Oliver's Bar & Restaurant in Medway

Best steak I've had in a long time. Didn't book, staff were really accommodating.

Oliver's, a stylish venue in the heart of Rochester, offers a sophisticated atmosphere perfect for a Friday night cocktail and whiskey outing. We found the bar to be pleasantly quiet, creating a relaxed ambience ideal for enjoying expertly crafted drinks. The extensive selection of cocktails ensures there's something to suit every taste. Whether you're seeking a pre-dinner aperitif or a leisurely evening with friends, Oliver's provides a welcoming and refined setting.

We've been looking to eat at Olivers for a few years but due to having 2 young kids we've never been able to make things line up. We always walked past the building loving the architecture thinking we must eat here. There wasn't a menu online so had no idea what the food was going to be but as we've frequently eaten at Brettingtons (same owners I think) we weren't too concerned. Unfortunately, we weren't very happy with the menu options, not that there was a problem per se with the food, it just wasn't what we were expecting, and the price point seemed a bit off the mark. The food is probably best described as over priced bar food. We wouldn't consider eating here again, nothing wrong with the food quality or presentation etc, it's just the food offering can be found elsewhere at a better price and this probably wasn't in keeping with the dining experience we expected at Olivers. That all being said, the staff were all pleasant and attentive with the lady looking after us being fantastic. They just need to sort out the menu and price point to make the value exchange better. There were quite a lot of empty tables on a Saturday evening so I imagine other people must think the same. Menu image attached for others reference.

We had a hen do, bottomless brunch which was lovely, cocktail masterclass that was great fun and very interactive and a 3 course evening meal. The food was amazing and service was second to none. A massive shout out to Luke who helped with all the organising, made sure everything flowed on the day and was basically amazing 👏 I would definitely come here again.

Had a great nice ,coctails all fabulous 👌

Amazing atmosphere and staff are friendly and helpful and food is devine. With family or friends go you won't be disappointed.

Very friendly and welcoming a perfect venue.

Tried to get cocktail for my Birthday but only had 4 choices 🙃

Quite small and an 'interesting' selection of music

Great food friendly staff Great service will be using again

Went here for the works Christmas meal Food was good plenty of selection The bar was busy but never waiting too long for a drink and the nightclub/dancefloor was everything I needed to have a good night out after the meal definitely coming back

Great bar, excellent music, good bar service & friendly door staff. Great venue for a night cap on the way home.

On Sunday 26th in the afternoon I had my 70th birthday party at Olivers. The staff couldn’t have been more welcoming, and the Buffet food was absolutely delicious. We had a brilliant time. Thank you to everybody that helped me enjoy my birthday. I highly recommend the venue, however, be aware there are lots of stairs. Fine when you’re 27, but when everybody is getting on a bit two flights up to the toilet can be hard going. But we managed 😍

Great service, gorgeous cocktails, good music! However very empty so not much atmosphere.

Went for a work meal on a Thursday at 6pm. We were the only people in the whole place. They have some good prosecco/cocktail deals on (2 for £10/£12 respectively) and we had the set menu for food. The options were quite varied and mainly people asked for the burger or lamb however both were deemed to miss the mark. The lamb had a nice crispy skin but the meat was more well cooked than most would have liked and the ratatouille was quite boring as an accompaniment. The starters were nice but a lot of the breads were verging on burnt sadly. Service was good, friendly staff, but for being the only table in the place drinks could have been quicker and unfortunately the waiter spilt a drink partly over a guest

Young inexperienced waiting staff. Food was good.

The service was good. The place looks really nice. The food is "ok" but nothing to write home about. Watch out for prices. It might be cheaper to order individual dishes than the advertised offer.

Had a lovely meal here on our first night staying in Kent. Very slow service, we ordered bread to graze on, but it arrived with our starters. My lamb was lovely, but hubby's risotto was too al dente, the waiting staff were friendly

Very slow service, poor attitudes of staff, food was stale, steaks were not cooked as requested. Prices are shocking

On arrival, we were seated promply and could tell it was a busy night. Our drinks came quickly as did our food. Ethan took great care of us and the equal blend of humour and great service was excellent!!! The food was great too! Ask for Ethan everybody!!! He's AMAZING 🤩! He even got me a takeaway container as I'm a grazer and barely touched my main course (my friend had a chip). His comment on seeing my untouched plate was ....oh well done....good try....and it had us laughing our heads off!!😂 We would definitely go again!! Thanks E....you're the best!!

Very good food, well presented, pleasant staff and a good price.

