I remember anxiously awaiting the opening of this restaurant during the long approval phase. Some reports said that it was going to be a Mathew Kenney restaurant, but it turned out that he was only advising them. Based on menus from the many Kenney restaurants (which I never had a chance to actually try) in LA, I wish that it had been a Kenney restaurant.
When they first opened, I probably would have given them 4 or 5 stars. Although expensive, they had a reasonably large menu - with some very good options. However, post Lockdown their menu size decreased, and the number of interesting dishes also decreased. Most of their best dishes (generally their pasta dishes) were ones that were easy enough to make at home that it was hard to justify the increasingly high prices (often accompanied by shrinking serving sizes). For example, their butternut squash Rigatoni went up to $36 - yes, that is THIRTY SIX dollars for a SMALL portion of Rigatoni with a "fairly good" (not great) butternut squash sauce! Therefore, I can no longer give them 4 or 5 stars.
Then, earlier this week, I was told that this Saturday (today, 4/20/24) would be their last day as they were closing. I phoned them yesterday to verify this. I was told that they were closing, but would reopen in three months under a "new concept". At first I was hoping that the "new concept" would be an improved menu. However, I asked if it would still be vegan, and was told that they would still have some "vegan options"! So, I will never eat there again as I do not patronize corpse vendors. The only restaurants that I feel are worse than your typical corpse vendors are vegan restaurants that convert to corpse vendors. When that happens they will be 0 stars.
Santa Barbara is converting back to its former vegan restaurant wasteland - after it appeared that we might be on the verge of a vegan restaurant renaissance. First, the rumored vegan pizzeria, "Vegan Werks", failed to open. Then we lost the two most affordable vegan restaurants - Vegan GreenGo, and Modern Times.
Updated from previous review on 2024-04-20
BadrishD
Food, service, ambience was just excellent! But the price rise continues and now it's almost become prohibitive for us to go back frequently. I understand it's in Montecito...but still!
neekstah
One of the best sit-down vegan restos I’ve been to. Slightly “fancy” for my preference but still comfortable and portions are good-sized and delicious. Everything about the pizza crust and toppings is just perfect. Friendly, excellent service. Dog friendly! They even provided a water bowl for my dog.
debrad
the staff was very kind and helpful I didn't tell my husband the food was vegan- until after- and he loved it. the people at the next table were very loud. we were outside. so we were not too happy about that. - but they were enjoying themselves. It was next door to our hotel. so very convenient. the drinks were great! my veggie burger was amazing.
Kat W
Delicious food and a dog friendly patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Another delightful dinner at Oliver's. The corn soup was excellent. I had the Oliver's burger, the house-made one, not the Impossible Burger that my husband likes a lot. My burger was very tasty and the burger, itself, was so big I could hardy get my mouth around it. It came with a side salad that was a nice size, fresh and very good. Other big successes last night were the shishito peppers which we requested with light salt, light oil and lightly sautéed ?, the Roman-style artichoke hearts, and the “sausage” flatbread that we ordered with less cheese and extra onions. It was served hot, crispy and delicious. We had our favorite - the Key lime tart - for dessert with a scoop of Oliver's excellent coconut ice cream. Perfect end to a very enjoyable dinner, made even more enjoyable because of the top notch service by our lovely and very attentive server, Chloe.
Hammonds1
Lovely atmosphere with outdoor seating! We shares the Heirloom Salad, Brussels Sprouts and Veggie Squash Rigatoni. The presentation was beautiful and the flavors were all superb! Definitely our new ‘go to'
restaurant!
Food was excellent. Service, too. Chloe was a warm and attentive server. Kitchen was great at fulfilling a few modifications and special requests. Chef even came out to make sure everything was to our satisfaction. Overall a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five star experience. We'll be going back again soon.
sampada samaka
This Vegan place is a true gem! The ambience is stunning, making it a perfect spot for a cozy date. We started with the flavorful kung pao cauliflower and corn soup, followed by heavenly butternut squash Rigatoni. We had apple crumble for dessert and it was perfect ending to a perfect meal! I highly recommend this place! Would love to visit this place again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Betsy McKee
The Saged & Confused cocktail is delicious! The bar is a great place to sit and watch the game.
