3.5
out of 5
A small cafe strategically located along East Coast Road offering value-for-money Western foodfare.
Opening Hours: 11.30am-12mn daily; Sundays: 8am-12mn
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Overall Rating:
87
I have heard alot about this place, man. Like from my aunites and uncles, for example. This place is really good for a "family bonding" session. HAHAHA.
For the price, it’s really so-so as it is not too bad (price) and not too good or bad (food taste and quality. I especially like the desserts there. They rock my socks. LOL. Its really nice to know that a place like this offers affordable fare at a reasonable price
One thing I don't quite like is that the soup is wayyyy dilute. It pales in comparison to the quality of the desserts sold there. Quite a pity, right??
The best thing about this place is probably the "NO GST" factor.... Stingy people like me, or scrooges would wanna come here to dine on hearding this extremely good piece of news...
Cosy place, affordable food. Not bad at all.
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245
Okay set lunch~~
Was loitering in the East Coast area for lunch one day and decided to walk in as it looked quite inviting and a good rest from the intense heat outside.
My 2 colleagues and I had all had their set lunch, rather good for value at $10.90 per set: soup, main, coffee/tea. Soup of the day was mushroom, and it was surprisingly good; presentation of the soup was a nice surprise too.
My linguini with chicken was overcooked, sadly. My friend ordered the penne, which was much better. I later learnt that when in doubt, always order penne because it is harder to over-cook pasta; a practice which I will adopt next time.
Coffee was so so for a simple cafe, nothing fantastic but not too bad as well.
Think as with all other eateries in the area, parking is a pain, that's why lunch times are quiet. Take a bus here actually. Good value for money as we cant really demand much from $10.90.
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31
My friends wanted to try cafe oliv, so we braved the terrible weekend parking and went there to sample the menu. I'm glad to say that it didn't dissappoint.
We tried the dinner set (top up $6 for any main course or from the set dinner menu). I was actually torn between two choices - the dinner set (because i wanted the soup and the dessert, and the drink) but I wanted to try the salmon linguine with pink sauce (because i really like pink sauce). I was pleasantly suprised to find that I could top up 6 bucks to any main course to make it a set. Being flexible scores highly for me :)
The soup was chicken (though the server said it was mushroom) and came prettily presented on a wavy dish. Not the best soup i've had but edible.
My salmon linguine with pink sauce was not bad either - $12.90 by itself, or $18.90 with the set. The liguine was al dente, salmon done just right. The sauce was pretty average, I suppose pink sauce goes better with crustaceans.
The lamb shank was really value for money - ($23.90 for the set) and it was a huge chunk of tender, juicy meat which fell off the bone easily.
Dessert - tried the Brownie with ice cream, which was a good portion - unlike those stingy little half portion dessert, this one was a good size and was topped with a satisfyingly big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Creme Brulee dessert came in the warm version. Not bad either.
Our other friends also tried the Quesadilla and starters (chicken wings, calamari rings and deep fried whole mushrooms). Everyone was suprised at the large portions. Not that anyone was complaining...
Overall, nice cosy dinner place with value for money.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!I'd have to agree that you were brave to try on weekends.. :)
05 Jun 2008 at 9:18 pm
lol parking AND traffic!
08 Jun 2008 at 4:40 am
126
I don't know if it was because I ordered the wrong thing or what, somehow it didn't feel to me like I had as good an experience there as bobo and feizhu did.
I, too, ordered the Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Linguine. Sounded really good to me, what with the scallops and the whole set meal. However, I was pretty disappointed when my order came. Felt like the scallops were done in 4 different ways - Well done, medium well, medium and rare. Yes, it certainly did look so. The scallops weren't sweet either. The linguine did not really have much taste other than the spice on it and loads of Olive oil. It was very dry, like fried noodles left over, re-fried. I thought that I had to mix it, but even until the end when I had less linguine and a lot of olive oil left, it still didn't work. In the end, my pasta became very oily, you can feel all the oil around your lips.. =s
The soup, though, was not bad I felt. It wasn't too diluted and was rather tasty. Served with 2 small slices of bread, which, for me, didn't seem to hard after dipping it into the soup. But I'm more of a smooth-texture-soup kinda person, so I didn't quite like the little bits and pieces of carrots (I think) in it. It's like an ice-blend drink not well blended.
Though what I had wasn't exceptionally good, I think I would still go back and give the place a try. I did get to try abit of their pan-fried dory which I thought was not too bad, hence I wouldn't conclude that the quality of the food there is poor. Also, I find the restaurant somewhat welcoming. Could be due to the fact that the waitress in there seemed pleased to welcome us in. Just feels very comfortable.