Really enjoyable experience at Olivers for one of their bottomless brunches. Food was amazing, drinks were topped up regularly and the atmosphere was perfect. A little chilly in the back room. But the decor made up for it. Would recommend.

Celebrated my birthday here last night with family. Lovely restaurant and bar with a classy, upmarket style setting. The food was excellent!! Everyone complimented and thoroughly enjoyed. They were more than happy to accommodate a fussy eater too! We definitely took advantage of the 2 for £12 cocktails - they were dangerously good! The service was great - staff were attentive, chatty and really went above and beyond to ensure we had a great evening. We liked the layout of the room too as it meant that everyone could see and chat to each other during the meal. Door staff were very friendly too. The whole party would highly recommend and we are all really grateful for an amazing evening! :)

Food is not good, medium rare steak is like medium well done, very dry. Duck leg is obviously precooked and just put it in a microwave? There is a £5 surcharge for the steak and it is not shown on the menu, glad they take it off. £30 for 2 course and £35 for 3, I suggest you just go to weatherspoon next door.

We hosted our wedding reception there a couple of weeks ago. Luke was accommodating to our many requests; the other staff were friendly and helpful. Beautiful place and great experience all in all.

Had an amazing time here at a friend's party. The bar went above and beyond to make it a beautiful celebration and food was delicious

Was looking forward to Sunday lunch here as we'd not been before but we recommend to try it. What we didn't know is we needed to put a whole day by if we wanted 3 courses! An hour wait for the starter and over an hour wait for the main. If you add the weight time to be given a proper drinks menu and take our orders it was 3 hours for two courses which is a complete farce. Probably more annoying was the food was actually pretty good, but there is no way would we return to somewhere with such shocking service again. Oh, also a top tip. Don't give out drinks menus covered in someone else's dinner with pages missing, then say oh you must have the one with the pages missing, while find you a complete one. Throw it in the bin and clean up the complete ones before handing them out. Just for a laugh as well, they added a service charge to the bill as well. Obviously removed it as the service was basically non existent.

This restaurant is amazing. Far outreached our expectations, thought as it was reasonable it would be small portions so ordered extra sides, was far too much. You couldn’t fault the service, the cocktails were really good too. Will definitely be making another visit soon. Thank you so much Oliver’s and for the complimentary cocktail for the birthday boy!

We held a birthday celebration at Olivers in Rochester for my mum's 70th. Staff were anazing. We arrived an hour early to decorate the room which was already set up for us and received a very friendly welcome and assistance. There was 27 of us, including children but everything was handled very well. The food was very good quality and exceptional value for money.Good range of drinks. Thankyou Olivers for a lovely evening!!

Been here tonight booked my table around 6.30. Was greet by the really nice waitress who took me and my partner to our table. It was my birthday and they really kindly brought me over a Prosecco on the house and all brought me sorbet over with a candle. The steak I had was the best steak I ever had, so compliments to the chef. Thankyou guys for giving me a birthday to remember.

We went there for my partners birthday with all the family, other than our table there were only two others in the whole restaurant. Despite making us pick what we wanted quite a long time in advance the service was so slow that we worried our four hour parking would lapse. The poor waitress was running about whilst the waiter seemed like we were constantly inconveniencing him. The food was shockingly poor standard and tepid at best, I ordered the mushroom starter which came cold and with whole raw garlic cloves I sent it back, no offer to exchange it until after everyone else was finished and the waitress wondered where my plate was. It is certainly not like the photos on their adverts, as my father in law said “I wouldn’t eat there again if you paid me!”

On behalf of me and my colleagues at Camping International, this has to have been one of the best meal nights out we have had in a long time. The food was very fulfilling, and had very generous serving sizes. Food and Drinks were better made and better presented that other places we have dined. The new catering and service staff have been very accommodating and have provided exceptional service to us. Thank you all. We'll be back for our next night out.

What a lovely place, service with a smile - very nice, had the Steak "cooked to perfection"😋 nice drop of wine and desserts. Thank you, will come again.

Fantastic new french bistro style menu a non rushed service and meal is how it should be. Fantastic food and service, well done keep it up

Really enjoyed our meal here and food was good. Cocktails were great and they even do cocktail making classes you can book. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Interior is vintage theme as an old house with lots of separate rooms. There is a payable car park around the back which is walking distance. I would recommend if looking for an upmarket meal in Rochester high street.

