Dates & Olives

Boston, United States

4.7

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 617-515-0010
Website:
datesandolives.com
Address:
160 Chestnut Hill Ave, Boston, MA, 02135
b/t Hatherly Rd & Embassy Rd
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
130 ftChestnut Hill Ave @ Embassy Rd
200 ftChestnut Hill Ave @ Chiswick Rd
460 ftChestnut Hill Ave @ South St
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Quiet
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Boston) 23:10 Tuesday, 27 May 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Mediterranean Grill, Healthy Diet, Healthy Meals, Hummus, Falafel, Homemade, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Quick Serve Restaurant, Lassi, Prepared meals

History

Established in 2015.

Dates and Olives is a creation of Love for Fresh Food.

Chef Owner — Renita Mendoca is featured on this season of «Chopped» on The Food Network. Chef Rens brings with her a cooking technique and exuberance reflecting influences that she has assimilated beginning in her native India. Renita has had the great fortune to work with leading luxury hotels and Restaurant, spanning India, Oman, UAE, United States and Spain. As a recipient of a culinary scholarship at Johnson and Wales University, she had the opportunity to work at ‘The French Laundry’ restaurant in Napa Valley. Chef Rens’ specialties include Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Meet the Business Owner

Renita M.

Business Owner

Chef Renita Mendoca is featured on this season of «Chopped» on The Food Network. Chef Rens brings with her a cooking technique and exuberance reflecting influences that she has assimilated beginning in her native India. Renita has had the great fortune to work with leading luxury hotels across the world spanning The Taj Group of Hotels-​India, Sun International Group of Hotels-​Dubai, Hyatt International-​Oman, Compass group and AVI food systems in both the United States and Spain. As a recipient of a culinary scholarship at Johnson and Wales University, she had the opportunity to work at ‘The French Laundry’ restaurant in Napa Valley. Chef Rens’ specialties includes Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.

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Near this location:
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162 Chestnut Hill Ave
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20 reviews of Dates & Olives

