Olivares Tapas Bar in Lincoln

I feel a little embarrassed to say I’ve walked past Olivares so many times & never eaten there. So glad I decided to try it as it is an absolute gem of a place. The restaurant was extremely busy as it was a Saturday night but nothing was too much trouble for the staff. They made us feel welcome & were very efficient, attending to all the tables & ensuring everyone was happy. The food was spot on, yes it’s a little on the pricey side but you get what you pay for. All the dishes arrived super quick & were hot & fresh & tasted amazing. Olivares is such a cosy restaurant with amazing service & top quality authentic tapas dishes. I will be visiting again.

A nice quiet place in this place and drink coffee

Location and service were quite good but food was disappointing, nothing like authentic Spanish tapas. It was very overpriced too.

No shortage of bijou restaurants in Lincoln, gradually working my way round them. As an intimate setting for a tapas meal Olivares comfortably fits the bill. Variety and quality of the food was excellent and the efficient and unobtrusive service make this an experience I will certainly repeat.

The restaurant is very cosy and rustic. Lots of floors of cosy tables, I don't think it's accessible for people with mobility issues, simply due to the amount of stairs you need to up. The food was okay and service was prompt and efficient.

Snug cosy restaurant on three levels, when I say snug it's not an understatement a bit like steep hill if you know what I mean. Food was good but it wasn't cheap.

Love this place been here a number of times. Food good and very atmospheric

Very expensive. Most of the food is nice and fresh, but some of the portions vary, for example, potato’s or bread dishes you’ll get lots but for meat/fish dishes you don’t get a lot at all. Nice cosy little restaurant, very very hot to the point my Diet Coke ice melted without the drink being in it and unfortunately the bottle of Coke was warm (wasn’t refrigerated) so had to have a warm drink. The staff were kind and helpful, but I don’t think I’d be in a rush to eat here again…

Excellent food and service,cosy atmosphere, highly recommend

Delicious meat/cheese board (maybe a tad small) and some very tasty plates after. Good white Rioja too. Our second visit. Recommended.

Lacked atmosphere and felt like a factory pushing food out ws quick as possible. However food was of a good quality and service was good. Quite expensive compared to other resturants we visited locally.

Absolutely loved it! Great atmosphere, really charming wooden booths over 3 floors in what I suspect was once a quaint house. Service and recommendation on what to have was great. Good food had by us all to celebrate our daughter’s 21st, it was delicious and have a margarita too! Thank you, we hope to come back in her last year of uni!

Food delicious but service poor 8 eating 6 going for a set menu A and 2 for lunch time menu.With the service the 2 were served first and finished well before the 6 this was caused by bad service timing

Wanted to go for dinner, Google hours say it’s open, nothing on the website to say it’s closed, even took my booking no problem. Arrived to find a closed door no lights on. Update your Google hours, put something on your website or at least turn off the booking system Edit: I’ve seen the response from the owner, there is a single line on the website saying the place is closed. This isn’t even above the main page fold, it needs to be more obvious or a warning should show when trying to place a booking. There’s no excuse to not update Google hours either…

Not the cheapest, but really tasty and with lovely service. It's a gem.

Great tapas in fantastic building

Best tapas restaurant in Lincoln! Nice atmosphere, cosy and authentic, good portion sizes, and delicious food. Wouldn't go anywhere else for tapas

Fantastic! Blew us away. Had heard good things but it was even better than expected. Service was perfect, they made recommendations, knew the menu, service was attentive and not too much. Prompt food, hot and super delicious! A cosy, wee venue situated in the Cathedral Quarter. Highly recommend and 100% will return.

A Little bit to expensive compare to small porcions. Paid 65 & for 2 people and left the place hungry. I wouldn't be going back there.

Love this Tapas place Will be back

Lovely tapas food in a intricate small wooden multi story building very friendly staff and amazing atmosphere would highly recommend

Fantastic service good quality food. Very attentive staff, perfecto

Nice but not great. Lovely food and atmosphere but shoved in and shoved out, food served at the speed of light and told 4 times that we had to be out for the next booking.

Visited for the first time last week, great atmosphere, small but cosy, amazing food, great staff and service, but drinks very expensive.

Food was fantastic as was the staff..was initially seated downstairs asked to be moved upstairs which they did with no dramas at all. Great atmosphere, beautiful food, couldn’t fault it. Highly recommend

Well, what a surprise, lovely restaurant, excellent service and food. Make sure you have a big appetite when you arrive.

Quirky building, really nice tapas and quick service. The bottle of red wine we had was lovely too.

What a find! The food was excellent, and the atmosphere quaint. Would thoroughly recommend.

lovey place, very cozy, food was amazing and people were very friendly

Surprisingly good - decent selection of classic tapas alongside some more unique items. Fresh and well seasoned. Wine list is brief with a few gems. Solid choice for dinner in Lincoln.

Beautiful food, authentic Spanish tapas, in a beautiful setting in Lincolns historic Bailgate. Great service and food came fast. Love the little booths and Spanish music adds to the atmosphere.

