Holland deserves to showcase restaurants like Goeswijn. Tucked away on a side street, Leiden gets to host an absolutely stunning bistro with a staff that runs this business like their home. Excellent food, excellent atmosphere, excellent service.

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 going back, a lot

Very interesting fusion foods. Nice service. Should make reservation. Cozy nice setting.

A lot to like, nothing to fault! This has to be one of the best wine bars (wine restaurants?) Leiden has to offer. Pick an organic wine (or better yet: a tasting), order a few dishes (don’t forget to try the leek - it’s delicious) and enjoy!

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 restaurant scene!

Cute bistro in a small road, service was super friendly and the food was amazingly good! No English menu for lunch but the waitress was super kind to translate and explain it to us. Super recommend!

Overall an enjoyable experience. Some of the dishes were better than others, but there were no bad ones. We got the accompanying wine pairing which is good value for money and had some really good wines, which are all natural wines. I'd definitely go back again to try some of the other dishes that we didn't try. My favourite dish was the steak tartare. This is one of my favourite dishes and I liked this version which was paired with a spicy Korean sauce.

Do yourself a favour and go there hungry. Try as many dishes as possible and enjoy the cozy atmosphere, good music, and wonderful dishes. What's even better is the owner, who made me feel so welcome, made an effort to accommodate my food intolerances and gave me a selection of wines that were so precisely matched to my taste, I couldn't believe. Definitely a place to come back to and bring your friends!