El Olivo in East Devon

Always excellent food. We absolutely love EO! The courgette fritters are now famous across Exmouth, but everything is always so delicious!

Wow, the guy who runs this place is so pretentious and rude. Food was good, normal overpriced small tapas, but delicious. Just would never ever go back there because I have SO little time away from the kids, when I go out for a night with friends, I don't need to be treated like a child and snapped at by the guy who owns the restaurant. He was being defensive because he couldn't bring out a dish that kept falling apart in the kitchen and I think he was embarrassed about that, so when I tried to explain to him that he had taken our order twice by mistake, he snapped at me and told me to stop talking. I have no need to spend my valuable free time in that kind of company. He's quite miserable. I'd rather eat worse food and be served by people that enjoy their job. But that's just me.

Tiny pretty restaurant. Food super delicious cooked it professionally.

Great little restaraunt, good vibe and great selection. Not been here for a couple of years and it certainly did ot disappoint.

We dined here to celebrate my 40th with family & friends. Definitely NOT child friendly. We should've picked somewhere else when we got told to take our own highchair (red flag) but we still went. My partner spent most of the evening walking around outside with our toddler whilst we ate. Plus no kids menu, didn't even have chips. So we fed them snacks out of the bag. We then went on holiday for half term and realised today (due to the rain) my partner couldn't find his Barber coat. We rang around a few places trying to retrace our steps from 2 weeks ago. Sent message no reply. Rang the restaurant and the guy laughed saying 'good job you called, in another week it would be on ebay'! I said 'well im surprised you didnt call people that were in that night'. He replied saying he was busy. (This restaurant is small, has 2 sittings a night, 3 nights a week) My partner went straight down there to collect and the man said 'oh you're the Barber man, nice coat looks brand new' needless to say we were not impressed.

Amazing food and friendly service. Such a gem of a place.

Menu not great/ service not great and the staff member was so rude and abrubt. Was told it was his job to write what we wanted but I always do that before hand to make sure each of our friends and ourselves have a good selection and enough ordered. Was left for sometime after and then told we didn't have enough time for anything else because the table was booked after us. When I said the food was good he said' I know it is. ' and walked off That was our 1st visit and definitely will be our last.

We visited El Olivio when staying in Exmouth for the weekend. Prior to arriving, we called ahead to ask if there was a high chair available for our 6 month old. We were told no but thought we could put him in his pushchair and he could have a snack whilst we were having dinner, we were not told this wasn't somewhere a baby would be welcome or be accommodated. Upon arrival, we were told by the front of house to leave the pushchair in the corner of the restaurant. Unfortunately two members of our party cancelled last minute and when told, we were quickly moved by the grumbly member of staff to a smaller table in the corner of the restaurant. We ordered drinks, a member of our party tried to order a vodka and coke to which we were very abruptly told we could only order exactly what was on the menu - no problem but it was just the way we were told. He then ordered a gin and cloudy lemonade and as this exact combo (but the two separate items were) was not on the menu this resulted in more grumbling from the front of house. Our food came out quickly as it tends to with tapas however the plates were not cleared quickly so we had a very full table for the most part. As we had nowhere to set down our little one because we were made to leave the pram in the corner, we struggled for room and little hands grabbing plates! The food itself was delicious but the service left much to be desired. We were made to feel quite unwelcome simply because we had our baby with us, at one point he even smiled at the guy and he just blanked him, which is fine not everyone is a baby person but as a front of house member of staff you would expect a little politeness. I would recommend this restaurant if you are a party with no children who does not mind being spoken down to by the staff! It was unfortunate our experience was so unpleasant as we had all looked forward to our tapas night. I've given two stars as there's no way to separate the food and service. If i could give the food 4 stars and the service 1, I would.

My partner and I dined here last night for my birthday. What a lovely atmosphere and wonderful host. The food was amazing and we enjoyed all of our dishes. Wine and drinks were fabulous. Thank you so much. We will be returning very soon. Would highly recommend. The restaurant is not over crowded with plenty of space between diners tables.

