El Borne in Wijk 06 Binnenstad

We wanted to have a nice dinner together (the atmosphere seemed okay), but we had to wait 20 minutes for help and then another 30-35 minutes for our drinks. We finally received our food after another 15 minutes. Our steak (medium rare) turned out to be tough, and the salad contained two visible earwigs (and who knows, maybe even more). We immediately got up and paid. Definitely not recommended.

RUDE! Aperol is disgusting! Warm cola, no draft beer, they just handed us bottles! How cheeky!

The meal was a complete disappointed, we ordered seafood for 2 person, it was really disgusting,cold,and not freshlymade,,,when we have complained, the italian chef was unhelpful, and rude,,,it was the worse restaurant we have experienced,,, highly not recommended !!!👎 😐

Actually the worst!! The water was rotten, they must have used the gracht water to refill it. Honestly want to puke right now! 🤮

Horrible experience, the owner wanted to kick us out just to make space for new customers and we have been forced to go to the atm to withdraw money because apparently their pin machine was broken, obviously not true.

We went because the menu looked nice, but THEY RAISED THE PRICES. On top of that, we had to wait a long time for the food to arrive. Thank you, and never again!!

A good restaurant highly recommended ❤️

What a terrible place! Orders get messed up. They don't seem to understand anything. One person got their main course during the appetizers, then waited half an hour for the rest, and then left to eat somewhere else. Definitely not recommended.

It was just really disgusting. There were ready-made meals on our plates that my brother could still make. The soup was a kuppersoepje with whole tomatoes in it, and everything else was deep-fried. And it took an hour for the food to arrive!

Today we went by because my cousin went to work there for the first time. It was nice, nice music and nice cappuccino. They want to create a new and nice atmosphere. Good luck with the new team.

Please dont go here, unless just for drink. The place is the worst tourist trap. After waiting half an hour, half the food we ordered was not available (around 17h). The food that was brought is of very poor quality, the waiting staff was friendly though.

Terrible. The waiters are clueless, and the service is terrible. The burger was burnt, and several dishes didn't come out. They took a long time to serve, and the prices were outrageous. DON'T COME HERE.

The food was perfect and they are super nice

Good food Cheap prices Super neat and friendly

Bread with aioli, but the bread wasn’t baked. Meatballs were so dry you can throw them at the ppl supping in the canal, possibly causing physical damage to them. Patatas bravas were rancid and giving me the 🚽afterwards. They also tried to scam is with an expensive bottle of wine when we ordered a bottle of water. Even poor Mickey got so depressed of the food he decided to drowm himself in the Oude Gracht.

Terrible, don't go. Read this, go somewhere else soon

Just like the rest here: don't do it, get up and find something else. Food and drinks took a long time, was not the right thing, 1 person in our group didn't even get food after waiting a long time.

The waitress walks in with airpods. The food is nothing special, the herb butter is just normal butter, the tapenade had no taste. The melon with ham is thrown on a plate. While there were 3 tables you still wait 20 minutes for your drink.

Terrible food. Terrible service. One of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve ever had.

DO NOT GO HERE! If you are already here, leave! The location is beautiful but that is all! Disinterested staff smoking next to your table. The sangria at €36 was cheap supermarket wine with some orange. And we had to wait 30 minutes for it. We ordered a surprise menu. When we received the starter (raw fried snacks and some melon) we indicated that we wanted to leave. The owner was very unfriendly and angry and wanted us to pay the full amount. Of course we did not do this!

I haven't been in a worse restaurant. Usually I have no special expectations. But this time it was too much 😞 We were today at El Borne to have a dinner. First of all, we were waiting over 1h for a meal, which was cold anyway. Secondly we had one wrong dish, so my colleague canceled the order and ate nothing, because he didn't want to wait another hour. And what is even better on the one plate we found a part of sponge in fries. That is unacceptable! After all we didn't get any discount or something extra. We didn't hear even a word 'sorry'. I am not surprised, why that restaurant has such a bad opinions. And this is another... If you didn't make an order yet, I only want to say: run.

