Ride and dismissive staff. Incompetent management and lack of any care or appreciation for customers. Do yourself a favor and spend your money elsewhere or save it for a more pleasant experience. Food seems to be good from other reviews but the disrespect and attitude from the hostess and other frontline staff ruin the atmosphere and experience. read more

Ambiance is great! Food is fantastic!! Mel and Kim are AWESOME!!! Seriously, the service is so incredible here. It would be difficult to improve upon. I would even go so far as to say impossible. On my first visit, I had the Ricotta and Goat Cheese Gnocchi. Good lawd! It was spectacular!!! I started with the warm marinated olives. The two together were amazing. Second visit, started with warm marinated olives and the Suppli al telefono risotto fritters. Then I went on to the Chef's Pasta special of the day. Fritters were delicious. Great texture. Pasta was so flippin good! I wanted to eat myself into a happy little food coma. Even the meatball side was delicious and moist, tender... packed with flavor! The menu has a great selection and will not be difficult for even the must stuffy of palate to find an excellent choice. The Chef here loves to use goat cheese, but in a way that is so complimentary and not at all over powering. I can not recommend Wild Olive any higher! If you have not been yet, you need to ask yourself why. Then reprimand yourself and go. Once you do, you'll ask why it too so long to discover this incredible little gem. Note* Restaurant does not open until 5:30 read more

We went the first time with friends recently. The ambiance, service and food was impeccable. We shared several appetizers, all which were AMAZING. I enjoyed sea scallops over risotto while hubby had a steak that came with the best smashed crispy potatoes. From start to finish a great experience! Looking forward to to going back soon! read more

Excellent food, drinks, atmosphere and service. Food was well prepared and thought out! Chicken parmigiana was an excellent choice covered with mozzarella and arugula for freshness. We love the homemade gelato too! Cocktails were excellent. Service was great too! Excellent choice for dinner but would suggest reservations. read more

Wild Olive - Dining room Chicken Parmesan - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

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We gave the place another chance and unfortunately, we were dissatisfied. Chicken Parm, together with fettuccine Alfredo really is not my favorite. My wife ordered the fish special had too much butter and salt. The fish was tasteless. We appreciate the service and we wish them the best. read more

This place blew me away! Fantastic service and amazing food! Everyone in our party loved the food they ordered. The ribeye steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly, every pasta dish was fantastic, the scallops were so soft and tender. And the smashed fries potatoes might have changed everyone's life with the truffle aioli! This place is worth the visit and worth coming back to again and again! read more

UPDATE 8 years later 5/1/21 :) So glad this place is still open and thriving! It was even better than when we first visited 8 year earlier. Hope Ray is our server next time - he made our experience. From his stellar recommendations to his comedic relief, we had a blast from start to finish. Cocktails: I had the Piccolo with passion fruit and it was tasty. Our table favorite was O Honey - more of a boozy drink and I had the white Sangria to compliment my fish which was a tad too sweet but still good. Bread: no longer free but we started off with the warm focaccia. It comes with a hummus-like bean dip in oil. Next time I want to try a different starter but this was something all of us could agree on (we had a friend who didn't like olives so those were out of the running). Bavette - I loved this pasta. It was on the lighter side and the half plate was the perfect amount. Spaghetti & meatballs - the meatballs were the best any of us have ever tasted. Such a a classic dish. If you're wanting a safe bet, go with this! Swordfish - this was everyone's favorite. This was a new preparation for me: it was fried...and cooked perfectly. I was wondering if I should swap out the potatoes for the truffled ones but Ray advised against it and he was right. It all complemented each other. Grouper - this was good but couldn't compare to the swordfish. It probably was more healthy though! Mushroom Ravioli - I loved this dish. I felt like the half wouldn't be enough for dinner though. Oreo cake - I don't know how we got talked into this but I'm glad we did. Olive oil gelato - Holy cow. This was my absolute favorite. When Ray mentioned this, he followed up with "don't knock it til you try it." It was like a sweet and salty vanilla ice cream. I will ensure that I have enough room next time for this. It's a good thing you can't get it at the grocery store. It definitely won't be 8 years before we return next time! read more

Wild Olive is a John's Island staple, there's not much to argue about it. You only have to go here once to understand why. The atmosphere is fun, yet classy. The service is very polite and attentive. The food is delicious. I went with a crowd favorite - Lamb Lasagna which was an excellent recommendation from a friend! A moderate sized portion that left me full but not that overly distended sensation. My wife got homemade pasta of some sort which she enjoyed. Bottom line, this is a great spot for a date night, celebrating a special occasion, or even just a great Wednesday night meal. If you live in the Charleston area you need to stop in at least once! read more

