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Dining at The Olive Retreat Restaurant, Castle Douglas

25 February 20253 March 202522 Barend

The Olive Retreat is a relaxed, family friendly mediterranean restaurant & café in the centre of Castle Douglas. We visited on a midweek evening. As it was fairly quiet we were given a choice of tables for two by the friendly waitress.

The decor is fairly rustic, with various cooking items displayed on the walls, going for a traditional Mediterranean feel. Notably, the menu is really interesting and very varied, with great choice for those with specific diets. Specifically, there’s a good choice of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free dishes with the menu organised well for each. You can pick a selection of small dishes (tapas) or order mains with a variety of sides.

The bar and serving area leading to the kitchen at The Olive Retreat, Castle Douglas

Complimentary Focaccia and dips at The Olive Retreat, Castle Douglas

First, we ordered drinks and both enjoyed tasty mocktails (they also serve alcohol). Water was provided for the table, and we were given complimentary freshly baked olive focaccia with dips. We felt this is a nice touch, and delicious! In particular, the hummus dip with fresh pomegranate was my favourite 😋

We skipped starters (but they did sound good). Instead, for mains we picked Imam (baked aubergine) and Spanikopita (spinach and feta pastry parcels). You get to pick 3 sides to accompany your mains, so there’s plenty of scope for variety. Everything was well cooked and extremely tasty. I really enjoyed the Mediterranean slaw and the homemade chips.

Imam, orzo, mediterranean slaw and homemade chips at The Olive Retreat, Castle Douglas

Chocolate Fudge Cake at The Olive Retreat, Castle Douglas

Finally, for dessert we had chocolate fudge cake and baklava. The fudge cake was warm, moist and deliciously chocolatey and the baklava was hot and tasty with an intensely sweet syrup.

Overall, the service was good. We didn’t wait too long for anything. The portion sizes were good and we enjoyed everything. We definitely recommend a visit. It’s probably the nicest and most interesting food we’ve had for a while and we look forward to returning again to sample some more of the menu.

For more places to eat in the area, click here: Places to eat near Dalbeattie, Dumfries & Galloway