The Black Olive

I was so excited when I saw Mediterranean seafood on restaurant week 2025. I immediately made a reservation was so excited sharing the menu with my partner. We sat down and ordered cocktails, both of which we struggled to drink. He got the chocolate manhattan and I got the gimlet. We sampled each others drinks and both agreed they we not balanced and too strong. I poured water into my gimlet and it was still so strong it felt like a threat. The appetizers were.. fine. I got the lobster bisque and he got the sardines in grape leaves. We weren't thrilled but we weren't disappointed. The oysters were good! We each had three. Very clean and fresh. The entree was where I really felt the most let down. I ordered the squid ink lobster pasta.. no squid ink pasta came out. Just the regular. No biggie, it's slammed. But then when I tasted the pasta. Let down number two. The pasta was over cooked. There was no dente to be had. The lobster was good! No complaints on that portion. But the sauce and the pasta again. Just left me wanting more. My partner really really enjoyed his lamb. And I agreed. The lamb chops were stellar. 10/10 lamb. Perfectly cooked, a nice char, well seasoned. Really lovely. And the desserts were lack luster. I got the baklava and he got the cacao cake. The cake was incredibly dry and the baklava was pretty standard. The service was good. Very very attentive. I feel like this probably was just an off night. It just really stinks that I had set my hopes so high.

Fine dining in Fells Point!My husband and I had never been to the Black Olive before and went to celebrate his birthday. While it's a nicer restaurant, people were dressed casually, and many were also celebrating occasions. There is a small bar you could sit at but other than that it was all tables, and many reservations. Our waitress Jeanine was very informative and patient as she explained a lot of the highlights on the menu for us newbies! We split a bottle of wine, got the stuffed calamari, Greek Avocado Salad, filet mignon souvlaki (appetizer size) and the soft shell crab in phyllo dough.Everything was excellent, I loved how the filet mignon was cooked - it was buttery and had a nice sear. But the star of the show was the soft shell crab in phyllo, never had anything like that before. Definitely a special dish here in baltimore - if you like soft shell crab, this is a must get! We are still talking about it! It's stuffed w/ feta and spinach. Absolutely phenomenal.For dessert we split an ice cream and they even put a little candle in it for my husbands birthday. Jeanine recommended several other dishes that we will definitely come back to try! Overall we had a great experience, spent about $200 total (though we did get a full bottle of wine!) and didn't have any leftovers. It's definitely a higher end place but we loved the ambience and how quiet it was. Plus, the extensive menu means everyone will have something to try!

I actually decided to try this restaurant based on its restaurant week menu. It was my boyfriend's birthday this past week and The Black Olive had so many pescaterian options, I thought it would be perfect to give it a try. The restaurant week deal which runs from 1/26-2/4/24 is a three course meal for $45, some things like the octopus salad and lobster pasta have additional charges.I will say parking is quite challenging in this area, especially early in the evening during rush hour. There are parking garages, but they are a little walk in the cold. We arrived at the restaurant at our reserved time, only to find out our table had been given away. The hostess quickly found a solution, but it was beside a large party and I was bumped twice as soon as I sat down, so I asked to be relocated which she obliged my request.Like most restaurants in Baltimore it was quite quaint. The exposed brick I was immediately a fan of. We decided to order drinks, he had a Manhattan and I had a dirty martini.....very well balanced drinks, they were $16 each. He ordered the octopus salad as his appetizer choice in addition to a half dozen oysters, I chose the grilled sardines and grape leaves, I was disappointed at the portion size only being one, I expected at least two. He was happy with his choices, he said the oysters were very clean, not briney and flavorful. For our entreés we had the arctic char and the rock fish.....all entreés were served with roasted vegetables and this garlic aioli that tasted like garlic hummus, it was amazing. All of our food came out fresh and hot, we enjoyed our meals. We both chose the sorbet for dessert which was a perfect palate cleanser. Overall the meal was delicious, the star deduction was for the seating mishaps. Our final bill with tip was around $250 which included two rounds of drinks. Check this place out if you're in the area, I would come back for sure.

