The Bottom Line
- Comfortable ambience with a beautiful patio for outdoor dining
- Utterly sumptuous dishes
- Spotty service
- Desserts are on the skimpy side especially given the price
Description
- Location: Oleana, 134 Hampshire St, Cambridge
- Phone: (617) 661-0505
- Hours:
Sunday - Thursday 5:30 pm to 10 pm
Friday & Saturday 5:30 pm to 11 pm
Private lunch available for groups of 15 and up - Website: oleanarestaurant.com
Guide Review - Oleana, Mediterranean Dining in Cambridge
Oleana is not large; tables are pushed closely together and the largest round table only seats about 4 or 5 people. If you don’t have a reservation, expect to squeeze into the small bar area or wait outside for a table to open up. But once you get over the slightly cramped feeling, smaller details emerge, such as the bright mosaic-tiled tables and the movable headboards that lend a casual air to the benches along the wall. In the summer, try to get a table on the beautiful outdoor patio.
The first half of the menu has appetizers and smaller sized plates called pret a manger. These are perfect if your table wants to graze on several dishes over drinks. I sampled the smooth, complex Armenian bean and walnut pate ($4), the briny and succulent deviled eggs ($5), and a surprisingly creamy and satisfying spinach falafel ($10).
Main entrees are typically priced in the mid-$20 range. I had the special of the day, a succulent roast duck ($24) served on a bed of crisp Julienne vegetables and a homemade crepe filled with a creamy spinach and cheese filling. The combination was a perfect blend of flavors and textures. Other dishes included a delicious veal and almond dumpling ($24) and a zesty, juicy flattened lemon chicken ($24). For dessert I tried the light and sweet (though small for the cost) goat's milk ice cream ($12).
Oleana brought back my first days in Inman Square, that feeling that every bite is new, complicated, intriguing, and completely addicting. Oleana isn't an eat-there-every-day kind of restaurant, and the service was a little slow, but overall it was a terrific dining experience.
