We were excited to try this place as we like Mediterranean food and live close by. But unfortunately it was a big disappointment. So many things were wrong. We ordered chicken shish kebabs and various dips. First, the kebabs were way too salty and tough to eat. The dips had nothing to do what they were meant to be. What they called babaganoush was plain roasted eggplant, muhammara was some sweet weird paste, humus was way to runny and had NO taste at all, and labneh was plain strained yogurt with no zaatar or olive oil or nothing accompanying. If you never ate Mediterranean food, this place will be okay to suppress your hunger but if Mediterranean food is your thing, I would say find somewhere else. read more

Another scrumptious lunch: fresh and fresh and tasty Excellent Middle Eastern cuisine - we especially love the falafel. The well orchestrated palate by chef Renita stays with you: a bite of falafel, fatoush salad and eggplant at its best! Great to have this as a dining option in Natick and metro west. We recommend it highly! read more

Cute little restaurant with good vegan options and delicious falafel! I do think it may be slightly overpriced for a rice bowl though.

Amazing. We had a rice bowl and a pita sandwich and both were very good. I ordered online and pick up was very easy. Staff is very friendly and we will definitely be back. read more

Very tasty Mediterranean food. And the service is awesome. As we all now grab and go they are perfect in 5 timing

I was doing a take out order for eight people and was nervous about the accuracy as it can be difficult with large orders. The owner was extremely kind and helpful and made everything come out perfectly! I was able to email my order and she confirmed and gave me a price. When I arrived, everything was being packed and each order was labeled. The food was delicious and beautiful. You might think that take out isn't, but this was! We had a variety of bowls, salads and pita wraps and everyone enjoyed their meal. We will definitely be repeat customers! read more

My fiance and I picked up lunch from here last Saturday. The food is AMAZING! I had the Cauliflower Sharma and it did not dissapoint. Seasons perfectly. My fiance had their chicken rice bowl and he raved. Portions are generous, and the service was excellent. When we were leaving the woman thanked us BOTH for coming in and ordering. We will definitely be back. read more

I can't comment on the Mediterranean food here because it's wasn't Mediterranean. Tabouli is made with quinoa and didn't have much parsley... weird. I didn't know it was tabouli until my boyfriend told me. The baba ganoush is not baba ganoush. It's eggplant strips with onions and maybe seasoned? I'm not sure because I wouldn't put it in my mouth because I don't like strips of eggplant. They have a build your own bowl thing where you assemble your meal and sides, I thought that was awesome but I put my falafel on a salad and the "salad" was just plain Romaine lettuce. I guess I thought it would be a Mediterranean salad with tomato and cukes? Maybe feta cheese? The funniest thing was the olives... they were not the real Mediterranean (Greek or Lebanese) olives, they were the green version of the canned black olives. Tasteless. If Olives is in the name, one might think they'd have great olives!! I would give it 1 star for misrepresenting the food. My boyfriend liked all his sides and falafel was ok... and the workers there were super nice. So I upped it. A helpful tip, just say what the food actually is... don't call it something it is very far from being. It can be called a quinoa salad and eggplant. The "salad" can be "romaine". And get some real olives!! read more

Meh... I ordered beef kabob plate for takeout, and the small pieces of meat were so tough that it was hard to chew. Came on a bed of yellow rice with a few carmelized onions and a faint lemon flavor. Also came with a salad, which was delicious with lots of olives, but a tiny portion. We also ordered lamb kabobs, which was ground lamb on same rice with small salad. Way overpriced for what we were given. Would try again and order salads but pass on the kabobs. read more

Really good service! Love the pita and the chicken kabob plate, get sauce on the side if you get takeout.

Very friendly staff, fun games, and delicious food. I live being able to mix and match protein, toppings, and sauces. Yummy, yummy falafel, and mango lassi. Highly recommend! read more

Delicious! Also very helpful as I just dropped in at lunchtime to grab some things for dinner. Woman (maybe owner) behind the counter offered great advice as to what would...and wouldn't...hold well. They sticky wings were especially yummy. We will be back! read more

