The Olive Cafe vs. The Lemon Table
Located downtown, tucked behind the “corner” park at the intersection of Geumnamno and the Migliore street, The Olive Café and The Lemon Table provide a sanctuary for those who want to feel like they are out of the craziness of everyday Korean life. These neighboring cafes sit quietly in the far corner of the park and offer a “somewhat” western dining experience.
The Olive Café, or Café Olive, is a modern two story building with a small outdoor patio in the front. Its first floor consists of a well lit dining area with bright colors and a comfortable atmosphere. The second floor has a couple of large, modernly decorated rooms that seem to never get used, and perhaps the selling point of the café, a large balcony.
(front entrance of Cafe Olive)
(Cafe Olive’s terrace, they should turn it in to a bar!)
The menu is moderately priced and offers an average selection of Korean style fusion food. After browsing through the menu, Jimmy and I decided to order the “couples” set. The set included a salad, individual soup, your choice of pasta and a pizza, and desert. The salad was large and was mixed well with an assortment of greens, but the dressing for the salad was a little too sweet for my taste. The creamy corn soup was lukewarm and lacked the basic ingredients of salt and pepper. At this point we were not impressed with the food or the service.
(i think this photo captures the pure essence of “blandness.”)
The service upon entering the café was wonderful, but as our dining experience continued we were given the normal Korean dining service. You must ask for what you want or need!
At this point I was hoping our carbonara would make me happy with my choice of not going to KFC. The creamy white-sauce pasta tasted much better than our antipasti, but was a little overwhelming with the amount of sauce used. Again, it could’ve used a more balanced use of salt and pepper, and perhaps a little more bacon (prosciutto).
Finally, our last course came to the table. The pizza looked perfectly cooked and we were both excited to fill our mouths with something that would satisfy our hunger. The crust was amazing! It was a thin crust which seemed to be made from a type of pastry dough. It was cooked well and provided a great texture to the pizza. Unfortunately, we chose the wrong toppings for the pie. The egg was not scrambled, but was boiled and sliced. One bite had an entire egg yolk on it. The sausage was not breakfast sausage, but the hot dog style street sausage. Jimmy took the rest of the pizza to Pete Ross at the radio station.
(sausage and egg pizza)
We decided to decline the offer of dessert and proceeded outside to have a smoke and a conversation about our experience. We concluded that we would probably give The Olive Café another chance, but would order a different style pasta and pizza and hopefully bring a couple of ladies.
From the outside, The Lemon Table seems like an average desert, tea, and coffee café that are decorated with random designs and colors to make it look original. Were it not for the large menu styled advertisement displayed outside, and Gwangju’s very own radio personality Pete Ross’ personal recommendation, we would not have chosen to eat dinner there.
As we entered The Lemon Table we were greeted by a young server who gave us the option of where we wanted to sit. The Lemon Table has two differently decorated dining rooms. The main dining room resembles a small mid-western American café and the other dining room is quite posh and has large distracting chandeliers. We sat down in the main dining room and quickly ordered the Dr. Peppers that were staring at us when we first arrived.
The menu consists of pizza, pasta, burgers, rice, and hamburger steak. There is also an endless list of teas, coffees, fruit juices, and a decent selection of beer. We had heard a rumor that the burgers were amazing so Jimmy and Andrew each ordered the Onion Ring Mountain burger and I went with the Re-mario cream cheese burger. The key when ordering is to ask for the sauce on the side. If you don’t do this you will probably walk away greasy and stained. When the server brought the burgers to the table we were awestruck with the size and quality of what we saw. The onion ring burger was stacked with proper onion rings and my burger was loaded with shredded lettuce, cheese, and mushrooms. You also get a lackluster amount of fries on the side, but the flavor of the burger makes you forget about the little potatoes. The bun is soft, the burger is perfectly cooked, and the combination provides you with the best burger experience in Gwangju.
(the best burger in Gwangju; The Onion Ring Mountain)
(Always ask for sauce on the side!)
While we were eating we saw the server bringing other dishes to other tables and were very impressed with what we saw. After a fulfilling dinner we went to the back smoking room which has a European street café (minus the Europe part) vibe to it. There is a beautiful mural painted on a brick wall and a couple of patio chairs to give you the feeling that you aren’t in Korea.
(hm, Korean flags in Europe? Back smoking area)
Our bill came to about $10 a person, $7 for the burger and a couple bucks for the soda. I have now been there three times and have tried three of the five burgers you can choose from. Each time I am equally impressed with the service and the food. I highly recommend The Lemon Table to anyone who has a craving for a home-style burger.
The one thing I find at most Korean restaurants is that they have good ideas but there are always lacking one thing. The Olive Café has the atmosphere but is lacking in quality of food, The Lemon Table has amazing food, but has a weird mixture of interior design. If someone could put The Lemon Table’s food into The Olive Café you would have a wonderful place to eat.
- Tony Warren
