Goeswijn — Restaurant in Leiden

This is my new favourite restaurant in Leiden… and I didn’t even know it was there as it’s hidden away in a little alley between the Bree and Nieuwe Rijn… I happened to walk down there the other day to avoid the busy market, spotted the restaurant, had a chat with one of the staff, loved the look of it and then made a reservation for Friday night. it has a lovely chilled-out ambience, fantastic staff, and an innovative and alluring menu. For a city with so many old buildings and alleyways, Leiden has very few places that manage to conjure up the vibe of a Parisian bistro - this place does that. It really does have a lovely feel to it. I cannot speak highly enough of the service, the staff were friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, accommodating and just fun to have around, really. We asked a few questions about specific dishes on the menu and about the wines and cheeses, all of which were answered thoroughly. This restaurant clearly preps it’s team well which is a real breath of fresh of air. As for the food, well we were all very impressed… there is a menu of appetisers, mains and desserts and you can order what you like in whatever order you like… we started with a leek/mozarella dish and the goose rillette - both were very nice… the rillette was served with some lightly pickled cucumber and soft mustard seeds. We then followed up with rolled chicken in a crayfish bisque, potato poffertjes with hollandaise and a vegetable I have never eaten before, and some mussels… finished it all off with a strawberry romanov and a selection of 4 cheeses. Oh and coffee of course, with a delicious little madeleine. The food was all delicious and to an extent unusual - well actually it’s timeless bistro classics meets innovative. In a way it reminded me of ‘la gone’ in the hague, although the ambience is a lot nicer at Goedwijn, the menu deeper and more varied and the staff better… the food perhaps doesn’t reach the heights of la gone but that is easily compensated for by the vibe, staff and menu. All in all it’s a lovely little place, bit of a hidden gem. We will be...

The food here is insanely good. Cooked to perfection with flavours that will leave you wanting more.

The Duck Breast is amazing, tremendous. Absolutely delicious. The fish is also beautiful.

The pork belly sliders are a solid starter with the sour dough bread and red wine shallot butter a great addition to the night.

The timing was my specific issue, though, that changed this from what should be a 5 star. We arrived at 6 and it took 20 minutes to get a menu and 50 minutes for the first starter to come. We didn't know the size of the starters nor mains and we didn't order enough. 3 starters and 2 mains are not enough and I wish the staff could have indicated that. By the time the mains came, we were super hungry but knew we couldn't order anything else as it would take another 40 minutes for the dish to come out. So we went home and snacked.

Next time I'll know but I'm not sure if I'll go back with the fierce competition in the area for this...

Goeswijn is THE place in Leiden to enjoy your arrangement of organic wine, but don’t forget to get something to eat as well. For those that would like an introduction to organic wine, there is a wine tasting (up to 5 glasses). Unfortunately the tasting does not include many reds or any dessert wine.

The dishes are wonderful, especially the Terrine of Leek with the Burrata is amazing as well as the Ceviche with jalapeños.

Staff is knowledgeable, friendly and helps you with whatever you need. The wine list is interesting and the venue has a cosy atmosphere. This is just the place where you can forget time while you keep ordering more plates and wine. A great addition to Leiden’s...