It was worth the wait!! The plates were packed with delicious food. Although we did wait 20-25 minutes, you could tell they were cooking some quality food. I had a chicken kebab plate - it came with one full pita bread (2 halves), side salad, roasted tomato, garlic sauce, hummus, chicken kebab with grilled onions and bell peppers. I'm a big garlic sauce fan and this place did not disappoint - plus it was a good amount too! Even the salad was delicious and so fresh. I highly recommend this as a date night or going with you family. The staff was really nice as well. read more

Olives Branch Express - Two Chicken Kebab Plates - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

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Super great service my friend ordered one of their wraps and I ordered a plate with beef and chicken. The service was great and they served the food quick and the taste was amazing. read more

So long and bad service. I waited for my order for 30 minutes, I was ignored, continued to serve other customers read more

DONT PAY EXTRA FOR THE SAUCE. They charge you $1 for a "2 oz garlic whip" but it clearly says it's 1oz on the bottom of the container. Most Mediterranean places I've been to dont even charge for sauce. This place is a total rip off. I just picked up a takeout order here for the first time and I'm very unimpressed. The food here is okay but it's definitely not worth the money. The portions of the meat are small and there's nothing impressive about the flavor of the food. There are too many Mediterranean places in the area for this place to reasonably charge $15 for this meal. Skip this place and try Doner G. read more

Olives Branch Express - Garlic sauce ($1 extra) on the left - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

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Return policy is weird, food is not made consistently, the customer is not First. l went this evening and ordered number two 18 vegan. I returned my $30 dinner two minutes after I took a bite of their pasty white beans which didn't taste the same. It's not consistent at this restaurant. The beans had a darker color with less beans and more sauce, and it taste sickly awful. They told me that they could not refund my $30 but you can order something else on the menu. I was told that the owner will give me a call and talk it over with me or refund the money. I did not want anything else on the menu so I was forced to order a wrap, which I would never eat, but I did, because they have my dinner money. I am waiting to hear from the owner, but my family did not like the wraps because after all, we did not go there to order wraps, we went there to order number 18 vegan. Average environment I am looking for dinner food in my refrigerator now and waiting for a call from the owner. read more

We ordered chicken Shawrma on top of basmati rice, and sides of humms and Mediterranean salad, and half of pita bread. Chicken was juicy and rice was cooked well but the salad was ok. And 2nd order was STEAK SHAWARMA  Hummus, Cabbage, Tomato, Onion, Pickles & too much Tahini to be honest. read more

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Tried the wrap here. It's pretty solid. It's your standard meat-veggies-hummus wrap, about a foot long, but kinda skinny actually. I wish they would put just a tad bit more stuffing in it cause I got a bit peckish not too long after eating the wrap. Based off of fullness-to-price ratio, I'd come back but would be a little hesitant. The daily covid deal is a steal though. I'd recommend just looking out for your favorite wrap and come here on that day for a couple bucks worth of discounts. read more

The chicken shwarma is delicious!! Comfortable to dine in and convenient for take out.

One of the best Mediterranean food in Irvine. I have tried almost everything on the menu and one of my favorite is Cedar Fries plate. The chicken wrap and falafel wrap are also very good. The food is always Fresh, healthy and very affordable (check out Great offers they have right now) GIVE it a TRYyou won't regret read more

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Very unprofessional, they don't use gloves to prepare the food , they have higiene to handle food, kitchen is greasy and dirty

So so good that I had to eat this like five days in a row after trying it for the first time. The salad is supremely fresh, light, and high quality. The meat is delicious but the star of the show goes to the hummus. I haven't had such savory and perfect balance of flavors in a hummus since my favorite hummus got discontinued in stores. Will hopefully be eating here for years to come read more

Always excited to see a new Mediterranian place open near me, I was really hoping to enjoy it more here. Service wasn't great, portions small for the price that they charge. The amount of meat they give you is not more than 3-4 pieces and some of them they charge a few dollars extra for, really not worth it. Not a fan of the seasoning used on the chicken, steak or their sauces. Fries were old, dry and tasteless, they could have really made fresh ones. At around $10 a wrap, it was very much overpriced for it's size, the quality of the meat was poor and none of the food hot. Not worth returning. read more

Olives Branch Express - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

The chicken shawarma is amazing!!! I order it every time without fail. I've always had great food and great service.

