Olivor Twist

After a pre-​Christmas dinner here, I left reminding myself that there are decent places to eat outside of the Tremont/​Ohio City/​Downtown hub.
This place has a very extensive martini list, and all priced at $ 9 (Where can you get one at that price on W. 25^th or in Tremont? Seriously, if you know please respond). I had the Starburst (Vodka, watermelon liqueor, etc) which tasted like a Jolly Rancher in a good way; then the Raspbery Truffle (had four ingredients but the only one that mattered was chambord) which was amazing; and the Peanut Butter Cup (almost the same ingredients except peanut butter sauce instead of chambord) which was decent.
While I would give the drinks 5 stars, I would probably give the food 3 stars. I had the lobster mac and cheese ($ 15) and it had a fair amount of lobster but overall was maybe a little too heavy, even for mac and cheese. Jeannene had the stuffed chicken ($ 18) which I tasted and thought it was OK but nothing to write home about (but enough to post in Unilocal).
The atmosphere was very festive (i.e. loud) while the waitstaff came around often despite a packed room.

Took my friend there to treat her and we ordered the Waldorf Salad, thinking fresh, crisp, filling. NOT.
The look of it was not what you would expect. Gray soup mixture with cut up grapes, chicken. But the lettuce was BEAUTIFUL.
Food has to look good along with tasting good. This salad misses the mark.
.

On Friday morning I used the restaurant’s web site to request a reservation for 8:00 p.m. I received confirmation of the reservation the next day on Saturday, followed by a second email saying, «My bad. I hope you had a good time.»
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only issue.
My group arrived at 8:00 and with no reservation we had to wait for a table. At the bar we couldn’t get a drink. My wife asked someone for help and she said she’d send someone right over. That didn’t go well either.
After finally being seated, the service was very slow and the food was not good, especially the calamari. One member of our party was satisfied with the mussels she ordered.
Fortunately the martinis were good.
Upon finishing our meal we waited about 25 minutes for our bill and finally had to ask someone to send over our server.
Poor service. Underwhelming food. Good martinis. That about sums it up.

I love going for a drink on the PATIO… Excellent service, great drinks, nice atmosphere OUTSIDE… I stress outside because I can’t sit inside because of the absolutely horrible smell! It smells like a litter box! Gross! Will not be returning until the patio is open!
I’ve only had food there one time and it was bland and way overpriced.

Outstanding, such a great place
Service gets top marks. Martinis to die for, entrees that amaze
The owners ard nice too

Good drinks — could use with less of the ‘thick, sweet syrup’ martinis and more of the craft cocktail martinis. But good environment and nice servers. Appetizers were good and the atmosphere is subtle and not too loud. A good alternative to the loud, boisterous Brewing Company next door.

Have always loved Olivor Twist. Sat at the bar this time and enjoyed the sea scallops for dinner. This dish was seasoned, cooked, and presented perfectly. Compliments to the Chef. I will definitely be returning soon!

Went for a mixer in the private room. Appetizers were mediocre at best. They lacked flavor. We were promised $ 5 martinis as per the mixer invite, but our final bill didn’t reflect this. When I asked, the server was very rude and said they don’t do discounted drinks anymore.

The martinis are awesome! Best I ever had and a great place to come at night but wasn’t that impressed with food. Pulled pork I’ve had much better the fries were perfect ally crispy though. We are on the patio which is small but a nice atmosphere. While we were out here though a man at the bar bonged a beer…

I’m still a fan.
I dropped in this weekend after Olivor Twist reopened after a week long remodel. I was never a regular, so I asked the hostess what had been updated. And the answer is, a lot, actually. New paint, carpet, lots of décor… if anything, the changes made an already place a little bit nicer.
Important to note is that the martini list seems to have been condensed. (or waitress said the list was cut in half) But there are still options for everyone.
Still my favorite place to grab a martini in DTW. Worth checking out especially if you come for half-​priced martinis on Wednesdays or Thursdays!

Seriously, if they would just do drinks, they’d be be better off. I’ve been here for drinks and they’ve been consistent. However, food is hit or miss. I’ve been here where food has been good, but after tonight, they should really just stick to drinks. I got the Almond Joy to drink, 2 thumbs up. I got the fried calamari, and it had absolutely zero flavor. I’ve had calamari at other places and it manages to be good without having to completely cover it in marinera sauce. I also ordered the 4 cheese pizza and it reminded me of something I could have gotten from the store and made at home. Wasn’t really a fan. The only reason 3 stars were given was because of the times I’ve gone for drinks.

This consistently continues to be one of my favorite locations to dine and grab a couple drinks. I cannot talk up the staff enough! They are so kind and genuinely want you to have a good experience at their restaurant. Be forewarned though, their martinis are delicious, but strong! The menu does not have a plethora of items, but everything I have tried is great and the prices are reasonable. My favorite dish is the chorizo mac n’ cheese. If you are looking for a classy yet casual place to eat and grab drinks in Downtown Willoughby I would highly suggest Oliver Twist.

Fun bar… BIG menu of martinis but it drives me completely bonkers that I get zero cell phone signals!

