Oliveto Café & Restaurant

A lunch at Oliveto is self-indulgence. While not cheap, the restaurant just feels so competent and the food so delicious, that it's definitely in the "reward yourself" category. Arugula salad with hazelnuts was outstanding. Regular mixed green salad was very good. The rock cod was terrific; the gnocchi with sage, brown butter and hazelnuts was simple but exquisitely done. Sorbetto was very good, but the real star of dessert was the chocolate-dipped maccarons from the Cafe downstairs. Overall, we left lunch feeling very happy.

this place got high ratings on Yelp but I was underwhelmed. The food was overpriced for the size of the plates. The salad that was ordered was about the size of a pie plate and while it was ok I expected more at $14. The entree I had was really a ravioli dish that again was appetizer size at $18 and was supposed to be "al dente" but it was woefully undercooked to the point of crunchy.
Our server was just plain bad. She got the drink order wrong and somehow did not get one of our entrees ordered. To their credit they took the entree off the bill but the other 5 people were finished by the time the forgotten person got their entree.
I won't be going there again

Service was outstanding- extremely attentive and timely. Food was well prepared.

Wonderful food, great atmosphere for a long lunch with old friends. Easily accessible on Bart and in a great neighborhood.

The ambiance is pleasant and quiet, the service was excellent, and the food was quite good. Salad and swordfish were excellent, the tuna pasta was a somewhat unusual taste, and the lemon cake was rather dry and tasteless.

Great menu, they even have a deliciously prepared rabbit, not expected at an Italian restaurant.

Great service! A bit noisy but you can still hear your partner.

We were celebrating milestone birthdays.The food was delicious, and the service was outstanding.

First time trying this place and we were pleasant surprised...great ambiance and yummy food, although on a pricey-we sode

Very tasty food but rather small portions. Servers presented plates to the wrong person twice. We asked the bill to be split and it wasn't. When we gave it back, they charged one entree to the wrong couple.

It is very pleasant to have a meal at Oliveto. The food is always good and the ambiance very pleasing.

Great for friends get together
Great food
Conveniently located near Bart street parking

We were there for their "Whole Hog" event. The food and ambience was great! Our service was not. It was not a full house, yet we waited over ten minutes after being seated before our server acknowledged us. The support staff were much more attentive and served us water promptly after sitting down. It took some time before our dinner arrived as well. The table next to us arrived after our order was taken and their meal arrived at about the same time as ours. We were there for almost 2 hours. I do appreciate a relaxed meal, but this was beyond leisurely.

This is a restaurant at the top of its game. In particular the service was extremely professional .

Great place, staff, food exceptional
Will be back

Nice restaurant with great food. The acoustics is what makes this place shine. You can actually have a conversation with someone on the other end of the table. Food was great and staff was attentive. Will certainly be coming back again.

Oliveto never disappoints and is a classic go to for lunch or dinner!

We were disappointed overall in our visit. The service was not up to par as it took a while to get our first course and also our main courses. Whether it was the kitchen or just the server (wait person) I do not know, but there were empty tables. The food portions were very small, in fact the pasta dishes could not be ordered as a main course. You would leave hungry.
So overall it was not a wonderful experience.

Wonderful meal in a beautiful setting with very professional service! Never disappoints!

Oliveto Restaurant reliably delivers a memorable meal in an attractive setting. It is clearly one of the very best restaurants in Oakland.

The food, ambiance and service were outstanding, the prices were a bit too high, even with shared dishes.

Perfect food and congenial service in a lovely setting with spectacular floral arrangements. A special place.

Consistently a wonderful dining experience. Kay our server was fantastic and kept the pace of our dinner perfect so we could celebrate my bday. Delicious wines and meal. Loved everything about our "date night" dining experience. Romantic ambiance and very comfortable. YUM

Our waiter lacked experience and did not manage our order in a timely manner. His attitude was also disappointing for such a fine restaurant.

So enjoyable every time. The food, the service, the room. My favorite restaurant on so many levels.

The three of us shared a variety of pastas, an entree, and a dessert. All were EXCELLENT!

The cod was wonderful and the salad too. We went home so full of praise for our lunch that our two husbands went there for lunch the next day!

Waiters are always very friendly and knowledgeable. Food was wonderful.

What a gem of a restaurant! We started with a cocktail downstairs while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. I was quite pleased with my perfectly made Martini. We were seated upstairs where we were immediately greeted by our server. The ambience of the restaurant was great, the open floor plan and large windows made the quaint space seem so much larger. I was really impressed with our waitress. She knew the menu intimately and was patient as she walked us through it which was important because they have such a wonderful array to choose from. Everyone at the table absolutely loved their meals. I am so glad I found this spot on Yelp, it was perfect for a client dinner!

Penne Bolognese was a huge disappointment. Someone chopped up some tough hamburger meat and tossed it in. Staff should really taste their own dishes before serving. Otherwise the ambience was very nice, both in the Cafe downstairs and the dining room upstairs.

One thing I hate is being seated at one of the worst tables in the room when there are several other better tables available. When we asked to move they had to check and came back to say they were reserved. Given we also made a reservation it didn’t make sense. Anyway the four of us ordered 2 salads, pastas and individual mains. Found portions were small given prices although really enjoyed the rigatoni. Mains were priced in mid $30 range and unremarkable. Liked wine list, wide range of varietals at good prices. Enjoyed the bottle of valpolicella. Three desserts and after dinner drinks cost us over $450. Liked the ambiance and staff was efficient even though they served salads before bringing wine. Would probably not go back.

We had a lovely dinner for 4 adults with excellent food and good service, accommodating to our diets and other requests. Portions were reasonably sized, but best of all was the quiet, despite large parties near us.

A lovely lunch. Could use some more variety in the starters, but he will never change!

A special place, not to be missed

Oliveto prides itself in the quality and presentation of their food. We always enjoy coming here as we are always surprised with the various dishes they serve.

On Thursday it was the "Sfumicato". Their vegetarian dish. Fabulous!

As always, dinner at Oliveto Restaurant was great. The three entrees we ordered were well prepared and delicious. Service was just right. Not too fussy, not too laid back. Our dietary needs were accommodated graciously. Desserts were wonderful.

Good food; good service, nice room ; what more can you ask for??

Very knowledgeable waitstaff. Food well presented. Delicious. Able assistance with Wine choices. A very pleasant evening, despite having to drive 30 miles in terrible weather. Will always go back

Service was excellent. Discreet and effective which I'm sure was a challenge since there was 9 in our group. Fantastic and varied menu, great seasonality. Extensive drinks menu. Great dining room if a tad dark. Buzzing despite an early seating on a Tuesday evening.

Excellent striped bass with puree and pomegrante seeds, well priced delicious valpolicella ripasso. Bread would be better if whole grain.

Everything was good. Food, service and atmosphere. Portion was a little bit small so we had to order several pastas. But food was tasty.