Excellent choice, who slotted us in at last minute! Love that they made a fuss of our preschooler, who is very chatty.

Sooooo lecker! Sehr zu empfehlen.

Lovingly run by a pair of dedicated tapas officianos Ian & Lotta this smashing bijou place does it absolutely fabulously. Tasty small plates of traditional, modern and eclectic tapas with helpful, fast, and friendly service. Menu changes about fortnightly. Wine list is very good, if a lil expensive. Recommended...

A warm welcome awaits and a great choice of cooked to order tapas delicate suculant textures to inspire you. You will not be disappointed, booking is essential not to be disappointed. Come, taste and enjoy

Excellent food but poor service our tapas dishes were only served 1 at a time with a gap between our last dish and we had to ask for .

Not our first visit to El Olivo and nor will it be our last. As a group of 4 we were able to taste almost everything on the menu and each dish was excellent.

I have never written a negative review before but this restaurant is so poor I felt compelled to write. My visit bears no resemblance other diner’s positive feedback but interestingly, other negative reviews appear to echo my experience. My friends and I left without finishing our food. The owner was surly, rude and unpleasant from the moment we entered. We felt we were a continual inconvenience and irritation despite making the booking a week in advance and arriving on time. There was no warm reception on arrival, the atmosphere was awkward and cold and we immediately regretted walking through the door. The restaurant decor is sparse and bland, no attempt has been made to create an atmosphere, no music, no candles, no tablecloths, no flowers. Not a penny is spent on creating a mood for diners. When we first arrived the restaurant was half full and everyone was sat at their tables in near silence. It was drab and uncomfortable, just the sound of an occasional chair scrapping on the floor. The food choice was confused, limited and simple and it was difficult to choose a complimentary set of plates as the menu jumped around Mediterranean cuisine without any authenticity. Some plates were homemade but most were simply an arrangement of basic ingredients on a plate and it was easy to spot the frozen items and sauces straight from the jar. The menu would not tax a trained chef for a moment. Plates were also small and lacked the presentation quality of those in the website photos. You would need to order a lot of plates to be full. The bread was inedible - dry and tasteless, the cheapest supermarket bread. They cut the budget on their supermarket trip on the day we visited. Butter was also beyond the budget - our request was met with a dismissive snarl by the owner - “we have no butter”. An unbelievable lack of desire to please customers but clear ambition to maximise margins. This lack of desire to please was echoed with the drinks menu, we asked if a particular drink was available but again were dismissed with irritation - “I have told you we only have the drinks listed”. The owner has no passion for his business, he is only going through the motions and all of the things that make an evening out special are missing - a warm, friendly atmosphere, a delight in eating tasty food you would/could not cook for yourself at home and most importantly, kind and cordial treatment. I am pleased to say that other local pubs and restaurants are succeeding where Olivo fails. I have eaten good food with excellent service at The River Exe Cafe, The Swan in Lympstone and The Passage House in Topsham. Go to these places instead.

We’re regulars and each time it’s just fantastic the food the service the owners have got it absolutely spot on. No wonder it’s such a success

Delicious food, lovely atmosphere and great hosts. We felt very welcome. Seasonal menu with good choice/selection. Every plate we had was excellent. Faultless.

We’ve been coming to El Olivo for a number of years and it’s fitting that they are celebrating their 10th anniversary as they go from strength to strength. Dinner there this evening was fabulous, the food was better than ever. And what a selection, steak, prawns, tuna, asparagus salad, portobello mushrooms, lamb and feta kebabs, trout and, of course, the courgette fritters. Lotta does all this herself! Small but perfectly formed wine list, friendly service from Ian. Will be back soon.

