We didn't even eat here because we walked out when one of the employees was so rude. The owner or manager really needs to figure out a better seating system. Being too cheap to hire a hostess is losing business for this place. I read the food reviews after and felt even better about walking out. I guess I should thank the rude person, though, because we ended up at Cricket's next door, and that place was awesome! read more

This used to be one of my favorite spots in Waco but after they changed the menu and bumped up the prices severely I don't think I'll be back. The current menu isn't as good by any means and is definitely not worth the price. Not to mention, the overall quality of food seems to have substantially decreased. I received eggs that were literally so undercooked they looked like goo, and French toast so hard and cold it felt like a hockey puck. Every single person at our table had their order messed up in some way and we were severely disappointed. The best thing about this place is the 254 coffee and that's not enough to keep me coming back. read more

I took my friends from Dallas to this cafe since it is local eatery for brunch during full service day.The decor in this restaurant is rather odd, i am not sure if they are going for rustic style or homestyle. We ordered TOB breakfast plate, salad with chicken, nutela candied bacon pancake and chocolate croissant. The bill was about $50 and the food quality is not nearly that price. 3 pancakes with nutella and a tablespoon of candied bacon was $11.95. I think you can feed 5 people at ihop with better quality of food for the price of $50. Chocolate croissant was not croissant at all. The filling was decent with the amount of chocolate but the croissant was not flaky. It was hard even it was warm. What a big disappointment! read more

I used to come here at least once a week. Went back today and their prices are doubled, great items taken off the menu, and you can't even eat a fresh meal unless you come on the weekend. Honestly I'll just be at cafe cap from now on with these new prices as a Baylor student. read more

Can I give less than one star? I would if I could. We waited over an hour for brunch. We didn't order anything too complicated, just a couple of salads, pancakes, eggs and bacon. Service was terrible, no one even wiped the table in between seatings. By the time the food came out the southwest salad had no dressing, the waitress blamed our friend for not specifying a dressing although the menu says it comes with a specific dressing...The salad was pathetic, and literally was a splash of random ice berg lettuce and crushed tortilla chips. The eggs for everyone were cold, one set of bacon was literally uncooked. The other set of bacon had congealed with grease it had been sitting so long. And the pancakes were cold, dry and hard. Pancakes!? You can't make pancakes!? They also forgot two soups on our order, maybe a good thing considering the quality of everything else. The food was actually gross, I've never experienced this before in my life. I've had better salad at a gas station. QA your food before you expedite it, hire enough staff to support he place, hire a chef or even a cook would do.. Avoid at all costs. PS: the tp roll was even empty in the gross bathroom, our friend had to change it for them... read more

This place was so disappointing. Started with me ordering an iced latte only to be served a cup of coffee with a side of ice. Then my GF ordered a BLT, (because it was on the menu that was given to us), only to be told it wasn't available until brunch (mind you this was at 10:30). I told the waiter that toast, bacon, and tomato was on the breakfast menu, so the only thing missing was lettuce which I would think wouldn't be a big deal. My guess was wrong. He returned to tell me that the manager said we couldn't get a BLT until brunch. I assume that was a power struggle cause it made no sense to me. Just a sign of bad management. The French Toast with homemade custard was eggy and tasted like stale bread with syrup on it. The pancakes were dry and flavorless. The cookies and cupcake that we bought to go tasted like cardboard with sugar on top. Definitely wouldn't return here again. read more

Need to update this review! Olive Branch is my go-to place for lunch in downtown Waco. They have great wifi and are big enough that you can just about always get a table. Food is great. They excel at salads, which are huge, and homemade soups. read more

When passing through town we decided to stop and grab a couple of sandwiches for the remainder of our road trip. I ordered a Turkey BLT with avocado and cheddar. The kitchen forgot to put the turkey and ranch spread on it though. If we hadn't already been 30 minutes down the road when we stopped to eat, I would have gone back to get the correct sandwich. However, the BLT was amazing!! The bread was fresh and the bacon was nice and thick! Next time I'm in Waco I will go again. read more

Went to eat on Sunday and it "seat yourself" there were 2 tables that were being cleaned and a group of college girls ran past us waiting and stole both tables. This place is a free for all. Worst service. We asked the waitress who was the only person we could find if there we're more tables because we were with our 90'year old grandmother and they said no. They did not offer to help. This place needs a hostess and a manager over the age of 20. Worst experience I have ever had!!!! Don't go there unless you want to fight for a table. Very unorganized. read more