Stale bread, small portions, and exorbitant prices. It took over 30 minutes to serve. I felt ripped off.

Very small portions and overpriced. The prices on the menu don't match the menu displayed on the canal promenade.

I'm telling you right now: DON'T GO THERE. I ordered the El Borne chicken burger and it came to me as a tiny thing with a really hard bun straight from the freezer. €22 for this? Really? And it's not just the quality of the food, we also had to wait 30 minutes when there were just us and two other tables who hadn't even ordered food... What a rip-off, honestly. The only good thing was the beer, which you can get anywhere.

We ordered sangria and food. Sangria took 30m to come, and didn't have any ice. At that point my wife told the waiter to cancel the food order. Once we finished the warm sangria I went inside to pay. The cashier wanted me to pay for the food we didn't get. He ended up threatening me and yelling insults. Well, I paid for the sangria in the end. But it was a scary experience!

Dramatic, food and drinks we ordered were not there or we got the wrong food! What we got was clearly not fresh. When we complained about this the owner got angry with us. Really avoid this place!

I have no idea how this place remains in business. It took 30 minutes to get a sangria. we ended up cancelling our food order and going somewhere else because everything was terrible. The only good thing about this place is the canal view.

Food cold, reheated. Starter comes together with main course (partially). Some starters not even received.

Half of the appetisers didn’t arrive, the rest were delivered at the same time as the main dishes, which were all delivered cold. The service was plain awful and the food no better.

Poor service, food took too long, then came out cold or half-warmed from the microwave.

Don't come here please the only thing that is good is beer the rest is definitely bad DON'T COME HERE BELIEVE ME

Bbq from the oven! From who knows when

Advice when you read this when you have just sat down: get up and find a table elsewhere. The service is slow, has to be reminded several times. The drinks on the menu may not be available. The food served is very limited, a small piece of meat with some overcooked vegetables and a stray piece of potato. It is worth the long wait.

Had to wait a very long time before an order was even taken, then waited even longer for drinks and food. Food itself fine but certainly not fantastic, beer is lukewarm, fortunately the view of the canal and watching boats makes up for a lot.

There was only 1 waiter. Friendly young man but... everything took too long. Ordered 2x bread as a starter, only 1 was delivered. When we finally got our food after a very long wait, the 2nd basket of bread with spreads was brought. We thanked them for that. It was neatly removed from the bill. Unfortunately the food was not tasty and the salad was not fresh. Too bad! I wish them better

We ordered Red Wine and soft drinks. Red wine was not available. White Wine or Rosé. We choose Rosé and then get White Wine... We decide not to eat there and when I want to pay, the PIN does not work. Although a receipt of €9,- is rolled out. After a few minutes of struggling, a new receipt is rolled out. €13,-. I think of a surcharge or something and pay with PIN, which now works. I see that I have paid for 2 beers and speak to them about it. They do not have 4 euros in cash for me but will bring it to us. I have not seen them yet... Not recommended... If you do come, pay attention to the bill...

Well, okay. The service was friendly, but so was the chef. It also took forever and the food was... well. At least no danger. No recommendation, very unfortunate.

DO NOT go here!!! We paid over 100 euros for food and drinks and the owner started shouting and kicking us out to empty the table for new guests (like what?)

Truly terrible. Meat and chicken clearly fried stuff, no taste at all, dry as the sole of a shoe. Price on card for "surpreso" €29 but in reality €36... Total €81 for a plate of dung. Surprise! Gross, cold plates, so your food will be cold in no time. Don't go in there are vagrants in the area who need your money more. Blwegh 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

we sat right by the canal so obviously that was nice but the food is terrible and theyre really dont know what theyre doing, and the portion sizes are also small. this place should change management.

Bad. Heed the other reviews warnings. Seriously.