I ordered a simple chicken Shwarma, honestly I couldn't believe how bad it tasted. It literally looked like a pile of vomit. So gross and was $16 I went to Trader Joe's and bought ingredients, absolutely delicious and quarter price read more

Their door hours say 930pm and their yelp hours say 930pm and you order and pay and then show up at 8:40pm to find that they are closed. They could have called me to let me know. read more

We were nearby getting boba and needed a quick bite to eat for dinner. Found this place based off the good yelp reviews so we came in with high expectations which sadly were not met. Ordered at the counter. Got the falafel plate and the chicken shawarma plate, together cost us about $24. Plenty of tables to sit at if you choose to diner in. The food came out relatively fast. Unfortunately the food itself was lacking. The falafel was quite hard to the point that it was difficult to cut through and a little dry. It came with rice, a salad that was mostly cabbage, hummus, and pita. The chicken shawarma was again dry and came with the same sides. The only saving grace was the garlic sauce it came with. The flavors were all just okay, and the salad was really sad (usually I expect actual lettuce or cucumber/tomato rather than cabbage). Our friends seemed to enjoy their meals so maybe we ordered the wrong thing, but for us it was definitely not worth what we paid. Overall we were disappointed. read more

Olives Branch Express - Falafel Plate - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

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Always messing up our order. We were supposed to hear from the manager. Our complaint was around 600 pm Aug. 31st. It is now October 4th. No call... the manager might want to check with his workers who were working on the evening of August 31. read more

The quality is super low, and the taste is not good, Not worth it at all I ordered the gyro plate, but the rice was awfully bad, meet was tasted something else with very low quality the tomato was not cooked even read more

Located in the Alton Plaza off Jeffrey/Alton (Right next to Juice it up, Golden Spoon, Pick up Stix) Is a Mediterranean/Lebanese food spot with great flavors, and decent prices. This is basically a "build your plate" or "build your style" kind of location, in which you can do Pitas, Plates, Bowls etc. I ordered 'The Beruit' which literally came with a taste of everything. The Chicken and Beef shawarma were well seasoned over rice, and not overly dry as is with some spots that over cook their proteins in advance, and leave it sitting in a warmer. All the vegetables were great, especially the pickled radishes, onions, and taboulie. All that pickled vegetables with mixed with the saltiness of the meat, citrus from the taboulie made for a delicious symphony of flavor. On top of the food, what I believe to be the owner and his family, are amazingly nice... 2 for 2! My only complaint would be the lack of sauces/dips compared to other locations. While they do have the authentic, and dare i say it, required Tzatziki, Hummus, and Garlic... they do lack anything out there and crazy; though i have yet to try their "branch ranch" which I hope is better than just regular Ranch Dressing! It was a lot of food for $10, and i'll happily come here again. With the influx of Mediterranean food in Irvine, The Olives Branch Express has solidified itself, making a good quick, (and can be healthy) meal! read more

Olives Branch Express - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

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I really enjoy Mediterranean food and was excited to see a new one open up so close to my office. Olives Branch Express operates like Chipotle, except the food is Mediterranean. One first chooses a style (pita, rice, or salad), protein, and then toppings. Pricing is $8 to $9 depending on the style selected. There are some plates that are specially designed, so I opted for the Beirut as that provided a good sampling of this place's offerings. Beirut ($10) - This came with a rice platter with steak shawarma, chicken shawarma, falafel, hummus, turnip pickles, cucumbler pickles, tabouli, tahini and garlic whip. The tabouli salad and freshly made falafel were the stars of the plate and tasted really good. I loved the freshness of the salad. The rice and hummus were good as well. However I was extremely disappointed with the chicken and steak shawarma. Both were very dry, and the steak was too salty almost to the point of being inedible. Also I'm not sure why the steak shawarma was a $1.50 extra versus the chicken shawarma. All other places charge the same. I noticed the kabobs and shawarma meats were just sitting out in steam trays. I'm pretty certain that dried out the meat. While I didn't get any kabobs I saw those out in steam trays as well and am certain those would have the same issue. Overall the negatives outweighed the positives. The meats were dry, service was extremely slow, and the portion was actually smaller and more expensive than a similar Mediterranean place in the immediate vicinity. I think the rice platter should include more meat and come with a pita bread, like other Mediterranean places that follow the Chipotle model. This place really needs to reconsider how to make sure the meats are fresh and juicy and not sitting around all day in a steam tray, drying out. read more

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This place is delicious! I got the the chicken shawarma wrap with taboulie salad combo. Highly recommend it! Service is very friendly, if you don't know what something is they will explain it to you in a very friendly way. I'm not too familiar with Lebanese food so had a few questions and the gentleman was so happy. Ambiance - place is very clean, order and pay at the counter first prior to sitting down. Pricing - spent $11 on a wrap/salad/drink combo. Very well priced for the quality of food. So happy to have found this place! Thank you for your kind and friendly service and attitude! read more

Olives Branch Express - Chicken Shawarma Wrap Combo with Taboulie Salad and extra Mixed Pickles - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

Love eating from here. But your menu on Grubhub has some issues. For example if you try to order Grape Leaves, it double charges you because it has two requirements (grape leaves size and size choice) that are copies of each other. Of course Grubhub has no way of reporting these issues so its up to the restaurant to contact them for it to be changed. read more

