Oleum

We ate here twice during our trip to Baltimore and could barely talk during the meals they were so good. We just kept nodding at each other and occasionally blurting “omg, wow.” Hands down the best vegan restaurant we’ve been to due to its delicious food, variety, and welcoming atmosphere. It was a pleasure to meet the owner, Chef Adibe, too. What a surprise to have found this gem during our travels. We didn’t even have what they told us their best dishes were (pizza and brunch!). We decided we will have to come back to Baltimore JUST TO EAT here again!!!!!

We had Bean as a server, she was very helpful and offered great recommendations. Offered upcharge item for the pizza crust to be deep dish, 10/10 worth the extra money she isn’t just trying to increase the bill, LOL. Absolutely worth the wait, everything is made to order in house so definitely go here with time to spare, but the food was absolutely phenomenal. A hidden gem 100%. I usually HATE the nut based cheeses/plant based cheese as a newer vegan, I remember well what things taste like outside of being plant based. The Gabriel was the best pizza I’ve ever had, even before being plant based. It was decadent and savory, all of the textures were amazing. The soups and salads were also very worth the money. Overall everything was priced modestly for the fine dining level food experience you are getting. I would love to see this restaurant expand into its own building or better yet to other cities.

My wife and I had our first experience here tonight and we were so impressed on every level. Food? Amazing! Service? Friendly and knowledgeable. Setting? Casual and intimate. Ownership? Chef Adibe is onsite and dynamic…she is an irresistible force! Oleum has a bright future. We loved our pizza and pasta with incredible ingredients and the desserts were as good as any in the city (tiramisu that is better than any in Little Italy a few blocks away) And by the way, BYO! Cannot wait to go again, especially looking forward to brunch!

And then there was one. The waiter was great and gave an honest opinion on everything. We stopped in and unbeknown to us, the host who later we learned was the owner and chef, sold us on how great the food was and how great the reviews are on Google and Yelp. We walked around and came back. After ordering two starters, we asked about the house made cheese on the cheese pizza and that is when we learned the entire menu is vegan. We were intrigued that the chicken, steak, bacon, etc was all vegan. We felt ambushed by the fact that it was not labeled anywhere on the menu or restaurant insignia. Nor did any of the stuff volunteered the information to us, they were not planning on informing us, if we had not inquired about the "house made cheese." The owner came by and explained how she got started and how she cooks all the different flavors and textures. Unsure, we decided to not knock it without trying it. The fried green tomatoes were good. The nuts and olives, although the nuts were served warm and threw off the texture of the nuts a little, we ate them all. Nonetheless, the creative ingredients threw us off and we did not care for the cheese on our cheese pizza. The waiter asked how things were tasting and we told him that we were not a fan of the pizza. We only ate a slice each and could not finish it. He said he would inform the chef (owner). He came back and said that the chef did remove it from our bill. But the one star comes from the chef owner response to opposition. Not everyone will love your food and that is just part of owning a restaurant. It is the way you respond to the criticism. As the owner face the feedback, continue the personal service you started the experience with and come by the table and thank us for trying the food and extend the offer of removing it personally. We felt a different experience once we said some of the food was not good to us. Hopefully you learn from this review a lesson for future negative feedback. And I get the owner wants to get people in the door before they judge a vegan restaurant solely on the vegan label and leaving it off bring people in the door, but you have to tell people before they sit down to order. This review is on the service being cut off and not following through. So what, your pizza sucked. It is OK, finish strong. Your vegetarian food was good. And the waiter was great.

After 5 visits collecting data, it feels safe to say Oleum is the new spot for vegan food in Baltimore. Easily replacing the loss of Liora and Double Zero in one fell swoop. And it’s easy to see people agree. From our first visit to now, this place has exploded. The food is fantastic…every single thing we’ve tried is just as good as the last. The eggplant appetizer is so buttery, I’ve never had anything like it. The pizzas have all been delicious, I love that you can get half and half because I can never decide. If there’s one thing I can tell you, it’s that when Chef says spicy, she means spicy. The flavor of the spicy panini was fantastic, but my husband couldn’t take the heat (so I ate it). Be warned. Last but not least, don’t leave without dessert. We’ve had them all and none disappoint. Fresh baked, warm cookie after your meal? Always a yes. The tiramisu is my go to though. Pretty much…you can’t go wrong here! Excited to see this place continue to grow and expand!