The Olive Tree

No matter who you are or what mood you are in, Olive tree always makes you leave with a smile on your face. We have been to this Greek heaven sometimes just to feel the warmth of lovely customer service. The staff are lovely, always friendly no matter when you turn up, the food consistent as if it were being churned out of a magic machine with exactly the same taste bud pleasing delightful food. The place is sometimes a little noisy when full but the staff nevertheless do all they can ever do to make it worth every penny. I will admit they are a tad costly but they do a lot of deals on the voucher websites which makes it moderately priced

Lovely food. Went with a group of 17 people and they coped well! First st time I have had Greek food and enjoyed it very much. Shall certainly go again

Having had really nice food at the Rodley restaurant a couple of times, I jumped at the chance of a kgb deals voucher for the Olive Tree, and Mr MacDoo and I thought we’d give the Headingley branch a try, knowing we’d have plenty of nice pubs to choose from in the surrounding area.
The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere. It’s modern and clean and the nice big front windows make it nice and light, although I can imagine if it’s during term time and Otley Rd is a bit busier, you might feel a little bit ‘on display’. Having said that, there are also tables in a different area at the back of the restaurant, so I’m sure you could ask to be seated there if you want a bit more privacy. There’s also a seating area upstairs for peak times when it’s busier.
The menu holds a wonderful array of choice! It’s mostly meat based, although there’s a decent looking vegetarian section too. Mr MacDoo and I took ages to decide what to have, more than 20 mins! The staff were really lovely and patient with us though! In retrospect we should have just gone for the meze (a platter of little bits of lots of dishes, minimum of two people) but in the end we plumped for a couple of starters to share and separate mains.
Wowsers when the starters arrived we were blown away! The keftedes (minced lamb meatballs in a tomato sauce) were a really good size and the portion of four was very generous. The kotopitakia (chicken filo parcels) were really delicious and filled to bursting.
We eyed each other a bit nervously after our starters and Mr MacDoo expressed concerns about his ability to eat much more! When our huge mains arrived we were a bit overwhelmed at first, but seeing that the couple on the table next to ours had had their leftovers boxed up to take away, we figured we didn’t need to worry about the guilt of not clearing our plates and we tucked in with gusto.
It really was a feast of the most lovely meat! My mixed meat platter had lovely tender chicken and lamb skewers, a delicious pork wine sausage, an amazing spicy lamb kofte and a tasty lamb cutlet. The rice that accompanied was fluffy and light, and the spinach side dish I ordered was yummy too. It was all so tasty I totally forgot about getting the leftovers boxed and demolished the lot!
Similarly, Mr MacDoo also devoured his souvlaki (chicken & lamb skewers, chargrilled) with gusto, and like me was super impressed with the rice.
After conquering that mouthwatering meat mountain, you’d think there would be no room left for dessert. And there wasn’t. But that didn’t stop me ordering one anyway (well it would be rude not to!) I plumped for the Stafidhopitta, trumpeted on the menu as their house special dessert that was so good it had been featured on tv! This was my only disappointment of the evening, it was pretty nice, but not stunning, and I felt like the menu had built it up for a fall.
Price wise, the total bill for all of the food above plus drinks came to not far off £60, however thanks to our kgb voucher which cost us £8, we had £22 knocked off, so in total it had cost us just over £45, and £20 a head for the size of the meal we’d just scoffed was reasonable, but I’d consider that full price to be a tad steep. Our bill was also accompanied with a voucher for £15 off our next visit (valid until the end of next month), which was nice, so it seems that they kind of expect to be able to discount by that level on a regular basis.
So to sum up, if you’re a dedicated carnivore, and you like your portions BIG, I’d definitely recommend. Personally, I could live with the portions being a wee bit smaller, and a slight price reduction in the dishes to reflect that.

