Bakker van Maanen in Katwijk Noord

For our daughter and son-in-law's wedding on July 9, we, as parents, ordered the wedding cake from the Verdoes firm. Our wishes were carefully noted, and the cake was delivered to Wantveld on July 9. The surprise was wonderful! Everyone present fell silent, at how stunning the cake looked. The taste was also surprising. All praise to the staff at Verdoes Bakery. J. Loonstra Leiden

The best Pie in the Netherlands... Really!

I have been coming here for years as a regular (weekly) customer, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to remain positive about this bakery. For months now, there has been clear evidence of shrinkflation: the loaves are getting smaller and smaller. They claim themselves that they are simply complying with regulations, but frankly, I strongly doubt that. To my mind, the bread is now at least 20% smaller than before. As a regular customer, I know that the size and weight are really not what they used to be, while the price, of course, is certainly not getting any lower. And I hear this from others around me as well, so I am not the only one. Additionally, there are regularly gigantic holes and air bubbles in the bread these days, meaning you sometimes end up with half slices that are essentially unusable. But the biggest problem is that something truly always goes wrong with my weekly order. One time the order doesn't go through properly, another time my bread is accidentally given to someone else and you are left empty-handed. Then I get uneven slices again because the bread slicer seems to be broken, or I stand in front of a closed door on a normal weekday while Google says they should be open. It really feels like something goes wrong every single week. The frustrating thing is that this is the only bakery in the village. Because of that, they actually have a position of power, since there aren't many alternatives. That makes it all the more unfortunate that the service disappoints so often. The only positive thing I can say is that the taste of the bread itself is good. But honestly, even that isn't starting to make up for it anymore. If this continues, it probably won't be long before I start getting my bread somewhere else, even if it has to be further away. Time for a change, Van Maanen!

Friendly staff. Bread and pastries.

"The price paid was not worth it, a very bad experience.