Olea Cafe

When I first came to Olea last year I would have given them three stars: the food was good, I love siting on their outdoor patio in the sunshine, the customer service was great and I never had any problems ordering.
But, today was a different story completely. I’m not sure if they have a different owner, or they changed management, but they have done a complete 180. First, the patio is gone– that might be seasonal, but the weather has really gotten better the past couple weeks, I would of thought that they would take the opportunity to set it up again. Hrumph. Second, the ambiance is completely gone– when I walked in the sign outside which is suppose to get people interested in trying their food– was not inviting. The gelato case is empty (which takes up a lot of space by the counter, such an eye sore) as well as the beverage case. The menu is sparse and there are lackluster descriptions of the items. They have a few salads, a couple sandwiches and a few pizzas. Nothing special
When I ordered my greek salad I asked for no cheese, but she decided to ask if I wanted every other topping– including chicken (but that wasn’t mentioned on the menu). I told her no chicken and she placed my order. When I got home I started eating and not noticing they had changed what they use to have-​plain bread– into garlic bread. I’m allergic to dairy as well as vegan (which is why I asked for no feta). After realizing that I ate the garlic bread (mind you, there was no mention of garlic bread on the menu), I called to see if it was made with olive oil and she replied, «No, it’s a known fact that garlic bread has butter.» in a very rude tone. I told her that they menu should be more descriptive and they should tell their customers what comes with their meals.
Now I have a stomach ache. Great.
I will not be returning to this café.

So I don’t know what happened to this place but it has completely changed. There’s no more made to order breakfast or gelato. The atmosphere is gone and honestly the pizza isn’t that good anymore either. I’m assuming the management changed, and with this change came disappointment
Sorry Guys

Have gone to Olea for the last time… KooKoo, you’ve won me back.
1:30 at Olea – not especially busy inside.
The only staff member I saw went back and forth between counter and condiments, never acknowledged me.
Me: Hi, what’s the soup today.
Staff: we don’t carry soup anymore.
Me: oh, you might want to erase it from the board so people know.
I ordered a burger, no cheese. It came w/​cheese, which I don’t eat. The line was long by then so I didn’t wait to ask for a fresh burger. I scraped off the cheese and skipped the bun, the mustard (bith bottles) were basically glued to the counter in a pile of dried-​on ketchup. Trash bin overflowing.
Bottom line: unfriendly staff, quality of food has deteriorated, place is dirty – which is not acceptable in a restaurant.

Olea Café has one of my very favorite sandwiches, the Stella wrap. It’s avocado, greens, olive tapenade, red onion, Dijon mustard and fresh mozzarella on a spinach, plain or wheat wrap. It’s also available with chicken but it’s perfect with the cheese. I love their assortment of San Pellegrino sodas (blood orange is especially tasty) and Poland Spring sparkling water, as well as their impressive gelato bar (sea salt dark chocolate: yes, please!). Their patio is fantastic in the spring and summer, too. In addition I enjoy their counter-​to-​table service (you are given a number to display on your table after ordering at the counter and then they bring you your food at your table).
Things I’d change about Olea Café: please get AC for the summer months. No one wants to roast alive while attempting to eat lunch. Also, some of the counter staff are waaaaaaay too chatty. Friendly is fine; talking to me for 15 minutes plus isn’t when I only have an hour for lunch. They’ve also had issues with their credit card machine, forcing me to schlep to an ATM to pay for my meal. I showed up today to get a Stella wrap and they were closed, with employees standing outside to inform me they were closed. Weird.
If Olea could resolve the issues above I’d be more than happy to give them 5 stars. The food quality is excellent and I love their location.

