The Black Olive 125 East Jackson Boulevard, Jonesborough, TN 37659

"Good experience on a way thru town however it seemed an outrageous idea we would eat at the bar...which created a weird as heck vibe. Food was good and the servers friendly beyond our strange as can be choice to eat at the bar. The portions were huge and food great...just stop being weird."

"First time visiting The Black Olive, and have to say we will be back! Food was great! I had the spicy chicken and shrimp & my wife had the artichoke angel hair with shrimp! The portions were pretty large and the quality was great! Service was meh…. And the atmosphere was bland, the food more than made up for it!"

"Excellent place to take the family or on a date. Soft music playing is very relaxing. The food served is more than normal very filling with left overs. The calzone is huge. The service was great her name is Hanna"

"We went to The Black Olive for a very late lunch on Sunday with another couple. All of us walked in with established "gold standards" from our favorite places. We started with their Italian Garlic knots and...well, let me tell you, the first bite is all it took! These fresh made doughy delights are doused in a mouthwatering garlic butter sauce and served with a generous serving of their homemade marinara sauce. We were now very excited to receive our main courses - and like the Garlic Knots - they did not disappoint!! The Black Olive's Special and Meat Lasagne were both top shelf with a perfect blend of meat, sauce and spices - and the portions were so large the guys couldn't finish more than half! Us gals ordered the Penne with Clam Sauce and Shrimp and the Spicy Shrimp & Chicken - both were exceptionally delicious with a pleasing balance of pasta and proteins! Nick was our server - he was very nice, paced drinks, appetizer and main courses very well and kept our glasses full. He also gave us excellent recommendations, although I have this idea that The Black Olive has taken the time to curate a menu of exclusively their best offerings! Yep. We are now all TEAM BLACK OLIVE...the new gold standard for Italian dining!!"

"Arrived with a pleasant greeting, able to sit very quickly, almost like they have way too many table for the size of the room. Drinks came out promptly and that was it for the drinks had to wait until end of meal before any refills. Cheese sticks were luke room like they had been precooked and placed into warmer. We asked for bread and butter and the poor waitress had to repeat it several times, like it wasn’t really a thing, my daughter said they to ask, like at the other location, it came out about halfway through the meal with NO butter. We had a variety of meals, the shrimp one was great, my dad loved the salad, said it was fresh, daughter said her chicken parm was with white Alfredo and it was delish, my mom and I had the chicken fettuccine alfredo, I wasn’t sure how the chicken was able to be sliced so paper thin and I didn’t have my glasses to see if it was shredded fresh chicken breast, I took a bite and decided it was slightly spongy but it could have been just covered in sauce I decided to not eat anymore. They did place all the sauce in center of bowl so has I stirred and ate, it became dry, I would have asked for a small side of sauce but our waitress disappeared through the whole meal. The young lady who brought the food was very nice and maybe she could wait tables as she seemed she would be more suitable. I was not happy to find our waitress wiping her nose and face while asking if we needed anything- NO thank you, please keep your face sweat to yourself. If I had an Italian restaurant I would not have cheap plastic plates, instead colorful glass plates like I wouldn’t even care if they matched, heavy silverware, and napkins not cocktail napkins for the table. If they sold some of their extra tables and chairs and all the plastic they might be able to afford some. I also would take all the extra stuff off the menu making it less like chicken wings and ALL Italian. This place has the opportunity to really shine. I’m very conflicted about how many stars to rate so I’m starting a new star system just for them 1-star for edible food, hot and decently plated 2- star for pleasant other staff especially the gentleman in the front seating. 3-for the kind older couple next to us who actually were given many refills, maybe I should ask for their waiter next time That’s it folks, sometimes all it takes is a fresh pair of eyes to make all the difference, if the owner reads this maybe I could come in and work with them for a day, I bet some proper etiquette training with the waitresses, selling the extra plates and tables on FB marketplace and starting a cloth napkin system instead of having the staff not washing their hands and rolling it out on tables right beside you. There are certain things that need to happen in back of house and certain things in the front. Maybe they should close off part of a back dining room that no one was eating it and expanding their To-Go system as we saw about 15-20 bags coming from kitchen to front, this would make for a more efficient system along with a sanitize system for system to keep hands clean and away from face. They really don’t need a hostess stand just have that young man seat folks and take names on a scratch pad you don’t need a 15 pound Bible for that. I’ll be back but it will take some effort to avert my eyes from the lack of hygiene front staff. Almost scary to think of kitchen but as the doors swung open and I had full view I wasn’t as scared of the back. Maybe they should knock that wall down and prepare food in front of guest like on Hells Kitchen those styles of restaurants are extremely popular in tourist areas it could very possible work really well for them I though it looked pretty organized. So I’m going to stop now as I could write another 3-6 paragraphs on how to improve."