Fantastic genuine Tapas food as usual!! This was our 8th visit to this quaint little restaurant, it never disappoints. The tapas is all freshly cooked that day and there is something for everyone. Great service from Ian, who always gives you a lovely personal welcome. Thank you for another wonderful evening. Oliver and Debbie

We've had a lot of tapas and this was one of the best meals we have had. Every dish was delicious and freshly cooked. Limited menu but still spoiled for choice. They are not big portions and it's not cheap but this was a last night treat and we made the most of it would highly recommend. Excellent friendly service.

Warm, friendly and informal with thoroughly delicious food. Prices are competitive, too, an important consideration in these financially pressured times. The menu changes frequently so will definitely back.

We booked for a family celebratory meal. We were not disappointed. Delicious tapas, good-sized portions, amazing drinks, and a great ambience. The owner and chef were friendly and attentive. We will definately be back to sample more tapas soon.

This place is extraculor! That's right, it was so great that I made up a new word which combines extraordinary and spectacular into a superword, especially for this review. The food was stunning. Atmosphere was bang on. Ian, who looks after front of the house, is great. Can't believe our luck that we stumbled upon it completely by accident. Considering a trip back to Exmouth just for the food. Ian, you're a legend!

Friendly service, great tapas, good value.

My husband and I have been coming almost monthly to El Olivo for around 5 years now. The menu changes monthly, the owners are gorgeous, hilarious, welcoming and friendly and the food never disappoints (neither does the wine or gin!) Make sure to book in advance so not to miss out!

Stunning. Great food and service. Friendly staff. A must visit.

Moved to Exmouth at the start of the year and have been working our way through places to eat. This is definitely among the best we have found. Worth booking ahead as it it is small and popular. Friendly service with advice about the food on offer. A good balance of meat, fish and veg all served as they are prepared in proper tapas style. Good house wine from Navara. Will certainly be back.

El Olivo calls itself a Tapas place, but in reality its more of a restaurant. You could have several small plates or, as we did, a starter and main course. Fine if you don't want huge portions. We very much enjoyed the food. Each of us had fish, following interesting starters such as fresh figs on green beans with sundried tomato drizzle. My husband particularly liked his monkfish in champagne sauce. About £50 for two people having two courses and wine by the glass.

Excellent. Very enjoyable food abd ambience. Privately run.

Food was good but found the owner rude, maybe a bad day but ruined the experience

This very small Tapas Bar is an absolute delight. Every dish was delicious and perfectly prepared. The service was friendly and very efficient. The wine selection is small but very good quality. I loved everything about this place. 5 Stars.

Just stunning - ask how much you need and just enjoy. Every visit has been blinding!! The chiaretto rose is spectacular!

This lovely looking little restaurant sits in the heart of Exmouth and in the past had served us very nice food. We booked to eat again but our experience this time was horrid. The owner thinks he knows better than his customers and enjoys sarcasm and preempting their thoughts. When we asked if he served spirits (some wine bars do keep a small selection) he presumed we had the wrong place, ( we were fully aware of where we booked to eat) and he was clearly irked by this question. We then went on to order two beers and our food. We had noticed the price of the steak advertised and it was part of our order and when it was put in-front of us (aggressively might I add) my husband then asked if that was what was going to cost £12.50. ( for a very small piece of steak this wasn’t an unreasonable question) The response from this supposed friendly owner was “if you don’t like it you can leave”, and so proceeded to remove my drink from my hand ,then my husbands and whip away our food. If he’d just answered the question in a polite and courteous manor (as is generally expected of a business that is public facing) he would have heard my husband say that the steak in that case should be good , but no he insisted on us leaving the premises. An utterly shambolic attitude to customer service ,and extremely unprofessional. When I think back to our previous visit he was sarcastic to another table then, so we should have booked elsewhere to start with. We certainly will never return ,but highly recommend it if you wish to be insulted by someone who should never be allowed to be front of house ,and seems to readily enjoy conflict with you ,on what should have been an enjoyable evening out.

Can’t fault the food but saw the owner treat a couple awfully. He actually chucked them out. Sorry won’t be returning.