Lovely place !!! The food was delish. I'd give you a 5+ except ..... someone messed up my order, no biggie ..... came to me right away to tell me and apologize and my waiter offers me another drink "to make up for it". Great service recovery .... Until I get my bill and I paid for that "make up for it" drink. However, I will be back. I will bring my family and I will recommend to others !!!!! read more

Wild Olive serves the best Italian cuisine in the Charleston area. The atmosphere is perfect. It can be romantic, celebratory, intimate, you name it. We've gone adults-only, and we've brought our kids ages 10&13. Some of our favorite dishes include the goat cheese gnocchi, pasta, sauce and a meatball (if you ask, they will make it for a picky kid), tagliatelle and agnolotti. I'm planning to try the scallops with spatzel next time. It just sounds delicious. Tiramisu is good for dessert. Kids love the gelato. Adults like the lemoncello. read more

Incredible every time. The service was fantastic and they are very accommodating for people with food sensitivities. Their gluten free pasta is amazing and taste like normal pasta. 10/10! read more

Gorgeous restaurant, delicious food! Our server, I believe her name was Kristen, was an absolute delight. She was genuine, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about the menu. Our 7 top all raved about our dishes, but the short rib ravioli is one of the best meals I've ever had, ask for a spoon for the broth-- TRUST me, you won't want that to go to waste. We were there the first night of the fall season's desserts debut, so we ordered a few and they were all fantastic. Portions were very generous and leftovers were just as tasty the next day. read more

Oh my goodness. I have a rule whenever I go to Charleston that we have to go somewhere that my sister has never been before. I broke my rule this entire weekend but, holy hell, I am so very glad I did! I've been hearing raves about Wild Olive for a while now and I can now join the ranks of the fanatics. We had 7:30 reservations so we got there just around that time and parked in the spacious parking lot. I love (and wanted to steal) the candelabra that welcomes you into the lot. It smelled like firewood and there was good music playing so it was the ideal welcome. We had to wait a few minutes for the rest of our party to arrive but otherwise we were quickly shown to our table. Our waiter appeared to be of the standard and nondescript variety, until he got to telling us about the specials. He became extremely animated and passionate in describing the catch of the day, and delicious pasta with generous servings, and such. This guy clearly loves his job. After munching on a thick slice of bread with olive oil, I shared the brussel sprouts with my sister. They were huge and hard to cut but otherwise cooked to perfection with just the right amount of vinegar. Our entrees arrived quickly: two in our group had the scallops (and one just about licked her plate clean), my sister had the gnocchi and I had the pappardelle. We ordered the full size and I took more than 1/2 of it home for lunch the next day. I broke another one of my rules by ordering dessert. I ordered the daily special of the strawberry sorbet (our waiter just made it sound SO GOOD) while my sister and one friend shared the brownie and the other friend had the red velvet cake (huge slice, btw). I had an unsweetened ice tea, which the staff kept full. One of our group had a glass of wine but otherwise we stuck to water. All in all, it was less than $50 person for appetizer, dinner, and dessert -- and lunch the next day. What a win! I hope to come back here soon. read more

Wild Olive - Papardelle - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

We went fir a girl's night for the holidays. Our server, Holly, was on point and made sure we had a seamless experience. The food...so good! We sampled the warm olives, calamari, clams and white bean dip. Dinner consisted of Ravilioli, chicken parmesan, trigger fish, gnocchi, & pasta that were all fantastic! Can't wait to go back!! read more

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I wish I could give them more stars. Phenomenal. Best gnocchi I've had since my gram used to make it, before she died.

Love this place! Great staff, delicious food and nice ambiance. We have been back several times and we always have Devine meal!

This place is great! I have an Alfredo with added chicken. I love the ambiance, the friendly staff, cute decor, and very tasty food. I did not have a reservation, but they squeezed me in. They are very accommodating to customers, so if you want to modify anything they make it easy and hassle free. I often try and visit all farm to table restaurants in the areas (I'm a big supporter). Can't wait to try this place again. It's a good date location or girls night out location. read more

Wild Olive - Alfredo - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Wild Olive is known for its pasta but the chef consistently serves up a tasty, uniquely prepared seafood special each night. Tonight, the grouper was outstanding with an outer char but still tender and moist. The bread service of sourdough bread with a white bean hummus has to be one of the best I've had. If you're looking for seafood, you may want to try Wild Olive. read more