I ate at Olive Branch for the last time today. I was an avid goer for the past 5 years. I loved many things on the menu, especially the salads, wraps, and soups. But things went downhill after the Express was opened. Why they opened a grab and go that had nothing they carried from their regular menu I'll never understand. My friend and I scheduled our lunch there because we hadn't been in awhile. The menu was cut by 80%. The menu choices? I honestly didn't want anything they offered. When I ordered the Chicken Melt, it was the worst sandwich I've had. Boiled, seasonless, chewy chicken slapped with basil mayo to try to disguise the lack of flavor. Needless to say, I did not finish it. My friend and I were so disappointed, we exited saying goodbye forever because the quality and goodness of Olive Branch is no more. I get that Magnolia is ruining business, but this is the time to be your best, not the worst you could possibly be. read more

I was hesitant to go to Olive Branch after seeing the overall rating, but the other 2 people I was traveling with aren't as dependent as I am on Yelp for important dining decisions. I was pleasantly surprised. We went on a busy Friday afternoon and it was seat yourself. Luckily, a table opened up just as we arrived. They were quick about clearing and cleaning it. The menu is quite extensive, which makes it difficult to decide on what to order. Service wasn't particularly great, and I noticed the table next to us waited awhile before the waiter came back to take their order. I ordered the traditional combo and chose their cream of potato soup and chicken salad on a croissant. I was very happy with my choices! Servings were large and very well priced. I would definitely go back again! read more

Oh boy where to start with this one. I'll start with my first experience at the Olive Branch. I ordered a cup of coffee, and my waiter brought me an empty cup. I waited for 15 minutes with an empty cup and just watched as my waiter passed back and forth multiple times. After 3 sessions of awkward eye contact with him as he lazed around doing nothing, I called him over and asked where my coffee was. Lo and behold the coffee was self serve. Yes, that was my fault for not knowing such facts on my first visit to this establishment, but you would think that he would have informed me of the self service bar when he gave me a cup or maybe during one of the instances when he passed my table. Nonetheless, I decided to give the olive branch the botd and not let one lousy waiter taint my judgement of the place. On my 3rd and definite final visit to the restaurant, I brought my girlfriend along. The waitress took our orders, my girl ordering a Santa Fe salad. All is good, until our food comes out and my girlfriend receive a pathetic excuse of a sandwich instead of a salad. Two slices of ham lunchmeat slapped between a couple of slices of crumbly bread. "That's not what I ordered." Oh my, the look on the waitress's face was somewhere between "are you f-ing kidding me" and "fml." The waitress left back to the kitchen and then after some time came back with a menu to point out that there was in fact no such thing as a Santa Fe salad. Turns out my gf accidentally said Santa Fe instead of southwest salad (courtesy of her dyslexia). Common mistake, I feel like one should not be punished for something so simple, but the manager thought otherwise. This ignoramus made us pay for the stupid sandwich AND the salad. Would not budge or listen to anything we had to say about it. I work in customer service and I know that keeping customers happy is of foremost importance for any business. I hope that these people change the way they treat customers. But until then I will be spreading the word of how terribly this place sucks to everyone I know. Btw my food was crappy as well. Don't order the chicken sandwich. Soup was basically water with tomato juice. read more

This place was just TERRIBLE. There's no better way to say it. The waitress had no idea what she was doing nor what was on the menu. We didn't get napkins or silverware throughout our whole visit. Our food took almost 30 minutes to come out - and we have small children, which made waiting that much worse. At least 3 tables around us got their food much earlier than we did - and we soon realized that the waitress had screwed up our order and that's what was taking so long. The "quiche" had no crust and was just small slab of watery, lukewarm eggs. The "BLT" had fake-tasting bacon, spoiled tomatoes, and dry, crumbly, tasteless bread. They failed to deliver one of our soups, even though we asked for it several times. The chicken pesto sandwich had dry chicken and an insane amount of bread. The manager and waitress halfway apologized for the "mess-ups", but didn't offer to take anything off the bill even though our entire meal had obviously been botched beyond help and we were obviously displeased. And to top it all off, the clueless waitress asked our family (husband, wife, and 3 children), if we wanted everything on the same check. Seriously. read more

Their food is delicious but the wait for food is ridiculous. I've come several times and every time have to wait at least 20-30 minutes for our food, even if there are few customers. They seem to get a lot of business on the weekends so definitely a place I'd go to during the week days intead. read more

The food here is pretty good, but what makes this restaurant great is the service. Our server Colby was prompt, polite, funny, and very knowledgeable about the menu! Would definitely return again for the cheesy jalapeño soup and the croissants! read more

