Proto - Restaurant in Lage Zijde

Had a delicious meal by the water. Attentive service.

Once again, we had a fantastic meal; very varied, unconventional, fresh, and particularly tasty. The kitchen team is cooking wonderfully. The attentive service is professionally managed, delicious wines, and of course, a beautiful terrace 👍 highly recommended 😊

The location is great, the food amazing, and the service fast and friendly. Highly recommended.

We stopped by boat and wanted to have a drink with friends. A somewhat uninterested waiter directed us to a table next to which people were smoking heavily. We asked for another spot and were given one immediately. Unsolicited, a sticky, laminated menu was then placed on our table. The small vase of flowers on the table contained foul-smelling, cloudy water, and the flowers were wilted. We ordered drinks and were asked if we wanted a bottle of water with them right away. That was welcome, given the 30-degree temperature this afternoon. The drinks were served, and a moment later, we were asked if we had been able to make a choice!!!! Even though we only wanted something to drink at 2:45 PM. We asked for some bar snacks. The waiter, who clearly showed his disapproval with his facial expression, told us that they didn't have that anyway—bar snacks or appetizers. He did mention, however, that on yet another laminated menu, he had a small section where it stated that we could order bitterballen and some cheese sticks. We received this menu and ordered bitterballen and cheese sticks. 8 cheese sticks were €12.50 and 8 bitterballen were also €12.50. We immediately ordered a new bottle of water, but we had to wait a long time for it. This is very disappointing; the food served at other tables looked good, but the rest was far below par. I will not be going back here.

One of the best restaurants I have ever been to. The food is really top-notch and the staff is polite.

Great restaurant with good service and delicious food on the quay in Alphen aan den Rijn.

This is not the best place in my life, but everyone will be able to choose a delicious dish for themselves.

We arrived by boat. You can moor at their terrace. The staff are very polite. An incredibly beautiful restaurant.

One of our favorite places in Alphen. Great food and drinks, beautiful back patio right on the river. Friendly service. Highly recommended!

Very friendly and attentive staff. The food is fine, but the price-quality ratio is somewhat out of proportion as far as I am concerned. Most main courses are priced around 30-40 euros. Portion of fries: 8.50, bottle of water 7.00, etc. etc. With these prices, the quality should be exceptional; unfortunately, it was not.

We had a delicious meal on a hot day of 28 degrees. We started outside on the terrace, but there was almost no wind or cooling, so we moved inside to the air conditioning. Nicely decorated with comfortable soft benches and chairs. Friendly staff and quick service. The food was very good and flavorful. We will definitely come back here again.

Nice place Good food friendly people And accessible from the water.

The food is amazing. Super good service and staff. The atmosphere is always nice and warm. We'd love to come back.

A real treat in terms of food. Beautiful dishes, delicious wines. Good, relaxed atmosphere. Definitely worth a repeat visit.

Very good food, service ok, a tad too informal, atmosphere ok

Best place in Alphen, so delicious and the staff does everything for you

What a surprise. Just stopped in Alphen aan den Rijn for a bit. While strolling around, we passed Proto. Time for lunch? And just like that, we found a place we will be coming back to often.

Friendly and efficient staff, a neat establishment, and great prices. The food was tasty, although my dish did come with quite a lot of sauce. All in all, a good experience!

Very sweet waiters, super sociable, and we got the food very quickly. The club sandwich is highly recommended!

We had a really good meal; everything was incredibly flavorful with super interesting flavor combinations. The food was beautifully presented and the place was very well-maintained. Friendly staff, definitely worth a repeat visit. We sat outside in a lovely spot by the water and in the sun!

The story is simply very good: the most beautiful terrace in Alphen aan den Rijn, the most beautiful interior in the region. Super friendly service. Owners always on the floor. Extensive lunch and dinner menu. Excellent value for money. What more could you want?

The food on our plates was tasty, but very small. And very awkward to serve. Shared dining was out of the question for us. After asking several times for our drinks, they finally arrived after 15 minutes. It wasn't very busy at the time.

Had a lovely lunch, what a nice place to eat!

