Great food for a good price in the Vondelpark area. The staff are welcoming and are happy to provide recommendations for which salsas to have with your food. The portions are satisfying and the liquados are delicious! Highly recommend.
The quality and service have deteriorated tremendously. The program was supposed to start at 7 o'clock, but they were still busy testing the microphone. After dinner, we waited for dessert; despite pointing it out multiple times, it still hasn't arrived. We decided to leave and pick up the dessert, but that was also only half-finished. It is clear that it has changed ownership.
We booked lunch at De Veranda for 14:00 for my birthday. We indicated the birthday in the reservation and, as specifically requested during booking, also informed the restaurant of two allergies in our group: gluten and garlic.
As we were a group of 9, we had a limited menu, which we completely understood and had no issue with. Unfortunately, almost everything else about the experience was disappointing.
The service was genuinely some of the worst I have experienced in the Netherlands. And to put that into context: I have lived here for 9 years. I am very familiar with the general level and style of Dutch restaurant service, so my expectations are realistic. This was well below that.
Almost immediately after we sat down, we were asked what we wanted to drink, before we’d really had a chance to look. After saying we needed a moment, getting our server’s attention again became an ongoing challenge. I had to repeatedly wave and actively try to catch her attention to order drinks, ask for menus, order food, and later ask for the bill. The restaurant was not particularly busy.
When ordering, we again mentioned the allergies and specifically asked for confirmation that the burger did not contain garlic. We never received that confirmation. Another person in our group explicitly ordered their meal without cheese. It arrived with cheese, and when we pointed this out, the reaction seemed to be an expectation that they would simply accept it anyway. We had to insist that the meal be replaced with what was actually ordered.
Then the food arrived in batches. Three of nine people received their meals first. Around 5–10 minutes later, a few more arrived, and the burgers came another 5–10 minutes after that. This left some people eating while others were still waiting, or sitting with food getting cold. For a group already ordering from a limited menu, I really don’t understand why the meals couldn’t be coordinated better.
Unfortunately, the food didn’t redeem the experience. Most dishes were €17+ without a side, the portions were small enough that several of us were still hungry afterwards, and the quality did not justify the price. The bread on the brisket was so thin that calling it a sandwich felt generous, and the burger patty was extremely dry. The best thing we ate was probably the fries.
My friends had made me a birthday cake and we asked whether we could serve it. We were told we could, for €2.50 per person because we hadn’t arranged it beforehand. Fair enough, that part is on us, although after the experience we’d had by that point it certainly didn’t add much goodwill.
Finally, I asked for the bill because we were ready to leave. Instead of bringing it, our server proceeded to completely clear and clean the entire table while we sat there waiting and watching. Only after she had finished did she bring the bill. After spending the entire lunch struggling to get her attention, it was an almost comical end to the experience.
The terrace is lovely. Unfortunately, that is about the only positive thing I can say. For the price, the food was lacklustre, the portions were disappointing, and the service was truly horrendous.
A birthday lunch we were looking forward to became a restaurant experience none of us would want to repeat.
Great place , nice quality of food but the dutch girl is 2nd time that brings the receipt but at the card payment she add different ammount... well tips should be earned not taken sneaky...
I live in Amsterdam and i have seen this story again by local waiters or bartenders...