This place gets one star because the waitress was attentive/courteous and the coffee was great. The food, however,....was sad. I ordered the American Breakfast. It consisted of three scrambled eggs, three slices of bacon, breakfast potatoes, sliced tomatoes, a sausage patty and a choice of bread (I choice a croissant). The food arrived quickly. Too quickly. The kind of quickly that makes you look around to see if you accidentaly received the food of someone who ordered ten minutes ahead of you. Nope, it was mine. I took one bite of the eggs. It was a half hearted attempt of a scramble by the chef. I would call them, "chunky, burned in some places, undercooked in other places" eggs. No eggs for me I guess. On to the bacon. You can't mess bacon up, right? WRONG. I can live with crispy or soft bacon, but this was a foul fat kind of taste. I quickly moved to the potatos, which were not bad but at this point I only ate one as I figured this plate was not going to be paid for. The sausage was a poor excuse of food. McDonald's does better. The waitress stopped in to check on things and I politely let her know breakfast was a bust. She asked if they could try something else and I declined. She was very nice and only charged me for the coffee and croissant. I think that was fair since that is what I consumed. She continued to check on me the remaining three hours I worked from the shop and I left her a nice tip for her service. net-net: really bad food, good service, great coffee. read more

After reading previous reviews, we dined with caution and didn't expect much. Fortunately, we were pleasantly surprised! Salads were a large portion with fresh chicken & homemade dressing. (I'm very picky about salad dressing.) others had soup in bread bowls & said they were tasty. Bread looked fresh and tasted good. Good value for good food. I like supporting a local business and this was far better than a chain soup/salad place. Also nice to be waited on. I gave it 4 stars because they deserve more than their overall 2.5. read more

Lovely location but the food left much to be desired. The croissants well, you can't really call them that. They are doughy and heavy. The mimosas are basically orange juice with a splash of sparkling wine. When I asked for Tabasco for my eggs they said the were out! read more

My husband ordered the tomato bisque soup and said it was delicious. I had a turkey sandwich that was made with fresh turkey and fresh bread. Thoroughly enjoyed it. read more

We love the Olive Branch, although they have raised their prices. We paid $3.45 for ONE FLAVORED PANCAKE. Ridiculous. Also, there are always out of coffee. They have no figured out a way to keep up with the crowd. With that being said, their food and coffee is incredible. And don't get me started on their desserts. I have never been disappointed with the food. I will warn you though, they only do scrambled eggs on Saturday and Sunday. For the most part, we love this place and always come back. read more

Olive Branch is wonderful! Their atmosphere is perfect - it's relaxed, rustic, and cute. I've enjoyed a delicious brunch here several times, and I have to say that I'm partial to the omelettes and pancakes. Their service is good, too - you feel cared for while the meal still feels low-key. All around great restaurant!! read more

Ordered the "American breakfast" which was almost $9.00 and it was really bad. The sausage patty was obviously a frozen "heat and eat" type thing and apparently the only way the can cook eggs on the weekends is scrambled. Honestly it was what I would cook for myself in a huge rush in the morning, not restaurant quality whatsoever. Avoid, unless you are looking for a good cup of coffee and a place to sit. read more

It's easy to underestimate how hard running a restaurant is until you go to a place that does it all wrong. Maybe not all wrong... the staff was cheerful and we were attended to right away. But that's the only nice thing I have to say. The decor is uninspired (church chairs?) and even though the menu looked ok, the food was uninspired too. Ham, egg and cheese thrown into a casserole without pastry is not quite quiche. And it should be warm, and not look like an omelette. And the garlic bread it comes with should also be warm, not stale from reheating (or just being old?!?). It was literally dried french bread with some garlic salt on it, no trace of butter. How do you screw up garlic bread?!? With the popularity of Fixer Upper and the revival of Waco, this restaurant pretty much has its customers handed to it, so the glaring incompetence is infuriating. read more

Olive Branch is by far my favorite restaurant in Waco ! The food is always fresh and the staff extremely friendly. Anytime I think of eating out I always come to Olive Branch :) For lunch I love there traditional sandwich, which for only 5 dollars is a great deal. For dinner their southwest salad always hits the spot, yummy and filled with vegetables. Who could forget their amazing array of desserts, personally I typically choose the chocolate chip cookie, but the cupcakes are also mouth watering. FAVORITE RESTAURANT !!! read more

The location is convenient and the ambience is good. The food struggles to the level of mediocrity, however. The guacamole mayo on sandwiches is a disappointment of the first order; there's nothing to it. The French onion soup is pre-fab and so salty as to be almost inedible. Our server was friendly but inefficient, and service overall was slow. Lunch tab for basic food and only water to drink came to $24. Probably best to skip this location for lunch if other options are open. read more