You walk in on a Saturday night at 10:15 PM and ask for the menu to pick something tasty to go with your drinks. When you try to order, you're told they're out of snacks. Just after ten!! Not even a nut or anything. What a shame, and that on a Saturday night.

Had a super delicious lunch at Proto today. The tuna tartare was divine. Very special. Then the sea bass topped it all off. Delicious food. Very special.

Excellent food in a good atmosphere in a beautiful location. Service was great!

From start to finish, it was fantastic, relaxed, and the food was delicious. The service was also excellent. Why not 4 stars? I expected real whipped cream 😊

The food was delicious. The wine was also delicious. The kind of top-notch service you don't often encounter. The table was quiet. Everything I appreciate for a pleasant evening dining with friends.

UHH??!! We were sitting outside on the patio for dinner as the only occupied table, but apparently, that didn't matter. The fire pit was turned off, the lights dimmed, and the staff started clearing away the cushions around us. And that at 7:30 PM!! Not very customer-friendly. We just asked for the bill and left.

Fantastic restaurant The food was delicious. Unfortunately, it took over an hour for my main course to arrive. That's the only downside. Otherwise, it was great!

The best restaurant in n Alphen ann de Rijn, and it lives up to its name.

Delicious food, fantastic service, lovely atmosphere, and cleanliness are also worth noting. I recommend it.

The food is delicious. The atmosphere is relaxed. The staff is friendly. Highly recommended.

Delicious food. The oysters are highly recommended. Friendly service from the staff. We had a wonderful evening thanks to you.

Delicious food, nice atmosphere. Service was excellent. Not too fast, not too slow. Highly recommended. One small drawback: when making the reservation and also at the restaurant itself, I asked if a small gift or surprise would be possible for my father's 80th birthday (with dessert). Unfortunately, that was completely forgotten. A bit of a shame.

What a terrible experience today, September 13th. The blonde waitress behind the bar was very arrogant. She didn't want to help us and gave very curt answers. Don't come here again. She really felt too good to help. I think you work here and you're supposed to just be normal and do your job. Why do you think you're better than the people you're supposed to help because you chose to be? Nobody asked you to work here? Gen Z mentality; people don't want to work anymore and just do the bare minimum. You really should fire people like that, because I see more reviews here about arrogant staff. Next time someone asks you a normal question, maybe you should answer in a normal tone, without blinking arrogantly, and say you don't know and we have to figure it out ourselves. Hospitality training will do you good, girl! But maybe that's too difficult for you. I've heard this girl being arrogant before. Stop it! 🛑

Very small portions of food, and the pasta contained a lot of black pepper.

Tasty and fast service, but pricey

A family restaurant with a beautiful view,amazing food and the best service!!What to ask more .

Beautiful location, but unfortunately, that was it. We ordered the two-course lunch menu; salmon ceviche and carpaccio were good, but nothing special. The main course was cold for three people, and the meat wasn't cooked to perfection. The wait times were very long; we were in the restaurant for two hours for two courses. Absolutely not justified for the relatively high price.

Yesterday I sat down at Proto for a business lunch. And I have to say: if you want to do business with a smile, this is it. The food? To put it bluntly: excellent. The kitchen knows exactly how to subtly convince your taste buds to come back again. From the first bite to the last crumb, it felt like the chef was thinking, "We're not just going to feed them, we're going to make them happy." The view of the Rhine is a bonus of the "should really be charged extra" variety, but thankfully, they don't. The terrace is spacious and inviting. You can easily linger there for a while, even if it's just to pretend you're still deep in conversation when you're actually just enjoying the sun. And the service? Friendly, quick, and with just the right amount of humor to keep the formality of a business lunch light. They sense when you need something, even before you realize it yourself. In short: Proto is a great place to do business, but also a place where you can easily forget you're actually working.

Fantastic atmosphere, exceptional hospitality. A unique location in Alphen aan den Rijn. Thank you so much!

Last night I had dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. We had a lovely time on the terrace by the water. The service was reasonable, and the food was delicious and plentiful. And after dinner, you finally have to pay the bill. And that's the problem. My brother quietly went to pay without us knowing. At some point, my wife goes inside to pay. My brother says, "I've already paid." So, hopefully, she comes back and tells me it's already been paid. But to our surprise, my wife paid the same bill again. How is this possible? Did the waiter who gave my wife the bill really not see that it had already been paid? Or did he think he'd leave a big tip tonight? Still, I'm curious how this is even possible. Ruud van de Weteringh

Delicious food and fantastic service.