Genuinely the worst food I've ever had. We were the only ones in the restaurant, ~40 minutes after ordering we received the bread container and ~10 minutes later the other things we had ordered. Of these, 1 dish was missing and it took a long time before we received it and was completely different from what was on the menu. For some reason, staff also asked if they could take a half-full glass of drink with them again. If I had read the reviews beforehand I would have turned around

We came to drink beers and they just kick us out. They said that we can not sit here and just have drinks, we have to order more things. Not a good place to spend your time

The five of us had dinner here last night. Eating is actually n.a. First the steak and prawns were sent back to the kitchen. The steak was thoroughly cooked, had probably been on a plate for a few hours and was served covered in 2cm of brownish fat. The prawns were fried so hard that the 'jacket' would not come off. The chicken tasted sour, the potatoes dry with a nasty sauce... everything tasted nasty, sour, came with an indefinable sauce. And what could go wrong with a bowl of lettuce? Everything! And I could go on and on. We left all the food and talked to the chef about the bill. The cook was not happy about that and things got tough. In the end I only paid for the drinks and the 'appetizer'. New guests who were sitting outside and were just about to order were warned. They then stopped at a drink.

Never had such a bad meal!! Management is poor and did not speak Dutch or English. The food was bad! After one round of tapas we left. Unbelievable that this restaurant can still exist.

Worst restaurant we have ever eaten at; Saturday evening at 6 p.m. it was still empty inside, so I already had my doubts. Once ordered, the food took a long time to arrive. The service was poor, drinks for another table were placed near us. When we asked where our other 3 dishes were, half an hour after we had had our dishes, they told us that the kitchen didn't know anything. We had given all the dishes a number to the waiter. Ordered 12, received 9. The food itself was not special either, 3 bare chicken wings for €9, the Spanish tortilla was stuck to the bottom of the bowl and the potato had been replaced by a few French fries. Just scandalous. Then we just left it at that. Worst of all, when we asked for the bill, there were things on the receipt that we hadn't had. €30 more was charged. It was one big fiasco, they won't see us there anymore!

Waiters are very incompetent and rude. They forgot our order. They overcharged us for 2 dishes instead of 1. They were not responding when we were asking them.

Supersupersuperbad! We are really not whiners but this was really the worst restaurant we have ever been to. The food didn't arrive or it came very late and when we asked what happened, we got the cold shoulder. The music was bloody annoying Spanish fake music, the food was not tasty and there was little Spanish about it either. The staff spoke with a North African accent, so even from that corner we didn't expect much authentic Spanish anymore. We seriously wonder whether this was a real catering business 🧺 The only 'fun' thing: the other guests were all super pissed off because nothing went right there either. That created a pleasant bond.

Prices of a star restaurant, but food of 1 star

Last evening I enjoyed a great tapas experience at El Borne. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, perfect to imagine yourself in Spain. The menu offered a nice mix of traditional and modern tapas. Every dish, from the classic patatas bravas to the delicious squid, was carefully prepared and full of flavour. The service was friendly and knowledgeable, with good recommendations for both food and wine. The evening ended perfectly with a delicious crema catalana. Highly recommended for anyone who loves Spanish cuisine!

The Food was good. Could have been a bit more for the prize. But we staff did not understand english nor their own menu. We were 4 people and ordered 6 Tapas and 1 Paella for 2 people. We only received 5 Tapas and the rest did not make it to the kitchen... We left after the tapas and went to a different place.

Missing food, waiters took the order incorrectly, waited 40 minutes for food and then none came, very inattentive, big language barrier

Considering all the negative reviews, which we fully agree with, the positive reactions are not very credible. Worst paella ever. High prices, especially for this quality. Don't!

