Café Oliv @ East Coast Road

I have been to Café Oliv on a number of occasions but the first time was sort of a chance accident. I had originally wanted to have hainanese pork chop rice for lunch but the shop was closed. So I walked by Café Oliv and perhaps because it was early, around 11.30 am, the shop’s lights were not on but the sign did say “Open”. I went in and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

The pictures of dishes in the menu were vividly attractive, looked appetizing, and representative of the end products that were presented on the table in front of me.

One of the appetizers that my colleagues and I like is the White Button Mushroom Fritter ($7.90). They are basically battered whole white mushrooms coated with bread crumbs and fried to crispy. The inside is still soft as tofu and moist.

A 3-course set lunch of a soup, entrée and a drink costs $10.90 plus 10% Service Charge (that’s $12.00). I believe they didn’t have service charges when they first opened the Café as it was a selling point then and their website still say no service charge.

The soup, which comes with the set, is always mushroom soup, which I enjoyed. I don’t mind if there isn’t any other choice.


I usually do not have cold drinks after lunch nor do I go for tea or coffee. As such I usually tell the service staff that I don’t want any drink even if it is included in the price. The second time I was there, I asked whether I could have more soup instead since I don’t want the drink. I said it was perfectly alright if they cannot accede to my request. The service staff said no problem and told the kitchen staff to give me more soup. She did have to explain to the kitchen staff why. Now I don’t have to ask as she could remember me though on my following visit after the above incident, she only remembered when I told her I don’t want any drink when she asked me for my choice. I guess not many people, or perhaps no one, ever said they don’t want any drinks that are part of a set meal.

There are eleven choices for the main course. One of which is the Parmesan Cheese Chicken Cutlet with Coriander Dill Cream.


If you like crispy food, then this is the choice. It is crispy outside but the chicken is still moist and soft inside. I liked this so much that I had this consecutively on some of my subsequent visits.

Another main course is the Braised Half Spring Herb Chicken (in?) Brown Sauce. The menu does not have that word in parentheses.


The chicken was well braised and soft. I felt that the herb was not strong enough and was slightly overpowered by the brown sauce. This is just a personal preference. Overall, not bad.

A single scoop of ice cream is just $2 and it was a huge scoop. We even asked whether they have erroneously given us a double scoop instead.


I tried the crème burlee ($6). Not creamy and soft enough and too sweet for me. The sugar coating was not done well either.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, desserts are half-priced.

Overall, not a bad place, in terms of food quality and pricing, for a simple meal. Click here for menu.