Amazing cocktails and decent music

Daughter had a baby shower in the marque.. Great venue.. Staff great.. Thankyou.. Taylor!!! Your the man 😊

The food is okay, but they often have other guests that make you uncomfortable

First course was fine, better than expected. Main left much to be desired. Vegetable barely shown hot water, same for stuffing. This is all down to the chef, new Executive Chef in 2023 needs to rectify. Front of house, 2 guys, were on a hiding to nothing. Such a shame as we had experienced so much better on previous visits. Thanks for the acknowledgement that things were far from perfect but it spoilt the experience. On a positive, we will will try early 2023, fingers crossed for much better. 👍

Me and a friend went here on a weekday evening for dinner. I’d checked the website/ menu before booking but upon arrival discovered that only the festive menu was available. We both ordered a starter, main and shared a dessert. The service was friendly but the food mediocre/ poor. My pork was over cooked and chewy with vegetables that tasted of oil, and my friends salmon, potato’s and butternut squash was dry and bland with the potato’s undercooked, the salmon over cooked. To top it off my friends beer was served warm; we were told that the fridge had only just been turned on. Had to wear my coat in the restaurant as it was cold. Incredibly overpriced for the quality. Working our way through Rochester highshteet restaurants; this comes in bottom so far.

Service at this place is a big let down. We booked a sunday lunch for my family. We were given the wrong menu initially by a waitress who looked as if she just didnt know what she was doing or even where she was. I know this may come across as offensive but perception to me is a big deal. Even if you dont have a clue at least look like you do. We were given another menu, the week day menu, on a sunday....and told the only things left on it where the vegetarian options. None of us are vegetarian and none of the options left looked good. So on speaking to the manager we where apologised to and finally got the menu for the sunday lunch......30 minutes later. After a quite a wait the food arrived at the table, The beef was beautiful, The Turkey was bone dry. The vegetables where cold and the potatoes on my plate where burnt. The yorkshire pudding and the gravy is what saved the meal from being a disaster. This is not what we expected from a classy bar like this. So far service was questionable, the food was ok and the best was yet to come. The bill arrived, every one on the table including my 7yo son had been charged for 2 adult courses. I spoke to the waiter and reminded him that my parents only had one course each and my 7yo son is not an adult and should not be charged as such. I also questioned the service charge added to the bill asking if it was optional to pay as normally it would state on bill. In this case it didnt. He returned with the bill and stated that the service charge was correct. This it not what I had asked him so I told him politely to remove it. 3rd time lucky, I finally got my bill. I have been to this place in the evening for drink and I cant fault the place. Bar staff are great, cocktails are great. But as for the sunday lunch, I wont be returning.

Attended for work Christmas do, we had a sit down meal and food was awful. I had a veggy lasagne which was burnt to a crisp, I couldn't eat it, it was served on it's own so I left hungry. I did try and pinch some of my mate's chips but they were undercooked. Definitely won't be eating here again.

Nice restaurant far end of the High Street need to park in a car park, good food prompt service.

Really enjoyed our meal here for my birthday. Its a quirky little restaurant a d great menu. Food was brilliant and wine was too. I was a little cold which was a shame, but I did soon warm up after my starter. Sat in the window which was nice. Would definitely return

Very quiet when we went, it felt like private dining!! Wonderful service

Lovely place 👌Had our small wedding reception 💒Very nice food and excellent service, great atmosphere. Would definitely recommend. 👍❤️💖👏

First visit here! Great atmosphere great cocktails and a great DJ We will be back!

Stumbled across this lovely little place . Great food and very good portions. Would recommend food . We went in middle of week as quite . But still great 👍

My husband was really ill after having the roast beef here yesterday. Made me very sick. We won't be returning

Had a very enjoyable meal, staff were very attentive. Had the scollops, steak with the garlic and parsley butter and eton mess. The steak was cooked perfectly, after reading a few other comments below I’m not quite sure some people know what a garlic butter is? Its a butter and not a sauce! Quite clear on the menu. Mine was perfect! Thank you Oliver’s for making my birthday meal a great evening. Totally recommend the cocktails too.

