There were a couple of pickles and olives in the mini-pita with veggies (chicken, egg and tuna) and everything tasted like pickles and tuna. Obviously cross contamination by not cleaning cutting surfaces and knives. There is also less filling than before. Hot buffet menu still has cheap selections of meat and fish - fish patties and only bone-in chicken, both are low quality and cost more per 100g because of the bone. Meat meals are unidentifiable meat swimming in grease. Gross. all the snacks and drinks are ridiculously overpriced. read more

They are always very friendly and have a Variety of options to choose from. I LOVE the puff wheat squares that they make (I always buy one if I am working in that building). read more

This place is absolutely the worst! It's WAY, way over priced and the food is never really that great, it's just convenient. Today I got the pre made Cesar salad, the lettuce had pieces of rotten lettuce, and the croutons were soggy and stale, not too mention, it's $7.99 for a bowl of lettuce and 3 skinny tiny pieces of chicken (too small to call it a portion). Once I tried the the chili and it was basically tomato paste mixed with some beans - it was disgusting!!!! The coffee is either burnt or cold in the mornings and I really wish they would replace this awful "restaurant" with anything else!!!! I also don't understand how the BLT's in the morning are decently priced, but the ones in the containers for lunch (same sandwich you get in the am except the bread isn't toasted) is a dollar more! WHY?!?!?!?! Save yourself the hardship and bring a lunch or go out (even when it's -30) cause your bound to get better food. SO DISGUSTING! read more

I am so happy Olly's exists near my office. Today I went and loaded up my little box with: Roasted yams with honey Roasted chicken Perogies Green beans with almonds Quinoa salad Scalloped potatoes Rice with beans Green salad Yes I was very hungry, so I went buck wild! It all came to less than $8! And everything was SO good! Oh, did I mention that Olly's does breakfast too?? As in, you can go and order an omlette! With veggies, cheese, whatever! I once indulged and had a bagel with smoked salmon too. Mmmmm... Truly a gem! If you dont have an Olly's near your office, I suggest you change workplaces and find yourself a job near one! read more

This is less of a review and more of a rant on changes I don't like. They have a lot of variety, and the prices are fine. They do 2-for-1 late in the day and end of the week for sandwiches and snacks. The buffet is tastier nowadays. The soups are a pretty solid bet, with a dash of salt. But overall I've experienced a better Olly Frescoes. I used to look forward to Pizza and Chicken Shawarama days... I used to enjoy talking to the staff at the cash, the operations manager and even the owner sometimes. There have been some changes here that really suck, with a new owner and some direction from head office. Instead of daily specials they just picked the four most popular and now do them everyday. No surprises anymore. But, the buffet food has improved. The new chef also sports tattoo sleeves but don't confuse him with the chef referred to in other reviews below. This one seems to put more care into the buffet dishes prepared, and is totally approachable, and doesn't speak to you as if you're his prison warden. But, I don't usually go for buffett, humans being the filthy animals that they are, and the routine special menu doesn't work for me. And the pizza and shawarma are not as good as they were before. The new front staff are fine. People around me seem to get along with them. But, the front staff has almost entirely changed over since the new owner. It'll probably take some getting to know the new staff but I have a feeling there will be no comparison to the friendly charm that came from the previous young staff and owners. And speaking of staff, shout out to Colin the short order cook who's been there all along. He's a perfectly normal, highly competent, good guy. His mannerisms are a bit stoic is all, and he's trying to focus on getting your high maintenance orders done in a timely manner, and now as well as all the other crap he's had to take on since the ownership change. He's about the only thing left that I like about this place. Truth be told I used to spend on average $10 a day at this place but since the New Year I've decided to save some $$ and just make my own coffee and leftover lunches. I might go visit Colin the short order cook for a breakfast sandwich from time to time but otherwise it's not really as interesting as it was before. read more

Not the biggest fan of this place but when it's -30 out and you've got nothing else to eat, then by all means, check this place out. But if it's a nice out and you've got a full lunch, skip this place and take a walk towards the nearby plaza instead. read more