This was my first time eating here. I should note that I ordered delivery through GrubHub. Overall, I had higher expectations. The food was cold, but I don't know if I should attribute that to the restaurant or to GrubHub's delivery, and did not take an additional star off for it. However, that being said, I didn't get the feeling that the food was very fresh. Not, like, super old, but possibly cooked yesterday or early this morning and reheated, but not very well. I don't think the pita was homemade, which is a little disappointing. I ordered the sambousek samosa and the lamb meatball pita. You are allowed to choose one sauce and four toppings for the pita/bowl/salad. As a first timer here, it would have been nice if the menu had suggestions for flavor pairings; I really didn't know what to choose. I ended up with tzatziki, pickled turnips, red cabbage slaw, olives, and eggplant dip. The dishes smelled amazing when I took it out of the bag and I was excited for dinner. The lamb meatballs were very good - credit where credit is due. Nice spice, and I bet if they were hot, they'd be great. Unfortunately, nothing else had much flavor. The eggplant dip had no flavor, which was sad because I think a nice smoky babaganouj would have complimented the lamb nicely. The cabbage, olives, and pickled turnips were just acid on top of acid and really added nothing to the sandwich. The turnips came on the side and I ended up eating a few like fries, and fed the rest of them to my dog. They tasted like (and I know this is a niche description, but every bite I took, it was all I could think of) Passover, but I can't pinpoint why. The sambousek may as well have been air for all the flavor it had, and the yogurt mint dip that came with it also had no flavor, which is surprising given how potent mint can be. The tzatziki really needed salt and lemon juice. Honestly, if it weren't for the meatballs, I would start to wonder if I had COVID due to the lack of taste. If a friend wanted to go after COVID and have a meal together, I'd try it again. Maybe I'd choose different toppings or get a better balance so there wasn't so much acid. But I don't think I'll seek out the restaurant on my own again. read more

I recently went to Dates and Olives after reading great reviews on Nextdoor. I was so happy I did. After asking the The host( Jackie )many questions and her asking my preferences I let her make my dinner.... I could not be more pleased. Every ingredient had its own bursting flavor that could stand on its own and was scrumptious when put together. I had the pleasure to meet her souse chef (Mike) and the owner who were so pleasant and accommodating. Dates and Olives is a real gem in downtown Natick! read more

This is the worst food ever (not just the worst Mediterranean food). We had tried this place when it opened and had a similar bad experience. Tried after few years and the taste is horrible. I am amazed and puzzled on how so many high ratings exist on yelp and google for this place. I would never recommend this place. read more

First time here for dinner, we've been looking forward to coming here for a while, but I (we) have to say we were disappointed. Pros: Some much needed diversity in Natick. Friendly staff at the counter. Food came very quickly. Clean restaurant. The hummus was good. The millet tabouleh was good. The red pepper sauce was good. Cons: The falafel was dense and floury, almost gummy. The olives are all green, I was looking for a mix including black. The chicken was subpar, not spiced at all, and could have been boiled. The carrot raisin salad we had (two orders) had exactly one raisin between them. It's expensive for what you get. I hope this place picks up. We love eating halal as it's very healthy, but we were sorely disappointed by the inconsistent quality and relatively high cost for the food as delivered. read more

This was DELICIOUS! Many gluten free options. Family meal was so easy for my picky eaters to try and then mix and match. And the homemade pita is AMAZING (though not GF). read more

I am not Mediterranean so my review doesn't count but good great food would come back. Can you convert to Mediterranean

The owner Renita was wonderful and super helpful and everything we tried was amazing. We will make this a regular stop!

Ordered Greek salad with grilled chicken. Got a small side Greek salad missing the chicken. Was charged for what I ordered. Ordered gyros and meat tasted old and verve of spoiled. Horrible food. read more

Always a good place. We live nearby and loved their food since they opened. Hummus, sticky wings, lamb gyro, mango lassis and all the plates. However, it is a bit difficult with a young kid, the kids meals have a bit too much favor. A plainer favor option would be great. Other than that, it's a awesome place! read more

Best soup and salad - by far - had lentil soup and chicken sandwich. Food was perfect - fresh and delicious and NOT expensive. The servers were extremely polite and attentive. The restaurant was spotless as well. 10 thumbs up read more

Tried it tonight with my parents. The food was pretty good, not lacking for fresh flavors, and the staff were very warm and helpful. I appreciate the compostable serving containers, but the plastic utensils, plastic drinking cups, and side salad plastic containers need to go! Please bring your efforts the rest of the way and eliminate single use plastic from your establishment. There are plenty of great compostable and/or reusable options and your customers are going to expect this from you! read more

