The Black Olive

Awesome taste.
Oct 28th, 2015

Seriously loving this place and they have a nice variety of gluten free pastas and they are delicious! The staff takes a lot of pride in the food they serve. We have been there a few times now and it's been great every time. This place is the best kept secret in Torrance!
Jul 15th, 2015

The sevice was ok but my wife's lasagna had a hair in it.
Dec 29th, 2013

The Black Olive was easy to get to and find. From the time we walked in until the time we left we were given exceptional service throughout the meal. The meal experience was nothing short of excellent. Our selection of food was prepared very well and in a timely manner and was very good. We thank those present for making our experience a great one. We would dine here again.
Dec 15th, 2012

Been here twice. First for their regular menu, and second for their secret fusion menu. For their regular menu, we tried a variety of dishes. A few were mediocre, but majority were on point. We started the meal with the complimentary bread that's was extremely tasty. It came with a saucer of balsamic/olive oil for you to dip. I had to refrain myself from eating too much bread! (Then again I love hot fresh bread) Anyway, next was fried breaded mozzarella sticks (which I can't find on the menu anymore). I was actually quite surprised by them since the breading was perfectly crispy. Paired with the marinara sauce they were quite tasty. Our party ordered a variety of pasta dishes and pizza. I tasted every single one of them to see how they were. Majority were all well executed dishes. Can't say too much about them, they're all traditional Italian pasta dishes. However, what did stand out was the Tri-Color Gnocchi and the Creamy Jambalaya Pasta. First off, I wasn't a big fan of the Gnocchi. I felt it was a bit over cooked, but when I think about it, I've only loved Gnocchi once and that was a $25 dish at a super fancy restaurant in New York. But I guess people do like it, so give it a try? Second, the Creamy Jambalaya Pasta was amazing. I loved the burst of flavor from the dish. It has so much flavor going on, but just the right amount to make me want to eat it all. Sadly, I didn't order this so... I was sad. Oh a note, this dish has a decent amount of heat. For the secret menu, we had to make reservations. They actually told us about a few risotto dishes they were trying out that aren't officially on the secret menu, so we ordered a few to try out. They told me not to talk about them either... But they were delicious and need to get them on the menu ;) Ok this is getting long. The 2 dishes that were absolutely phenomenal and I want more of is their Creamy Yuzu Fettuccine with grilled chicken, and their fusion seafood pizza. Creamy Yuzu Fettuccine Honestly this dish is probably just the Fettuccine Alfredo with Yuzu, but however they put the yuzu in was perfect. With every bite you had the perfect amount of yuzu taste without it being overpowering. It complemented the pasta perfectly. I really need to try to make this dish myself. Fusion Seafood Pizza When this dish first came out I wasn't impressed. It didn't look like there was much seafood on it, and looked rather bland, but when you took a bite, there was a TON of seafood flavor. It's like they made seafood juice from left over crab/lobster/seafood innards and poured it all over the pizza. It was so tasty that I grabbed for seconds right after it made the rounds around the table. (This was also the last piece, and per Asian custom you're supposed to leave it there for a little at least) They also had a Krn BBQ Bulgogi pizza and Popcorn chicken pizza, but both were unavailable this time around. If you want to try things on the secret menu, be sure to call in to make a reservation and ask ahead! Now to prices. I think most of these dishes went from 15-25~. Not the cheapest, but for something innovative, it's def worth it to try at least once. Now they just need a lunch special menu....
Jan 2nd, 2015