Great food, great people working there. Only waiting time was a bit on the long side

Update June 2025! Visited Proto the day before yesterday, not been there for a long time. A super big disappointment. Starts with a dirty wine glass, returned, glass is cleaned with a cloth, get the same glass back. I ask for an explanation regarding the proto steak. Get the guarantee that no bone marrow is included. Fine. Unfortunately, there is a lot of marrow present. The steak is tough and the sauce almost makes you sick, a sickly feeling of eating custard that is just not good anymore. The dish goes back to the kitchen. I then get another dish as compensation and choose something safe, a tournedos. Of course I get the question how I want it prepared. Medium, so it can take a bit longer because it is busy in the kitchen. But it would be a 'rush order'. Indeed it took a bit longer because the tournedos is served, burnt on the outside and as dry as grit on the inside. At the table they quickly try to pour truffle sauce over it. This dish also went back to the kitchen. Then I walked to the owner, because I thought it was strange that he didn't come to check if 2 dishes from 1 table were returned to the kitchen. I was offered a 3rd dish, but my appetite was completely gone, as was my trust in the kitchen. Fortunately, the owner was so sporting as not to charge for the meals and we were given a cup of coffee on the house. But all praise for the waitress at our table. She really understood the situation. --------------- Visited the restaurant yesterday, the first time after the reopening. Not knowing what to expect, we were very pleasantly surprised with a beautiful, tasteful interior and a nice welcome. The restaurant has a nicer appearance than before. Smooth, correct and pleasant service and the new menu showed surprisingly few tapas. That's what we came for. We went through the choice of dishes, obtained further information, and placed our order. The chosen corn-chicken and sea bream dishes are a feast for the eyes and excellent in taste. On departure, complimented the kitchen team in the open kitchen. Definitely recommended!

We had a wonderful meal on the terrace. The staff looked after us so well, and the food was sooooo delicious!

The service wasn't great today, which is a shame for such a beautiful place. I won't be back.

Everything is perfect at Proto! Super-friendly service, everything is served on time, beautifully presented dishes with fresh ingredients, delicious, hot coffee (which is often different!), and a prime location on the water! Highly recommended!

Atmosphere and service top! Food reasonable

Nice meal. Nice operation. Owners help and are happy to have a chat. Nice open kitchen. Brings liveliness.

The location is absolutely fantastic, the terrace by the water looks beautiful. Unfortunately, the service is at a level where one star is perhaps too many. Arrogance at its finest! A wipe over the table is almost too much, "I've seen it, sir." When asked if we could have a snack, we were given the menu, and after 15 minutes, we weren't asked if we had made a choice...the choice, as far as we're concerned, is...a different terrace. 🤔🤔

Nice place. One of the servers left a lot to be desired. When I asked why there was no pepper sauce, but gravy, I was given a rather nonchalant response: "We have pepper gravy"? While the menu said PEPPER SAUCE. The T-bone had too much muscle and no T-bone.

Very comfortable and warm decor - both indoor as well as outside on the waterside on the Rijn, very welcoming restaurant with extremely gracious owners and staff serving up the most delicious dishes with a very successful tweak to traditional ware. The salmon creviche, the steak tartare, the grilled tuna, the Proto steak, the Black Angus burger and the sweet potato fries want you coming back for more. The lunch menu is equally tempting with the excellent open sandwiches (salmon & avocado; salmon egg benedict & carpaccio) and the salads andcpoke bowls - not to mention chicken club sandwich, the house speciality. Interesting wine list at reasonable prices.

If you want delicious food with beautiful taste sensations and top quality, you should definitely go to Proto! The atmosphere, the nice staff and the fantastic kitchen make the experience complete!!

Delicious food. Dessert is also super tasty (freshly made cookie with ice cream)

Without exaggeration, rarely eaten so well! Very friendly staff and of course a top location.

