Blu Olive Mediterranean Bistro

How on earth have I not left a review yet. This place is amazing, lamb shank is incredible, it literally falls off the bone. Not exaggerating, it’s amazing. My wife and I live close by and we probably eat here two to three times a week, it’s become one of our staples. The food is always always fresh, alway. The staff is incredible, and I love that they are so welcoming and accommodating. I cannot say enough good things about this place, we has family and friends come in from out of town and we always take them here for our Mediterranean.
You won’t regret coming here, and they even do take out!
I could go on and on and on, I’ve had almost everything on the menu, and all of it is wonderful. This area was dying for a great Mediterranean place, and they have not disappointed.

So nice, reasonably priced. The fresh house-​made mixes for their cocktails can’t be beat.

Food is great, you need to try these special «BARG». Its The most tender meat I ever had.
Greek salad is just perfect. Thank u for being in the Community

Between the 5 of us we had a lot of dishes… Each one was so amazingly tasty!!! So happy to have this close to home. We are coming back

This place is a ‘keeper’! There are not a lot good restaurants in this area of pdx metro. Glad to have this addition and very reasonable prices. The lamb K bob was great, the hummus was fantastic and the flan spot on.

Went here to pick up some food/​carry out while my wife was in the early stages of labor. Sat at the bar and had a beer and chatted up Marcus, the bartender. Ordered another beer and a chicken gyro and chicken kabob platter. Both were great, and my mother in law is very picky. The place was packed and the staff was running around, but we’re super nice and focused on their customers. This was the last place I had a beer before I became a father, so I might be a little biased. But damn, at least check it out, have a beer or a cocktail (BTW I saw a ton of infused liquors on the shelf, that’s always a good sign) and grab a bite to eat!

I was a bit skeptical when I first walked in. I thought it is Foo Foo place. It wasn’t. It was perfect. Now that I got this out of the way, let me tell you why. They pay too much attention to the details of both the food and the place itself. You can tell the chef (probably the owner) is after perfection. The lamb Kabob, the rice, and the hummus were all perfect. A couple of minor points. I wish the falafel was more crispy. Also they should use different Pita bread because the two halves do not separate, and you end up eating twice as much bread.

I was over the moon with the flavors!
Can I come Back for a cooking lesson?
For something as simple as plain rice the flavors are just delicious, delicate, and a little bit buttery :-)

Amazing find… was looking for a place to eat and ran into this gem… food was delicious and affordable… I had the lamb kebabs and my partner the vegetarian plate… we were reminded of our recent trip to the Greek islands. We’ll be back for sure!
Update 5÷14÷16:
Same great quality as the first time. Had the Baba Ghanouj in addition to lamb and vegan plates and everything was delicious!

I don’t know why it took us so long to check this place out! The menu is short and simple (yes!) with a lot of variety. We started with hummus and each got a different pita sandwich. Husband had a cocktail. Everything was fresh and AMAZING.
Ambience is nice too!

First time in Portland. Our friend brought us here and it was one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at. I wish there was one in Sacramento. I had the chicken gyro and it was one of the best sandwiches I’ve had. Also had a blutini and I’m in love with it. I usually don’t drink martinis of any kind but it sounded delicious. My grandma had the jalapeño margarita and it tasted delicious.

My husband and I ordered takeout from Blu Olive instead of eating in, we were feeling a little lazy about the evening. That being said, usually when you get takeout it’s just not as good when you bring it home and eat it. I have to say it was delicious! We ordered the special (top sirloin kabob) to share, tzatziki and pita bread. The kabob was perfectly seasoned, super moist and tender, it was on a bed of fragrant saffron basmati rice. The tzatziki was tangy and refreshing, exactly how it should be! Thank you so much for the delicious food! We’ll be back, to hopefully dine-​in this time, in the adorable dining room!

These guys rock! Get here at least twice a month. They make a killer lamb shank, roasted lamb, euro sandwich. Lamb just falls apart and has perfect flavor. Played dishes are paired with a Greek salad and Mediterranean rice. The Euro is loaded with meat and is quite filling, great dinner or lunch! Warm pit as make a nice touch!
Their regular bartender is amazing and she makes a terrific drink. Most off menu offerings are comprised of flavorings which are all made in house and she is a good improviser. Otherwise standard back bar selection, appeared to be 4 – 5 brands in each spirit category.
Food is always great and I enjoy the company, which is why I stop here regularly both by myself when in the neighborhood and with my wife for a tasty evening to cap off a long week. Cheers!