We had the most wonderful experience at Oliver's Montecito! The outside ambiance was peaceful and beautiful, service was fantastic, and the food was some of the best vegan food we've had! We can't wait to return to try more dishes.
We dine at Oliver's often and it doesn't disappoint. One thing we like is seeing the same staff consistently over a period of years so that a nice relationship develops. As for the food, it's always served at the appropriate temperature, be that a hot dish or a chilled salad. And it's beautifully plated. And my frequent “special requests” or modifications to menu items are handled with finesse, which I truly appreciate. Oliver's is our go-to place for a special night out.
CheffyBoy
Olivers is a must try for anyone — regardless of diet. The menu hasn't changed in a few years, but that's because if it's not broken, why fix it? I am a chef by trade and my wife and I have been Vegan for 9 years. We frequent Olivers whenever there's a special occasion that calls for a fine dining experience. For more casual dates or gatherings, the patio radiates an upscale LA lounge vibe that is the perfect balance between upscale and casual dining. The food plates are exquisite and a magical journey of flavorings. I mean this. Top-f*cking-notch. It's hard to explain with words ... but your dish is bound to have at least 5 or 6 unique elements with their own punch (or subtlety) of flavors. You will want to try a pinch of everything by itself, because each ingredient is so well curated. When you mix them together in one bite, the experiences overlap in a beautiful way. It's like that scene in Ratatullie when Remy shows his brother how to appreciate the cheese and bread separately, and then together. Just magical, absolutely magical. What's left? DRINKS! Holy hell. Their food menu is verrryyyy fairly priced for what you're getting. They could easily get away with charging more , and portion sizes are mint. Drinks however are so amazing, you best hold on to your wallet. I love getting carried away here whether it's exploring new cocktails or enjoying a fine fine wine. It's worth every penny and Oliver's provides a drinking experience like no other. You will be trying something new with every visit, and you will never be disappointed. HOWEVER: be aware that many specialty cocktails have spicy ingredients, so make sure you let your server know if that's not your preference.
There was a mixup with the waiters and no one came to help us for over 30 minutes. Once we managed to get the attention of someone and they realised no one was helping us they sorted it out and everything was great
Nathan Stanfield
Food was definitely only ok. Salad was comparable to panera bread, and the server was super rude. Surprised it has such high ratings, would not
I remember anxiously awaiting the opening of this restaurant during the long approval phase. Some reports said that it was going to be a Mathew Kenney restaurant, but it turned out that he was only advising them. Based on menus from the many Kenney restaurants (which I never had a chance to actually try) in LA, I wish that it had been a Kenney restaurant. When they first opened, I probably would have given them 4 or 5 stars. Although expensive, they had a reasonably large menu - with some very good options. However, post Lockdown their menu size decreased, and the number of interesting dishes also decreased. Most of their best dishes (generally their pasta dishes) were ones that were easy enough to make at home that it was hard to justify the increasingly high prices (often accompanied by shrinking serving sizes). For example, their butternut squash Rigatoni went up to $36 - yes, that is THIRTY SIX dollars for a SMALL portion of Rigatoni with a "fairly good" (not great) butternut squash sauce! Therefore, I can no longer give them 4 or 5 stars. Then, earlier this week, I was told that this Saturday (today, 4/20/24) would be their last day as they were closing. I phoned them yesterday to verify this. I was told that they were closing, but would reopen in three months under a "new concept". At first I was hoping that the "new concept" would be an improved menu. However, I asked if it would still be vegan, and was told that they would still have some "vegan options"! So, I will never eat there again as I do not patronize corpse vendors. The only restaurants that I feel are worse than your typical corpse vendors are vegan restaurants that convert to corpse vendors. When that happens they will be 0 stars. Santa Barbara is converting back to its former vegan restaurant wasteland - after it appeared that we might be on the verge of a vegan restaurant renaissance. First, the rumored vegan pizzeria, "Vegan Werks", failed to open. Then we lost the two most affordable vegan restaurants - Vegan GreenGo, and Modern Times. Updated from previous review on 2024-04-20
Food, service, ambience was just excellent! But the price rise continues and now it's almost become prohibitive for us to go back frequently. I understand it's in Montecito...but still!
