Dining and drinking review: Olive Branch Café and Tea Room

Olive Branch Café is located in Freighthouse Square at 2501 East D Street

Review and photos by Ted Broussard

Tea and Empathy

I knew this place was different right when the elderly hostess greeted us with a hug. I’ve been around enough to know friendly when I see it but this was more than that. This was about letting you know that you are among family here, and everyone gets the royal treatment. The Olive Branch at Freighthouse Square bills itself as a café and a tearoom, and it’s that, but so much more. From the elegant Victorian décor, to the very attentive service, to the delicious food -- Olive Branch is an oasis of kindness, warmth and charm.

Even though Freighthouse Square is in the middle of a major redesign with Amtrak coming soon, Olive Branch has transformed the West End space to create one Victorian parlor after another filled with velvet drapes, chandeliers and more fine china than I’ve seen outside of an antiques mall. Each lace-covered table is impeccably set and several rooms are staged to be stand alone dining rooms or even reading nooks. As if that wasn’t enough to make you forget you were in 2017, customers are treated to the soothing sound of live piano music by Brian. Tunes were familiar and relaxing, and for a minute, I thought Lawrence Welk had come back from the dead when one of the songs featured bubbles spewing from the ceiling over his piano.

Service was excellent. Each person, and there were several, who came by introduced themselves by name and couldn’t have been more polite or kind. The owner, Terry, stopped by a couple of times to make sure we had been welcomed and to check on our experience. Our server, Charlene, explained how the tea pantry worked and took our order. Shawna settled our check and encouraged us to leave a review on Trip Advisor. We also met the Barista and the grandmotherly hostess, but at that point, I got lost in the names.

The food was very good. My lunch companion and I each made a tea selection from their pantry shelves and ordered a half sandwich, cup of soup and salad combination ($12.95). The Chicken Noodle soup was tasty and well seasoned but neither of us found much chicken to go along with the hearty noodles and chunks of carrot. The generous salads were crisp and fresh and were offered with a choice of dressings on the side. The French Dip boasted a stack of lean tender roast beef piled high with provolone cheese on a gently toasted hoagie roll. It was delicious and our only complaint was that the au jus was just a bit thicker than expected and a tad on the salty side. The Olive Branch Reuben half was huge. The lean pastrami with sauerkraut and provolone spilling over the sides of marble rye was very tasty and very filling. We both enjoyed our tea selections, Caramel Rose (essence of both caramel and rose) and Seattle Surprise (subtle orange flavor), served in a bottom-dispensing teapot. Very cool.

Olive Branch Café is special and different. The owner and staff treat customers as if they were guests in their own homes and it shows. The food is good, the tea selection is impressive, and the environment is charming, but it’s the grandma’s hug that will keep me coming back.