Small tapas bar with a really good ever changing menu of small plates, washed down by reasonably priced wines. Friendly and informative service. Worth booking at weekends.

Wonderful dining experience, the food was amazing and the service excellent. Recommend El Olivo to anyone that enjoys Mediterranean flavors.

Fantastic small tapas bar in centre of Exmouth. The service is tremendous and the food and wine selection is great. Thoroughly recommend.

Great little place that only has around 20 seats. Busy atmosphere with one of the hardest working hosts I've ever seen! Range of food to keep anyone happy and full. Good drinks list too. Highly recommended 👍

The food is absolutely beautiful. We have never had a bad meal at all. I think people get confused with the word tapas and expect a full plate. All of the dishes are seasonal and absolutely beautiful. If you love nice food and food wine...

Visited on a busy August evening. My friends and I had a brilliant night, the food and service was amazing! Highly recommend 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Beautiful little restaurant, amazing food and great service. Menu changed often and it’s all cooked to perfection. Great little sharing plates, super fresh and at a reasonable price. 100% would recommend!

We visited El Olivo back in March and it was my first real experience with Tapas. Brilliant service by super friendly owners and even more fantastic selection of food! The Duck was exquisite and definitely my favourite out of the selection that day. Book in advance and enjoy your experience. 🍻🥂✌🏻

We booked a meal for Thursday night. There were 2 sittings 6 or 830. We arrived at 830 and the noise in the restaurant was stunningly loud. It seemed full apart from 2 tables for 2. I remarked as we entered that wow it was...

Excellent stuff. Small menu, everything freshly cooked, very decent service and a warm welcome. You won't go wrong here.

Exceptional flavours and great tastes. Only the prices left a bad taste.

Small very friendly owner-run restaurant next to the town square. Fresh selection of tapas written up on the wall each day. Dishes are good but all very rich, best had as a series of nibbles over an evening.

Amazing food. Tried so much on the menu and it was all delicious. Nice wine too. We have been here a few times now and always really enjoy it.

Always visit when we visit Exmouth and I always delivers excellent food and service. This time was no exception and would recommend.

Amazing food amazing place just go 👌😁

Great place for something a little different. We went as a couple and had 5 of the tapas dishes. All really tasty and hot. The atmosphere and service were great. Nicely full from our meal.

As always, a tempting menu, tasty and good value food and friendly service.

Food was lovely but extremely overpriced. Would have been nice to have a plate. We ordered a port and brandy and he refused to put them in the same glass for us because he said his brandy was too good and so was his port. Won't be going back

This is a super little restaurant with only 12 items on its menu (tapas style and size) great, you know the food is going to be freshly prepared and cooked. We are vegetarian and there were 5 options, so we had all 5 which were...

No atmosphere, met with an arrogant attitude, food over priced. Would not recommend this restaurant to absolutely anyone.

We visited as a group of 5, as unfortunately our 6th diner had to drop out suddenly. The front of house was obviously annoyed at this, we felt it. Food was ok. Overpriced compared to other stylish tapas bars I have visited. Dry bread given....

We’ve lived near Exmouth for 5 years now and have always been so fed up with the lack of decent places to eat. A friend brought me here a few nights ago and I was absolutely astounded that there is somewhere here with REALLY GOOD...

Wonderful good, wonderful service, great options for food and drink, fantastic and friendly staff. Lovely little restaurant.

We were pleased to get a table as this is only open Thursday -Saturday evenings. The place offers tasty and different tapas style dishes at reasonable prices for the quality of food on offer. Drinks too are fair ,so you don't have to break the...

Amazing place to eat food is out of this world. Great atmosphere and brilliant service. Loved it here can't wait to go back.

Amazing food and we were made to feel very welcome. Can’t wait for our next visit. European dining at its very best. We really cannot believe how fortunate we are to have such a special gem in our corner of Devon.

Great food, great service and great atmosphere!