Wild Olive - Grouper Special - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Not gonna lie we didn't like it at first. At honestly I still think that Obstinate Daughter (sister restaurant) is better but this place has grown on me. We get takeout from here often and I have come to really appreciate it. read more

I ate here for the first time a couple weeks ago and I can't believe I've waited this long to do so. I'm a little mad at myself that I've been missing out on this food for so many years. I clearly have a lot of catching up to do so this will probably become a frequent spot for my husband and me. But enough about my mistakes, let's talk about the food. We ordered the calamari and the bruschetta for appetizers and oh my gosh they definitely started our meal off right. The aïoli they used on the calamari is to die for. And the bruschetta was an explosion of flavor in my mouth. For dinner I got the chicken parmesan, which was an updated twist on the classic dish. It was so flavorful and comforting, it reminded me of being back in my grandmothers kitchen as a child eating homemade Italian food. I purposely took some home so I could eat it the next day. And for dessert I got the tiramisu which, in my opinion, you can never go wrong with. I would recommend making reservations since the dining rooms tend to fill up pretty quickly. Even on a Thursday night the restaurant was packed. All in all, our experience here was everything I imagined and more. We will definitely be returning and I can't wait to try even more delicious food! read more

Wild Olive - Chicken Parmesan - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

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Came here for my birthday dinner and wow, I was impressed. My body is composed of 30% pasta, so I had to go Italian for this celebration. We made a reservation ahead of time and were seated promptly. The space itself is dimly lit and very romantic. Our server was attentive and seemed very passionate about the menu and definitely made me hungry with his descriptions. We couldn't pass up the risotto fritters as an appetizer. They were crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and had a tangy dipping sauce to go with them. Although we were about to woof down a ton of pasta, the serving size wasn't too much as to ruin our appetites. For the entree, I decided on the orecchiette with shrimp & calamari, while my boyfriend went for the tagliatellae alla Bologenese. I like that they do half and full portions because even though I love pasta, some restaurants just give you a portion size that is far too large. I went for the half portion and left perfectly satisfied. The orecchiette was light, fresh, and the zip from the lemon zest kept me coming back for more. The Tagliatelle alla bolognese was rich and meaty, exactly as it should be. We were both thrilled with our choices and they have a great wine selection to boot. The house wine is $6 a glass, so we got out with a bill that was far cheaper than what we are used to spending. With their reasonable prices, high quality food, and top notch service, you know I'll be back as soon as I can! read more

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The menu is creative, and the food is outstanding. Comfy & cozy setting. The elk was tender and tasty while the mushroom soup had me wanting more the next day. read more

Food was fantastic as always. Service was on point without ever being intrusive. Can't give enough praise. The standards and consistency of Wild Olive and OD are what every restaurant in Charleston should strive for. read more

Beautiful restaurant nested in the heart of a little island. Beautiful decor to make you think you are in Italy. The staff was so friendly and they made us feel so special. And the food....omg! It was just delicious! This is a must visit restaurant! read more

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We love Italian cuisine, So for my birthday dinner, When for nth time I turned eighteen, My husband went to treat me! We kept Wild Olive long in mind. You see, we little skeptical. Its very very hard to find, Italian food exceptional. So finally we made it there, Of course with reservation! Parking lot full, so be aware! Call and reserve, no question! Inside looks homey, cozy, warm, Somewhat remind me Italy. I loved their T-shirt uniforms, They're funny and original. We got charred octopus to start, And shared the calamari. We didn't want to eat them fried, They cooked them in tomato. My husband ordered their ribeye, I got veal scallopine. Cocktail for hubby, for me wine It was an amazing dinner. Tiramisù was for dessert, We took it with espresso. It was so light and really soft! Delicious sorpresa! I can't complain about a thing! Our evening was exquisite! Food was amazing, so were drinks. Wild olive is exclusive! read more

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The bartender/waiter Marco was awesome! The grouper was salty and buttery, served on a bed of perfectly cooked cabbage that rivaled the protein. This meal was awesome. The drinks were superb. I got a mojito that was properly muddled and made. My friends got some amazing tequila cocktail. We finished the meal with tiramisu and limoncello drinks. 12/10, totally go here. read more

Upscale Italian dining. Great for date night. Laid back atmosphere that makes me feel like I'm enjoying a summer in the Italian countryside. Amazing food and good service, plus really great appetizers and wines. read more

Great atmosphere with soft lighting. Quality service and great food and cocktails. Especially love the scallops and elk steak read more

Wild Olive - Fried soft shell crab special over chopped veggies and small pasta - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

