title_image

Most of my reviews for Tasteem come from touring... when I'm on tour, I tend to eat out quite a bit... and I have a colleague who is really quite talented at finding great places to eat in every city that we end up visiting!

This time, I have a nice review of a very nice Mediteranean restaurant in the very picturesque town of Gouda, the home town of Stroopwafels and Gouda cheese. In the market square there are many nice looking restaurants... however, for this particular pre-concert dinner (without my esteemed colleague) most of the orchestra went to a pretty modern looking place... with some pretty ordinary looking dishes.

So, I decided to seperate and try out this nice looking place that I had seen whilst we were restaurant browsing...

The Space

This restaurant is very nice and cosy with warm decor... all of the things that you really want for a cold winter's evening meal! Luckily, I had arrived before the evening crowd... which meant that I had the pick of the tables in a fairly long and thin room.

The lighting was my preferred type, not too bright with subdued tones for both the illumination and decor. Tables were again nicely seperated, but again... I was here before the main bulk of patrons arrived!

... a well stocked bar looked pretty enticing as well... however, it was a work night! Can't say that I'm a fan of the fluro blue lighting though...

The Menu

The menu for La Olivia is mostly Mediterranean inspired and as such, there is a very wide selection of dishes that would cater for many tastes. From burgers to pulled meat... and many different varieties of desserts. My owly gripe is that there was only a single chance to pick one of a main and one of a dessert... nothing more...

Anyone that has ever read any of my Tasteem reviews knows what I was going to pick!

The Food

Yes... you guessed it? It was the Confit de Canard with roast potatoes and red port sauce. This is a great favourite of mine, I even have some always on hand in the fridge for the times that I need a handy piece of meat for stirring through with pasta.

This was a pretty well done dish... soft meat, tasty vegetables. Definitely a great starter for the main event of DESSERT!

... and dessert was really quite the event! A Dutch stewed spiced pear with ice cream and various berries. I love stewed apples and stewed pears... it is something that I make quite often for dessert at home, apples stewed in brown sugar and Gran Marnier... I do love it when it is hot, unfortunately, this was cold... but I really didn't mind, all the ice-cream and cream and verries and nice little bits and piece more than made up for it!

I still had to kill a bit of time after eating... and normally I would finish dinner with a coffee... however, in this case I was destined for a long concert in a very cold church... so, I opted for a fresh mint tea instead... something to keep the warmth inside that wasn't alcoholic... although I was sorely tempted!

The Experience

La Olivia is definitely a restaurant that I would revisit again the next time that I am playing in Gouda.. cosy and warm atmosphere, a wait staff that is friendly and yet leaves you alone to eat in peace! It was the perfect place to kill a couple of hours in a warm surrounding with great food.

As the restaurant started to get more busy, I was a little less keen... but as I had chosen a nice corner table, there was quite a bit of time before any other diners would start to choose tables near me!

Definitely a highly recommended place to visit if you are looking at the world famous stained glass windows of the Cathederal, or just dropping by to visit the birthplace of stroopwafels and Gouda!