Touring the New Food Court and Fancy Tapas Bar at Columbia University | Eater NY

"Up a few steps from the food court, I ascended to Oliva and found a luxurious, mesa-like dining room with a dramatically lit bar, scattered tables and curving gray-upholstered booths; though the design feels modern, the menu is old-fashioned, concentrating on dozens of small plates and a few larger ones: oblong salt-cod-and-potato croquettes ($10) were crisply fried with garlic aioli, small plates of serrano ham, morcilla and Valdeón cheese were generously presented, and highlights included a Galician-style casserole of octopus, potatoes and onions ($26) with a skewer of thinly sliced tentacles, a quartet of shell-on shrimp with salsa verde, and a rare hanger steak served Asturian-style with blue cheese. I also sampled cocktails (15 creative options such as the espiritu santo, $15) and found the wine pours to be one of the best deals—most $9–$12 a glass—with a happy hour from 5 to 6:30 offering discounted tapas and bargain booze." - Robert Sietsema