I wrote my last review about a year ago, and felt compelled to write an update.
Wish I could give them a Zero now. I’ve wasted WAY too much time and money on them.
Bottom line — I’m done with this place. I’ve gone here at LEAST 50 times (no exaggeration) as have several of my co workers, and we’ve all agreed that they have gone from a reliable, yummy café with fresh, yummy food… to a total shit hole with horrible employees that serve less than mediocre food. No wonder other local businesses are still booming (what upppp, kookoo café!), and their lines are slowly dwindling. Their service is shitty (I’ve seen and heard the girls behind the counter whispering about customers on more than one occasion — A) I’m not deaf or blind… you’re right in front of me… B) grow up — don’t work in the service industry, if you’re going to be an asshole) and their food quality has gone straight to the shitter. While, before, I could «deal with» their service growing worse and worse (talk about turnover…), I still felt like I could ultimately rely on getting a tasty lunch. WRONG. Not anymore.
Their fresh, warm grilled chicken has been replaced with the fake crap that is served cold (I literally took it OUT of my wrap when i ordered it the other day… it was that bad) and their fluffy pita wraps are replaced with what resembles those $ 4 wraps you can get in a 10-​pack at stop and shop. Low quality and gross. They CONSISTENTLY screw up my order (again — i could deal with a mistake here and there before — especially since I knew that i’d ultimately get a great product… but eff that — not anymore) and, no joke, forget to put my «Add ons» onto my sandwich or salad, yet… SHOCK…still charge me the extra money. I got a side salad today, thinking that they couldn’t possibly ruin that — wrong. I got a Styrofoam cup that was half filled with salad — no joke, I ate it in 4 small bites. Also — if you’re ever in the mood for a good bowl of soup — think twice before ordering it online… since they NEVER HAVE IT, when you go to pick it up, because, oopsies — they never update their website.
Also — what is Olea even trying to be? Their espresso is gone now… so…guess they’re not a coffee shop? They don’t serve gelato… so…I guess that’s not in the cards anymore, thanks for the warning! They have beer on tap, yet they close at 6:30…good luck getting customers to come in for that. Figure out what you want to be, Olea (other than OVER-​PRICED). This time, our breakup is official — it’s not me, IT’S YOU.

Hearing that Olea will now only be open from 10:30 am — 6:30 pm is a huge disappointment for people who work nearby and rely on this place for coffee/​breakfast in the mornings. It was also, back in the day, the ONLY place in the area open till 9 pm, which made it an ideal study location for those who hate Starbucks. Olea’s most loyal daily customers come in the mornings! This was a terrible business decision, when clearly there is a steady influx of customers every morning prior to 10 am.
In addition, the quality of food has truly gone downhill since last year. Breakfast sandwiches are no longer prepared fresh and made to order, and salads used to have freshly grilled chicken but now come with what tastes like gross microwaved chicken. Wraps have too much lettuce and dressing and not enough of everything else. RIP, brunch on weekends.
Olea seems to be eternally confused about what it wants to be. A coffee shop? A lunch place? A brunch place? A happy hour spot? It really needs to figure it out and stop making changes or its favorite customers will go across the street.

I came here with a friend just to study. She got a full meal, I didn’t. But we both got chaiders which is just apple cider and chai tea. It was really good! I enjoyed it. The place had a good selection of food, drinks, and gelato as well.
They need to remodel the inside or something because it looks a bit warn out for a place that’s fairly new. I will say the outdoor seating is really cute though. I like how close it is to the T (legit down the street). My other complaint is staffing. I’ve staffed before and I get the budgeting and stuff but you seriously need at least two cooks back there or at least two counter staff. This poor girl was really nice but she had so many orders to take care of because when I went, there was a line. Our chaiders came out WAYYYY later but it was alright because we were studying. But what if we weren’t? We can’t be waiting 20+ minutes for a chaider.
I do recommend coming here for the food but if it’s a line and you see that it’s not very well-​staffed, I’d just go somewhere else. There’s a café across the street called Koo Koo… just go there or something and come back to Olea later.