Just flew into Irvine with 2 hungry littles and needed something quick and casual. This place was suggested since it was fairly close to the airport and it was a great suggestion. Super good, freshly made, loads of flavor Lebanese food that's casual, priced right and fast or get to go. We had Tabouli which is a hard one to please everyone since everyone likes their own style they prefer, this has more parsley, very little bulgur but with lots of lemon (yum!). I liked it and left no parsley behind. The kufta was juicy and tender. Chicken kabob and chicken shawarma was also juicy and both marinated well. I enjoyed my wrap which included French fries (on vacay mode) and the kids plate was perfect in taste and portion -- actually very generous portion with options. Overall very good and will a place I'd come again when in town. Chokran! read more

So I ordered the Beirut expecting it to be good, but it was just a generic plate of average chicken/beef schwarma and a hard reheated falafel. For a place that is supposed to be Lebanese style, the rice was missing vermicelli, the vegetables and meat were missing sumac seasoning and food was just average. Would be nice to see the food container actually filled up and not half full leaving more hummus to be desired. Also, how cheap do you have to be to give me 1 piece of pita bread cut in half? And these baby sized containers of garlic sauce/tahini that barely sauce up my dish are just insulting and embarrassing. For the "Plate of Plates" the portions weren't that big so.... Onto the next dish I ordered. The beef and lamb kafta plate I ordered was pretty good. Meat was nice and juicy. Again, the rice was plain, missing the vermicelli that is signature of Lebanese rice, and everything was missing that sprinkle of sumac that really ties a dish together. Perhaps I came in on a bad day or they had to make some budget cuts due to the pandemic. I'd rather make the drive to Zankou's Chicken any day. read more

Olives Branch Express - the beirut, pretty small dish for such a big name - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

Solid local place. Chicken and beef shwarma was well seasoned. The lamb was pre shredded and slightly dry but good flavor profile. I personally enjoyed the beet salad which was slightly sweet and refreshing. Hummus was smooth, overall a solid lunch experience. read more

Favorite place to go in Irvine if you are craving quick, good Mediterranean food! When they first opened they did not nearly have as much food items as they do now but was still as good. If you get a chance, meet the owner Omar who is fantastic and super friendly. Every time I have come in, he was there! Always treats my boyfriend and I like family. As far as food goes, I love their shawarma plate with extra garlic sauce it is my go to. Also if you like baklava, try it here with ice cream...amazing. Food: 4 1/2 stars Service: 5 stars Parking: 1 star (the "popular" tea place next door creates bad parking) read more

Olives Branch Express - Shawarma plate - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

This place is a real scam ! O have ordered the side salad and it says u can add chicken shawarma or chicken kebab and they charge u extra 3.99 for chicken . It was a big salad with sprinkle of chicken on top . read more

Olives Branch Express - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

Very good halal kebab restaurant. Tasty, delicious and clean. The lady helping us was very nice and patient with my kid's order. Order came out fast with big portion and many sides like yogurt, butter sauce, soup, bread... highly recommended. read more

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The good was poor quality and the service was bad. They didn't have enough people to cover and had to wait to get my order ready

POGIBALLS RATINGS Olives Branch Express, Irvine #pogiballseats #olivesbranchexpress Overall rating 4 Stars Light breakfast "Egg (egg whites) and cheese skillet w/avocado" Food 4 Stars Service 4 Stars Restaurant Cleanliness 4 Stars Restroom 4 Stars Price $$$** From the beginning they stumbled out of the gates on this one but made up with there food. We ordered from breakfast menu two skillets with avocado. The man taking order rung us up and explained after that he needs to run to Ralph's to get eggs and avocado and will give complementary soup for the wait. Well no on the soup and yes on the wait. They never gave us the complimentary soup. Food came out and the proportion was bigger than I expected. The eggs were nicely scrambled accompanied with the cheese, sour cream and the rest of the toppings. It was good and hearty, definitely will make you full. The only thing I would change is the amount of pita bread that comes with the dish. They only gave me 3 small triangle cuts of bread for the large skillet I had. Other than that the food was ok for the price and would try one of there signature dishes next time. I would dine here again. read more

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We had lunch here today. The falafel sandwich was very good and overstuffed with yummy crispy falafel. Even though the sandwich was loaded,I still felt that it was healthy choice. All ingredients were very fresh and plentiful. I could have used a little tziidki but all in all, the sandwich was good. The staff was very friendly and nice and the restaurant was very clean and proper precautions were taken. We would definitely go back. read more

I was really craving Mediterranean food and found this restaurant on Yelp! Upon entering the restaurant, I noticed that all the chairs were stacked up meaning there's currently no indoor dining. Luckily, the plaza has plenty of outdoor seating available. I ordered the Chicken Shawarma, which came with hummus (yum!), rice, and a slice of pita bread. The food tasted fresh, and I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture! The portion was also pretty big, enough to feed 2 people I'd say. I left feeling very satisfied and full. read more

