Posted on

Café Par Hasard – Almere

Ratings : F-D – 4.5/5 | TripAdvisor – 4.5/5 | Facebook – 4.9/5 | Google – 4.2/5

In April 2018 Par Hasard opened their doors in Almere. Located on the Belfort, the restaurant square of Almere.

It’s the first franchise of this concept that has been proven successful in Amsterdam. Richard, the franchisee, has been the chef in Amsterdam for over three years, before opening his own Par Hasard.

The atmosphere is that of a Belgian ‘frietkot’ combined with that of a eatery. Par Hasard has a nice menu, with starters and main courses. Most products are homemade, and that reflects in the taste. The fries are fresh as are their sauces and side dishes.

Special wishes? No problem for Richard. If possible he will accomodate you.

We always enjoy eating at Par Hasard. Service is friendly and professional and fits the cafe feeling of the place. We enjoyed the small sole fish, the satay, the hamburger, the chicken, the fish and chips and of course the ‘zoervleisj’.

You are also welcome for just a drink, or a few. We are sure you will order some nice snacks to go along.

Café Par Hasard Almere  |  Belfort 128  |  1315 VD  Almere

Posted on

Gasterij Stadzigt – Naarden

Ratings : F-D – 3/5| TripAdvisor – 3.5/5 | Facebook – 4.1/5  | Google – 4.1/5

Driving by we have seen the sign ‘Gasterij Stadzigt’ very often and it was one of those places on our list ‘to visit when the occasion arises’.

Last week finally we had a reason the visit this restaurant. It’s located in the middels of a nature park operated by the organization Natuurmonumenten. Of course we are only interested in the part where you can get food and drinks…

Beautiful weather, and luckily we were able to get a table on the terrace.

We ordered drinks and studied the lunch menu. The white wine is Spanish, the girl serving us had no idea of what grape, but of course willing to go inside to check. The beer is from Docqmans, a small brewer in Tiel in the Netherlands but the beer is advertised as Belgium???? Maybe worth some more research…

We ordered the fish trio -advertised on their printed menu as ‘variety of smoked fish and tuna salad’ with bread and butter-, the tuna melt and two veal croquettes on bread.

When served the fish trio was made up of salmon (smoked), some very tasteless and watery crayfish and the tuna salad that looked and tasted like canned tuna without anything done to prepare it and turn in into a salad. We mentioned our disappointment with the waitress who discussed it with the kitchen: “we always do the smoked salmon and the tuna and the third fish is whatever we have of could get our hands on”.
(Strange that the menu on the website states a trio of fish without further specification.)

The tuna melt consisted of one slice of sourdough bread with the same boring tuna thinly spread and of course the cheese melted on top.

The two veal croquettes came on one slice of the sourdough bread.

All very ‘sparse’ and there was not enough value for money. Service was adequate but not very warm or welcoming.

Gasterij Stadzigt  |  Meerkade 2a  |  1412 AB  Naarden

Posted on

Gasterij de Seterse Hoeve – Oosterhout

Ratings : F-D – 4/5| TripAdvisor – 3.5/5 | Facebook – 4.4/5  | Google – 4/5

We have visited the Seterse Hoeve more then once over the eight years it exists. A nice continues factor in de Oosterhoutse food scene!

Quality is always as to be expected and is better then average. We enjoyed the  chicken salad, the salad with Asian and Italian tuna and the omelette with mushroom.

 

 

 

 

 

Service is very friendly and quick and staff consist of a mix of young and older experienced people. However, this is no guarantee for good communication. We ordered the salad tuna without rucola. Our waitress had checked with kitchen staff and this would not be a problem. It was clearly written on the order ticket, but the salad still had rucola in it. Our waitress and the a woman who we suspect of being the owner, both went into the kitchen to straighten this out. They came back with the well meant apologies from the chef.

Salads were nice and fresh. We were a little disappointed by the stripe of balsamico on both salads. Seems they start every salad like that. If so it’s pure decoration and has nothing to do with taste or flavor.

Desserts were nice and all in all we had a very relaxed and nice lunch.

The Seterse Hoeve also has te opportunity to rent private rooms -with terrace- for parties.

Gasterij de Seterse Hoeve  |  Vijf Eikenweg 56  |  4903 RK  Oosterhout

Posted on

Restaurant Bentinck – Amerongen

Ratings : F-D – 3.5/5 | TripAdvisor – 4.5/5 | Facebook – 4.9/5  | Google – 4.7/5

Driving through the Dutch countryside we decided on a visit of the Buitenplaats (estate) Amerongen. This beautiful estate is the place of a castle and in one of the old outbuildings you’ll find restaurant Bentinck.

We found a table on the terrace with a great view of the castle. We had to ask for a menu and overall the service was not too observant. We enjoyed a few  neighborhood beers and a Bobby’s gin tonic with slices of orange with cloves.

From their ‘bites’ menu we ordered the cheese platter, the shrimps in panko and the homemade small meat croquettes. The cheese platter had five very small pieces of cheese on it. Shrimps and croquettes, six of each, were nice.

