Oleana
Cambridge, MA 02139-1421
Phone: (617) 497-1239
- Price:
- $$$$
- Cross Street:
- Elm Street
- Best of Citysearch:
- Mediterranean Food 2006, Outdoor Dining 2006, Mediterranean Food 2005
- Hours:
- Sun-Thu 5:30pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 5:30pm-11pm
Editorial Review for Oleana – by Eric Grossman
The Scene
Located on a quiet residential street, just off Inman Square, Oleana is the restaurant of choice for Cambridge's bookish, professional types. While reservations are taken (and are a must) for the romantic, earth-toned dining room, those hoping to dine on the lovely garden patio usually join a waiting list and pass the time with a drink in the intimate bar. Service, though consistently knowledgeable and friendly, is often stretched when the patio's open.
The Food
Chef-owner Ana Sortun delves into the ingredients and methods of Armenia, Egypt and Morocco to take diners on a uniquely palatable journey. Typical is an appetizer of fried mussels and hot peppers with nutty Turkish tarator sauce, or an entree of Sicilian swordfish with couscous and rhubarb jam. Don't leave before trying one of acclaimed pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick's inventive creations, like Baked Alaska with coconut ice cream and passion fruit caramel.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Where to SitWhen it's cold out, the gas fireplace is tempting, but you'll avoid the draft from the door by taking a table deeper in the room.
What to DrinkSkip the wine in favor of sangria: A gigantic glass of the homemade brew costs the same as a glass of vino, but is twice the size.
ParkingPark for free in the lot located diagonally across the street from the restaurant.
User Reviews for Oleana
06/29/2008 Posted by prustitant
The experience I had at Oleana was truly divine! The evening started by chatting with a friendly floor manager (who kindly explained to us the phone line problem that particular evening, which made reservations a bit complicated, but not impossible). While waiting for our table, me and my date enjoyed a lovely glass of wine from the bar area in the back. The restaurant itself is small, cozy, and so comfortable, almost as if you're in a large dining room of a wealthy friend who also has an excellent, reserved, practical sense of decor and design. Our table was placed in a nook at the southwest corner of the restaurant. While it was a little close to the people to my left, the area was extremely romantic, and so perfect for the evening! All in all the food was surprisingly delicate, fresh, and flavorful! For the prêt à manger, we had the spicy carrot purée and the Armenian bean and walnut pâté. The pâté sounds so simple, yet it is one of the most divine meal experiences I have ever had the pleasure to receive! Then for the appetizer, we had crab cakes with egg lemon sauce. I like the crab cakes, but the egg lemon sauce was a bit thick and bland. For the entrée, I had the scallops, which were absolutely perfect. Extremely flavorful and the perfect tenderness. The waitstaff was friendly and professional!! All in all, what a perfect experience!!
Pros: Great ambience, professional waitstaff, excellent food
Cons: Changing menu (which is not a bad thing, but recommendations to others might not be available certain days)
10/29/2007 Posted by perchdogg
I took my girlfriend here to celebrate our anniversary and on the whole I cannot say we were disappointed. I had booked the reservation through opentable and requested that if at all possible, we'd love seating on the patio. We were initially seated in the main dining room but the hostess soon came over (without our prompting her) to offer an outside table that had just opened up. We eagerly took her up on it and were pleased to be seated outdoors where it was romantically lit and very peaceful. Our waitress was excellent in making recommendations from the menu for food and drink. We loved both our pret a manger (warm buttered hummus) as well as our lettuce-wrapped duck appetizer, a special from that night. Both dishes were elegant and extremely flavorful without feeling overwhelming. The meal went a bit awry when we received our entrees - the apps set the bar quite high and the entrees simply didn't stack up. The trout special I ordered was not bad at all but was somewhat vapid when compared to the apps. The same can be said of the veal and parmesan meatballs my girlfriend ordered. The meal was capped off by an unexpected and delightful surprise as our waitress brought us two bon-bons with a candle and wished us a happy anniversary. She did this only because I mentioned in the e-reservation that we were celebrating our anniversary that night and I had hoped they would help make it a memorable evening. It was a very thoughtful gesture and who doesn't appreciate it when a restaurant strives to go the extra mile like that? We also appreciated being allowed to sit outdoors for quite some time after finishing our meal and work on our wine. I know this doesn't take extra effort from the restaurant but plenty of places hurry you out at the meal's conclusion. We were a bit underwhelmed by the entrees but enjoyed the restaurant as a whole, certainly enough to give them a second chance.
Pros: Great service, inventive and flavorful appetizers, lovely ambience.
Cons: Entrees seemed to be of a lesser quality than the other items ordered.
