Olive at Hawker

Someone from this business manages this listing.

#4 of 1,389 Restaurants in Canberra$$ - $$$, Mediterranean, Greek, Vegetarian friendly

+61 2 6255 2858+ Add website

Write a Review

Hours

Tue

11:30 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Wed

11:30 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Thu

11:30 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Fri

11:30 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Sat

11:30 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Improve this listing

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

294 reviews

#4 of 1,389 Restaurants in Canberra

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

Learn More

PRICE RANGE

$10.00 – $59.00

CUISINES

Mediterranean, Greek

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

meals, features

Location and contact

2a/78 Hawker Place, Canberra 2614 Australia

+61 2 6255 2858

Improve this listing

Can a vegetarian person get a good meal at this restaurant?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

About

Olive at Hawker is the product of restaurateurs John and Aleka Yianoulakis, who also operated the award-winning Hellenic Trattoria in Woden with a combined 30+ years of experience in the hospitality industry. Olive at Hawker which is situated in Canberra the lovely capital of Australia is now run by the whole family. This boutique restaurant specialises in Mediterranean cuisine, with strong Greek and Italian influences. It's a warm space, luminous with gentle light, and a real rustic Mediterranean flair, ideal for intimate dining with friends and family alike. Kick off your night with the all new Meze platters that are sure to get your taste buds started. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

PRICE RANGE

$10.00 – $59.00

CUISINES

Mediterranean, Greek

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Drinks

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Parking Available, Street Parking, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Mastercard, Visa, Table Service, Gift Cards Available

Contribute

Write a review

Upload a photo

Ask a question

We perform checks on reviews.

Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews

Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.

When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.

Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.

Learn more about our review moderation.

4.5

294 reviews

Excellent

223

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Sue M

Canberra34 contributions

Wonderful Tender Veal

Apr 2020 • none

We decided to treat ourselves and order a delivery. We both decided on the veal medallions with prosciutto and sage in a lemon sauce. It came with mash and vegetable. We planned ahead and heated our plates and when our meals were delivered came them a burst in the microwave for 3 minutes on 30% power. We missed the lovely atmosphere of the restaurant but the meal was beautiful - the veal was extremely tender and the sauce had a lovely zing to it. We will definitely be ordering again. Other friends have ordered the salmon and also been extremely pleased with the quality of the food and prompt delivery

Written 11 April 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

P C

Canberra19 contributions

Love in the age of Splendid Isolation

Apr 2020 • couples

Today was our 12th wedding anniversary and we have had a perfectly imperfect day. We set our table as best we could and "Olive", a local Canberra restaurant, delivered a gourmet lunch. We celebrate love (as we always do) even in the age of social distance. Because life is about laughter as well as sorrow. Can't recommend the helpful people at Olive enough for a takeaway meal or, like us, a special occasion. Stay safe, stay well and we'll see you when the world settles down, Pam and Trevor

Written 5 April 2020

Lyndall C

1 contribution

A Spectacular Find

Oct 2020 • family

We were looking for a restaurant where our children would be welcome and comfortable but where the food was also excellent. My husband is a chef so we are pretty fussy. Olive was recommended by a local and we were not disappointed. The service was friendly with high attention to detail, there was a classy prank played on my children - a small thing that showed us that children weren’t just tolerated here, they were cherished! Fantastic! The food itself was outstanding. Between us we had pizza, oysters, sirloin, ravioli, meatballs, risotto, tempura prawns, tiramisu, and creme brûlée. Each dish was prepared quickly, served well presented and was hot. There was a strong focus on flavour which we really valued. We can’t wait to eat here again. If you are local, or just visiting, I strongly recommend this restaurant. If you are staying in the city, it’s worth the drive to Hawker. You won’t regret it.

Written 4 October 2020

mdh969

Canberra1039 contributions

Dinner at Olives at Hawker

Aug 2020 • family

Seven of us had dinner at Olives at Hawker last night. The premises had the COVID seating limit of 50 posted out the front and had hand sanitiser as you walked in. There was a good space between everyone which was great. The staff were very friendly and the meals came out quickly. The main problem with 3 out of the 7 meals is that they were far too salty. This was a shame because they were tasty.....just too much salt. I had the seafood spaghetti and it was very salty. The other meals that were too salty was the lamb ragout and pastichio. The zucchini fritters and char-grilled octopus were good starters. You could order beer or wine in the restaurant, or BYO wine and pay $10 corkage per bottle. Whilst the staff were great, I was not a fan of the food and probably would not return.

Written 16 August 2020

Dodger52

Wollongong629 contributions

Noisy but nice

Nov 2020 • none

If you want a good value tasty solid meal then Olives at Hawker is a good option. We went there on a Saturday night and the place was buzzing. It certainly has a great atmosphere. Don't go there is you want a quiet meal, if you want to enjoy a great atmosphere then this is the place. The food was excellent quality and very tasty. It is a BYO so that helps with cost.

Written 7 November 2020

Stephen J

891 contributions

Delightful

May 2022 • couples

Went for lunch, warmly welcomed on arrival. Sat near the window, good spacing between the tables. Menu reflected many traditional Greek dishes. We had lamb rissoles and the moussaka. Both came with a mound of rice, fresh green beans and carrots. The main elements were very well cooked, the accompanying veg and rice looked a bit ordinary but turned out to be beautifully cooked. The green beans had a nice snap - happily surprised. We ordered a Sauvignon Blanc from WA, reasonably priced at $42. All in all a very pleasant lunch, parking no problem, planning to go back soon.