Delicious food. Nice, cozy and informal service. Very nice location, on the terrace along the Oude Rijn.

Fantastic experience. Not only is the food mouth-watering but also the atmosphere, experience and service are fantastic! We have often enjoyed lunch here and tonight we had a delicious dinner. We will enjoy it here much more often!

Nice place for lunch and dinner. With nice weather even sitting by the water, gives an extra good atmosphere. Always hospitable. Both business and private so a great place to stop for a culinary treat.

Had a great meal at Proto. Friendly service and great information about the dishes. They are beautifully presented and taste delicious. Really recommended, honestly. Also a beautiful view of the Rhine where boats occasionally sail. Nice to sit!

Had a nice meal at Proto. Try the sushi bowl, it was fantastic!

The food was good and very tasty and fresh and looked very good! Service was a lot less, although it was not completely full at the time, I think it was about 60 percent full, I had to wait a long time and I really had to ask the service if I could order several times, the atmosphere was fine, no tops and no tips, so that was quite fine.

Nice staffs, very chilly atmosphere,delicious snacks!

What a nice cozy tent! Had a nice lunch with a friend of my mother, had the Black Angus burger with accessories! Thank you very much for the good service from the hostess and gentleman! Definitely see you next visit for lunch.

Nice lunch menu with lots of choice. It is a bit more expensive than average, but the dishes are also larger than average. Food looks great. The atmosphere and decor are very cozy. Staff very nice. It just sometimes took quite a while before we could order something.

Great! Service top notch. Friendly and helpful. Kitchen top. In short, highly recommended! Especially after the fire, they recovered with all their might! Top! Property beautifully restored.

The food was sublimely delicious. Rose was really lovely. Staff was very friendly. Really a recommendation.

Very nice restaurant, atmospheric and very friendly & helpful staff.

The four of us had dinner in an attractive restaurant. Starter 2x steak tartare “tonato”, salmon yoghurt ponzo and sea bass & tuna ceviche. The steak looks and tastes delicious. The salmon is very tasty and the sea bass has a very special taste and is therefore positively surprising. The main course was duck breast kushikatsu, lightly fried tuna and 2x beef tenderloin tournedo. The beef tenderloin is as it should be with a nice sauce. The duck breast is a dish that you do not easily eat at home and therefore a good choice for me and for everyone.

1e Kerstdag gevierd bij Proto met een heerlijk 5-gangen diner in een geweldige sfeer. Een groot compliment voor al het personeel wat het mede tot een onvergetelijke avond heeft gemaakt. Van binnenkomst tot vertrek was het een heerlijke, onbezorgde avond met lekkere relaxte kerst tunes, fantastische aankleding, gezellige & vrolijke medewerkers en heerlijke gerechten. Team Proto, BEDANKT!

Reserved a table for a Christmas dinner for 8 people, excellent reception and beautiful decoration of the room, great immediate impression. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of several staff members, this great impression soon disappeared again, continuous waiting for dishes with 45-60 minutes between each dish and rude service from a specific lady. We have been at the table for 3 hours now and still have to wait for two dishes. Thanks for ruining our Christmas dinner Proto! class!

Had dinner at Proto for the first time on Saturday evening. The ambiance is very nice, a bit fancy but cozy. Tuna and aparagus as a starter was very tasty, perfect bite for the asparagus. Cod as a main course and a tournedos once. We both really enjoyed it, delicious food. The service was pleasant, the young people also did their best. The dessert was surprising and delicious. We'll be back!

Proto is een goed restaurant met kwalitatief hoogstaand eten en uitstekende bediening. Entourage is smaakvol, prachtige inrichting. Ben geen vleeseter (eet het liefst vis) maar de ossenhaas tournedos is echt een aanrader! Bedienend personeel is zeer gastvrij en altijd met een glimlach op hun gezicht.

Delicious lunch, Smoked Salmon with Avocado, Green Asparagus and poached egg and Hollandaise sauce and a friend's Club Sandwich. Another delicious cake with chocolate mousse. Very friendly service with humor. Beautifully decorated restaurant with a Christmas atmosphere! Fine! Clearly pleasant atmosphere in the kitchen!