Olivers sunday roast always excellent and service great,love going there

Group party, lovely place. However don’t complain. Rolling eyes and rudeness. 2 stakes with a frozen lump of butter discribed as a source. One corn source came out stone cold clearly forgot to HEAT UP. One stake sooo dry. My steak was warm at most All in all not great at all no apologies just a rude young lady. Sad when this happened with such high expectations based on price!!! Can’t cope with large groups Please look at the other reviews as much the same, not great comments at all around food

Worst food I’ve been served, ever!! I don’t understand anyone who visits this place and says the interior is “classy”, it’s diabolical and the food somehow seems to top this. There were 8 of us, 2 down from London and the rest local. To start with, the menu is poor, little choice but in all honesty, you’d be better off not ordering, walking across the road later to Morello’s and grabbing yourself a pizza. We unfortunately did order, 6 steaks, a chicken and a sea bass. One meal came out ok. The rest were awful. 5 of the steaks weren’t cooked how we asked so we sent them back, only to then come back out again, incorrectly cooked. The sea bass was bland and the chicken was so dry I wouldn’t feed it too my dog. The gentleman that served us was lovely, the young girl unfortunately didn’t have much of a clue and asked us if we wanted to open and pour our own bottle of wine, at which I persisted at this point and just said give it here. All in all, probably the worst meal I’ve ever had, I’m trying to think of something that tops it…

Shabby, dark and empty. Bought cocktails at the bar. We tried talking with guy making them but gave up. Zero personality! Hot day so we took our drinks into garden. It wasnt a garden. It was a sweltering hot, shabby looking marquee with uncomfortable chairs. Wont be going back!

Went here for the first time early evening during the Cocktail Wristband event. Ok place. Quite dark at the bar. Outside sitting area at the back. Can imagine it being extremely busy and packed in the evenings. Looks good from the outside with steps, pillars, plants and a seating area. Would return during the day again

Great service, very polite. Made you feel special. Had roast beef which was divine as was the wine. We both left very happy

Cramped but open late. Music could be better

Nice vibe, good drink, good bar staff and even the doorman are polite, additi9n from last time, staff are actually really good, nd door staff are proper too

Really lovely cocktails, beautifully presented and delicious. Very relaxing outdoor area and indoor areas beautiful and clean.

Fabulous food, wonderful staff. Great service. Thankyou to Taylor for attending to our party today. Diamond Geezer - made us all very welcome from beginning to end. We will be back ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lovely place and food and drink was amazing

With a hen group. The staff were smart, friendly and professional. The interior is pleasant and classy and guests allowed in to add hen night decorations. However, the food was a total let down for the cost. Scallops to start, one standard size, two tiny. Two of mine were very gritty, but only one other person had a gritty one. The potato and brie thing was fantastic and filling. Ordered the pork for main. Nice carrots, nice brocoli. The mash and pork were so dry I couldn't swallow them. Late on the other side of the restaurant tunnel on loud music. Dessert was OK. A mixed experience. Nice in general but the food is no better than something served at Spoons.

The food was awful, so overcooked and veg was burnt. The salmon was so dry, truly awful.

Nice cocktails, my son took me while visiting him while he was at the BRI in Bristol. Worth a visit,nice little indie, probably lively at night,ours was a day visit in the 🌞

Hen night Lovely meal followed by dancing Staff very attentive and friendly

Nice food and staff fair prices.

Fabulous evening. Staff from door to the bar to the table. Service was excellent. You really must go. Fantastic experience.

Ambience good, visited during sweep festival (folk, morris dancing etc). Couldn't faught meal but once again hot food served on cold plates. Reason why didn't give five stars. Crumble and custard served cold as well.

Very smart dinning experience, nicely cooked food and the Banana Duo was a lovely way to end the meal. 🙂 Plenty of Staff when needed and very helpful. Has a young vibe but we went as a family and still had a great time! Well worth visiting when in Rochester.

Came for dinner for my daughter's hen do. Food was fab, staff were lovely. Definitely recommend the chocolate brownie

Had our wedding reception here January 28th 2022 . The interaction i had with Olivers leading up to the big day was very accomodating and helpful.They helped calm my anxieties and reasured me what they would do. They sent the menu well in advance, only one problem with menu, were the sauces for steaks were not optioned in so we had to type up a separate menu request. On the day the staff went out of their way to accomodate my wedding guests, one being quite difficult (my apologies).Thanks particularly to Luke who went above and beyond in service to us, you are a credit to Olivers. Big shout out to the chefs on the day, the food was amazing. Overall i would recommend Olivers without hesitation.

Really lovely food and Staff. Would definitely go here again.

Great atmosphere, wonderful food, the Thai fish cake was beautiful! Staff were friendly and attentative, well done all. Made my evening. Thank you.

The staff were friendly, helpful and very accommodating and the score isn't a direct reflection on them. The food was a mixed bag though some of the people in our group enjoyed the food more than others. Personally my food was rather bland across all three courses. We also encountered a small pest problem (that the staff dealt with well), without that I would have scored them higher.

Nice place over priced there bester places in in Rochester for a good night out

A truly fantastic experience with some of the best cocktails available.... set within a beautiful building!!