Great breakfast/lunch spot. The serving sizes are very generous. Friendly staff and a large dining area. the free trolley stops in front of the restaurant so it's very convenient. read more

We stopped in for breakfast on our way to see family and we really enjoyed the food. Fresh items, great atmosphere and the service was excellent. The building is really neat and this area is fun to explore. read more

Extremely expensive (get ready for about $8 for a chicken salad sandwich) for what you get. They boast interesting cupcake flavors and "cake balls" and if they were actually fresh they would be, but today I dropped $3 on a pink champagne cupcake which tasted about a week old and was so dry and crumbly it could've come from the discount baker's rack at WalMart. The icing was also way too sugary. My lunch was a sandwich (no sides) and drink and it cost almost ten bucks. The space is beautiful (gorgeous two-story loft with bricks and exposed ducts) but it's part of the hipster-chic of this area of the Baylor bubble. Be prepared to pay out the nose for mediocre food. Step it up, Olive Branch! read more

Cute concept but disappointed. Location and ambience were on point. Definitely reminiscent of a rustic cafe hangout. When we arrived around 11:30 AM on a Sunday it was myself, husband and 4 year old daughter. We were just looking for a place to grab a relaxing bite after church. It's a seat yourself arrangement and all the tables were full. With no place to officially wait and no offer by the staff to let us know when something opened up, we grabbed a cup of coffee and stood awkwardly against the wall staring at diners to be able to spot a table when it did open up. There were a couple larger tables available but we weren't allowed to sit there because they were reserved for parties of 6 or more...even though we were the only party waiting. When we finally sat it took a while to get menus, see a server, and receive our food. The coffee was delicious but the food was mediocre, not really "bakery" or even cafe quality. My husband ordered the Southwestern Breakfast wrap and it was just plopped in a lined basket, not even cut in half and the server asked "oh did you want salsa?". Um... yes, it says served with salsa this shouldn't be an afterthought. I ordered the salad trio. Tasty enough but looked like it came off a cafeteria cart. Sorry, this was a miss for us. Food was nothing special and the staff was running all over, clearly in the weeds, and not really that friendly. read more

Was hoping this place was better than the average IHOP, but we probably should've gone there instead. Food was good but the music was too loud, we weren't sure if it was seat yourself because there wasn't a sign out. We came in from out of town and figured we would try it. Very average. read more

Cute place! Much larger inside than I could have imagined. I had a nice omelet for brunch =)

Although we do not know about the bakery items, the breakfast was far from impressive. We will not be eating here again for breakfast. I've had better pancakes at the Baylor dining halls. read more

Kitchen problems. Waitstaff is abundant but it's not their fault that food comes out after a 40 minute wait. By then the scrambled eggs were cold [though the plate was warm] and the bacon room temp. Ok because bacon. Server got the eggs reheated. Meanwhile I tried to eat the soggy stuffed French toast, stuffed with what should have been chocolate given the color but no sweetness at all. I like dark chocolate but not even syrup could redeem the brown muck. Top layer of bread was good. read more

Went here for lunch today and was very average. Didn't seem as clean of a place. The staff was very sweet and helpful during the whole meal.

Enjoyed this restaurant. I was very tempted to skip it due to all of the previous reviews but I had none of the problems everyone listed food was promptly served and was hot. Pancakes were delicious and everything was great. Even got a coffee to go great place to visit. read more

$12.89 for a small chicken salad sandwich and a sweet tea (that was not refilled.) Friend was brought the wrong order and food took a long time to come out. We asked for ice in our drinks and had to ask twice before we were brought ice. The chicken salad was good and the fruit cup a nice addition but I didn't appreciate the wait. Drinks were never refilled. They were not busy so I din't know what the holdup was. read more

Great, great food. Not great service. Two waitresses fought over our table and finally one settled on having us. Then, she came by TWICE. We had to wave the OTHER waitress down to come over! Unsatisfactory experience regarding service, but the food and atmosphere were great! read more

Breakfast and coffee. Veggie migas were good. Espresso machine was acting up two days in a row, so a little unreliable in that regard. And they didn't know how to make a macchiato. Oh well, nbd. Waitress was really nice and attentive, service was excellent. Veggie omelette was great b/c it was FULL of veggies, not just a sprinkling like you get other places. No soy milk option for your coffee. read more

It does not get better than Olive Branch in Waco. The breakfast is amazing and they have a really great lunch menu too. The food is well-priced and you can not leave without getting a cupcake!!! Highly recommend. read more

Wonderful boutique dining with courteous waitstaff. The food was delicious and inexpensive. Do not believe the ratings at anything lower than a 4 star experience; Olive Branch Cafe is above reproach. read more