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Place rating: 5
Allston, MA
One of the best restaurants I’ve been to in awhile! Wonderful food and even better customer service. All natural farm to table food. Really special place.
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
Great healthy place! Im lebanese and its nice to have something mediterranean around the corner. The pita pocket is delicious and the ingredients super fresh. The place is simple and the owners are super friendly and nice.
The only thing that i dont recommend is the baba ganoush as this is not really baba ganoush its more like an eggplant tapenade
Place rating: 5
Quincy, MA
Unbelievable service and incredible food! True Mediterranean flavor, love that you can make your own bowl with these great healthy choices. Will absolutely be coming back!
Place rating: 5
Salisbury, MA
Real, fresh food. Top quality ingredients for a bargain ($ 8 an entrée, $ 3.50 an app) It’s a steal. Try the made-​to-​order Chai
Place rating: 5
Cambridge, MA
First time at dates & olives and first time Unilocaling… fresh food & good portions at a great price.
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
This place is AMAZING. Super fresh food that makes you feel good after eating it. Renta is an Awesome person too. My wife and I have stopped by here 3 times now, and after the first time, Renta learned our names and remembered what we ordered each time. She helped us pic tasty combinations that we would have never tried.
The wrapped deserts are great treats for when you get home or to enjoy the next day.
I also LOVE coffee, and this place has great stuff. My wife isn’t a huge fan of coffee, but she hadn’t had coffee she liked as much as the stuff brewed there.
Everybody in the place is very friendly and its very nice eating at a place where people running the shop talk with you. After having a bad day, going here and eating good food, and making jokes with the owner and my wife, it made a day that I though was going to be really bad… pretty damn awesome!
I really want this place to thrive and a lot of other places in the area could learn well from this shop and take the time to know the people who visit and live near by. This is the kind of a place that will be a landmark for the area.
What are you waiting for, go in, eat good food, and chat it up with the people there!
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
AMAZING!
This Mediterranean food is wonderfully fresh and colorful. You have no regrets eating such a healthy meal of meat and vegetables. There are the choices to have either rice or pita bread, if you want some starches with your meal. And yes, there are vegetarian options but the meat is just too tender. The flavors are a true delight to the palate and no matter the dish, you don’t feel weighed down after eating. All the meals, plus the drinks are prepared in house. My husband and I found that out when we spoke with the owner, Renita. She is friendly, warm, and welcoming. It’s a pleasure to meet a restaurant owner who actually cares about their customers and employees. That kind of genuine care shows in her food and simplistic layout of her business.
My husband and I always look forward to our next time there. You can’t beat the prices for the taste and amount of food given. Most of all, an owner that truly believes in bringing joy to the customers through great service and fine, delectable food.
Place rating: 5
Newton, MA
Dates & Olives is amazing! I’ve been there a few times now and everything I have tried from the proteins to the sides are delicious! It’s so great to have such a wonderful Mediterranean take out restaurant in the area, and as an added bonus they also run a fantastic Indian catering business that is well worth the try!
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
This place is an awesome addition to the neighborhood. So impressed with how healthy and fresh the ingredients are and SO delicious. I’ve been here a few times and think the falafel and hummus are standouts. The baba ghanoush and couscous salad are also great. With generous portions, reasonable prices, and very friendly service, this place is a must try.
Place rating: 5
Brighton, MA
Healthy, fresh food — Dates and Olives is a wonderful addition to the neighborhood! I live and work in the area, and this is a great place for take-​out lunch. The bowls with multiple ingredients are fresh and delicious. Have tried the chicken and rice as a base a couple of times. The extras for the bowls include items like barley with cranberry, carrot salad, hummus, and eggplant salad.
The spices are great, and dishes seem perfectly seasoned. The owners are also very nice.
Place rating: 3
Brighton, MA
Tried this for the first time today and went for the falafel rice bowl. For my four toppings I chose: baba ganouj (eggplant purée); red cabbage slaw; couscous salad; and carrot raisin salad. The concept is similar to Chipotle… choose either a salad bowl, rice bowl, or pita sandwich and then choose toppings.
Overall, the dish was tasty and flavorful. However, I felt the ingredients could have been fresher. The containers behind the nose guard looks more than half empty and hence I’m thinking the ingredients have been sitting there for a while. My sister chose the Greek roasted potato salad as one of her four toppings and it reminded me of day-​old McDonald’s fries. Not sure if that texture is purposeful, but if so, it is not an appealing texture. The falafel was made-​to-​order instead of being pre-​made sitting at the counter. However, it wasn’t hot when it came out the kitchen, it was warm, which makes me think that it was simply heated up. I’ve had better made-​to-​order falafel before.
I would come here again because the food was flavorful, but would check out other Mediterranean places first before I make this one my go-​to.
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
Dates & olives is a great addition to the neighborhood. Went here tonight to pick up some dinner and was very impressed with the clean bright interior. Right away the guy behind the counter explained to me all the sides and toppings and how the menu worked which was much appreciated.