Really enjoyed the variety on offer here. Very friendly service from Ian. Clean and nicely spaced out. Recommended in exmouth.

First visit, to be repeated. All the family enjoyed the Tapas style menu, which meant that we could have a variety of delicious dishes to suit different dietary needs. More than enough choice, with dishes using local ingredients. Stand out for us were the tuna...

Haven’t eaten here for a few years and it was as good as I remembered. Staff were amazing and friendly and recommended dishes to have. Everything we ordered was amazing and full of flavour. Standouts were the fritters, muscles and the pork. Can’t wait to...

Food was absolutely fantastic. Scallops melted in the mouth. Best lamb kebab ever. Pork medallions amazing. Hats off to the chef.

An experience defined by a combination of simplicity and quality! Tapas is simply excellent. Lots of vegetarian options and if you do fish, make sure to try the Tuna steak :)

A reason to have a relax evening over the weekend!

An amazing place to eat,chat and relax. Lotta's food is out of this world.

Easy to book a table. We went for the late sitting. We were greeted by name at the door, which was warming. Lots of choice on the menu. Portion sizes did vary between the dishes. Food was tasty.

Disappointed, to start we had to phone twice to make a reservation. The delivery of the food was very drawn out. When questioning the menu there was alot of sarcasm. The food was acceptable but nothing to write home about. When feedback was asked for it was not accepted or taken on board.

This is the second time we have visited El Olivo and it won’t be the last, the choice may not be massive but the quality of the food is amazing. Tapas for those who love a bit of overseas charm, and the Greek choices we...

Ordered 10 tapas dishes between 4 of us, worked out perfect on portion sizes. Couldn't fault a single dish, all so tasty and amazing.

Great food and very attentive service!

This tapas restaurant is an absolute gem in Exmouth. The restaurant is run by a couple. All covid friendly. Great menu for food and drinks - all clearly laid out. Good reccomendations from the owners. Wonderful selection of dishes to choose from. Wine was well matched. Fabulous night out.

The food was excellent. Staff very polite and helpful loved it

Good, honest, wholesome, Tasty food. Highly recommend. Bloody good👌🏽 Tasty sea bream, perfectly cooked prawns. Tremendous fresh bread.

Amazing little place. Food is incredible. 100% would recommend

No atmosphere. About as Spanish as the pope tiny amounts of food 4 prawns £7 bin to real tapas not here no sangria?

Lovely little place with great food! Very welcoming atmosphere. We ordered 4 dishes for the 2 of us and were very happy with our choices. Highly recommended.

Amazing food and service, cannot recommend this exclusive place enough!

We had eaten here last summer so, on a recent mini-break in Exmouth, booked for a return visit. Time slots were very specific to ensure covid safety and the tables were well spaced. The food, as before, was delicious and we had a very enjoyable...

Visited for the first time last night and had an amazing meal. So impressed by the menu - we tried at least one of everything (there were six of us)! It was all delicious, especially the cod cheeks and the sweet potato fries. We've moved...

The food was adequate, generally unimpressive. The king prawns were the best part of the meal though £7 for 4 prawns is not best value. The signature item courgette fritters were wet and undercooked inside and served with no dipping sauce. The chicken tagine was...

We found this restaurant while walking into town and managed to book a table for the following evening. We then ate there twice more during our holiday in Exmouth. The staff are lovely - super helpful and friendly and the restaurant is spotlessly clean and...

Amazing food and great service. There is a good choice of dishes and it changes regularly so always something different to try. We expected to be leaving a little hungry but No, full and very happy!

We enjoyed our meal but the portions were very small. We commented that the sauce in the prawns was slightly bitter and this was not appreciated.

A delightful experience. Strongly recommended.

