The Olive Tree

We visited this restaurant recently after really looking forward to a nice meal out — a rare treat for us — but unfortunately, it ended up being a very disappointing experience. When our mains arrived, I noticed mould in the Parmesan after just a few bites. It was visibly growing and completely off-putting. I sent my meal back immediately, and my partner ended up throwing his away as well since it had the same Parmesan. It was incredibly disheartening, especially after looking forward to it all week. What made the situation worse was that no one offered an apology or a refund at the time — we had to ask for one ourselves. We still paid for our drinks, (soggy) olives, and one main, but it didn’t feel right to be charged for a meal that clearly should never have left the kitchen. The overall hygiene of the venue also left a lot to be desired. The toilets were not well maintained, and there were flies in the restaurant and even dead spiders in the bathroom — not what you expect in a professional, clean environment. I followed up with an email after our visit, hoping the restaurant would address the issue privately and show some accountability, but I haven’t received a reply, hence the review on here now. That lack of response was really disappointing and suggests a worrying attitude toward customer care. I don’t normally leave negative reviews, but in this case, I felt it needed to be shared. I hope the management takes this seriously and makes improvements — both to hygiene standards and how they handle situations when things go wrong.

Wow!! An exceptional first dining experience in York at The Olive Tree, located right opposite Clifford’s Tower! The food and drinks were absolutely amazing. Karin was an outstanding head host and chef, ensuring our meals were perfectly prepared and beautifully presented, while also offering us drinks to enhance our celebration. Safa provided excellent service, making sure we were completely satisfied. We visited mid-week and, while it wasn’t as busy as a weekend, the atmosphere was still warm and inviting. The quality of service and food was outstanding. If everyone in York is as welcoming as Karin and Safa, we cannot wait to return! We highly recommend a visit and would not hesitate to come back.

Lovely food, great service, fantastic location and reasonable prices. We went on a Saturday night and it was fairly quiet, which I can't understand, because the place was great. We had a bottle of wine during our meal which was also excellent.

Lovely friendly staff. Very nice food at a reasonable price

We had a fantastic meal at The Olive Tree, everything was spot on from the initial booking right the way though. Service was excellent, the staff so welcoming and friendly. We were a group of 12 and they accommodated us perfectly. The food was excellent and very reasonably priced. Can not fault this restaurant or recommend it enough. Will definitely return when back in York.

We booked early for the 5pm sitting before rolling onto the Barbican for a gig. Food was fantastic, atmosphere very welcoming and the setting across from Clifford Tower as the sun went down added to it. Would recommend and go again.

I ordered out so bear that in mind. The food was incredible and would have been perfect, if the flavours and smells weren't overpowered at every turn by onion and pepper. For example, tiger prawns grilled over open coals doesnt exactly imply "and then mixed with an over abundance of chopped onion that entirely diminishes the flavour of the dish".

saga and Jorck were the friendliest hosts, most amazing food and service omg, ul die for the mushroom sauce and the Diane sauce ten ten best food I’ve eaten in a long time! Must try

I quickly picked the Olive Tree based on a quick scan of its rating, not noticing that all reviews are 2-10 years old. While the staff was friendly and our wine decent, we found the food very lacking. The spaghetti with meat sauce could have been prepared out of a can and Tesco packet, and the seafood paella (for two) was almost unrecognizable; basically cooked riced with tomato sauce and a few bits of what appear to be canned clams and a couple pieces of calamari. We tried a couple of bites but found it inedible and left. On the plus side, great view of the Castle tower outside.

After not being able to travel to the UK for several years (COVID), we did a bit of a whistle stop with family visits in Glasgow and Edinburgh/Queensferry and headed to York for a couple of days. We'd been forced to travel by coach due to industrial actions with rail travel and it was a bit of a slog. We'd arrived in York early evening and checked into our Airbnb. We decided to walk toward the city centre to check it out, after walking around for quite some time, as we approached the York Castle, we noticed The Olive Tree restaurant across the street from the castle. It was about 6:00 pm and the restaurant was nearly empty. The hostess seated us quickly. We ordered the Bruschetta and the Avocado with Prawns for starters and they were both very good. We had the Spaghetti Bolognese and two specials; Italians Sausage Pasta and a broiled fish dish. The food was absolutely fantastic! We'd had little in the way of expectations as we were really just looking to grab a bite (after ploughing through M & S sandwiches and Walker's Crisps on the six-hour coach journey) to fill us up before heading back to the flat. We found both the service and the food to be well-beyond our expectations -and, we noticed that food delivery services were continually coming to the restaurant during the time we were there, suspect most of the establishment's business may now be for take away.

Booked a table for 8 people for a special birthday meal just 48 hours in advance after our booking elsewhere fell through. Staff were very accommodating and a warm welcome was received. Food and drinks orders taken promptly and service was efficient and unobtrusive all evening. Food was brought out quickly and was on the whole, very good. One or two dishes were a bit on the skimpy side, portionwise. Overall, a nice evening which was enjoyed by all.

Really delicious steak I had for the main course, so did the starter. The King prawn is highly recommended.

Best place we had dinner at! The service wad great, the menu options looked great and my food was delicious. I had the rocket salad and based on that i knew this was an excellent place. My main course was the salmon and shared the chocolate cake and lemon tart. I highly recommend this place.