Much too loud and bassy music that does not suit this type of restaurant. Music cannot be adjusted so that the same penetrating tone comes from all speakers.

Food is always good. This is a rebuilt restaurant that has certainly retained the atmosphere of the old one. You notice customer friendliness when you enter. Even if they don't know you. You feel recognised. That is a gift of customer focus that many people can learn from. If you order food it takes a while even though it was not busy. That's probably because you get a work of art on your plate. My satay bun (steamed) was not very hot. I don't like lukewarm food, hence four stars. Taste was great!

We called in for a meal after visiting the Theatre close by. We were seated in an area where we could see the chefs at work, which always pleases me as I know nothing can be hidden. We ordered the steak, which was cooked exactly as requested, and it came with sweet potato and some vegetables. It was a large meal and worth the money. We had a sweet and both were really tasty and refreshing after a large meal. The meal was reasonably priced and very tasty. The staff were excellent and very attentive, without being intrusive. A lovely meal at a great restaurant, with a cosey atmosphere.

Great place to eat. Fair prices and very good food

Really nice place with an outdoor area overlooking the river, I ate fresh salmon that melted in my mouth accompanied by various vegetables around it - edamame and other oriental ones - and rice with a mayonnaise sauce, while my partner delighted in an excellent hamburger and French fries. Beer of course! Very kind and attentive staff. I really recommend 🌻

I've had a delicious steak a few times now. We were also allowed to come in quickly and order something when the kitchen would close within 8 minutes. Great service!

Delicious food, cozy atmosphere.

Reasonable weather to sit in the canopy! Were kindly received. Went for lunch. Delicious dishes and drinks. Top....

Had a great lunch on the terrace on the Oude Rijn

Lunch or dinner is recommended at this restaurant. With great creativity, they prepare the most exclusive dishes. Both eye and tongue are caressed by what Nicos and Alexandros offer to their guests. Bring your guests and you will be doing them a big favour. On 16 September I was able to let myself and two girlfriends indulge in culinary delights, so they in turn also brought guests along. It's great that Alphen has such a good restaurant. Thank you and good luck gentlemen, we are proud of you. Diny Perotti .

Beautiful location on the water.

Eaten here often, tasty and varied. Service is great, the guy makes the tent. The atmosphere on the water is wonderful.

Delicious food. Beautiful dishes. Delicious dessert.

Such a delicious meal again. Excellent. I'm a fan. And it is also very nice to relax on the terrace in the sun.

Just do it. OMFG. Just go. Oysters. Wine. Cocktails. Beautiful, experimental and adventurous dishes. My new favourite hideaway spot on the river in Alphen.

Outstanding in every sense of the word

Superlekker eten, fijne bediening. Een echte aanrader! We waren met een flinke groep mensen en alles verliep vlekkeloos.

Friendly service, delicious food, in a great location, and when the weather is nice you can have lunch on the terrace by the water. Top restaurant!

Last Sunday we had another delicious meal at Proto. It was so wonderful that we were still talking about it two days later.

Komen hier vaak om te borrelen, lunchen & dineren. Proto heeft t lekkerste teras van Alphen dat is een feit. Lunch en borrelen is altijd perfect. Personeel is zeer vriendelijk en behulpzaam. Diner vind ik matig. Staat nier helemaal in verhouding. Wij zijn geen grote eters. Porties zijn klein. 5 stukjes ravioli voor 27,50 vind ik een hoop geld. Het smaakte wel erg goed. Snap het ook wel, ze zitten op een A locatie. Daar betaal je ook voor.

Nice service, food and atmosphere. I love their fresh cooked bread served with olive oil and salt 🧂 😋.

Very polite staff with extremely taste food. A bit on the pricey end but worth it

Sat here today with some friends for a beer. We had already been waiting for a beer for 20 minutes, but apparently this is not allowed after 5 p.m. No one came to tell us this. What a sad mess here.

EXQUISITELY good food and EXCELLENT FRIENDLY service by Anne-Sophie & Nicky!

We always come back here for the tastiest apple pie and carrot cake. It does feel less that the owners are standing on the terrace watching while the employees are running wild. Maarja, the carrot cake cannot be beat.