Reviews - Olive Tree
Reviews summary
Was Tina Shaw at Olive Tree a mag?
After dining at the Dower House the night before, we weren't sure it could be topped, however the service food and general ambience were on a par, if not better! View all feedback.
What Mariagiulia Pellegrino dislikes about Olive Tree:
If you go on Trip Advisor bad reviews are followed by very positive ones which is most pecular. Our experience on Saturday night was not great, indeed its hard to argue with 2 reviews posted by fellow diners, Sunday night someone posts a glowing tribute, directly contradicting the points made by the earlier reviews- at best it shows high levels of inconsistancy which is not what you expect from a restaurant charging... View all feedback.
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Reviews from various users
Last update : 18.08.2025
If you're after an excellent and unique experience, this is the place for you. Absolutely fabulous. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Meal type: Dinner Parking space: Somewhat difficult to find parking Parking: The hotel offers a valet service. Alternatively you can find street parking.
Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Meal type: Dinner
Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Meal type: Other Price per person: £1–10
Last update : 14.12.2023
Absolutely fantastic! The dishes were to die for, the new pumpkin dish was indescribable delicious, service was excellent and a lovely relaxed setting. It’s a definite return for us ! Service: Dine in Meal type: Lunch Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5
Shall I compare thee to a summers day or restaurant in this case. This restaurant has surpassed any dining experience I have had before. There is a six course or nine course tasting menu or a smaller four course which we went for. We also chose to have the wine tasting experience with a sample of high quality wine to complement each course. We are so glad we chose to do this. The waiting staff bring over the wine and tell you all about it. Different chefs come out and tell you where the food has been sourced and answer any questions you might have. Each dish was an explosion of amazing tastes. I feel I have been ruined for anything less. The Lobster was my favourite. My husbands favourite dish was the deer. Chris Cleghorn has just won “Chef of the year 2023”. I can totally understand why. It was a birthday treat and if you tell them beforehand they bring you out some chocolates with Happy Birthday written in chocolate on the plate. The quality of the food and wine reflects the price. We would definitely do it all again. Service: Dine in Meal type: Lunch Price per person: £100+ Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5
Service: Dine in Meal type: Lunch Price per person: £90–100 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Parking space: Difficult to find parking Parking options Paid street parking
Overall an enjoyable meal. Some excellent dishes and some less impressive courses but certainly no 'duds ' and a few (e.g. the chocolate desert and the sweetbreads) stood out for me. The wine pairing was very good but I believe the person serving us wine for most of the meal must have been standing in because the South African man who served the last three wine courses was vastly more knowledgeable. It was nice to meet the young chefs who had prepared each course and some were more charming than others but to me this novel approach worked well. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: £100+ Food: 5 Service: 4 Atmosphere: 5
Very convincing cooking, a sure Michelin star, definitely with ambition for the top, some courses such as the beans or the lobster were stronger than 1 star, the desserts were aromatically exciting and perfectly balanced. Never seen tonka beans so skilfully dosed, perfect parfait, great idea with the raspberries. Even in 2-3 stars you rarely get this level. We ordered a dessert, it was that good. Lots of open, exciting wines where you can feel the passion of the sommelier. Great dedicated and friendly service. The ambience was well done, perhaps a bit too bright. Something should only be done about the acoustics, it is far too loud and you can hear the conversations of the other guests too clearly. An acoustic ceiling would be a blessing and we would also like a little less cooling. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 3
Last update : 18.04.2023
The olive tree was fantastic. It's not cheap, but it was just worth every penny. The staff was very keen on the needs of food, and only in general attentive, polite and well maintained. The service was amazing, and it was clearly very important for the staff. They served us a wine less than a minute later than intended and could not have been apologetic, even give us a little extra wine, and then refuse a tip (although deserved) at the end of the evening! The atmosphere was really nice. It managed to be cool and modern, yet cozy and warm. The food was ineffective. The bets for us were the sommelier. He loved wine and his passion was infectious. And it was great wine! So well we forgot to ask the name of those we really liked...
Excellent, a real treat. Without a doubt, one of the best restaurants in Bath.
7 course tasting menu on a Friday night. Nice atmosphere, friendly staff. A glass of champagne always ordered when we were sitting, but they took about 15 minutes to come to what time we were almost on the first course. It would have been nice to enjoy the champagne while we searched the menu. The food was excellent and made us smile. There were quite long gaps between the courses that can sometimes be nice, but we often wondered where the food was. This was compensated by the excellent sommelier, which was even a highlight of the evening. We had no hurry, and it was a pleasant night out.
The olive tree is always a culinary delight. It is expensive what makes it a special occasion restaurant for us. They offer 3 tasting menus, one of which is vegetarian. However, you can choose individual dishes from each of the menus in the style of a la carte. We love it. There was a recent change in front of the house staff and while super service the atmosphere was not quite as relaxed and jolly as it was, but I am sure that this was improving with time.
We booked the Olive Tree for dinner having heard that it was Bath's restaurant of the year in 2011 and one of Bath's finer restaurants. The food is very nice though loses one star for serving the cheese platter straight from the fridge both soft and hard cheeses hard as a consequence, and chutney and grapes ice cold! The waiting staff were inattentive, seemed disinterested and bored, and brought us our pre dinner drinks mid way through the starter (after prompting). In fairness these were deducted from the bill as a consequence. Overall nice food and reasonable atmosphere, but sadly let down by poor service.