Dear Polo Sandwich — you’re consistent.
Dear homemade potato chips — you’re real good!
Dear Tuscano — I’d let you make me your bi@#%
Dear Summer Berries Tea — you’re effing gross until I put lots of sugar into you. Then you morph into the most delicious drink everrrr.
Dear Olea’s pizza — you’re greasy and your crust is meh and unless there is a torrential downpour and for some reason I MUST get pizza, I am never going to come buy you when I could buy from the Spa.
Dear Chocolate Croissants and various Muffins — you make my mornings deeelightful and deeelicious, but you need to accept that the baked goods over at KooKoo Café are better than you are.
Dear gelato — one day I’m gunna try you.
Dear Angry Orchard — THANK YOU for being on tap.
Dear Harvest Salad — I’m going to eat you every day for lunch for the rest of my life (or at least until I’m no longer employed in Brookline Village).
Dear Online ordering system — god bless you!
Dear new outdoor seating area/​porch — you were a fantastic idea
Dear Olea’s — I have a crush on you. I know that one day it will fade — when some bigger and hunkier café comes into my life — but until then I’m going to continue to get butterflies in my tummy and to smile uncontrollably around you.

The worker there was a good guy — you could tell he was working hard… after messing up our order he gave us a complimentary dessert. He was letting some tea steep, then he assisted some other customers. Then (since we asked him about our tea) He forgot about the tea. Then he saw the tea there but forgot why he made it. He threw it out. We came back to him and he remade the tea to go for us.
Also, the Gelato is not Gelato. It’s just not. It’s just extra creamy, too sweet, and slightly melted Ice Cream.

Olea Café is fairly new, and I have to admit that it’s a unique little place. The location isn’t grand, but they made due with the space they had in a practical way. I will say it’s definitely better than the restaurant that was previously there. Their gelato is pretty good, if you like gelato. Most of the menu items are pretty generic as with most small food places.
(WARNING) I’ve been here a few times, and have gotten the Cowboy Burger and fries each time. I will say, the burger was good. However, I paid extra money for a side of fries and on each visit I received about 7 fries in the container. Apparently this is a regular occurrence for them and not a mistake. I’m really not sure how 7 fries constitutes as a separate side that I have to pay extra money for, but after the third strike, I won’t be coming back for more. When people pay extra for a side of fries, you should at least give them a handful… not a pinch! Olea Café left me hungry for more, and not in the way they should be aiming for.

After ten months of living abroad I finally returned to my beloved Olea Café with one of my friends who lives in the area. This was our spot for coffee, tea, burgers, beer and gelato (basically everything you need in life) when we lived in Brookline last year.
The service and food was still excellent. They even built a deck around the front of the store, which looks great, and now there are no more leaning tables!
After all this time, Olea still holds the title of my fave place in Brookline!

This place is a great lunch stop in Brookline. Not pretentious, lots of yummy options, cheap coffee (even espresso drinks!), AND outdoor seating. AND beer? Ok. Ok.
I grabbed the butternut panini for lunch the other day and was pleased that it came with a salad and wasn’t overly large in portion. I keep planning to get my coffee here every morning with a breakfast sandwich but dang if I’m not running late EVERY day.
Go here. There is something for everyone without sacrificing quality or service.

Olea Café is a cute and unique café located in Brookline Village. I recently moved to Brookline Village and usually go to Starbucks to do work on Saturdays, but I decided to mix it up and try Olea Café for a change. I figured I could grab some coffee AND brunch while I get some work done.
What makes this place unique is the fact that it’s a coffee shop, a brunch place, and a bar a once. The reason I call it a bar is because they serve beer. They actually have about 5 – 6 beers on tap. That’s pretty neat! I was sitting in Olea Café taking an online midterm while sipping on a beer. How many places can you do that at?
For brunch, I tried the Hallah French toast with bacon and the western omelet. Both of which were okay. I would not order them again. However this place has a very interesting menu with a wide selection of paninis. Next time I will try one of these cool paninis.
Drinks: The coffee and pretty good. The hot chocolate is not bad. And the beer selection is great!
I plan on making quite a few trips back to Olea Café only because I live in the neighborhood.

Review is based on their peppermint white mocha with soymilk. Mmmmm delicious! I also got a delicious iced tea here once. They have a good selection of salads, sandwiches, and baked goods. Gonna frequent this place more.
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES!

What an adorable little café. Friendly staff, great selection of food and drink (and beer!), awesome gelato flavors, decent prices, outdoor patio. What’s not to like?
Be warned, their coffees are made with love, but the sugary ones are verrrry sugary… I had a white chocolate mocha recently and it almost crossed the line into being too sweet (fortunately it didn’t, and I love sweet anyways so it was delicious to me).

