L'Olivier

This is a wonderful, true French restaurant. The ambiance is great, beautiful table setting and the food is excellent! Our server, Michelle, was wonderful, and we enjoyed everything about this gem of a restaurant.

We had a great meal with outstanding service. Among the four of us we had salmon, steak, scallops and short ribs, and we were all vey pleased with our choices. One pear tarte and one gluten-free cake with strawberry mousse for dessert... yummy! Nice wine list. Shirley MacLaine was dining here at the same time. Since she lives in Santa Fe, we figure she must know where to find fine food. This place is now at the top of our list for our next visit. Well done!

My husband and I wanted a restaurant to mark the end of our road trip. We experienced one of our best ever meals. We ate outside on the patio where it was quiet so we could enjoy our conversation. Our server Michele was attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. The food: my arugula salad with cheese-filled figs was a delicious start - my husband had the most creative serving of escargot. Michele found a gluten free bun for me so I could share in the garlic sauce.
My main course was their signature grilled Elk with a delicious reduction, served with spicy pear, tasty sugar snap peas, and sweet potato mash whipped with butter and cream. All heavenly. My husband had a filet mignon and it was cooked to perfection - bleu, as he likes it.
My husband enjoyed a chocolate souffle and I a creamy Creme Brulee to finish this amazing meal.
We will return to Santa Fe if only to enjoy another of Xavier's meals!

L’Olivier is a pleasant enough restaurant. I do not see it as a five star place. I ordered medium-rare rack of lamb and got three thin, over-cooked lamb chops. Lamb chops might come from a rack but they are NOT rack of lamb. My wife’s duck was “okay”, again over-cooked. A very limited number of aperitifs for a french restaurant. Best item was a chocolate souffle.

Excellent and authentic French food with a Southwestern flair. Excellent wine list.

I picked this restaurant before going to Sante Fe based upon comments on various websites. However, our dining experience there was very disappointing. We had three different dining experiences in the evening and this one was a distant third.

Excellent food and wine. Good price point for food but wine expensive.

Our experience was remarkably close to perfect. The server was timely, helpful in selecting wines, and pleasant. The fillets were cooked just as ordered and the swordfish was melt in your mouth delicious. The ambience was cheerful and cozy. No one in our party of 4 had a negative thing to say about anything. We had a wonderful evening!

Excellent & friendly service. Food was awesome and the creme brulee is the best we have had through all of our travels. A must experience

We had dinner here the night of the Burning of Zozobra and because it was lovely evening sat outside. The restaurant is at a busy corner so there was considerable traffic noise. We were offered a choice of inside or out but went with the outdoor option largely because they had a French musician playing accordion and guitar. Our food was delicious from the tuna tartare to the elk medallions to the almond tarte. Everything was tasty and generous portions. Wine selection is superb but the cheapest bottle was $50 with most in 80 or 90 range. With wine our meals were $90 per person. Excellent food at fancy restaurant prices.

Wonderful, food, excellent service, great location. Great for special Occasions, romance, gracious ownership. I rate five stars all around. Love it.

Good food in a pleasant atmosphere, but nothing exceptional. Good value for the money, but we found better food elsewhere.

I had the foie gras to start, and it was the best part of the meal - nicely seared and presented in a flavorful reduction sauce. My wife had short ribs, which she declared to be okay. For my entree, I had the elk, which was tender and in a nice sauce.

I would recommend it for a casual evening with limited expectations.

One of our two favorite restaurants in Santa Fe, been twice on trips to Santa Fe.

Everything about the L’Olivier evening could have been mediocre, but after tasting the chocolate soufle’ nothing but five stars will do. Actually, the food and service were superb. While not inexpensive, in the Santa Fe context, this was value fine dining. I have paid considerably more and been far less satisfied at some of Santa Fe’s famous restaurants. And, did I mention the chocolate soufle’? We shared a squash tempura appetizer rich enough to warrant sharing. The wine list was commendable for the breadth of choice and price points. In particular, the effort to provide lesser known Bordeaux vineyards in order to offer resonable value was appreciated. A wonderful evening.

Thank you for making our Anniversary dinner something special! The food was amazing as was the service. Our server (name escapes me, but I do know she is from Barcelona, Spain) made it a night to remember with her excellent recommendations and complimentary champagne. The cuisine was flavorful and perfectly sized. Despite being comfortably full we made room for the decadent desserts. When we come back to Santa Fe this will certainly be a repeat performance!

This had been one of our very favorites but something has changed. It has become less French and more run of the mill. Natalie didn't mingle as she used to. The wait staff was efficient but charmless. The food was still good but there are lots of other really good restaurants in Santa Fe too.

We enjoyed our experience here - including the excellent wine recommendation from our server. One criticism: I was told my salmon would be cooked to the chef’s specifications but it was over cooked. The dessert, on the other hand, was wonderful!

Celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary in Santa Fe and lunch st L’Olivier was splendid! The duck Confit!! The Saffron sauce on the scallops. A wonderful restaurant, beautiful outdoor seating, great service (Thank you Karen)!

Sitting outside is very noisy on a busy street corner. The food was good but the service was awful. The waitperson was inattentive, and when asked for items would take forever to bring it or would have forgotten and needed to be reminded more than once. Unfortunately I would not return to this restaurant.

Was looking forward to the hamburger on brioche. Brioche turned out to be a regular sesame seed bun, which I didn’t eat.