Great tapas! Better the Ole Ole's. Vibe was good and staff was good. The building is small but I think it fits the atmosphere. Will come again :)

What a fabulous Tapas restaurant in a beautiful setting between the Castle and the Cathedral. Food was delicious and the house Red was good too! Staff were very friendly. Definitely recommend

Great food, great location, great service.

Popped in here as a treat for my birthday. Not much is open on a Tuesday in Lincoln. Food was ok, plenty of tapas dishes to choose from. Potatas bravas was a bit disappointed .Service was good. Lovely peach juice to drink.

Amazing food, lovely atmosphere!

A delightful Tapas restaurant with outside seating locatedin the wide courtyard between Lincoln Castle and the Cathedral. We sat outside and had a lovely meal and a bottle of the house red. The food is delicious and the service excellent. The whole experience was one of the highlights of our stay in Lincoln.

Poor access for pushchairs, tried to stick us on a tiny table for 2 with barely any room. Food was mediocre but pricey

Lovely tapas and friendly staff

Excellent tapas. Such a wide choice on the menu. The service was very friendly and we were made to feel very welcome. The music provided a good atmosphere. Situated between the castle and the cathedral, there is a car park adjacent to the restaurant.

Authentic Spanish food. There is a good variety on the menu and all delicious. The decor is lovely and cozy, staff was friendly and helpful, and the toilet was clean. My only gripe is that they don't have any plant base milk for the important coffee after you meal.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal here on the 18th August 2023. We chose a set menu and the quality of the meal was excellent. The size of the servings were very generous, in fact more than we could manage. The service was excellent, very professional, friendly and helpful. The atmosphere was fabulous. We will definitely return. Thank you.

I really enjoyed it here. The place looks lovely. It's intimate and atmospheric. The staff are very polite and helpful. The food was plentiful and tasted very nice. The location is perfect and looks great at night with the castle and cathedral on either side. We also spoke to the owner and had a great conversation with him. I love tapas and this great little place did not disappoint. Definitely go eat here and you will leave satisfied. Ten out of ten.

Visited with work colleagues, great selection of tapas and drinks. Friendly staff and very quick service.

Excellent in every way - felt a little rushed as they were turning the tables on a busy Friday evening

We requested a table outside which was our demise. Had to ask for a menu after being there for 10 minutes. Wait staff weren’t very observant and attentive. They were all stood by the door chatting whilst people were either waiting to have their orders taken or their plates and cutlery brought out to them. There wasn’t one person assigned to the outdoor area, so it came across as chaotic. A glass smashed at another persons table, which rolled to the next table and the guy picked up. It took 5 minutes for someone to remove the broken glass from the table. It was just a bit of a mess. The food is usually a five star, but there was something about it that didn’t quite hit it like it usually would. This is the second time I’ve been when the service has been questionable, which is a huge shame because I don’t know if I’ll return on that basis. I put this down to the fact the staff are young and inexperienced, and not managed properly.

Lovely lunch in the sun listening to nearby street artist. Food was lovely as always

This is one of our favourite restaurants in Lincoln, and it didn't disappoint! Great food and service.

Whats not to like, had a perfect lunch in gorgeous surroundings and the staff were lovely

Rude waitresses, no atmosphere, expensive for what you order. Marinated olives, where not, croquettes you get more what tasted like tartar sauce than you did croquet. Had to remind the staff 3 times what we ordered. We were rushed eating and every time we put the cutlery down to get a drink we were asked if we had finished. Booked for a birthday and asked when booking if there was anything special they could do and we were stuck in a corner overhearing the wait staff talk about what they were going to score at the weekend. Would not go back, would not recommend to a friend and regret booking.

The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Michael was a very attentive waiter, thank you.

Honestly, can't fault this place. Superb tapas wine and atmosphere. Service was top notch. Well worth booking ahead.

There for lunch today. Fantastic food, excellent service from the female waitress, law grad, twin, sorry didnt ask her name, so rude. But she was ace. Can't recommend this place highly enough. Sharing platters are very generous.

Great little venue that's like a tardis . We was seated on the 3rd floor (steep steps) Good tasty food we went for the set meal .

Nice tapas in the cathedral quarter

Quirky place to eat in the cathedral/castle area. The food was excellent and highly recommended

Great location right near Castle and Cathedral. Food delicious and reasonably priced given location. Small, dark, old, cosy. Most tables are for 2 or 4 people and fixed in place so better suited to small groups. Group of 10 arrived while we were there and had to sit as a 6 and a 4

The resteraunt is situated near Lincoln cathedral and castle. The staff were mostly welcoming and accommodating. Downstairs there are three tables and the kitchen. It is a small and intmate space with a great atmosphere. We did not go to the upstairs, so I can't comment on that dining room. Food was tasty and of good quality. Three tapas per person plus bread filled us up. The wine is very good value. The meal for six tapas,bread, two glasses of wine, a beer, and a coffee was £86. This seemed to me to be on the high side given the ingredients, but I enjoyed eating there. Would i eat there again? I'm not sure. Everything was good, but it wasn't outstanding.