Great place, best Greek meal I’ve have! Found a good deal on

Great Greek food. Moussaka and lamb kofte followed by cheesecake. Quick service, great price. Good
deal

Headinglu branch is the one we usualy go to and it is supperb! food has always been beautiful. it is shame you have to buy veg/​potateos separate but ven without those you are still super full!
great price for early bird menu and staff is really friendly. ;-)

My fiancé and I visited the Olive Tree at Headingly as of the 3 branches this was closest to us. Not having had Greek food before we didn’t know what to expect. It’s only a small place, house turned restaurant and as such got a little crowded but the place was packed and to me that speaks volumes! The food was faultless, we enjoyed every morsel of food and enjoyed our visit. We fair rolled out of there we were so full. We enjoyed it so much we’re going to try the one in Yeadon which has ‘show cooking’ on a friday.
Our only complaint, the staff were a little too laid back. They didn’t bug you or pester to finish quicker, order more etc etc they left you to enjoy your meal, but to the point of it almost being difficult to order more. That said, we weren’t in a rush and we had good company together so it didn’t bother us too greatly.
I’d definitely reccommend a visit.

I arrived and was shoehorned into corner table where my arms jutted into wall. I ordered the same meal I had had there several times before and this time it came with no vegetables and potatoes. It was the Moussaka I ordered which normally quite nice. It was awful to eat with no vegetables. When I complained, the waitress first told me the vegetables were coming and then half-​way through meal said that they don’t come with meal unless you go to restaurant for early bird menu. The restaurant added 10% to the bill without asking service charge. When we complained the manager (who was owner’s son I think) said he did ask us if we wanted salad and why won’t we pay 10% service charge as we should pay it. The attitude of staff there was not to care at all about the customers. I had an awful experience and will never go back.

Unlike the other reviewers I’m far from convinced.
The food was actually very nice. I order chicken and it tasted good.
However what annoyed me first was that I ordered a fillet of chicken and that’s exactly what I got. Nothing else. Just a bare chicken breast sat lonely in the centre of a big plate like it was the last piece of white meat to be picked for the football team.
If I wanted any veg to cheer it up then that was extra. I feel it’s a cheek to serve me a £13 chicken breast and not hoy a few potatoes on the plate… but that would have cost me an extra fiver.
I did get a lemon wedge which I considered eating because I was still hungry.
I saw some other poor sap fall for the same trick too — they ordered meatballs and go four meatballs only. It was classed as a ‘main meal’ but wasnt a main meal. They should write ‘a percentage of a main meal’ — they could use some Greek font or something to trick the stupid.
Finally I was annoyed by the ‘optional’ service charge that they attempted to charge me without asking. I felt robbed my wallet enough without them then taking my watch too with asking.
So, in a nutshell, if you shop at waitrose and never look at the prices then you’ll love this glorified café. If you’re into buy-​one-​get-​one-​frees from Morrisons then you’ll not be too happy with their ‘buy one get half’ menu.
Before visiting check the flights on Jet2 — you might get a return trip to Greece and a slap up meal whilst there cheaper.

Minimalist, sterile, modern décor with giant windows right on the street so you can enjoy your meal against the backdrop of birthday boy Spiderman being carried through the Otley Run by Little Bo Peep and a semi-​naked, purple coloured man of ambiguous intended fancy dress identity. If you don’t want to sit in front of the windows then you run the risk of getting a table that the staff can’t fit past. Incredibly noisy at only ²⁄₃ full as well.
I spoke to a lovely bloke on the phone when we booked our table, but for the meal itself we were waited on by staff who were variously gormless, disinterested and, by the end of the meal, surly to the point of being aggressive.
I had the award winning taramasalata (a smooth pink dip made of fish eggs) to start and it was as good as any I’ve had. However, there was far too much of it for the paltry amount of bread you get, which is criminal as it’s about the richest thing on the menu and becomes sickly rapidly when tackled solo. I was really looking forward to my kleftiko main (slow cooked lamb joint) and was impressed with the amount of meat on it when it arrived. Lovely flavours in the juice/​gravy and the meat fell off the bone, but the meat itself was completely tasteless, and the chips I had ordered (all sides have to be ordered separately) were substantially undercooked. I probably had some kind of ready made cheese cake but I had lost interest by then.
This would have been a poor meal at café prices, but café prices they are not. A varied and interesting menu is the only thing stopping me from giving 1 star, but if you want to check it out then I advise you visit the premises in Chapel Allerton instead.

fantastic service and food. very pleased.
it is the best restaurant i have been in leeds.