Olea is my escape from reality. It’s the mediocre homey café done to mediocre perfection. I was originally drawn to Olea by the outdoor and window seating. I stayed for, well, everything else.
The service is some of the friendliest and least pretentious ever. Oh my God yes. I’m tired of cashiers (sorry, ahem, baristas) who think they’re the shit because they know how to put coffee grinds into an espresso machine. Those people who look coldly into my eyes as I figure out what I want to eat or drink. In Olea Café, I can pretend I don’t live in such a world with such heinous people. I can pretend that I live in a world of compassion and friendliness, where dropping a dollar into the tip jar is not just a ritual but a heartfelt gesture, every muscle movement as conscious as the next.
I ordered a cappuccino; they spelled it wrong on the menu (missing a «C») but I don’t mind. Too many pretentious coffeeshops– call them «new wave» or «third wave» or whatever– make their cappuccinos the exact same way they make their cortadas, macchiatos, what have you, apart from the ratio of milk. Olea gives you the Italian original: heaps of super foamy milk on top of espresso. No silly latte art. Hoorah!
They have all the typical stuff but they also have a liquor license! And they serve burgers! And Cold Fusion gelato and sorbet! And everything is priced perfectly!
But really what makes this place just absolutely lovely is the feeling of looking out down Harvard St. sipping my cappuccino and eating my gelato, the brilliance of those red brick buildings and the cacophony of those 66 buses’ engines as they trudge on by, the autumn breeze penetrating those wide open windows and– if only momentarily– I feel like all those bad decisions I made yesterday don’t matter and all those nights I felt miserable falling asleep have slipped away, the persistent bullshit in my life feels as ephemeral as my gelato as it slips down my throat and I can pretend like everything is perfect in my life. Maybe it’s just a happy accident that Olea is scene to this serenity, but I’m nonetheless glad Olea came along for the ride.

I’ve been coming to Olea since it opened. It’s a charming family run café.
Recommendations: The Soho panini and Iced Caramel Macchiato. The gelato is also really good, you should get some before summer is over. Grapefruit flavored!
Wifi: Free! But only one outlet, so hopefully you have something with a good battery.
Coffee plan: Worthwhile if you work or live in Brookline Village. Monthly fee ($ 20 or $ 50 depending on the plan) for unlimited coffee and a discount on food.
There’s a lunch rush, but it’s a quiet place to work in the evenings.

This place is amazing. Their Tuscano panini is amazing. The atmosphere is really nice as well. Open and airy, tables outside and it’s just a breath of fresh air. I’ve been looking for a good sandwich shop near my work and this place fits the bill to a T. It has a nice European feel to it too, just a nice place to sit and have a relaxing lunch or early dinner. And they have beer on tap too which gives it extra points.
I will be back as often as possible, a nice light lunch (all their paninis come with option of chips or side salad and the salad is really a nice extra).
Go here now! Do it!

Since the last review and it wasn’t so long ago, I’ve came back twice and have tried two other paninis.
I tried the Alba — Salmon panini. This was very good. Smoked salmon with cream cheese and packed with sauce that was tasty and good.
I’ve also tried the Turkey panini as well and it had slices of bacon. Again, the sauce was yummy and the sides were good.
They’re also serving beer so that was a nice little addition to a late lunch even though I am not a drinker. The price was very reasonable.
I’m definitely more of a fan now than before.

If you had asked me when this place first opened it would’ve been 2 stars without question, but it seems like Olea has taken some of these reviews seriously and has seriously stepped up their game!
1) ONLINE ORDERING! I abhor having to call in and praying that the person on the phone is really listening as I can be pretty picky. Ordering online I don’t have to worry about anyone but me screwing something up.
2) BURGERS! Their burger was delicious! I wish you could get the homemade chips instead of the fries but the burger was cooked perfectly and the bun was AMAZING.
3)GELATO. It’s getting hot, and I can literally see this place from my desk. Please and thank you.