This place has so much potential because their food is usually pretty delicious. Recently, there seem to have been a change in staff, so I would recommend you to check your order before you leave. Update: The manager messaged me after my review. Their staff was news and where a bit overwhelmed, since the owners were not able to be there due to an emergency. He offered to treat me to another steak shawarma which is my favorite. I have not taken the offer yet, but I did wait some weeks before going back to this place. I can say that I got a better service and my order was complete and accurate. The owner was there at the register and he and his wife will always receive you with a smile. I am just happy to see that his staff is doing much better and I will be definitely keep coming to this place in the future since it is by far the most delicious mediterranean food I ever had. I am grateful for the owners to have provided me with the best customer service after my bad experience there. The food will not disappoint. read more

2.5 This visit is from LAST YEAR so they could've changed for the better since!!! Theirs so many places to try in this genre, so I have to compare it to those other spots. Service is stellar and the ordering system at the time was lunch line style. I ordered a 2 meat plate, with steak shawarma and beef lamb kafta with tabbouleh and fattoush. I forget which sauces I picked but I recall them being good ;P The tabbouleh salad was tasty, the greek salad was aight. The kafta were patties, a liiiiiiiittle dry and so was the sharwma. Hopefully they switched up they way they have the meat instead of sitting there on hot plates. The meal wasn't a total loss and I will totally give them a try again since they're the only genre of this sort in my 2 mile radius. read more

My first and last time here. I work in the area and have seen this place but never have tried it until today. I ordered the Filet Mignon Kebab plate and brought it back to my office. The protein was not really grilled correctly. The color on the meat is grey and cooked through. They pre-cook the proteins and throw them on the grill briefly before serving it which makes the meat on the dry side and not juicy. The hummus is very bland and flavorless and does not have that good texture. It's not creamy. I watched the guys preparing and putting together the food and they have the worst store bought pita ever. It was thin and stiff and they took it from the bag and didn't even put it on the grill. The lunch did fill me up but this is the furthest thing from good authentic Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cuisine. I am quite sure that all of the ingredients here are from the Sysco food supplier and nothing is homemade. Just throw the canned or prepackaged ingredients together and preheat them ahead of time, and throw them on the grill for a flash heat up. People who rate this as 4 stars or above obviously have not had authentic Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cuisine. I should have stuck with my original tried and tested Olive Oil Mediterranean Grill on Jeffrey Rd. & Trabuco. That is the real deal. EDIT IN RESPOPNSE TO THE OWNER: I appreciate the defense and your response, but the food was not good and the execution of the final product (especially for the price) was not good in my opinion. I have been to many authentic Mediterranean or Middle Eastern restaurants in my 54 years on God's green Earth. I still stand by my review as you stand by your claim. I wish you well. read more

Food is just okay but they make it fresh when you order. It's not a restaurant that I would come back to unless I'm in the same plaza.

Counter service Lebanese food with indoor tables and nearby outdoor seating. Good beef shawarma wraps. Recommend the chicken "tawook". They serve a spicy hummus--give it a try if you like spicy. read more

Portions smaller than expected but the tabouli is so tasty. I would come back to explore other menu items.

Tips: -Order up front before you sit -Ask for ketchup/sauce at the register -Get the Cedar Fries plate! I shop around Alton plaza a lot because it is close to my apartment. I've always seen this restaurant in passing and was curious to what it was. There was a BOGO 50% deal on the Retail Therapy app, so my friend and I decided to check it out! I came around 8 pm on a weekday, and there weren't a lot of people. It is located in the Alton shopping center, so there is plenty of parking. The restaurant is quite big and has a lot of seating in the back. The style of the restaurant is sort of like a fast food restaurant - order up front and wait for them to give you your meal. When I came, it wasn't busy, so the order and wait time were fast. We ordered the Beef & Lamb Kafta Plate, Cedar Fries, and Chicken Shawarma Wrap. I ordered up front, and the server brought our food to us. She was very hospitable and asked us if we needed anything else and how we like the food. The service is definitely really good here! The price is decent for the amount of food because the portions are quite big. The plate and wrap both didn't have too much flavor, but they were still good. However, what was amazing to me was the Cedar Fries plate. This was so delicious and had a lot of depth and flavor to it. I recommend to everyone who comes here! My overall experience is good - the service, food, and the location are all above average. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a fast and good Mediterranean meal. read more

Olives Branch Express - Beef and lamb plate - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

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Great food, prompt service for takeout. My lamb was cooked to perfection, and the hummus was an excellent side. The lentil soup was at first a bit bland, but accompanied with the seasoned meats it turned out to be just fine. read more

Olives Branch Express - Mediterranean Near Me - Irvine, California

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