Restaurant: Olivit
Address: 7316 Louetta Road, Spring, Texas (Opposite Klein High School)
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 3/24/16
Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be writing my review about a place that I had wanted to go to for a while. The place is called Olivit. I first heard about this place from my friend who attends the same masjid as me, all the way back in the summer of last year. I was actually surprised that there was another Arab place in the northside because there was already Zamani and Kababi Zaytoon, two already known Arab places in the northside. I had been wanting to go since the end of last Ramadan, but I had to push back the trip because something or the other would come up, thus forcing me to either go somewhere else or don't go and review a place at all. The time came for me to try came that Thursday. I had no class until 3:30 PM that day. So I decided to go there from Cypress to finally try it out.
Based on the other reviews that I had read, Olivit seemed to be a really good place that had some good Arab food. I heard nothing but praise for that place. I didn't even know that it had existed until my friend had told me about it.
Let The Experience Begin!
Olivit is located directly across Klein High School, next to the Jimmy John's. I think I was the first customer there that day (I went at 11 AM). The inside was very nice. It was very nicely decorated. There was a TV on one side of the restaurant, and there was Arab music playing throughout the restaurant. A guy came and helped me and gave the menu. After reading it a bit, I was ready to order.
Let's Eat!
I ordered the mix grill lunch special. I got the zenga soup, which was recommended by my friend as the other item. I'm just really thankful that like other Arab places, Olivit gives free bread (Indian/Pakistani places need to do this). I paid a total of $11.90 (tax included). The waiting time was 12 minutes and 34 seconds.
Menu: http://www.olivitgrill.com/
The reason I posted the website is because if you click on it, you have to click on either "LUNCH MENU" or "DINNER MENU". The menus have the usual kebabs, sandwiches, shawarmas, and combos, alongside some items like Dawood Basha (Syrian meatballs), and Quallaya (sauteed dish) that you rarely see at an Arab restaurant. You even have pastas and salads. Now regarding the dinner items, the entrees are more pricey than Sayad! That's because they give more than one skewer. But in their platters, it's one skewer of either a combo of two kababs or one whole skewer of a specific kabab, and it's slightly less pricier than Sayad. Finally like Sayad, they have a chicken tikka kabab, which I wonder why. Based on the menu description, my guess would be that it's like an Arab version of chicken tikka masala (someone who is familiar with it please help me out in the comments :) )
7316 Louetta Road, Spring, Texas
Phone: (281) 257-4445
Website: http://www.olivitgrill.com/
Timings: Mon-Sun 11 AM - 10 PM; Lunch Mon-Fri: 11 AM - 3 PM
Caters: Yes
Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!
Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
Address: 7316 Louetta Road, Spring, Texas (Opposite Klein High School)
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 3/24/16
Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be writing my review about a place that I had wanted to go to for a while. The place is called Olivit. I first heard about this place from my friend who attends the same masjid as me, all the way back in the summer of last year. I was actually surprised that there was another Arab place in the northside because there was already Zamani and Kababi Zaytoon, two already known Arab places in the northside. I had been wanting to go since the end of last Ramadan, but I had to push back the trip because something or the other would come up, thus forcing me to either go somewhere else or don't go and review a place at all. The time came for me to try came that Thursday. I had no class until 3:30 PM that day. So I decided to go there from Cypress to finally try it out.
Based on the other reviews that I had read, Olivit seemed to be a really good place that had some good Arab food. I heard nothing but praise for that place. I didn't even know that it had existed until my friend had told me about it.
Let The Experience Begin!
Olivit is located directly across Klein High School, next to the Jimmy John's. I think I was the first customer there that day (I went at 11 AM). The inside was very nice. It was very nicely decorated. There was a TV on one side of the restaurant, and there was Arab music playing throughout the restaurant. A guy came and helped me and gave the menu. After reading it a bit, I was ready to order.
Let's Eat!
I ordered the mix grill lunch special. I got the zenga soup, which was recommended by my friend as the other item. I'm just really thankful that like other Arab places, Olivit gives free bread (Indian/Pakistani places need to do this). I paid a total of $11.90 (tax included). The waiting time was 12 minutes and 34 seconds.
Menu: http://www.olivitgrill.com/
The reason I posted the website is because if you click on it, you have to click on either "LUNCH MENU" or "DINNER MENU". The menus have the usual kebabs, sandwiches, shawarmas, and combos, alongside some items like Dawood Basha (Syrian meatballs), and Quallaya (sauteed dish) that you rarely see at an Arab restaurant. You even have pastas and salads. Now regarding the dinner items, the entrees are more pricey than Sayad! That's because they give more than one skewer. But in their platters, it's one skewer of either a combo of two kababs or one whole skewer of a specific kabab, and it's slightly less pricier than Sayad. Finally like Sayad, they have a chicken tikka kabab, which I wonder why. Based on the menu description, my guess would be that it's like an Arab version of chicken tikka masala (someone who is familiar with it please help me out in the comments :) )
 |
| The bread |
 |
| The Mix Grill |
 |
| Zenga Soup |
The Verdict:
I got the zenga first, and boy it was wonderful! This is now one of my favorite soups to have, alongside the Turkish lentil soup. The soup came very fresh and was packed with a lot of flavor. Everything was cooked perfectly. The mix grill had some hits and misses however. When I got it, I noticed how stingy they were when it came when it came to the meat. Other places would give an individual skewer of each kabab. I was really disappointed in the presentation of the plate. The mix grill came with grilled vegetables, tahini sauce and garlic sauce. The chicken could have been better to be honest. It wasn't really that tasty. The kafta kabab was absolutely delicious. It had a huge amount of flavors. The food was washed down with a glass of water.
Service was OK. The waiter was moody however, but not to the point of being downright condescending or rude for me to take a lot of points off (he didn't shout, make snide remarks, or take away my food).
Conclusion:
Overall, Olivit is a decent find in the northside area. I'll definitely be getting the zenga soup and the kafta kabab. I'll also won't mind trying the chicken tikka and seeing how it's different than the Indian chicken tikka masala. A couple of suggestions that I would have for the restaurant would be to
put some more meat in the mix grill, and to cheer up when serving customers.
Grading:
Service: 7/10
Food: 7.5/10
Total: 14.5/20 = 72.5% (C)
Pricing: $$$ out of $$$$
Restaurant Information:
Olivit7316 Louetta Road, Spring, Texas
Phone: (281) 257-4445
Website: http://www.olivitgrill.com/
Timings: Mon-Sun 11 AM - 10 PM; Lunch Mon-Fri: 11 AM - 3 PM
Caters: Yes
Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!
Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
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