I'm sorry but I cannot give less than 5 stars. Service top notch, owner or manager walking around checking on everyone, waitresses attentive and fast enough considering the crowd. Food...the food yall...the FOOOD YALLL . You know when you're on vacation to Spain and you get some REAL Spanish food and you want to sink down in your chair a bit and do the 5 yr old dance while you're eating...that's the LAMB. Yes. Perfection, seriously everything was delicious, we had the grilled shrimp app (be sure to eat the greens it comes on too because the lemon dressing is to die for!), the lobster pasta and grilled lamb and shrimp dinner...the lamb was so good that when the owner/manager walked by we had to order another plate to share. It was $48 a plate so that should tell you something. It was just cooked to perfection, tender and flavorful throughout the bite. the shrimp were huge and perfectly cooked and flavored. Our neighbor's fish looked and smelled delicious as well but we didn't order that this time. Give this place a visit it's worth every penny!!!

The original Greek seafood on Baltimore and still the best! Before it was trendy it was Black Olive. For over 25 years on Fells Point, Black Olive has served the best and freshest seafood. Staff is terrific. Attentive, friendly, informative, everyone at Black Olive is here to make you feel special. Standouts are the dorade, the bronzino, the eggplant dip, the squid ink pasta (unreal!!) and the lamb chops. nothing will disappoint you. And then the wine list. Varied and extensive and the team is most knowledgeable. We had the treat this last time w Alain serving the wine and Janine serving the food. We were introduced to some great wine recommendations and pairings. It's a must eat and one of the few great Baltimore restaurants that's independent and unique. Enjoy!

I love this restaurant!!!! The staff is so friendly, always with a warm greeting. You are seated quickly and out comes delicious bread, olives and addictive olive oil. The menu has too many outstanding dishes to name but my favorite is the Char and stuff sardine grape leaves. It's always served along side a medley of vegetables. Excellent service, food and ambiance!

Unfortunately this experience was mediocre at best. Several people raved about this restaurant so I will definitely give it another try when it isn't restaurant week so I can try the entire menu. The restaurant is quaint and has a very intimate feel. We had a party of 6 and so we were tucked away in a nice corner. Our server was Rafael and he was hilarious and did well with our large party. Since it was restaurant week there was a 3 course menu. I had the lamb meatballs, whole sea bass and strawberry gelato. The gelato was my favorite! So delicious. The fish was pretty good as well but the lamb meatballs left a lot to be desired. There were also several flying insects and we had to cover our glasses so they wouldn't fly into our drinks.

Visited during restaurant week. The ambience of this restaurant was romantic and moody! Our waiter was friendly and helpful but I was no wowed by the food at all. I had the lobster pasta and lamb meatballs. The lobster and pasta were definitely fresh but needed a bit more flavor so took it home and doctored it up. The tiramisu was okay, however, the baklava ice cream was good! The margarita was standard. At the end of meal, I saw a baby roach on the table and that was a total turn off but thankfully had finished the meal already. Will not return and likely would not recommend.

Talk about something good. Talk about umbeyonce. Talk about great food. This place is a Check plus plus plus for me. Staff friendly and the service is outstanding. The Owner is a down to earth guy that loves what he does. I will always make this recommendation when it comes to Mediterranean food!!

It started off great! The space is very cute, menu for restaurant week was appealing etc. The food overwhelmingly was tasty (dessert aside). My issue with this experience was when we were effectively boxed into a corner (photo attached) once a large party was sat. What was a cute and intimate dinner with my partner then became both loud & unserved...we watched as bussers and servers realized they could no longer reach our table and one after the other turned away. Got lucky when another patron went to the restroom so a busser could grab our old plates & I could ask for more water (had been with empty cups for ~30 min at that point). By the time dessert arrived we were entirely over being ignored in the corner & just requested the check. Food-wise the oysters, scallops were delish. I could have left the lamb meatballs personally. Whole sea bass was yummy - just watch for bones if you order, obviously - as well as the lobster pasta. For dessert we got the baklava ice cream and bourbon chocolate cacao cake - both hard skips. I'm sorry to give such a poor review given how good the food was but being completely boxed into a corner with no service & having to ask another patron to leave their seat just so we could shimmy out was absolutely insane to me. Our overall total time in the restaurant was 6:57 - 8:30.