Just discovered this place. Wish I had known about it sooner. Great choices for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I ordered the Falafal Pita and with 4 toppings available it was hard to choose. Delicious. As a vegetarian it is hard to find really good choices in MetroWest. This is a winner! read more

I never thought I'd find healthy food so tasty! dates and olives has a lot of toppings to pick from. My favorites bring carrot raisin salad and tabouleh. Also they've best chicken wings in Boston! The sauce they use for the wings is simply too good! read more

Food was fresh and tasty. Rice had a nice citrusy taste. Lamb meatball was delicious!!! Quick service and friendly staff. A lot of food for the money too!!! read more

We love this restaurant, and order from here frequently. Food and service are always great. Highly recommend!

Person who helped me at the counter was sooo nice, but unfortunately, the food was really disappointing. As others have mentioned, shockingly bland and not at all what they claim it to be. And given that folks in both locations are saying the same thing, I think it's a problem with the underlying recipes. It could be they're trying to put their own twist on on classic mediterranean, but is seems to be badly missing the mark and seriously lacking in joy. I could identify the falafel (dry), but the baba ganoush was just tasteless eggplant (no garlic, no lemon). The tabouli was made with quinoa (as mentioned by someone else) and had no cucumbers or other discernible tabouliness. The salad base was just some lettuce. The red cabbage salad was OK because it wasn't pretending to be anything else. Would be great to have something fast besides pizza and Chinese to eat in downtown Natick. Really disappointing. read more

I highly recommend Dates and Olives! We had the rice bowl, sticky wings, and rice pudding. The seasoning of the lamb meatballs was exquisite, and the carrot raisin salad delicious. The service was prompt and there is adequate and varied seating. The decor is tasteful and contributes to a warm atmosphere. Creative twists on classics. read more

The food is pretty good but you have to wait a very long time for it even when no one else is there. If you try to ask the owner about the wait time, she will yell at you about how everything is made from scratch...even though it is actually pre-made! You can see the pre-made items in containers!! I am excited to have some new food options in Natick Center but they could work on timing...also, the young staff is very friendly but the owner is quite hostile and lacks good customer service skills. I have watched her get quite angry with customers. And have had some unpleasant dealings with her myself. read more

Dates and Olives is the best! My boyfriend and I eat here 1-2 times per week and they never disappoint. The food is healthy, fresh and full of flavor! We always get the rice and salad bowls and the portions are generous. Their falafels are out of this world! The staff is always great. I've even called close to closing time for takeout and they have been very friendly and accommodating. 5 stars! read more

I went into Dates & Olives and was disappointed in the portion size of the pita pocket. I was charged extra $.75 for tomato on the sandwich and it wasn't on it. I was the only customer in the place. Maybe when they/if they grow there menu I will try again. Not sure. read more

Finally some variety in downtown Natick! I've had their Mediterranean Chicken and Falafel over rice with a variety of toppings and sauce. SO GOOD. This is definitely in my rotation for quick bites and work lunches now. Nice calm atmosphere with laidback music and friendly staff. Love it read more

In our house we have gluten allergies, a vegan, dairy sensitivity and other dietary restrictions - plus we are still foodies! We love the food here. So delicious and affordable. Really love the dips and especially the couscous. You must try it! read more

I would like to inform the customers of a very bad experience with this place  I put an order to go when I took it home they were missing some stuff I called back they gave me a terrible attitude and didn't even apologize they had to call the boss and finally said they would make me another order. When I came to pick it up there was no order they called the boss again. They were very rude with no Opology rendered finally they gave me the missing order  and practically told me to leave. Terrible and rude experience not friendly and me the customer feel guilty that they made a mistake don't recommend the place. read more

It was fine and would probably eat there again. I really wanted tons of flavor and it was not there at all

Stopped by after my shift at the nearby hospital. Woman in the front is very nice and professional. Food was great and perfect for a healthy meal. I did get the chocolate chip cookies which were amazing. read more

My mom and I LOVE dates and olives. We eat here often! And always get a few apps and the gyros. So fresh!

Just ordered out from here and portions very small for the price of the item. Lettuce wilted and food just not great.

Cute new place with very flavorful food and extremely friendly people. My only regret is that the lamb meatballs are extremely dry and I found that I couldn't actually eat them. I'll try a different protein next time. The vegetables are wonderful and the compostable containers are a plus. Will definitely go back. read more