Oleana

I’ve never visited Boston before, but after scouring the culinary scene somewhat, I saw that this restaurant was called out for having really good baked Alaska. If you’ve read this blog frequently, you’d know that I’m always in the hunt for a good baked Alaska. I was able to make a reservation for this restaurant a month ahead for a 7:15 PM on a Friday night. The area that it’s located in is rather dark, but the interior was definitely bustling.

From the restaurant site:

At Oleana, vivid flavors, aromatic spices and a commitment to the freshest ingredients compose a menu that celebrates the cuisine of Turkey and the Middle East.

Ambiance & Service

When we arrived 10 minutes early, we were asked to sit on the side next to the heater. The restaurant was definitely packed and bustling. The restaurant’s seating areas were all very tight together in that the tables were really close together.

Service here was very quick. Once we placed our orders, they arrived in rapid fire of each other. What was very disappointing was that the server would discourage others from ordering any additional plates. I over heard on the side that the pair of guests wanted to start with some food, and then they’d add some more later. The server told them they have to order everything at once.

Lastly, they charge an automatic 5% kitchen appreciation fee and 1% administrative fee. In total, you’re looking at 6% of fees which is included as part of their “subtotal”. This is a tad deceptive but not unheard of.

From their site:

The kitchen appreciation fee is shared amongst our kitchen team, who are not legally allowed to collect tips. This provides each of our employees, no matter their position, an equitable, consistent, and livable wage. The administrative fee is used to offset the cost of employee benefits and other operational costs. The kitchen appreciation fee and administrative fee are not tips or gratuity. All gratuity will be distributed directly to the service team.

I appreciate the transparency, but I’m a strong believer of pricing this into the food as opposed to it appearing as a fee on the side. Regardless, I ended up tipping them normally on top of all this, since the meal itself was not expensive compared to NYC standards.

Food

The Cherry Three Cents soda ($6) reminded me of a heavier version of a Shirley-Temple, which is basically Sprite and cherry syrup. My partner unsurprisingly did not like this drink, so I ended up taking it. It was pretty good.

The ‘Baladin’ Citrus Soda (Cedrata) ($8) reminded me of a tasty and snappy sprite. My partner enjoyed this more because it tasted more like an Italian soda pop.

The Topik ($14) came with stuffed potato hummus, pine nuts, currants, tahini, and radish. This had good flavors overall. It had the quintessential nuttiness that you’d expect from Mediterranean mush.

The Fried Mussels ($16) came with hot peppers and Turkish almond tarator sauce. This was probably my favorite for the savory side. The mussels were tasty, and the fried hot peppers weren’t spicy at all. They actually reminded me a little of pepperoncini, where there was a little sourness to them. The almond tarator sauce reminded me of yogurt with nuttiness in it. It was all served in a shallow bed of butter lettuce, which was also edible.

The Seasonal Spritz ($8) came with pear and cardamom. I ordered this because of my love for pears. I was a little disappointed in that the pear was overtaken by the cardamom seasoning.

The Shrimp ($18) came with lentils, kohlrabi, golden raisins, sunchoke, and cashew skordalia. Despite the fact that it came with just 3 pieces of wonderfully and perfectly grilled shrimp, the overall flavors of this dish were very good. The entire shrimp was edible, and the tail surprisingly had a lot of nice flavors in it.

The Vermont Quail Kebab ($17) came with baharat spice, barberries, and pistachio. This was disappointing for the price, but the flavors of this tasted like a really tender poultry meat roasted on a kebab. The meat was flat as opposed to cube.

The Baked Alaska ($16) came with coconut ice cream and passion fruit caramel. It was not flambe in front of us, so we did not get the show that often comes with the dessert. The overall flavors of the baked Alaska were one of my partner’s favorites because it had coffee flavored ice cream with a coconut chewy patty below it. The passion fruit syrup was dressed on the side. When you combined everything together, it was a very delightful punch of flavors. The white meringue actually was very fluffy and a little more wet than the typical marshmallow texture. This really seemed to jive well for my partner’s taste buds because they ranked this baked Alaska as one of their favorites.

Final Verdict

Oleana was a surprisingly a really good restaurant for what it was. The price was reasonable even though there are different “fees” included in the final price, and the food was good albeit portions were light. The baked Alaska here was definitely good. If you’re in Boston, check this restaurant out if you’re looking for that baked Alaska.

Yelp Jabs

I think it was expensive for the portion and flavor.

Compared to NYC, the prices were not even close to be even expensive. This Elitist will be in for a rude awakening for this type of cuisine in NYC.

I feel that restaurants that add a misc service fee - instead of raising prices - are trying to hide something.

My partner mentioned to me that this restaurant definitely had a very different vibe where they are very much protective of their employees such that they are transparent about pricing and their purpose. I think this was a good example of how the transparency backfired. It seems weird that they offload the welfare tax to customers instead of just taking care of that behind the counter. Most customers don’t really want to know this.

Revisions

1. Jan 3, 2025 - Initial revision.