What a wonderful little restaurant. Blink and you can miss it. Covid measures in place. We chose 3 dishes each and weren't disappointed. We also had a bowl of mixed olives and they were absolutely amazing. We shared a bottle of wine and also had a hot drink each and one portion of baklava. Total meal came to £73. Definitely recommend

Really, really delicious food! We were a group of 4 and had 1 of everything! Will definitely be back.

We both agreed that this was the best meal of our trip and arguably the best meal out we’d had in the last few years. It was absolutely delicious. Tapas / small plates of Greek and Mediterranean dishes. Menu clearly changes frequently as everything was displayed on two chalk boards. We had the scallops in a tequila, lime and Parmesan sauce, fillet steak with a tasty tomato salsa, pork medallions in a rosemary jus, salad with mozzarella and figs and spicy/curried new potatoes. A couple of chocolate truffles to sweeten the pallet at the end. Service was friendly and efficient. The venue is small but tables are well distanced (around 6 tables in total). In season you would undoubtedly have to book well in advance. Plenty of walk-ins turned up but were politely turned away. During COVID times it appears that there are two sittings: 6pm and 8pm.

We love tapas but very few outlets near where we live. We read so many good reviews about El Olivo and decided to try. We are not huge eaters and decided on five dishes which we were advised would be sufficient. These came with bread so as to soak up any sauces.We were not disappointed with the dishes we chose, the crab crostini and turbot in champagne being outstanding. There is a good choice of wine at reasonable prices and the service was excellent. We did feel full afterwards and only wish we could have found room to try other dishes on the board. We shall certainly go again!!!

Didn’t get off to a great start, arriving 10 mins early and being told we were too early in a somewhat curt manor.However, once seated it all improved. A limited menu, but decent choice with the specials boards. Had 7 dishes and a nice bottle of wine. Like most Tapas they bring it out as it’s cooked. However, normally the chef will do a few dishes per table and then a few more, but this time it just kept coming and was all out by the time we finished our first plate. 2 problems with that:- the first being the table was too small for all the dishes at once. Secondly, the final dishes to be completed were stone cold!The dishes and wine were good, with Aubergine frittata and Paprika sweet potato fries being outstanding.It became apparent that they had a couple waiting for a table, which was surprising as we were the second sitting that evening. They served us and another table really quickly and only when I made it clear we were not to be hurried, they focussed on the other couple and ended up rushing them to the extent that they were finished and out the door within 50 mins.So in summary, excellent food, but marked down for trying to rush customers. COVID restrictions has reduced turnover, so I have sympathy, but I felt sorry for the other couple who actually appeared stunned by the whirlwind service and being presented with the bill before they asked!

Went for Tapas last Tuesday evening, nothing special, had much better. Also if you go here God forbid if you offer criticism on any of the dishes. We did, the owner obviously told the chef as they were both looking at us whilst talking and the Chef just kept glaring at us. Chef, you are not above criticism you work in a tapas bar not a top class restaurant don't be so arrogant, criticism helps you improve!! Will definately not be returning, and not recommending. The food wasn't that impressive and was overpriced for what you get.

Visited last night and had one of the best meals for a long time.The courgette fritters are as good as any you will find anywhere. All the dishes are fab, the squid fresh and perfectly cooked.A fantastic experience.A must visit when in exmouth.

Great tapas restaurant. Wonderful food, good menu for food and wine. Well made G&Ts.

Potentially the best tapas I’ve ever had! We were a last minute booking and we’re so glad they were able to fit us in. Amazing flavours, attentive but not intrusive staff and a lovely ambience. Fully recommend the pork medallions in blue cheese sauce!

An absolutely superb dining experience!!

Ate here whilst on holiday. We had a lovely tapas meal here.. scallops are to die for. Great wine, great staff and a relaxing friendly ambience. Very clean. We will definitely visit again. Top tip.. book ahead, well worth it! Thank you for a great evening

We came as a family of 8 and tried a variety of the meat and vegetarian dishes - every single one was delicious. The staff were friendly and attentive and was overall the best meal we had whilst in exmouth. Will definitely come again. Thank you!