One of the best sit-down vegan restos I’ve been to. Slightly “fancy” for my preference but still comfortable and portions are good-sized and delicious. Everything about the pizza crust and toppings is just perfect. Friendly, excellent service. Dog friendly! They even provided a water bowl for my dog.
the staff was very kind and helpful I didn't tell my husband the food was vegan- until after- and he loved it. the people at the next table were very loud. we were outside. so we were not too happy about that. - but they were enjoying themselves. It was next door to our hotel. so very convenient. the drinks were great! my veggie burger was amazing.
Delicious food and a dog friendly patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Another delightful dinner at Oliver's. The corn soup was excellent. I had the Oliver's burger, the house-made one, not the Impossible Burger that my husband likes a lot. My burger was very tasty and the burger, itself, was so big I could hardy get my mouth around it. It came with a side salad that was a nice size, fresh and very good. Other big successes last night were the shishito peppers which we requested with light salt, light oil and lightly sautéed ?, the Roman-style artichoke hearts, and the “sausage” flatbread that we ordered with less cheese and extra onions. It was served hot, crispy and delicious. We had our favorite - the Key lime tart - for dessert with a scoop of Oliver's excellent coconut ice cream. Perfect end to a very enjoyable dinner, made even more enjoyable because of the top notch service by our lovely and very attentive server, Chloe.
Lovely atmosphere with outdoor seating! We shares the Heirloom Salad, Brussels Sprouts and Veggie Squash Rigatoni. The presentation was beautiful and the flavors were all superb! Definitely our new ‘go to' restaurant!
Food was excellent. Service, too. Chloe was a warm and attentive server. Kitchen was great at fulfilling a few modifications and special requests. Chef even came out to make sure everything was to our satisfaction. Overall a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five star experience. We'll be going back again soon.
This Vegan place is a true gem! The ambience is stunning, making it a perfect spot for a cozy date. We started with the flavorful kung pao cauliflower and corn soup, followed by heavenly butternut squash Rigatoni. We had apple crumble for dessert and it was perfect ending to a perfect meal! I highly recommend this place! Would love to visit this place again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The Saged & Confused cocktail is delicious! The bar is a great place to sit and watch the game.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We had the most wonderful experience at Oliver's Montecito! The outside ambiance was peaceful and beautiful, service was fantastic, and the food was some of the best vegan food we've had! We can't wait to return to try more dishes.
We dine at Oliver's often and it doesn't disappoint. One thing we like is seeing the same staff consistently over a period of years so that a nice relationship develops. As for the food, it's always served at the appropriate temperature, be that a hot dish or a chilled salad. And it's beautifully plated. And my frequent “special requests” or modifications to menu items are handled with finesse, which I truly appreciate. Oliver's is our go-to place for a special night out.
Olivers is a must try for anyone — regardless of diet. The menu hasn't changed in a few years, but that's because if it's not broken, why fix it? I am a chef by trade and my wife and I have been Vegan for 9 years. We frequent Olivers whenever there's a special occasion that calls for a fine dining experience. For more casual dates or gatherings, the patio radiates an upscale LA lounge vibe that is the perfect balance between upscale and casual dining. The food plates are exquisite and a magical journey of flavorings. I mean this. Top-f*cking-notch. It's hard to explain with words ... but your dish is bound to have at least 5 or 6 unique elements with their own punch (or subtlety) of flavors. You will want to try a pinch of everything by itself, because each ingredient is so well curated. When you mix them together in one bite, the experiences overlap in a beautiful way. It's like that scene in Ratatullie when Remy shows his brother how to appreciate the cheese and bread separately, and then together. Just magical, absolutely magical. What's left? DRINKS! Holy hell. Their food menu is verrryyyy fairly priced for what you're getting. They could easily get away with charging more , and portion sizes are mint. Drinks however are so amazing, you best hold on to your wallet. I love getting carried away here whether it's exploring new cocktails or enjoying a fine fine wine. It's worth every penny and Oliver's provides a drinking experience like no other. You will be trying something new with every visit, and you will never be disappointed. HOWEVER: be aware that many specialty cocktails have spicy ingredients, so make sure you let your server know if that's not your preference.
There was a mixup with the waiters and no one came to help us for over 30 minutes. Once we managed to get the attention of someone and they realised no one was helping us they sorted it out and everything was great
Food was definitely only ok. Salad was comparable to panera bread, and the server was super rude. Surprised it has such high ratings, would not
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
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