I got the salad bowl with chicken, eggplant dip, cous cous salad, muhamara, and tahini sauce. The chicken was high quality and delicious. The toppings were great especially the cous cous. For 8 bucks I was very impressed! I also got a side of falafel app for $ 3.50 which came with four falafel fritters, a pita and tahini sauce. The falafel were were cooked fresh on the spot and were super moist. The pita was honestly one of the best I have had, it was chewy doughy perfection not like your typical store bought pita that is very thin and dry. I was hoping to try the rice pudding but unfortunately they were out, will certainly go back and order it!
Overall Dates & olives really impressed me. It’s so great to have a healthy, flavorful, and quality to go option in the neighborhood and I can’t wait to go back and try some more menu items!
Place rating: 5
Brighton, MA
Delicious! Chicken is so flavorful and moist, and the rest of the toppings are equally as amazing. I recommend the red pepper sauce and carrot salad. A great casual pick what you want, how you want it (a la chipotle style — but the food is 100x better). I usually get a salad bowl because it makes me feel healthy, but the food in general is very healthy.
As other reviewers said, it is off-​the-​beaten path, but is definitely worth the trip. If you go once, you will most definitely be going back again.
FWIW, the owners/​employees are very nice and helpful and can talk to you about the different foods so you can find the ones you would like the most (although you will probably like them all!)
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
This place is GREAT! The selections we tasted were just a bit different from the «run of the mill» Middle Eastern style restaurants.
Excellent Israeli couscous, hints of citrus, with apricots and raisins. Falafel were made with some fava beans were lightly fried and not at all hard and greasy. Roasted red pepper side was so tasty, we even got an order to go! A desert made from orange peels and almonds was most tasty.
This small local restaurant is destined for greatness.
Place rating: 4
Brookline, MA
A fresh take on mediterranean cuisine, Dates & Olives, in a somewhat off-​the-​beaten path stretch of Chestnut Hill Ave. between Cleveland Circle and Brighton Center, serves vibrant and crisp fare. With a smaller menu, the options to try most of the menu are pretty easy.
As with many fast food restaurants today, the «build your own meal» option has risen in popularity with its flexibility and convenience. With either chicken, beef, falafel fritters or grilled vegetables, chose your dish style with a rice bowl, salad bowl, or pita. Each dish comes with four sides. The beef is cubed small, grilled with Turkish spices. The falafel fritters are delightful with the perfect crunch to mush ratio.
The sides each cleanse the palate in their own ways, each showcasing a unique voice. The hummus is thick with huge notes of lemon. The eggplant dip, a la baba ghanoush, is pureed chunky with tomatoes, onions, mint, garlic, and pomegranate molasses. Red cabbage slaw and carrot raisin salad both provide crunch and texture contrast to the dish. The red cabbage is blended with olive oil and the carrot raisin is sweet and complex with the juxtaposition of the crunchy carrot and plump yellow raisin.
A lovely new addition to the area and will look forward to tasting the many iterations of these bright dishes.
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
Delicious, high quality food. Unique options and amazing variety. So many combinations. Owners are dedicated and incredibly friendly. Great value!
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
Craving for the falafel Pita I had a week back and thought about leaving this review hoping it’ll leave me a bit satiate… till I get there this weekend.
Last visit we tried chicken & falafel pita bowls and missed ordering their hot Zhoug sauce :(
Intend to treat myself with their Date Cake & Icecream (Lactose free) too.
Yeah, can’t stop thinking about my next order… the food they serve is delicious & healthy… totally hooked!!!
Place rating: 2
Brighton, MA
I hate to go against the majority here, but I was not impressed at all with this place. The steak was really fatty and a lot of pieces were inedible. The rice seemed to be way overlooked, like each grain had exploded, and didn’t carry much flavor. The hot sauce (one of for choices to add to a plate) was essentially just sriracha. The owners definitely seemed like they cared about the food and it was interesting to hear the Mediterranean influence, however I just could not enjoy my meal. My plate was also barely room temperature. It was not busy so maybe the food was sitting out for a bit.
It was about $ 10 for a plate of food. Was really hoping for more considering my proximity to the location, but instead I was disappointed in the meal.
I will echo what others have said regarding the nutritional elements (healthy) and the owners (nice). But that won’t bring me back to spend money.
Place rating: 4
Allston/Brighton, Boston, MA
As a lover of Mediterranean cuisine, I was excited to hear that Dates and Olives opened in Brighton. The food is fresh — everything is made in house with the exception of the pita bread. The food was also reasonably priced. I paid about $ 13 for a rice bowl with chicken and the falafel appetizer (came with 5 falafels).
Let me just say that the falafels were AMAZING! Some of the best I’ve ever had. A lot places have really dry falafels, but the ones here were crispy on the outside and perfectly moist on the inside.
You start by choosing either a rice or salad bowl or a pita pocket then add chicken, beef, falafel or grilled vegetables. Then, here’s the best part, you get to add four toppings/​sauces. I chose hummus, pickled turnips, millet tabbouleh, and yogurt mint sauce.
The chicken was perfectly grilled and seasoned with Moroccan spices. I could tell that the tabbouleh was really fresh since it didn’t have such a strong overpowering lemon flavor from marinating in the lemon juice. The hummus was also really fresh and so creamy. It was delicious! The pickled turnips were soft. I had expected them to be crunchy but they weren’t bad.
My only complaint is the brown rice. I thought it was pretty bland. I’ll have to come back and get a pita next time.
Place rating: 5
CHESTNUT HILL, MA
Terrific Mediterranean grill! Tastefully redone interior/​very healthy but tasteful.
Ver inexpensive and the red cabbage slaw was outstanding. Everything made in house except pita bread!
I’ll be back!