Really bad and dirty! Never go there! You can hang your coat on your chair. I already didn't like that. Bottle of wine that you can open yourself for 30 euros without ice, 2 cokes and 1 small beer 55 euros. Sandwiches in a basket placed on tables twice that were not requested at all but had to be paid for. When you go to the toilet there is pee everywhere and no toilet paper. We had our drinks with them 4th and paid but wouldn't do it and the staff is very unfriendly and almost unintelligible, not even in English!!

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT START! TURN AROUND! Food was cold, prawns were bad, Spanish omelette was half raw (sent back to the kitchen). A few bowls of tapas, paella and two drinks per person came to 90 euros... Then the card machine did not work so I had to walk back and forth to the card machine at Vredenburg to withdraw cash.

Normally I'm not one to write reviews, but now with love. Unfortunately, the ordered spare ribs were finished, so I ordered the chicken skewer, now waiting for more than an hour and fifteen minutes, a plate with a larger and a small skewer. The large poultry cannot be properly defined, the small one is vaguely soggy and downright dirty. The fries were limp but still the best on the plate. The bill for two of these plates and a glass of soft drink is €70, which is, in my opinion, poor value for money. This is why I can unfortunately only give 1 star.

We had to wait a very long time before we got a card. Then ordered a drink, they could not deliver a 0.5 liter bottle that was cold, but they could get a bottle inside and then add ice cubes, but it was refused. Had to wait more than 50 minutes for food to arrive. But that wasn't nice either. Fries and vegetables were brought when the food was almost finished. Food was not tasty and quite pricey.

Very nice location, but nothing made of it. The glasses are so dirty that you can get herpes just from looking at them. We didn't stay until dinner, and we've never complained in a restaurant...I think that says it all. Worst restaurant in Utrecht! -Drinks were slammed on the table, not as ordered -Tables were so crooked that everything slid down -The untouched drinks continued to be on the table throughout the evening (we could see them from another restaurant), even though there was nothing going on at El Borne -as soon as the drinks came we canceled the food and left -the waiters had no idea about their own menu

I can't understand the negative comments. The place is nice, clean, well-kept. The waiters are smiling and polite. The waiting time is not that long at all. The food was tasty, the portion size adequate to the low prices. I recommend

Not the El Borne it used to be. A couple of students trying their best, but this is not the Spanish tapas as you would expect it to be. Quite a waste of the location. I hope something new is coming here soon.

They brought wrong items and there always was an issue with things that were asked, warm beer, they didn’t know the menu, and so on. Spend your money elsewhere

Half of the things that we asked were not available. They took the wrong order and besides all of this they took 30 minutes to tell us that they didn't have the drinks that we asked.

Staff did their best. But the food was very bad!

Have never been so disappointed in a restaurant. The dishes are really not worth the price in terms of both quantity and quality. I ordered the smoked salmon wrap as an appetizer. I expected a bit more from this than the meager portion of 3 tough, salty pieces that I received. The Radler (on tap) tasted watery, as if the beer had been diluted. I wouldn't be surprised if that was actually the case. I think this restaurant is only "in business" because of its location. Waste of money.

Avoid at all costs. There were many issues but the following were unforgivable: All of our servers were high school kids who didn’t want to be there or knew anything about the menu. The menu was completely inaccurate about gluten free options for my friend with celiac disease and eating here put her health at risk. We got overcharged more than forty euros for food we never ordered.

There were 5 of us and we were ripped off, they offered us a price of €50 for tasters and in the end we paid €192, clever at best, never to be returned.

Had dinner here yesterday, if only we had read the reviews we would have given it a wide berth. The staff is unfriendly or even rude, orders drinks but takes a very long time to get them. Then the main course, all 3 of us ordered the same thing because there wasn't much choice and this appealed to us the most, pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon for €28. It wasn't even a whole pork tenderloin but a small piece, 1 was thoroughly cooked, the 2nd was just right and the 3rd was still raw and all 3 were lukewarm, the fries that came with it were old and the salad was in a small fried and a few more pieces of zucchini and eggplant drowned in oil. During dinner the owner was arguing with a waiter and told him to go home and everyone in the place could hear this, not very professional. In short, never again, it's not worth your money.

