Branching Out with Some Mediterranean Food at O-Live Tree - CLOSED

O-Live Tree Mediterranean Cuisine

2010 Main Street 

Irvine, CA 92614

It's gotta be pretty scary opening up a restaurant. So many factors can impose your doom, and that does not even include whether you have great food or not. You must have a great location, or people will need help finding you. There must be good word of mouth, or people will not attend. You also have to self-promote on social media and get your name out there, or you'll be passed up by one of the other estimated 10,000 restaurants in OC.

That's why we found ourselves at O-Live Tree on a recent Friday night. We were invited by the restaurant's PR person as they held their first-ever bloggers night. You know where this place is even if you have never been here. It's a few doors from the iconic Mick's Karma Bar. Mick's has done a masterful job of overcoming this less-than-desirable restaurant location and is buoyed by a vast social media presence.

O-Live Tree is located right in the heart of the Irvine Business Complex. Surrounded by hotels, high-rise buildings, and other restaurants. I'm sure this restaurant does good business at lunch, but you probably can't pay the rent by serving just one meal a day, so the challenge has to be getting people to enter their parking structure and find their way to your restaurant. It's worked for El Torito Grill, McCormick and Schmick's, and the aforementioned Mick's, so why not O-Live Tree. This blogger dinner, along with their recently launched website, was a step in the right direction.

We arrived just before 6 p.m., just as the last of the business people were clearing out of the parking structure. With validation, you have an hour and a half to eat here without incurring a parking fee, which is easily done with the speed of service here at O-Live Tree. When entering the restaurant, takeout is to the right, and the relaxed, well-lit dining room is to the left. We noticed numerous takeout orders being picked up during our visit.

Their menu is what you would expect from a Mediterranean restaurant in OC. They have plenty of appetizers, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads, and plates. Prices are affordable, with appetizers in the $5 area and entrees between $10 to $16. We quickly made our selections and anticipated a delicious dinner. Let's see how everything worked out for us at O-Live Tree Restaurant.

Katie had been fighting a cold, so she was drawn to this Homemade Red Lentil Soup ($4.90). This creamy soup was made with onion, potato, butter, and red lentils, which she is convinced helped her get over her cold quicker. I'm not so sure about that, but this was just what the doctor ordered for her.

This Falafel ($5.90) was the lone hiccup of the night for me. I found this falafel, which came four to an order, to be a little on the dry side, which was easily remedied with the provided well-made tahini. I'm also used to the insides of a falafel being a little more on the green side than this version. A robust cumin flavor was included here, which was a pleasant surprise.

Entrees were out next, and Katie selected this Chicken Kabob ($10.75) as her meal. I was pretty impressed with the chicken here. It was very tender, well marinated, and had a nice char. You can choose two sides and a sauce with the plates at O-Live Tree. Katie went for the hummus and the rice to balance out her meal. The hummus was tasty and a great companion to the soft pita bread. A very good-sized portion of the price.

As is my strategy when eating in most restaurants, if a combo meal is offered, I gravitate towards it to try more options in that particular restaurant. That happened at O-Live Tree when I ordered this Mixed Combo Kabob ($16.90). For my two kabobs, I had the lamb and the beef. I liked the beef version better, as it was cooked to medium, was still somewhat tender, and spiced nicely. The lamb was seasoned well but a little on the gamy side. It could have been my pieces, but I'd go for the chicken next time. I'm not a tabbouleh or mixed salad fan, so I went with the same rice and humus that Katie got. I liked the hummus, which mixed well with the rice, which is how I want to eat it. The tzatziki sauce was solid here, and I liked that this was a thicker version than most I have had. It really clung to the food and added extra flavor.

Hopefully, this blogger's dinner gets the word out about this hidden restaurant. Owner Melike Mehmetoglu was very hands-on during this dinner, and you can tell how proud she is of her 4-month-old restaurant. You can't help but root for someone like her to succeed in this tricky business. Most of the items we tried were very solid and something we would return for. O-Live Tree is making moves to get its name out there, as it just recently launched its website and is very active on Facebook. Thanks to everyone at O-Live Tree for the invite to experience their restaurant.

If you would like more information about O-Live Tree Mediterranean Cuisine, head to their website here: http://olivetreeirvine.com/