I've been wanting to check out Olive & June for awhile so when Jose was trying to decide between Sagra or here I was all for it. I mean who doesn't love some good Italian food??
The restaurant is over on Glenview Ave. and has a great outdoor area that reminds you of what you'd find in a more rural European city. They have valet parking but there's also plenty of free parking on the street so it just comes down to what you prefer.
Here's what we ordered:
LINGUINE NERO
rock shrimp, calamari, red onion, arugula, bread crumb
*Jose ordered the linguine Nero and was shocked to find out that the pasta was actually black. I was like boo you know Spanish, what did you think the Italian word Nero meant.... Unfortunately I couldn't taste it to give you all the details but he told me that the flavor wasn't that impressive. The calamari were good but overall the dish didn't have any flavor... no guarantees, but it's possible that that opinion may have been influenced by the fact that there wasn't a lot of pasta on the plate. Something that's strange for an Italian restaurant.
BUCATINI AMATRICIANA
pomodoro, calabrese chili, guanciale, pecorino
*I got the Bucatini with gluten-free penne. They were great about subbing in gluten free pasta but said that the only type they had was penne so if you're picky about your noodles, it's something to consider. A huge positive though is, while I don't know for certain, I'm pretty sure they use pasta with corn because it didn't taste super rough like some of the rice pastas out there. Have you ever tried those? Um hello cardboard.
The guanciale was probably the best part of the dish. Don't worry, I had no clue what it was either. Totally looked like the lame person googling all the ingredients before ordering haha but it paid off. The dish was surprisingly a little spicy but overall had a decent flavor.
They had a lot more than just pasta on their MENU and most people's dishes looked really good.
pomodoro, calabrese chili, guanciale, pecorino
*I got the Bucatini with gluten-free penne. They were great about subbing in gluten free pasta but said that the only type they had was penne so if you're picky about your noodles, it's something to consider. A huge positive though is, while I don't know for certain, I'm pretty sure they use pasta with corn because it didn't taste super rough like some of the rice pastas out there. Have you ever tried those? Um hello cardboard.
The guanciale was probably the best part of the dish. Don't worry, I had no clue what it was either. Totally looked like the lame person googling all the ingredients before ordering haha but it paid off. The dish was surprisingly a little spicy but overall had a decent flavor.
They had a lot more than just pasta on their MENU and most people's dishes looked really good.
Super random side note: they had the funkiest looking candles on the tables; they were almost like those religious candles you can find in grocery stores, but without stickers. And not that I would suggest doing so if you want to actually look like you belong in this nice of a restaurant...but they were a lot of fun to try to get to spin.
Olive and June had a great atmosphere but based on the couple things that we ordered, pretty average Italian food. Yes there are a lot of high quality ingredients on the menu, but the taste wasn't one of the best for Austin. Like I said, we only ordered a few things so it's possible the other dishes are amazing. I'd suggest going if you have a large party and want to enjoy the outdoor ambiance, but for the price, you can find better quality here in Austin.
Olive & June - Austin
Sun.-Wed. 5 - 9 pm
Thurs. 5 - 10 pm
Fri. & Sat. 5 - 11 pm
3411 Glenview Ave
Austin, TX 78703
512.467.9898