazing. Owner was so genuinely nice to all the customers too

Amazing greek food, as good as in Greece.
Try the Royal shrimps saganaki, really delicious. I’m still dreaming of it.
And a perfect service :)
Definitely not an «attrape-​touristes», that are so typical in Bruges.

In the tourist area but not a tourist trap. Some of the best Greek food I’ve ever eaten. Amazing service and super fresh ingredients — you can taste the difference. The tzatziki is excellent. Even the very simple dish I ordered (chicken souvlaki) was terrific, perfectly cooked, and bursting with flavor. This meal was the highlight of our eating in Bruges.

Great surprise in Brugge, Mediterranean.
I would recommend it if you are in the area.
Ordered the sample dips — no hummus really but lots of yogurt/​cheese based creamy dips. Not crazy about those but there is one really good dip, a lot like hummus but not exactly hummus. Minced olives on the side.
Plenty of fresh and soft pita bread served.
Their seafood dip is awesome, it’s more of a signature dip for most of their dishes.
Swordfish is awesome if you’re a seafood lover.
Cooked perfectly and fresh.
Grilled calamari was great as well. It’s fresh and cooked just right.
Not enough flavor if you just eat it by itself but with their lemon/​parsley/​olive oil dip, it’s just wonderful.
Service was tentative and extremely friendly staff who all speak English very well.
You MUST make a reservation before coming, or come right when they open (and not a second after). So many people were turned away because they had no reservation.

fantastic little family run just off the Markt Square in Bruges. my mom had the pork and i had the stuffed chicken. both were perfectly cooked and flavorful. we were full but tried the orange cake they brought us at the end of the meal (free which was a nice gesture).
the brother and sister team were joking with each other the entire time we were there. their cousin also runs front of house and the husband of the sister works in the kitchen. they make a great team. the brother sat with us to talk a few times. all in all, that added a nice feel to the restaurant. i’d go back if i were in Bruges again.

Kleines Restaurant mit gehobener griechischer Küche in der Nähe des großen Marktes. Wir hatten an Vorspeisen frittierte Auberginen mit Sesam und Honig sowie eine gemischte Platte; beides ausgesprochen lecker. Unsere Hauptspeisen waren gefüllte Hühnerbrust sowie Schweinefilet-​Medaillons mit einer leichten Wein-​/​Kräutersauce; wiederum beides sehr lecker. Nach dem Essen gab es auf Kosten des Hauses einen kleines Dessert und einen Schnaps (kein Ouzo).
Der Service ist ausgesprochen freundlich, die Einrichtung ist nett und originell mit viel Verwendung von Olivenholz.
Die Preise der Hauptspeisen liegen bei ca. 18 €.

Marre des restos attrape-​touriste de Bruges? Vous serez comblé ici, vraiment.
Bruges est une ville très sympa à faire, les canaux, les balades… Ça grouille d’amour ici ! Par contre, pour trouver de bonnes adresses ?? C’est autre chose. Des cartes à rallonge, les mêmes propositions de menus partout… On se croirait dans le Montmartre où l’on né traine pas…
The Olive Tree, c’est un resto grec qui propose des plats fait maison, fin et plein de saveur. Un vrai régal !
Serveur au petit soin, déco boisée et chaleureuse, un ensemble de choses qui fait qu’on s’y sent bien et surtout qui donne envie de le recommander à tout ceux qui sont à Bruges !! Logique non? ;)

We happened upon The Olive Tree because the other restaurant we were going to was full. What a wonderful turn of luck! First off, the place has a modern, minimalist aesthetic. Very clean and pleasing to the eye. Certainly not traditional Bruges, but we had already had our fill of that. What we wanted was good, clean food and it exceeded out expectations! You know a place is good when you wish you could go back the next night and can’t stop talking about how delicious the food was. There were 4 of us and we are all wine snobs and legit foodies. Surprisingly the wine list was great. We ordered a bottle of 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Domaine Hatzmichalis. Absolutely superb and we ended up ordering a second bottle. Service was spot on. The appetizer plate we shared of the dips was outrageously good. Best fresh pita bread and Tzatiki we’ve ever had. We ordered three main courses: Grilled squid, swordfish, and chicken stuffed with feta and peppers. All were perfectly prepared and not one bit of food was left on our plates. The waiter (and part owner) spent time talking to us throughout the meal and took our dining experience to the next level. The complimentary digestifs and desert were a perfect end to an absolutely incredible culinary experience. Food and atmosphere does not have to be complicated or stuffy to be good. If you’re looking for a relaxed environment, exceptionally prepared food full of flavor, and good service, then you will not be disappointed!

Good restaurant, but feeling a little out of place in Bruges

One of the best greek restaurants we have ever been to. We started with the greek meatballs which were moist and delicious. The chicken souvaki and moussaka dinners were superb. This was the best greek food we have had and we love greek food (yes even in Greece). Service was excellent and we were there on a Saturday evening. Our complimentary sponge cake with limoncello was fantastic.

Très bonne cuisine grèque, tout était délicieux. L’attente un peu longue mais ça vallait la peine. :)