Eating is one of the greatest pleasures of life. Dining in a restaurant enhances this delight, since you can get a high-quality meal delivered right in front of you. In some occasions, however, that isn’t enough. Olivia is a restaurant that offers a variety of dishes, ranging from pizza and pasta to healthy quinoa bowls; however, apart from the food, the overall experience is not as remarkable as one might think.

To begin with, the food in Olivia has a pretty good taste; no one can deny that the chefs do backbreaking work. Even though chefs do an incredible job, waitresses don’t. Your experience in the restaurant has lots to do with the ambiance of the restaurant, which can be affected by the music, odor, and service. In Olivia, the waitresses always seem in a bad mood, lacking patience and knowledge of the plates on the menu. A model for them to follow would be Hard Rock Cafe, where they do a great job at creating an alluring, comfortable ambiance. Not only do clients have the opportunity to buy at their souvenir store, but they also have music–either live or through speakers. Or take another example, Hooters. It’s the best place to go when you’re celebrating your birthday because waitresses will sing it to you and make sure to keep a positive attitude all the time, which makes the experience even more–it makes it a memory.

Flavor is not the only thing that makes a restaurant’s food worthy, how it is delivered to you also counts. In Olivia, service is lousy. Not only does the food take a long time to arrive, but waitresses don’t check up on you regularly. The most disappointing thing, however, is not that your time there isn’t enjoyable before and during your meal, it’s that the poor service continues when you’re on your way out. It takes more time for you to get the check, than to order, and eat your food, which is absurd. Why would a restaurant taint a client’s experience by making them wait to pay? It is understandable that it is not as fast as a fast food place like McDonald’s, but other similar restaurants such as Ilforno sell the same kinds of food and don’t take that long.

On top of that, food is costly; prices range between 24,900 to 60,000 pesos, and it is not worth it. Lots of restaurants sell similar dishes, and, retaining the quality flavor, are not at all as expensive. One of the main factors that influence if you visit a restaurant more than once is if it has affordable prices–this one clearly does not. A cheaper but still delicious option is Ilforno, where the plates are reasonably priced and actually have a greater amount of food.

Olivia’s food is delicious, no one can deny that. Also, the restaurant is in pretty strategic locations. For example El Tesoro, which I would say it is one of the most visited malls in Medellín, filling up on Sundays when everyone goes there to eat lunch. But, how frustrating would it be for you to visit El Tesoro, hungry and with high expectations, only to arrive at Olivia and have a negative experience? In my opinion, if you want a good restaurant and don’t care about the price, I would recommend IL Castello: it has a perfect ambiance and incredible service. If you are concerned about price I would tell you to go to Ilforno, it is not only delicious but they have lots of options at lower costs.