After months of hearing about this spot we finally made our reservations and went! Allow me to just say what a gem of a place this is with ambient warmth and friendly southern service! Our service, Marigold, could not have been more perfect nor suggestive and caring to our wants and needs! She arrived at our table at all the right times and took the utmost best care of us, making us feel like we were her only table! Give this girl a raise or at least do something special for her (Coffee, Treat, etc). Everything was delicious especially the Octopus & Double Chocolate Cheesecake (a recommendation Im glad was made). Do yourself a favor and snag a reservation here and request Marigold! You will not leave disappointed read more

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We've heard rave reviews about this place since we moved here just over a year ago, so we were eager to go with our friend. We started with a Caesar salad, which was overly salty, and the charred octopus, which wasn't charred, although it was flavorful with a delicious cream sauce, potatoes, onion and capers. Our three entrees were the ricotta and goat cheese gnocchi, seared sea scallops, and a trigger fish special. The gnocchi sauce was flavorful, but otherwise you'd be just as good at a Bravo, and better off at a Biaggi's. My sea scallops were large, had a decent amount of lobster, and the risotto was flavorful, but nothing spectacular. My fiancé's fish special reminded me of Long John Silvers, where I haven't been in decades, but the cream sauce and beans were flavorful. Our Cannonau wine was great, and we were happy to see a Sardinian bottle available, which we rarely see on menus. The tiramisu was a disaster; whipped cream, not enough lady fingers; any Italian would roll over in their grave if they knew that was being served as a traditional tiramisu; not even close; it merely included some of the correct ingredients. However, a saving grace was a special dark chocolate cake with a Grand Marnier cream frosting. One of the best desserts I've ever eaten. The Limoncello was the crema version, which is less traditional, but I happen to like. read more

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Excellent food and service, in a comfortable setting. My husband really enjoyed the seared octopus. It was prepared well and cooked to perfection. We both had the bolognese with tagliatelle and it was delicious! We would definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

Wild Olive was amazing from the food to the service. Our meal was excellent from the first bite to the last. We had the grilled octopus, ricotta gnocchi, grilled elk loin, and scallops. Service was quick even though every seat was filled. we were seated exactly at our reservation time. Our server was attentive and friendly. Would eat there again any day. read more

Had a wonderful birthday dinner at Wild Olive last night. I had a special which was a whitefish laid on a bed of delicious fresh steamed vegetables and warm olives and glass of Chianti. Cheers to the chef! The waiter was delightful. He was informative, and he even went to trouble to speak with The Chef about medical diet restrictions I have. Thank you making my bday dinner and experience so perfect! read more

Who doesn't love the Wild Olive!!!!!! I crave this place! We have many of our family events here Birthdays, Anniversaries, Grandma wants to have happy hour, etc.....Chris and the entire team are incredible!!! read more

This is the BEST Italian food I've ever had. And I grew up in New Jersey- the land of pastas and pizza. The chicken parm is hands down the best chicken parm I've ever eaten. The desserts are ALWAYS fire. The dessert specials are usually what draws me in. And the sangria spritz is a great red sangria for anyone who likes a sangria. read more

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Disappointed. While the food was basically good, I thought the restaurant itself was pedestrian. No attempt to provide outside seating either. Those factors do not appear to impact popularity, so make a reservation ahead of time. Crispy calamari flavorful, arancini was sausage, never saw or tasted any. Salad had too much dressing. Chicken parm was great, as was the wreckfish. Service attentive. read more

This evening I had the calamari for an appetizer and the baked penne (spicy) for an entree with a side of Brussel sprouts. I want to preface this review with me saying I really like this place, but..... not tonight. The calamari I felt was very heavy on the breading, and only occasionally I could actually tell I was eating calamari. It was also drizzled with some sort of sauce that distracted from what the dish was suppose to be.... calamari. The baked penne was great and I wouldn't change anything about it. I had them make it spicy for me. The Brussel sprouts where extremely heavy on the balsamic or lemon. Point being there was something that when you put one of these in your mouth it would make the back of your mouth hurt it was so tart. Some may like it that way, but not my choice. As always the service was great. I will be back, but will order different appetizers and sides. read more

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Outstanding food, service, and vibe. Ordered the short rib agnolotti and it was one of the best things I've tasted in years.

Awesome food...great place. We've eaten here many times and every time we come to Kiawah or Charleston we dine here at least once. Very comfortable place with great service. read more

Been hearing all this hype about this place and had to go see for myself. I got the chicken parm and wow was it a little uncdercooked. Throwing up all night and it was not worth it let me tell ya! maybe it was just a bad nigjt but do yourselves a favor and don't get the CHICKEN PARM read more