On a random spate of decadence my boyfriend and I decided to go out for a second night in a row for our tea. Having so quickly gotten used to this highlife business I suggested that we try The Olive Tree as I’d heard many good things from friends about this place.
As soon as we walked through the doors we were greeted by a very friendly and smiley set of staff, with a lovely waitress showing us to our table. Having been savvy enough to arrive in time for the early bird menu we were in for a real treat — a starter, main and desert for £13.95!
To start with we had the selection of dips and filo pastry filled with feta and mint. Oh. My. Goodness. The filo pastry and feta was utterly divine. It was beautifully cooked and melted perfectly in your mouth. The mix of flavours was perfect. The dips were also very tasty and impressively home made! The tzatziki was out of this world.
I had the moussaka for my main course and my boyfriend had the chicken kebab. Not being a huge rice fan I foolishly assumed that his dish might not be particularly flavoursome, I was wrong. The rice was beautifully cooked and had a delicious fruity tomato sauce to taste. The chicken was cooked perfectly. My moussaka was full of flavours and textures, the potato, cheese, lamb and vegetables all mixing with perfect harmony. As sad as it may sound every mouthful was a delight! Truly it was.
For desert we had the chocolate fudge cake and almond and pistachio filo pastry — not that we needed another bite in all honestly. The flavours in the filo pastry were just delicious, a rich blend of almond, packed with chopped pistachios and smothered in a caramel syrup. Sheer decadence. I’m not sure if it was frowned upon, but I asked for a bit of icecream with it, and it was probably one of my most in-​genius ideas ever. Worked like a dream and the perfect compliment! Chocolate fudge cake was lovely but not a patch on the filo pastry.
Everyone who served us was utterly friendly and polite and the food was exciting, freshly made, delicious and perfectly cooked. The only down side was the fact that our bottle of wine cost the same amount of money as all three courses (£13 or so) which, despite being a lovely bottle, I thought was a bit extortionate. Even so, I don’t want to give any less stars, as our entire experience was an absolute pleasure.
For some of the best Greek food in Leeds you simply must try The Olive Tree. A real culinary treat!

Despite falling prey to that rather puzzling trend in which restaurant owners assume all diners want to feel like goldfish and set about fronting their restaurants with huge, illuminated glass windows to create just such an effect, the Olive Tree is a great restaurant that’s a cut above this area’s typical bistro affairs without being too stuffy or formal. The food is Greek, with recognisable classics like moussaka (both meat and veggie) and dolamades served alongside more unusual dishes like gharithopitakia — little filo parcels filled with prawns — and a variety of delicious traditional desserts. It’s not cheap, but considering the amount of accolades they’ve won for their food it’s admirable that they still offer special offers so that those of us on tighter budgets can still enjoy a meal. I went before 7pm and took advantage of the three courses for £13.95 option (there’s also a three courses for a tenner student deal, and various deals on lunches), which was definitely fantastic value for money. Make sure you try the deliciously nutty baklava for dessert, and it’ll definitely be £14 well spent.

There is somewhat of a dearth of Greek restaurants in Leeds, which makes the fact that The Olive Tree falls just short all the more disappointing.
My visit here was during a particularly busy service, which may explain the fact that the waiter seemed to forget about my table once or twice. This disappointment was quickly forgotten as we munched through the meat meze which was definitely the highlight — tasty, huge and authentic. The kebab I had for my main was similarly impressive, and the portions were big enough to stop me from considering a dessert.
The atmosphere was a little bit flat however, and the service didn’t improve through the night. The prices (as we noticed when we got the bill) are actually rather steep for such a restaurant, and it is usually impossible to park anywhere near the place due to its Headingley location. So, while the food was splendid, nothing else about the place came close to the standards set by the chefs. Pity.

The food here is lovely. From the olives and bread that they give you whilst you decide what to order to the amazing dishes from the menu.
The meze is lovely and i highly recommend it. I love the humous and the kebabs as well all washed down with a lovely bottle of wine.
The staff are lovely, and they really make you feel welcome. We have a son and they have gone beyond what they needed to, to provide him with food and entertainment.
They do a special on a sunday lunch time that is fantastic value, you can either have 2 or 3 dishes. It is a great way to try some yummy greek food.

Came here on a Friday evening and searched for a car park space for 15mins. It was a small house-​converted restaurant. The waiter service was exceptional. We ordered a course which included a choice from the menu and we opted for kebabs for a main. After the starter and the first kebab, we were stuffed. They were truly amazing and very delicious.
There aren’t many Greek restaurants in Leeds, but I would recommend this small family run business.