In addition, the interior is simply decorated, with cute wall paper. Somehow adds a tinge of cosy-ness and comfort to the place. Plus, there's television too! I like watching TV and eating at the same time.. Haha.
On the whole, I think the place is nice and the price is decent. Service is good. Plus!! There's no GST inclusive - kinda important, especially if your meal totals up to be quite expensive right. Would give the place another try, since it was only my first time there. ;)
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Poor Zihui. The scallops were really not done properly...
21 Nov 2007 at 1:07 pm
haha.. yea.. but there must be better stuff right..
21 Nov 2007 at 1:49 pm
427
Dropped by Cafe Oliv, one of the many small eateries lining East Coast Road, for lunch. Its chef, Kevin Heng, used to work for Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Hill Group but has since moved on to open up Cafe Oliv with his buddy, Patrick Ang.
Situated just next to the famous 328 Laksa and further down from Astons Specialties, Cafe Oliv is a tiny eatery which can probably seat about 20 pax. The interior is minimalistic with its clean lines and plastic tables and chairs.
Cream of Vegetable Soup - This came as part of the set lunch which means you don't get to choose anything except for the main course. I wouldn't say the soup was terrific or anything close to that, but it was decent - tasty yet not too coagulated or runny. Something should be done about the rock hard bread though, which was still too hard even after dipping it into the soup.
Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Basil Aglio Olio Linguine - As lip smacking as this dish may sound, it certainly had lots of room for improvement. The linguine wasn't al dente to begin with and came across as a tad too salty for my liking. The scallops were nicely grilled with a tinge of rawness but didn't seem particularly sweet.
Traditional Beef Stew with Fennel - I liked the thick gravy which came with this dish but the beef did seem a tad too soft for my liking though my friend found it just right. Nice warm dish to have on a cold rainy day. Just don't get your expectations too high.
Oliv Mini Trio Meat Burger - Made up of 3 different types of burger, namely BBQ sliced pork, cod fish steak and tenderloin steak, this dish was one of the more interesting dishes around. Personally I fancied the tenderloin burger the most as the patty was chewy with lots of bite. The BBQ sliced pork, which looked and tasted like Kong Ba incidentally, had its taste overwhelmed by the bacon. As for the salmon, I found it a tad too salty.
Brownie with Ice Cream - Its really difficult to go wrong with brownies, save for those that are hard and dry. Having said that, I did like the brownie quite a fair bit with its chocolaty overtones.
A relaxing and filling lunch for 2 came to the tune of $43, which isn't expensive considering that the set lunch itself is only $10.90 nett per person. No service charge or GST is imposed, which is a plus as well and not forgetting the good service rendered. I would say overall food quality is decent but don't expect too much.
See all my pictures here
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Finally... :) The Linguine does sound good... too bad it's not as good as it sounds.
14 Nov 2007 at 9:09 am
lol it took some time..
14 Nov 2007 at 10:01 am
152
Café Oliv is a small café just beside the Famous 328 Laksa shop. The interior is very simple with normal white tables and orange plastic chairs. A casual setting suitable for the regular office lunchers or for families.
Chef Kevin Heng, together with buddy Patrick Ang, followed their dreams of having a place to call their own by starting Café Oliv together. Knowing that he has 12 years of culinary experience in places like the Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Group, we were all ready to savour good food.
We ordered the following : -
Duck breast salad
A good salad I must say. There were small slices of grilled duck meat on top of the vinegeratte salad. The duck meat was lean and very well marinated which brings out the taste of the fresh vegetables.
Beef stew with Rice
It was a LARGE serving of stew,in comparison to rice. The stew was good and very rich. We had to order an extra serving of bread to dip into the stew. It had a slightly sweet but savoury taste.
Chargrilled tenderloin with roasted potates
The presentation surprised me, especially in a small café like this. Very beautifully presented, but a little disappointing in taste. The medium tenderloin was a little undercooked.When I was eating it,my white plate looked quite bloody. I think there should be more sauce on the sides as the carrots and string beans were very bland. The roasted potates were perfect though,a very good combo with the tenderloin.
Over all,I think it was worth it. We paid $47 for both of us (with drinks and extra bread,of course).I was really impressed with the presentation of the food and the service.I had a glass of hot water.The server had changed a new glass of hot water for me every time (not topping it up).
I will be back for more.
- 1 more comment »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!You beat me to writing a review for Cafe Oliv. Been there twice but no writeups yet lol
10 Nov 2007 at 11:05 pm
:) That's ONE accomplishment. $10.90 set lunch $15.90 Set Dinner. :)
10 Nov 2007 at 11:19 pm
lol, yeah me too....I quite like the place. The chef and his family are all warm smiles and good service without being intrusive too.
11 Nov 2007 at 3:00 pm