The clerk here was very friendly. The tapas dishes were delicious, and it was also nice to eat outside while looking at the river.

We went to this restaurant and were very well received. We were able to place our order fairly quickly. We ordered two ribs and an entrecôte with an aioli bun. Unfortunately, only the entrecote and one of the ribs arrived. It seems there was a misunderstanding between us, the waitress and the kitchen. The aioli bread arrived after the main course, following our request, and we chose not to have the second ribs. However, the meat was delicious and the service very pleasant.

Don’t come!!! The service is horrible and food is old and dried, not even from yesterday maybe the food is for one week ago at least . We waited for at least one hour for this …. The worst place

Delicious food and the service was very friendly! The atmosphere was great, but it could have looked a little more cozy inside. It was raining so there was little to do about the atmosphere outside😅

Very mediocre. The restaurant was almost empty but we had to wait 45 minutes for some bread. The shrimp in garlic oil didn't taste like garlic at all and had little flavor anyway. The lamb and steak were tasty and well prepared. Service took a long time and was not very attentive. Very high prices for very mediocre food 'at best'. I won't be coming back here, sorry.

Once in a lifetime experience... Because I will never go back. It should have been telling allplaces around it are packed while this place is empty. Nothing tasted fresh. On top of it 36 euro for a pitcher of sangria is insane. I rate it 9/11.

We had a lovely time at El Borne, great food, lovely staff and great atmosphere, a recommendation!

Great food, service was actually very nice and great. Price might be a bit high. But the dishes were very tasteful!

Had a very nice dinner, most of all the service was really great

Excellent restaurant! Friendly and helpful staff. I don't understand the bad comments. For us everything was perfect. The staff bent over backwards to find us a table so we could enjoy the view and the beautiful weather. Excellent food, I particularly recommend the ribs which are to die for! You can go there with your eyes closed

We went here for dinner on a Saturday evening. There was little staff, so everything took a little longer. Despite that, they were nice. The food is okay, but also greasy. Inside it looks nice and attractive.

Ate here and waited an hour for our food. Ordered starters that we never had, only the main courses. Unfriendly staff.

Food takes a very long time, some things are not available. Nice music, dirty toilets. Good tender lamb, if you're lucky enough to still have it. Burgers are huge by the way, big tip.

First of all, there is nothing Spanish about the restaurant. None of the staff is Spanish, none of the staff speaks Spanish, none of the staff seems to have an affinity with Spain and the simplest words are mispronounced by the Middle Eastern staff who speak poor Dutch and English. The food is overpriced, doesn't taste even remotely like a Spanish dish, is of poor quality and is thrown onto the table by unfriendly staff, after which you have to decide for yourself who's dish is which. After eating you will not be charged, but you have to go to the cash register. This is one of the worst restaurants I have ever eaten at. I get the strong impression that 'restaurant' is a cover and not the actual core business of this company. Stay away!

I am really surprised seeing the reviews of this restaurant on Google. I have had dine-out experience once here and it was nothing short of perfect. We had Tapas and their signature chicken hamburger. And ever since I always try to get a hamburger for take away whenever I am in the neighbourhood. The El Borne Chicken hamburger is easily one of the top 10 burgers I have had during my travel across Europe. During all my visits the staff were nothing but helpful. This quiet little restaurant deserves nothing but more love and appreciation. I would strongly recommend this place if you are looking for a peaceful dining experience by the canals of Utrecht.

Delicious food. Dishes very tasty. Service smooth and friendly. Glass of Sangria is highly recommended!

The food arrived very late and was first placed on another table. And when it finally arrived, something was missing! Albert wasn't too happy! Albert was just very hungry, and had to make do with this...Albert was happy with the free beer on the house, even though he already had a shitty stomach! I would say....go have your snacks elsewhere!🤙

Very friendly staff and delicious tapas! There was a wide choice, including vegetarian. We didn't have to wait long for the food and the portions were generous. Good quality-price ratio!