Every time is another great experience. I love the place. My favorite drink is jalapeño margarita.

The friendliest, most inefficient service I’ve encountered in a long time. Watching the staff clear tables is a painfully slow process. Waiting for a drink at the bar is also a painfully slow ordeal. We would have left within 10 minutes if traffic weren’t brutal and if there were decent food offerings in the area.
We stayed and were rewarded with good food, generous portions and reasonable prices. I’d add a star if the restaurant wasn’t full. But they just didn’t know how to handle transitioning waiting patrons to open tables – at least from the 80 minutes or so that we observed.
It was even a challenge to get their attention to pay our tab. It’s unlikely that we’ll be back because while the scattered service was friendly, the staff just didn’t act like a competent team. While I don’t mind a disjointed experience once, I certainly don’t return for more unless I’m out of options and really, really hungry.

Really good gyro! I am personally not a fan of hand cut fries (eg, i am more the mcdonalds, crispy style fry fan), but to each their own.
the portion is small for the price point (something in the $ 10 vicinity for a gyro), although the taste is good.

Was looking for a new place to have dinner last night and was pleasantly surprised. The BF loves Mediterranean food and of course, adult beverages.
The last time we were in this complex, that Market of choice had just opened up and there wasn’t much restaurant things around and certainly nothing with beverages. I was wondering how long it would take for a place to open up and offer that.
I wasn’t too terribly hungry, and the Lentil soup was just up my ally. The boyfriend had the braised lamb shank. Hope you like curry, there seems to be a lot of it! I certainly want to try other things on the menu. BF said he wanted to try that lamb kabob next time. looks good! We went at about 7 and it was crammed with people. we came just in time for a table, but people were waiting! You must go!

It’s a cute new atmosphere. The menu selections are very limited, because this location is new. We had the Lamb Kabob and Mediterranean Plate entrée. The lamb, falafel, hummus, spanakopita, and Greek salad were really good. The pita bread seemed more pre-​made and was very thin, wasn’t too impressed. Their freshly squeezed lemonade was delicious! Main portions were simple.

Very good Greek food. Slow food service. Place was nearly empty and had to wait for 20 mins for my food.
Mediterranean Plate $ 9 — very reasonable for lunch. 3 falafels, hummus, Greek salad, and spanakopita with 3 pieces of pita.
Falafels — best I’ve ever had, moist, tasty
Greek Salad — fresh ingredients, lightly dressed and good side portion
Hummus — smooth, not thick, good portion
Spanakopita — reheating it caused to be soggy and burnt. This was my least favorite on my plate.
Value was really good here. Room for improvement, but not much. Definitely would go here again. This is a good backup plan if you don’t want to wait in line at the highly overrated ramen place across the parking lot.

New restaurant that just opened in the new Timberland Town Center.
Came here for dinner on a Wednesday night around 6pm. For a new restaurant– it was packed! Every table was accounted for. Definitely a great sign for food to come.
The restaurant has a pleasant mix of fine dining (glass stemware, luxurious bar area, and large drink menu) with fast food (reasonable prices & take out orders)
With any new restaurant, there are bound to be kinks. Overall, the dinner pace felt slow. It took a while for us to get drinks and for our food to come out. The waiter was very friendly and helpful, but it felt like he had a lot on his plate. This seems like it’s an easy fix once they get into the groove of all of their roles.
Now– onto the food!
We started with the falafel. Let me start by saying that I’ve never had a falafel before in my life so I have absolutely nothing to compare it to. This falafel was delicious! I loved the outer crunch since it paired perfectly with the tzatziki. It fell apart at times which made it seem on the dry side. Nothing a little magical tzatziki sauce couldn’t fix.
My entrée was the lamb Kebob plate. The meal came with a side Greek salad, a lamb kebab and basmati rice. Good size portion ($ 13). My friend had the chicken which was moist as well. I would recommend either.
The cocktail & wine menu is pretty nice and very reasonably priced. I had the Persian Rose (rose vodka & lime) which was served in a martini glass. It was only $ 6. Such a steal and it wasn’t even happy hour pricing.
If I lived in the area, I would definitely come back for dinner. I would hold off for lunch since I’m usually in such a rush during then. Would be a nice takeout option as well.
Very friendly people and I hope they work out the kinks as they gain popularity. Excited to come back and see how far they’ve grown.