Olive & Ivy is a coffee shop and restaurant that opened up on the Scottsdale Waterfront this year. I’d like to describe it as the La Grande Orange of Scottsdale, but it really doesn’t compare on every level. For one, Olive & Ivy is massive, with high vaulted ceilings and a full wait staff. But the atmosphere is what I am thinking about, and the super-friendly staff. This place has a buzz which is all of its own. Cool outdoor signage. When I’m at Olive & Ivy I feel like I’ve sort of “arrived” as they say, and it’s a very pleasant place to chill. Let’s talk about the coffee. They have several full time barista on staff and so I believe that during most hours of the day you have fairly good chances of getting a decent shot of espresso. The two times I went I was thrilled. I’ve heard reports that sometimes a new barista will prepare an espresso drink though, so it’s probably a work in progress. My macchiato was amazing and served in those awesome transparent shot glasses. On separate visits I also enjoyed a mocha and a latte (no flavoring). The latte was just awesome. It reminded me of the latte I had in San Francisco at Ritual. Super good foam, and the milk wasn’t burnt. I can think of a few local coffee shops that should learn how to do latte’s right (I’m talking to you Mama Java’s). Latte. Bakery and main entrance as viewed from coffee lounge. Anyways, Olive & Ivy is far more than just a coffee shop. But what I am really happy about is they’ve found a way to separate each part. In the entrance to Olive & Ivy they have this great lobby and a ordering counter dedicated to coffee and pastries. Once you’ve ordered, you can take a few steps over to a separate lounge area. Mocha. Just a note on the wireless internet: They use Barracuda filtering, which filters out most social networking sites. It’s free, but this firewall prevents a significant amount of productivity for me. Luckily, Arizona Coffee is not banned! Menuboard. Coffee lounge area. An amazing pastry — it was filled with a creamy substance. Gosh it was good. Hot Tuna sandwich — average. Olive & Ivy 7135 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 195 Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Phone: (480) 751-2200
Michael T Chris, you are a photo-taking commando! I almost felt like I was there. O&I has done better latte art before. And I might know why you didn’t evaluate your mocha. 0 Reply July 25, 2007
Karen m. there are definitely two separate areas at olive & ivy. Chris, you were in the good area…the other area is the one that Howard Seftel reviewed in todays paper. The full service dining room apparently bites badly. 0 Reply July 25, 2007
Chris Tingom Hah, funny that my review is the same day. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/food/articles/0725revisit0725.html 0 Reply July 25, 2007
hb2 I read the review in the azcentral site today… Funny that you post on the same place. I like LGO and would not trade it for any other place, plus parking is a pain at olive & ivy. Something about the funny smell in that area. 0 Reply July 25, 2007
Chris Tingom Yeah, parking really is a pain at Olive & Ivy. I can’t say it’s much better at LGO though… 0 Reply July 25, 2007
Georgia Lincoln Olive & Ivy gets their coffee and espresso beans from Victrola in Seattle. 0 Reply June 17, 2009
Psyd And one AZCoffee participant rumours that their head barista gets to go to Seattle to get training at Victrola as well. So that would explain the great espresso base drinks. Supposedly they have a great Synesso machine, too, but I can’t tell, someone’s head is in the way in the shot of the espresso machine. See Chris? There is a sort of loose correlation between the gear chosen and the quality of the product. More hardware cheesecakes, please! ; > 0 Reply June 17, 2009