Written 20 May 2022

Ann B

Traralgon29 contributions

Liked it so much we went back the next night

Apr 2021 • none

Staying in a nearby hotel we opted for dinner here. Nor disappointed Beef cheeks were excellent. Our roasted vegetables were initially forgotten but delivered when asked for. They were a bit disappointing as were quite oily in my view. Happy with the meal and a wide choice of menu so went back the next night. Lamb ragu pasta was terrific. Tiramisu desert was excellent too. Service was very good from all the friendly staff. Meals didn't take long either. Water offered and received was well chilled, not straight out of the tap as many places seem to do. Happy to recommend.

Written 17 April 2021

Sue T

Canberra875 contributions

Always lovely to visit

Mar 2022 • none

Olive was one of our go-to restaurants for many years when it was based in Mawson. Now it is on the northside we visit less frequently, but we make sure to go a few times a year. The cooking is good and the food is always tasty, with decent sized serves. The menu is nicely varied, and there are always specials, which is good if you are a regular and like a bit of change. The ambience is light and airy with a bistro feel. The service is always excellent, warm and welcoming, but also efficient, and very willing to accommodate food intolerances an d preferences. The food and drink prices are appropriate for the style of food and service. So sorry it is no longer our local.

Written 4 March 2022

Louise P

Sydney4 contributions

The food and service here is the best experience I have had at any restaurant. Their service went above and beyond. AAA

Sept 2021 • none

In the middle of lockdown the beautiful people from Olive at Hawker prepared and delivered in the pouring rain a special request meal for my parents. My father is blind and has dementia, his eating tastes are regressing to a limited diet. Gino and the crew made him a special dinner of beautiful, cooked to perfection steak and fabulous chips. He thought he had discovered a new restaurant! My mother was so excited when a delicious salmon wrapped in prosciutto and desert turned up for her. All the food was hot and cooked perfectly. The stress of dining was taken away by the professional, compassionate people at Olive at Hawker and I am so grateful for a gift greater than they could imagine. I will be ordering from here again 100%.

Written 6 September 2021

OliveTeam

Thank you for your wonderful review, we are so glad your father enjoyed his meal. Feedback like this is so humbling, We hope to see you in store soon. Take care

Written 19 October 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

cangau

Canberra134 contributions

A bit of a disappointment

Feb 2020 • couples

This was the first time we had eaten at Olive at Hawker. We have been long term fans of Olive at Mawson and decided to try the other side of town while the Mawson restaurant is being rebuilt. In the past, sometimes I have found the food at the Olive over seasoned, but this evening our food lacked flavour. The biggest difference though that we felt was that staff didn’t care. The young staff that attended our table were inexperienced which is generally not a problem but they lacked an attitude of respect and pride for the food that they were presenting. It was almost thrown on the table. Main meals were delivered but no cutlery was present to eat it with - after a few minutes of waiting for it to be delivered, it was obvious it wasn’t coming so we needed to ask. During the evening more senior staff yelled at one of the more junior staff across the restaurant. Not really what you expect. I do hope that when Olive at Mawson reopens it regains the sense of casual elegance where you feel like you have had a special evening out dining on good food that is made and presented with care and pride.

Written 28 February 2020

Mallygal

Canberra24 contributions

Wonderful service, great food!

Mar 2022 • none

We were a party of 10 celebrating a 60th birthday. They set us up a nice table and seemed happy that we brought a few things to decorate it and make it festive. ALL of the staff were warm, welcoming, and engaging. They are obviously happy to be there and are comfortable interacting with diners to make them feel at home. Food and drinks were delicious with generous portions - and we tried many different meals between us. The fried olives to start were a treat as well. Highly recommend!

Written 29 March 2022

Paul B

5 contributions

Good service, okay food but expensive

Mar 2023 • couples

Great service from the wait staff and fast service from the kitchen but the food was expensive for what to us tasted quite bland. I had the chorizo linguini special. The pasta tasted like it was store bought and the flavourings were very light on with less than half a chorizo sausage sliced thinly and which seemed to be cooked separately as the chorizo flavours did not carry through the pasta. My wife had pork medallions which were nice but overpowered by a single flavour from the sauce. Overall a nice enough meal but not what I am used to for over $100 for two.

Written 16 March 2023

Mike02

Canberra249 contributions

Looked at the Reviews and found a wonderful family restaurant

Feb 2022 • couples

Upon enter the restaurant we were greeted by the owner and the waiter and on a quite day picked the best table in the place. The menu covered most tastes and the wine selection was comprehensive, a focus on Greek wines. Selected the dips with bread which is made on site, and excellent choice, then selected off the specials menu snapper and the lamb dish as mains. Fish and veg were excellent, however the lamb was a bit dry but tasty, we order the Greek salad a good choice but ask to be a bit sparing in the oil, not overdone but could be a little less. The onto desert selected of the menu for one and the special upside down apple dish. Bother we’re excellent then a Greek sticky wine. Overall a wonderful meal, highly recommend and will be coming back soon

Written 6 February 2022

lolly233

Canberra22 contributions

First date-night out since lockdown.

June 2020 • none

What a really lovely night out. Checked all the boxes - really great food, lovely atmosphere and pleasant staff. Even though restrictions have eased there was still a steady stream of people coming for takeaway We enjoyed crunchy crumbed halloumi and the mussels for main which were just delicious with a slight Smokey flavour. Gino and staff were welcoming and attentive just as pleased to welcome patrons back as we were to be there. Sincere thanks for a really good night.

Written 20 June 2020

Greg W

Canberra28 contributions

Wake for our Mother

Mar 2022 • none

The staff were very helpful and making sure those that had special diets could also enjoy the day. They did not rush us at all and allowed us to stayand celerbate our Mothers life with many stories. The food as always was perfect, this time we went for Banquet number 1. No one went home hungry.

Written 15 March 2022

…

Showing results 1-15 of 294

As Featured In