Pot roast. French fries. Dear Lord…
What a great start. Server was attentive but could tell when we were chatting.
We were a few drinks in and got sat… busy Saturday night had a few apps and then the server went MIA. We had filets on our mind… full meals. and *poof* in one fell swoop all hopes and aspirations for a meal vanished.
By the time she showed to take our order it was 10pm. Yeah we were chatting but damn… and we were no longer wanting a full meal.
So we shared another app (pizzas), further dashing our hopes for a steak and tater meal. So out tab dropped from potentially $ 150 to half that due to server inattention.
So our pizza get delivered and our server extraordinaire neglected to bring utensils therefore the pizza toppings and crust immediately separate… and I have not a fricking fork.
My review started as a five and is quickly nosediving…
It really depresses me that a table health check completely escapes some servers… and when they are behind a bar they seem to get a full pass on maintaining a section.
Completely disappointed. We even flagged down the manager to explain that our server has been less than attentive and instead of asking us what the problem was he just ran over and got her brought her over to us then skittered off. All I wanted was a steak. Complete failure.

I really tried to like this place. I’ve been here a few times over the years. However, the food is WAY overpriced and mediocre at best. 8 dollars for salsa and chips? Seriously? All 3 of my dining companions were underwhelmed with their selections as well. I gave them 2 stars because at least the martinis were strong.

We came here on a weeknight with a reservation. We were immediately met with some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced. The hostess was such a rude human being and definitely has no place in restaurants (if you must keep her, Olivor, send her to the kitchen to wash dishes or the basement to roll her eyes at the gremlins down there instead of your customers). I walked in and told her we had a reservation and gave her my last name. This was met with a deep sigh and «OTHER name?!» So I gave her my first name, she did a quick scan of the list and obviously didn’t find what she was looking for. She then just rolled her eyes and marched us to a table – eye rolling?! Come on. Why would I MAKE UP a reservation in the not-​so-​crowded establishment in the first place? I would have gladly stood there and helped her figure out what the mix up was, but she wasn’t having it.
We waited a LONG time for our server and when he finally came, he mixed up a drink order. My dirty martini was pretty delicious, though, so I wasn’t too upset. We then started seeing other tables around us getting bread baskets from the hostess and we did not. Our stomachs were growling audibly at this point, but luckily the whole place was pretty loud so we couldn’t even hear them. When we finally got our drinks and food, we got a bread basket with it… I don’t think that’s how that is supposed to work, but oh well.
Despite the horrible service and jerks working here, the food was amazing. The mussels were good, though not the best I’ve ever had. The scallop salad, though, was absolutely perfect. I wasn’t expecting anything large, as those types of salads tend to come in dainty little packages, but the size was filling and the scallops were spot on.
Lucky you, Olivor! The food alone brought the 1-​star rating due to the crap service up to a 3 because I know I’ll suffer through the humans here for another bite of the food. The whole front of the house needs restaffed and they’ll be in much better shape.

Having not been out in Willoughby before, I’d still heard of Olivor Twist. It’s obviously a staple and has a good reputation. I just don’t think that reputation is keeping up with the times.
We arrived as a large party, and I’ll be honest-​service was good. The drinks were fine too. What wasn’t fine was the food. My crab pizza was actually «gross». I’ve never said that about pizza before! It was frozen crab meat on an oily crust and laid in a bed of more oil??? I honestly think they were trying to mask the point that it didn’t even taste like crab with olive oil. (See my photo-I’m not exaggerating!) Some other reviews on the table were «average», «overpriced», «just ok», «not worth my $ 70 bill», and «obviously a frozen ravioli from CostCo».
There are plenty of better options nearby. Don’t bother with Olivor Twist unless you’re just there for drinks.

I had a quick lunch in here the other day. Burger with a side salad. The burger was cook very well and had a lot of flavor. The salad was also dressed really nicely. Think my meal was $ 10 with a $ 2 charge for the salad. In hindsight the salad may not have been worth the $ 2 up charge but it was a healthy choice at the time.
It seem like they had a lot of nice specials going on during lunch and I will definitely be back again.

Lunch meeting and I have to say it is very well appointed on the inside!
Our server was STELLAR and my compatriot LOVED his dish, what did I get?
C’mon it’s like you don’t even know me…
Of course burger and fries!!! Burger came out between medium and medium rare…
PERFECT!
Fries were a cut between shoestring and standard cut… Hot, fresh and again… Perfectly done!
Delish!!!
Odd thing? around 4p just as the day (thankfully) was winding down I got a really bad stomach ache that I can pretty much attribute to an overdose of monosodium glutimate… As a preservative… thats why I dinged down at least a star…
But still very enjoyable… But get away from the chemicals!!!

Decided to eat here because the time we came for just drinks, the food looked good. Extensive martini list– full of fruity choices if you’re into that. Me, not so much. I was more interested in trying the food.
We ordered stuffed banana peppers, calamari, and 2 pizzas to share. Pizzas were crab meat and marguerita. Stuffed banana peppers were good, but nothing exciting to note. Nice and spicy, for sure. The calamari was just ok as well. Kind of overcooked.
The pizzas were majorly disappointing. Maybe I was expecting too much? Kind of tastes like something I could easily make at home. Nothing special about it. The marguerita pizza was, in my opinion, a major fail. This classic pizza was ruined with beefsteak, flavorless tomatoes and some sort of cheap mozzarella. Usually these are supposed to have a really good buffalo mozzarella. On top of that, the basil was cooked into it… so it came out to us a brownish color, not fresh and green.
So the bottom line is, food is decent, but nothing out of this world and nothing to rave about. It’s a nice restaurant with beautiful décor and nice atmosphere. Service is friendly also, so I give it one star just for that.
Oh and P. S. I happened to overhear the table next to us complaining to the waitress about their flourless cake being very dry. One of the ladies at the table was asking if these came frozen, and if the waitress herself has tried this cake. Of course, the waitress said that the cake is made fresh in the restaurant.