We loved our lunch at Olivares their food is delicious 😋

Amazing food, great atmosphere, very friendly staff. Totally loved this place and can’t wait to return again soon 🤩

Fabulous lunch on Valentine’s Day. So cosy and the food was amazing

Delicious Spanish food, cozy atmosphere.

Went to lincoln for the weekend and this place did not disappoint, the food was great the staff were really helpful and constantly up and down stairs

We had a fabulous Tapas here on Saturday 14th January as part of my 50th Birthday 🎉 Celebrations! The food, atmosphere, service and staff were all amazing as we can’t wait to return soon!

Fantastic meal and amazing staff. We turned up and quickly realised we had booked for the following week by mistake! The lovely staff took all this in their stride and made swift arrangements to accommodate us despite my mistake! As a bonus we ended up on their best table. Thanks Olivares! Highly recommended for the best tapas in Lincoln and best staff too!

Wonderful evening. Great food, great service

The food is not at all typical of Spain, the prices are exorbitant for the food, the service and the establishment. Not at all recommendable. P.S. Learn how to make "Pollo al ajillo".

Came across this place by chance. The food was excellent, reasonably priced and served professionally by Olivia.

Lovely food and friendly attentive staf

Overpriced and overcharged us, then refunded only because we notices

This is a lovely little place. First time we have eaten here but won't be the last - fantastic food, with some interesting and different dishes, great service and an intimate atmosphere.

Enjoyed everything except the mushrooms, just too strong a taste for us.

Fabulous food all served beautifully , excellent attentive staff & wonderful place , would highly recommend 👍❤️

Lovely romantic evening. Whisked away to the med for a couple of hours . Lovely food fresh hot and tasty . Lovely friendly service . Great dining experience. Thank you

Definitely Lincoln's best restaurant. The food, service and ambiance are all first rate. The other tapas place you may well know about is good, but Olivares is just... Better...

Excellent food. Picked Menu B for Tapas and food tasted amazing. There were 3 of us and we all left full. If you like garlic, then you're in for a treat.

Pleasant. Fresh, crusty bread. Nice spicy croquettes.

This place is wonderful! We visited on a Wednesday afternoon, and really enjoyed the food. Throughly recommended.

Nice food in a rustic environment. Steep stairs to upper floors could be a problem for some. Staff all be it very busy should just show a bit more hospitality to their clientele at times. Their stress shouldn't be put on guests shoulders! In saying this the server that worked our table 80% of the meal was lovely. All in all if you enjoy tapas food you will like the food here.

Visited just for coffee and it was superb!

Lovely intimate setting, good service and tasty food.

My boyfriend and I really enjoyed our meal, food was tasty, service was excellent. Chose a good time to go as it was quiet. Lauran was excellent to help any worries or questions. Definitely would go again. :)

Excellent people serving lovely food. A proper night out. Thank you.

Amazing staff! Food is incredible with the service to match - cannot recommended this place enough!

Lovely little restaurant surrounded with views of Lincoln cathedral. We are the set menu which was lovely and more than enough. Friendly service and lovely atmosphere. Small interior but very comfortable once seated and plenty of seating outside.

What a find!!! Food is great the dishes we had were tasty and full of flavourPortion sizes good. Staff friendly and helpful. The ambience was perfect… will definitely come here again!

Fabulous Spanish tapas in a stunning location between Lincoln Cathedral and Castle. We sat outside, in the shade. Lovely staff too. Perfect.

authentic and delicious Spanish food in the heart of Lincoln. Staff were so friendly. 10/10!! :)

Easy to book online. Polite and friendly staff, and some lovely dishes.

Absolutely lovely food, great service! Staff very knowledgeable and helpful when we were ordering. Would highly recommend. We’ll be going back next time we’re in Lincoln.

Excellent food, location, and service. There was a large variety of vegetarian and meat dishes, and each one we ordered had a unique and tasty flavour. Overall we had 2 breads and 7 tapas for 4 adults, which was sufficient quantity and every single one was loved (and eaten!) Service was attentive but not intrusive - the perfect balance. Location is right outside of the castle, with indoor and outdoor seating - very centrally located. Honestly I wished I had captured more of the good photos - I was just too consumed with the tasty food to remember to snap pics for the later wave of dishes!

Thoroughly enjoyed our impromptu lunch. Attentive and friendly service and great food .. came as and when it was ready as you'd expect and we had a lovely relaxing lunch with friends.

Average to say the least. Meatballs with no texture, everything swimming in oil. Staff are nice.

Really good food, staff were great and we enjoyed the experience

Wonderful food and friendly staff. Highly recommended.

Great service. Great food. Great beer. Lots of food. All in all a top experience.

Gorgeous food! Friendly & helpful staff! Fabulous experience!

Good range of tapas to give you a flavour of Spain. Let them know beforehand if you have mobility limitations as the stairs are steep.

I'm not sure what's happened but £16 for the cheese and ham board with next to nothing on it, I'd say we got a third of what people have posted photos of.

Amazing tapas,brilliant staff friendly and helpful. Definitely visit this place.