Benevolent and friendly staff. But the quality of the food did not match that.

The attractive restaurant with tasty dishes and great staff. Everything was excellent!

We had a delicious meal during a total deluge in Utrecht and waited out the rain during our dinner. Service was friendly, beer was cold and dishes were hot. Too bad we were the only ones in the restaurant due to the weather, but we had nothing to complain about.

It's been a long time since I ate such a lousy meal. Minced meatballs in pepper sauce. 2 meatballs in sauce with the skin already on them for 8 euros? 4 euros per ball is ridiculous. Avocado salad with orange. Half a hollowed out avocado with some iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato, but 2 pieces of avocado, certainly not half. Spa blue with injection, half frozen, etc. The 2 young ladies, the clerk, were the nicest and most friendly, but were tied hand and foot... in short. Not recommended

It takes a long time before you get your drink, my friend ordered a martini cocktail and received a martini whiskey for 9 euros that could not be returned. We ordered a menu, which was also very disappointing considering the amount. Never again for us!

Terrible. Waitress absolutely overwhelmed and unfriendly. The Aperol Spritz we ordered was anything but an Aperol Spritz. Asked the owner about it. He didn't care at all.

Ordered the 3 course menu. Taking the order was already difficult for the waitress. In the end, the wrong starter arrived twice. This also went wrong when we moved on to the main course. Our patience had run out. We had to pay for drinks (fine) and starter (less fine, a starter is of course a lot more expensive than the menu). Owner would get angry according to waitress. Once never again

Believe the reviews, we thought it wouldn't be possible... Too bad for words. Little and dirty. Moreover, the food was moldy (puff pastry snack).

Food is not worth the prices at all and it’s not a clean place. You sit next to the channel, that’s really nice

Never had anything so bad, not tapas worthy, ailoli is not ailoli, chicken is tough and the mushrooms seemed to have expired. Also received the wrong order, 1 container was exchanged, the other was first said that we had ordered, it was stated differently on the receipt, but it was neatly removed from the bill. We left everything as it normally would be asked if everything was to your liking, but this did not happen.

Personal advice: Don't go here. - Undermanned and inexperienced service - Price/Quality ratio: Food is much expensive for the quantity, e.g. more than 28 euros for a single, lukewarm string of spare ribs with a sad handful of vegetables and double fried fries - Both main courses served approximately 30 minutes apart due to a supposedly defective oven; However, from the discussion audible from the kitchen staff in the restaurant, it seemed to be a mistake in the dish that had arrived - When paying, we hoped to be able to discuss our experience, but the employee just mumbled the amount and then walked away irritated without saying a word more than the price. Roughly antisocial. Very unfortunate, El Borne. This is how you don't deal with (too many) paying guests.

Nice spot on the canal. Super service and nice service. we forgot a bag and it was brought to us by the alert waiter!

Had dinner this evening. Unfortunately everything was disappointing. We saw on the menu that a 25cl beer costs 5 euros. We think that is quite pricey. As a starter we decided to have sandwiches with herb butter and olive tapenade. The bread was dry, the herb butter was not spreadable and the tapenade tasteless. As a main course we had the chicken from the oven, which, like the tapenade, was very tasteless. We also had the meatballs in spicy tomato sauce. The sauce still had some flavor, the meatballs were dry and felt spongy. Certainly not freshly made on the same day. In addition, you pay 8 euros for 2 small meatballs. That's expensive, especially considering the quality. As a 3rd dish we had "spicy" skewers. We didn't think this was worth the money either. Pity. We expected more (didn't read the other reviews beforehand). We definitely won't be coming back here.

I was very disappointed about the tapas here, the cheese was old, the spanse potato omelette was dry and tasted like a fridge. And expensive too! The location was good.

Very bad food. Expensive paella that is not paella! DO NOT eat there