Wild Olive Restaurant

We had a lovely dinner experience at Wild Olive, arriving quite early for our reservation, we decided to slip into Low Tide Brewing next door. There is a nice, lighted Pat from the rear of the restaurant building to the brewery. Even though they don’t share ownership, they seem to understand how this type of neighborly cooperation helps both businesses.
Back to dinner, we shared an appetizer of risotto fritters reminiscent of arancini and absolutely delicious. For entrees, we had the Sunday Gravy Lasagna (decadent!) and a very good special of chicken and ‘Nduja over a mid length house made pasta which resembled octopus tentacles.
Everything was fantastic, and we left quite full and happy.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Sunday Gravy Lasagna with Venison Elk Ribeye Mushrooms Tomato Fontina Fonduta, Suppli Al Telefono Risotto Fritters Stuffed with Sausage Spinach Parmesan Mozzarella

Fabulous find! From the focaccia to the calamari then add the best chicken Parmesan and a mushroom papardella….wow complete jewel!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I love this place! My fiancé and I had a wonderful time. Food/dessert was amazing and our server was extremely kind. We love it here and will definitely keep coming back for more!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The service felt rushed and impersonal. There was very little effort made to connect with us, guide us through the menu, or understand what we were looking for. When dishes were described, the descriptions didn’t match what arrived. The pasta was presented as having a cream sauce but came out like a broth, and the suggested sausage pairing did not complement it well.

The short rib was extremely heavy and thick, and the polenta lacked flavor, we couldn’t taste the Parmesan at all. The olives were overwhelmingly salty, and the red sauce served with the calamari was very acidic, which made it difficult to enjoy for me personally.

The calamari itself was good, but overall the meal felt unbalanced and the service lacked attentiveness. We had hoped for a warm, thoughtful dining experience and left disappointed.

We got on the wait list and waited next door. We got the text that our table was ready, responded within the minute and arrived within 3 minutes and they gave our table away. The hostess said “oh we only hold those for 5 or 10 minutes…” which was a nonsense response to our situation.

Fast forward 30 minutes to getting seated and the waitress, Julie, was wonderful. She was the only good part of the experience.

I got the ribeye and I’ve genuinely had better steak on Afghanistan. It tasted like nothing and it, was well as the potatoes, were barely lukewarm. The hostess set the tone early for a bad experience and the food delivered on that promise.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

Most amazing tiramisu!! Supa Dope!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We've been to Wild Olive many times now and it never disappoints. The menu is seasonal and rotates quite a bit, so there's always something new to try. Everything is so fresh and balanced, every single thing we've tried has been phenomenal.

The best thing we've had so far are their Ragu dishes, which change slightly as things come in and out of season. My husband loves the selection of game meat available, and we can always taste the fresh seasonality of all the ingredients used. Another standout that we indulge in every time is their fresh focaccia and white bean dip, truly delicious.

If you have room for dessert, their pastry chef is out of this world and is always coming up with new exciting creations - just take a look at their Instagram page for a peak at the rotation of dolce delights.

The service, atmosphere, and food is all incredible, which makes Wild Olive one of my favorite spots in Charleston...truly dangerous as I live less than a mile away.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Elk Loin

The atmosphere, music playing in the background, service, and food all rate 6 stars. Everything we ate was phenomenal and drinks were fantastic. Definitely a do again spot!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great food. Very good service. If there is a improvement to be made is to add more sound deadening. Restaurant is very lond hindering normal conversation.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

This is one of our fav dinner spots! They have not one bad thing on the menu. Have had great service every time as well
They forgot to bring our leftovers back out after they boxed it and they comped an entire meal because of it- this restaurant would have 1,000,000 stars if I could rate it that high!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

One of my favorite restaurants in Charleston

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

What an outstanding meal! 4th time coming here in the last 5 years. This visit we ordered the sunday gravy lasanga and I asked them to make a simple fettacini alfredo with chicken. The waitress recommend adding panchetta for flavor. It was dynamite! So good. I highly recommend this place. You will be very impressed.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The pasta and lasagna were very salty. It would have been very tasty if it weren’t over salted. Drinks were tasty and the dessert was delicious.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

We had reservations for a party of 6 at 9:45. We asked what time they closed when we made the reservation. We were told the kitchen closing at 10:00, so as long as you get your order in before then, you are good to stay as long as you like. We did not feel that was true once we arrived. We ordered, received our food quickly but when wanting to order dessert and dessert drinks, it was apparent they were ready for us to leave. This would be understandable if we weren’t told we could enjoy our dinner as long as we’d like. Overall, no one was blown away with their meal. It was good but nothing over the top. We felt rushed even though we were told we could take our time to enjoy our dinner.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 3

I want to start with the positive: our waitress was genuinely great. She was attentive, kind, personable, and handled all the small touches—boxing our leftovers, checking in at the right times, and giving the level of service you’d expect from a higher-end restaurant.
But the rest of the experience didn’t match the price point.
We had a reservation, yet when we arrived we were told we needed to wait because there weren’t enough menus available. I’ve waited for a table before, sure—but waiting because a restaurant doesn’t have enough menus? That was a first. For a place charging premium prices, it feels wild that they can’t print or buy enough menus to cover their own dining room.
As for the food: nothing was outright bad, but nothing stood out either. I’ve had better dishes at much cheaper restaurants. The only thing that really impressed me were the roasted potatoes, which ended up being the highlight of the whole meal… and they were a side. When one person spends around $100 for two drinks, an appetizer, and an entrée, you expect to be wowed by more than the potatoes.
Overall, the service from our waitress was the strongest part of the evening, but the food and some avoidable operational issues didn’t justify the price. I left feeling underwhelmed, and for the cost, that’s hard to overlook.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 5