Our Story · Est. Downtown Portland

Southern Mediterranean cooking,
grounded in the bakery.

Dolly Olive centers around Southern Mediterranean ingredients and flavors, with an emphasis on an in-house bakery program, elegantly simple vegetable offerings, and fresh-made pastas. We’re a dinner and weekend brunch restaurant in the heart of downtown Portland, sharing a room with our adjoining bar, Bar Dolly.

A dish at Dolly Olive
Philosophy

A kitchen that cooks the seasons.

Our menu reads like a love letter to the cooking of Southern Italy and the broader Mediterranean: olives marinated with orange peel and fennel seed, focaccia pulled from the oven and torn at the table, mafaldine ribboned with black-kale pesto, raviolini folded around fava and pistachio. Dishes are meant to be shared, ordered generously, set down in the middle of the table.

We lean on what’s in season. The dinner menu shifts with the year — what arrives from our purveyors that week, what the bakers are baking that morning, what the chefs want to put their hands on. Vegetables aren’t a side thought; charred cabbage with castelvetrano olive, tricolor cauliflower with green goddess, grilled asparagus with fava santorini all sit comfortably alongside ribeye and the mugolio-glazed pork chop.

At the heart of the room is the bakery. Focaccia goes out every service, sometimes plain with herbs and oil, sometimes layered with braised leek and potato. The pastas are mixed, rolled, shaped, and cut in-house. It’s the slow, quiet work that ends up on every plate.

What Guides The Kitchen

Three things we keep returning to.

One

The bakery first

Focaccia, breads, and the dough that becomes our pastas all begin in-house. It sets the tempo of the kitchen and the experience at the table.

Two

Vegetables, not garnish

Elegantly simple vegetable offerings sit at the center of the menu, treated with the same intent as a ribeye or a whole grilled trout.

Three

Southern Mediterranean

From castelvetrano olive to mascarpone fonduta to mugolio glaze — the menu draws on the ingredients and techniques of the Mediterranean’s southern table.

Bar Dolly
Bar Dolly

A second room, with a few booths and a full bar.

Bar Dolly is our adjoining bar — a smaller, more intimate room with a few booths for dining and a full cocktail program. Walk-in friendly, ideal for a quieter dinner, an aperitivo on a Saturday afternoon, or a drink at the bar before a show.

Aperitivo
Sat & Sun · 3:00–4:30PM
Tasting Menu
$75 per person
Meet The Team

The hands behind every plate.

From the bakery and pasta station to the bar and the floor, this is the small front- and back-of-house team that runs Dolly Olive.

C
Chef De Cuisine

Casey

Leads the kitchen and the seasonal direction of the menu — from the bakery program to the daily pastas.

M
Sous Chef

Marco

On the line every service, helping shape the pastas and plates that go out night after night.

D
Sous Chef

Dustin

Holds the kitchen together with Marco and Casey — vegetable cookery, proteins, and the rhythm of service.

M
Bar Lead

Melina

Runs the bar program — the cocktails, the wine list, the aperitivo pours, and everything that flows out of Bar Dolly.

C
Service Manager

Chase

Manages the floor and the guest experience — pacing, hospitality, and the way a night feels from the moment you sit down.

E
Service Manager

Erica

Co-leads service alongside Chase, ensuring every table from the bar to the back booth is looked after with care.

“The food and flavors at Dolly Olive were so unique in a good way. Items are served family style and meant to be shared. Everyone seemed focused on ensuring we had a great experience and enjoyed every bite.”

Michele & Robert · Google
Find Us

In the heart of downtown Portland.

527 SW 12th Ave, between Washington and Yamhill — a few steps from ample paid parking on SW 12th, Yamhill, and Washington.

Dinner
Sun–Thur 4:30–9:00PM
Fri & Sat 4:30–10:00PM
Brunch
Sat & Sun 9:00AM–3:00PM
Phone
(503) 719-6921
Email
hello@dollyolivepdx.com
Inside Dolly Olive
This is a draft about page for Dolly Olive — built by Glyph Sites.