Have been eating here for years as I work in the building. Olly's is hit and miss but mostly miss these days. Very over priced and I guess that is what you get in this business building, where they are assured patrons will buy their food rather than go out at -30C. They had a wonderful chef when they first opened, but he went off to the Petroleum club, which was a shame, as he really enjoyed feedback on his food and also took it well. The new chef has obviously been working in a prison environment, putting out mainly institutional type offerings, as he is not the least bit interested in what you think of his menus or lack of variety. You can bet your life insurance on the fact he will have three bizarre soups daily, with coconut or curry or lime chili with pomegranate slices...but not too often a basic chicken noodle, or tomato, mushroom, soup. He gets very upset when asked to provide just one " normal" selection, and can be quite intimidating with his full sleeve tattooed arms waving in the air in anger at your suggestion. A previous reviewer mentioned the short order cook, and he is actually a lovely guy but has been dealing with intellectual light weights for years in this building. The types who are at the front of a busy line up at his station, who will ask " is there any tomato in the tomato soup?" That sort of customer. He is also always the one to pick up slack for the others who work there. The owner's family works here as well and have a different speed of service than the short order guy ( guess they are the only ones not fearful of being fired!). If you are respectful to him, you will receive it back in kind. The buffet food has gone downhill since new chef arrived so cant comment much on it except to say most of it is way over salted and the greens are pretty wilted and gee if you love quinoa, this is the buffet for YOU! You will find it in pretty well every offering here. Most people I Know skip the buffet now, as it is really hit and miss on how you will feel for the rest of the day if you had it for lunch :( read more

Rude owners, constantly talking in there own language, often butting in to talk to one another whille serving a customer. The young lady seems to be more intrested in her facebook then in customer service. food was not bad, priced good , and good selection. read more

My review is going to be pretty limited. I eat here to be healthy and save money. This place serves both up in a styrofoam package. I eat here a lot. A lot. Like Jared from subway a lot. I continue to come back because the people are really nice. Lets be honest. I can get a pre-packaged salad thats just as healthy at the two grocery stores right close by but the folks here are cool. The tatooed chef in the back looks like he would be a dick, but he is really nice and even makes you laugh if you chat with him. The no non-sense coffee lady is actually really sweet and seems to genuinly care that youre having a good day. Sometimes she wears lulu lemon pants to work...I'm not going to comment further on that... read more

I'm just getting over a bout of food poisoning after eating their chickpeas curry this past Friday . My colleagues also noticed that their samosas are not fresh, especially from the oil . We had seen them earlier in the week.Avoid foods which are heavily seasoned (like chickpeas curry), as it's easy to hide any staleness or spoilage. read more

When I first started working in the building there was a good variety but I noticed a decline in the hot buffet food and there soups are made with leftovers that are not appetizing. The guy behind the sandwich bar needs to smile, grumpy pants read more

I ate at Olly Fresco's regularly when I worked at Southport, from the opening day of the restaurant, off and on until last June when I departed for another location. Needless to say the restaurant did not suffer in comparison to the Alberta Health Services on-site cafeteria which it replaced. But that is not compliment enough. The entire concept of the establishment was a turn-around from what had been present in the building before. What Olly Fresco's offers is sensible, healthy food for the business class/office worker. Breakfast service starts early, and there are fresh pastries offered up along with grilled sandwiches, eggs, toast etc. made to order. Lunch is either buffet style, with different menu items of fresh selections daily, or a soup and sandwich bar, salad bar, daily special, and grill selections. And as I understand it, there is no deep fryer. You can find fresh fruit in the cooler, varieties of cold drinks, hot drinks, snacks for when you're bad or need extra energy during a long meeting, etc. I can't say I was fan of everything they prepared, but I did like the pricing (you paid per weight, so if you only wanted a handful of spareribs and some salad for lunch, you paid less than if you loaded up your plate with rice and roasted potatoes and green beans on the side to boot). The place was clean and service for the most part friendly. Only exception was the thoroughly nasty specimen working at the grill station/sandwich bar. I stopped going to the Olly Fresco's because of his thoroughly rude deameanour, and in my last year at Southport, I know from talking to others in the office towers there that they lost a lot of business because of him; certainly I would have spent several hundred dollars more were he not so offensive to have to deal with on a daily basis. It was easier just to leave and head over to Southcentre, or even walk to one of the other restaurants nearby than have to put up with his moodiness. That inability to treat customers with respect put a real damper on the whole experience. If not for him, this would be a four-star rating. read more

It can be difficult to make food for office-type people but this place does it well! They don't make just the regular cafeteria stuff (although they keep a healthy selection of comfort food) They take chances which, as I said earlier, can be difficult when cooking for demanding and opinionated office folk. I love their chocolate mole sauce and the veggies are incredible; everything is well seasoned and great! The staff is friendly which can be challenging for them I am sure as I have overheard some of the complaints in the line up so bravo for them all! Great food and great staff! read more