Service was very good and the waitstaff were friendly and knowledgeable about the wine list and the menu. Our only criticisms were that the short-ribs were slightly over-salted, and the sauce on the duck was a bit too sweet. Starter snails were excellent, in a preparation I hadn't had before. Chocolate dessert was perfect.

The food and service were delightful and the location is perfect and if you like French food this is the place for you

Excited to know about this restaurant. It is one that will go on our list of favorites.

With the high Tripadvisor ranking and the credentials of the chef, I was expecting a delicious lunch. On a lovely day, we wanted to sit outside but were discouraged from doing so. I ordered the duck confit on a bed of lentils. The duck was serviceable, but the lentils were inedible with a faint taste of something odd. The waitress asked the chef, but he claimed only salt and pepper. My friend's fish and chips were unremarkable. Too much ice in the iced tea made refills constant, plus the tea was substandard plus no teaspoon to stir sugar.

L'Oliviers is always superb. The escargot are not to be missed. The food is cooked perfectly and they will accommodate special requests if possible. The owners are very friendly and welcoming. Real, true French food in Santa Fe. Not stuffy

L’Olivier is such a gem! Always wonderful food beautifully prepared. Lovely for lunch with a friend or dinner with out of town guests. Cozy atmosphere inside or nice patio dining outside. A true family run restaurant.

Magnificent sauces and personal service.
The Elk dish was the best meal I can remember eating.

Loved our dinner at L’Olivier ! Dined with a friend with whom I have toured France twice. It was a fun way to recapture our travels. Delicious food and fabulous, charming and attentive service. Highly recommend.

This has been one of our "go to" restaurants for several years. Unfortunately, on this occasion , both food quality and service were much less satisfactory than numerous prior meals here.

The short rib that I always enjoy was almost non-existent. With a large layer of fat and not much meat, it was a meal that should have been returned to the kitchen. The escargot preparation had few escargot and even less balck forest ham. The pear tarte tatin for dessert was also disappointing.

At these price levels, I believe we will be opting for more satisfying atlernatives around town. I very sadly make this report.

Très gentille.

I took friends from out of town to L'Olivier. They both have published cookbooks and are quite the foodies. From prior visits to the restaurant, I knew they would be impressed. We were not disappointed. We enjoyed our experience immensely. The service was attentive and friendly...not pretentious. We enjoyed the roasted squash, duck breast and short ribs for our entrees. Deserts are not to be missed. We highly recommend L'Olivier!!

Felt like I was in a side street cafe in Paris. What a treat. Good Ile flottante..

Five of us reserved for an early dinner prior to going to the Opera. The staff was fantastic and attentive to our Opera plans. Everyone from the bus people to the chef were outstanding. This is our definite, pre-opera go to restaurant.

L’Olivier is a treat. Located near the plaza, the restaurant boasts a gorgeous patio and incredible wine list. The duck was cooked to perfection, as was the branzino. Entrees were perfectly paired with sides, as was the wine suggested by our server. The squash blossom appetizer was amazing!

I’ve seen some reviews saying the service was slow, but I could not disagree more. Service was attentive, but not intrusive, allowing us to continue a conversation before visiting to take orders, etc. Our server was very knowledgeable on the wine list and made a fantastic recommendation.

The restaurant is small so expect to get a little cozy with other tables. This should be expected in a restaurant so close to the Plaza, as should the premium pricing. All of this is TOTALLY worth it.

Also, do yourself a favor: order the chocolate soufflé after dinner and let your meal settle for 15 minutes while you finish the last of your wine. I cannot recommend L’Olivier highly enough.

Our evening was wonderful from start to finish. We brought some Arizona friends for our first visit to L’Olivier and it certainly won’t be our last. We started with escargot and friends had a salad with figs that had been stuffed with goat cheese. We were all impressed. Next i had the filet and my husband had the sea bass, friends had the same, all winners, cooked perfectly. Dessert was a shared experience, chocolate fondant and coffee. It started raining, heavily, when we were leaving so the owner lent us an umbrella. We will make this our go to place. Thank you L’Olivier and Jeff our waiter.

All things exceptional except some street noise if you sit outside. It is located on a corner with a 4 way stop sign. it seems that there is some cruising at night so it can get a bit noisy at times, but nice weather over rules occasional loud vehicular noise.

As always, Nathalie and Xavier provide an outstanding culinary experience!

The owners make you feel like best friends. Food is excellent. Asking a question about how the kale was prepared the chef came out and shared his process.

To be fair, I have to say it was a very off night for this restaurant. First, we had an outside table next to a busy road. We couldn't hear the singer! Second, waiters were walking around not sure what to do or what tables they had or who was seated first. After 15 minutes, we flagged down owner to order wine. Another 15 minutes went by before a waiter brought it. We ordered dinner, then waited almost an hour for it to be served. This was happening all around us ... waiters had no clue who ordered what! I rated the food fair. My husbands salmon was good. My filet was tough, grizzly and fatty. My vegetables were cold. By then, we were over the whole experience. The owner couldn't have been more apologetic... she was truly sorry and made it good. I want to stress it was this one time, but hope it is not a trend. We will give it another try when it is not a market weekend.

Food was great! Service was a bit off the night we went which made it not super enjoyable but food was defiantly good! We would go back for another try because we heard such great things about it!