A very well stocked bar, good food and great tunes

Outrageously awesome cocktails!

Where to start, Luke and Jako what a fabulous pair to be managing here. For context we had a last min wedding and no where for a reception with Covid and Plan B making it even more difficult to find somewhere at short notice. Then I made the call and spoke to Jako who was very helpful in everyway and that they might be able to help us on that date. The day arrives and Luke and his team were 100% on point to help us make the most of our day with probably a million other things to do as well. They were attentive the food was amazing and the staff, super friendly and the cocktails amazing, salted caramel espresso martini I'm looking at you ;). All in all this team and restaurant went above and beyond to help us and for that I cannot say thank you enough it will be my go to place for a cocktail from now on and anyone who ever asks for a place to go they will he the first place I recommend. Thank you again

I had my Hen party here and everyone loved the food and the experience I have also just been here for a dinner with friends and the staff are always friendly and helpful great service

We just had a lovely relaxed meal at Olivers. Wanting to go somewhere a bit different for lunchtime "date lunch" we picked here. I'm so glad we did. Made to feel welcome, seated by the radiator where it was lovely and warm. Food was amazing, wine spot on, attentive service. We can't wait to visit for a Valentines lunch with you guys!

Professional, welcoming and friendly. Roast beef was cooked to perfection, fresh roasted veggies, crunchy potato and plenty of gravy. Deeeeelish 😃

Worst bar in rochester, bouncers are obnoxious and rude, will never be back again. Disgusting!

Good service, we was looked after very well, Turkey a little dry, but for that would have given 5 star's

Amazing, great service and good food

Absolute scammers. Me and 4 friends wanted to enter the bar at 10.45pm on a Saturday night and was told they were full and they are operating a one out, one in basis. So we waited. By 10.50 at least 8 people had left and we still couldn't gain entry. The bar charges a £10 entry fee from 11pm onwards, and at 11.01pm after approximately 15-20 people had left since 10.45, they said they would let us in and would have to pay the entry fee. We promptly left and wont be returning. What kind of business keeps willing paying customers waiting outside, just to be able to charge them entry fee? Ridiculous

First time here, not disappointed at all , met by friendly Boss and Staff , lovely decor , made to feel at home . Nice variety on Christmas Menu , extensive Drinks menu too . I had the Turkey -not had that for years ,and boy, was it good , Tasty ,Moist and Lots of it . Jacqui had the Fillet ,clean plate said it all . Two delightful desserts followed , not hassled or pestered by waitress , Thoroughly enjoyed our visit , big tick for this one !!

Went there early at a weekend, about 7pm. Got left at a pretty empty bar for over 15 minutes. Many men in black shirts ran around doing everything but serve people. 1 of the 2 guys actually making drinks had to stop and stir rum for about 3 hours. Pretentious and overpriced and don't even care about the customer.

Nice bar in Rochester but can be a little rowdy as the night progressed.

Visited yesterday for a Sunday Roast. Ended up taking advantage of the 3-Course offer. Every dish that my partner and I had did not disappoint. Would highly recommend and will be back again. Great food and attentive staff.

Great set up, good mix of ages (not full of kids)

Best place in Rochester for a night out, dancing, cocktails, food and the staff are all great!

Lovely day and night in here 😊 Fantastic cocktails

Had an early dinner here. Limited menu but good food and large portions. Drinks menu very comprehensive. One star lost because the music playing in the dining area was loud enough to need you to raise your voice so not good for a private conversation

Great food and atmosphere. Excellent service. Couldn't fault.

Had a great time, lovely cocktail, good value for money

I had a very pleasant visit along with a group of walking friends. Coffee and sandwich both good!

The front of house staff were fantastic and if it could be split up in a rating the barman and waist would definitely have been a 4 or 5. The food however was abhorrent, duck breast overcooked, asparagus overcooked, carrots basically raw. And the decision to put a whole potato twice the size of the duck breast on the plate completely dwarfed the meat. My wife's steak was clearly not rested and by being put directly on the chips it just made it a red pool of soggy potato. I would have complained but tbh I didn't want to spoil our wedding anniversary by kicking up a fuss. Definitely won't return though as it wasn't just the quality of the food but the design choices on the dish as well. Being a Sous Chef it's rare that I get the chance to dine out and its a shame I wasted this opportunity here

Great food, with really nice deal on lunches and very friendly staff. We also enjoyed cocktails a lot. They are super delicious!

Customer service is great and most importantly cocktails are fantastic!