Unfortunately we had to ask the staff to clear the table. When ordering a second round of drinks they apparently didn’t notice the snacks were finished so they left the platters on our table.

We left at 16:12 hrs. and everybody was very busy setting tables for dinner and placing the reserved signs on them. This seemed very early to us, and the effect was that people arriving just for a drink were denied a table. Maybe they have a good reason, but it seems they are missing out on business that way.

When we are in the area again maybe we go back to Bentinck because of the nice terrace but it’s not on the top of our list.

Restaurant Bentinck | Drostestraat 12 | 3958 BK Amerongen

Posted on

De Kluis – Doorn

Ratings : F-D – 3.5/5 | TripAdvisor – 4/5 | Facebook – 4.2/5  | Google – 3.9/5

Food-drinks.info needed a lunch while touring on a beautifull and sunny day in August. We are always on the lookout for nice place to have a bite to eat. That is how we found ourselves on the terrace of De Kluis (The Vault) in Doorn.

Bert started with a latte macchiato and a pastry called ‘skitaart’ and I had a cappuccino. After that we decided to order from the lunch menu. We had a sandwich roll with warm meat and peanut sauce and the chef’s surprise.

Normally this type of sandwich is made with slices of roulade but this one was made with ham, and lots of it. Unfortunately the request to put butter on the sandwich wasn’t honored. Ham and bread tasted great and made a nice lunch.

The chef’s surprise consisted of four slices of French bread with carpaccio, ham, goats cheese and salmon. Made me think of pinchos.

All four were very tasty and fresh with appropriate dressings.

 

Very friendly staff, nice location and terrace in the center of Doorn. Food-drinks.info would go back whenever in the neighborhood.

Gasterij De Kluis | Plein 1923 nr. 24 | 3941 ER Doorn

Posted on

Lou street food bar – Almere

Ratings : F-D – 4.0/5 | TripAdvisor – N/A| Facebook – 5/5  | Google – N/A

Earlier food-drinks.info informed you that Lou street food bar is opening on August 11 in Almere. We promised you to report back after our visit.

Lou has a great variety of street food and an extensive choice of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The interior has an industrial look and feel with plenty of seats. Outside you’ll find a big terrace where you can sit and relax under the big screens with heating and light.

When you visit Lou, for a drink, a snack or more, simply take a seat and a staff member will be with you soon to take your order.

Food-drinks.info visited with a company of three. We enjoyed a gin tonic, a Brugse Zot Dubbel (draft beer) and a Coca-Cola while making a choice from Lou’s food menu. We decided on the Taco’s Gamba’s, a Black Jack’s Hotdog (by Brandt & Levie) and the homemade fries with Beef Stew.

The food is very nice presented in real street food style, on cutting boards, grease proof paper and recycled (kraft) containers. Everything tasted great and fresh. We already decided to go back soon to have a go at one of their burgers made with Angus beef.

Lou is a welcome addition to the Almere eateries. Without any advertising they simply opened the door and started. The public of Almere is drawn to the place because of it’s location and the inviting look and feel. Of course the moderate prices are a big help too.

Food-drinks.info understands Lou will be open 7 days a week from 11.00 till 23.00 and in the near future on Fridays and Saturdays till 05.00.

Let us know what your thoughts on Lou are by leaving a comment below!

Lou street food bar |  Grote Markt 84  |  1315 JJ  Almere

Posted on

Blushing – Blaricum

Ratings : F-D – 4.0/5 | TripAdvisor – 3.5/5 | Facebook – 4.5/5  | Google – 4.3/5

Food-drinks.info visited Blusing in Blaricum. Blushing is wel known in The Netherlands mainly because it’s owned by Gordon Heuckeroth, a singer/presenter and TV-personality.

Gordon opened his first Blushing in July 2014 in Blaricum, the place he used to live. Blushing has expanded and can also be found in Amsterdam (since May 2015) and Rotterdam (since June 2017).

Blushing stands for ‘blushing and glowing with health’. They offer alternatives for the overly fat and sweet products usually served in these types of establishments.

Blushing serves breakfast and lunch and you can enjoy coffee, tea, superfood & shakes.

Bert enjoyed a lemon meringue pie (sweetened with stevia) and a latte macchiato with curcuma. Both very tasty.

I had a Pzalm 50 (smoked salmon, cream cheese light with chives, avocado, rocket salad, chopped red onions and capers) on a slice of very nice dark sourdough bread. The salmon was plenty, fresh, tasty and not to thin sliced.

Good food, in combination with a friendly staff, a nice location in Blaricum and a cozy terrace made for a nice lunch.

Blushing  |  Huizerweg 4  |  1261 AW Blaricum

Posted on

Eighteen restaurant lounge – Enkhuizen

Ratings : F-D – 3.0/5 | TripAdvisor – 4.0/5 | Facebook – 4.5/5  | Google – 4.5/5

We were in Enkhuizen. A small touristy town in the north of North-Holland. One of the main streets is the Melkmarkt, where you find numerous restaurants and places to snack. We decided to go for lunch at Restaurant Lounge Eighteen.

We enjoyed the terrace overlooking this rather busy street. Service is very prompt and friendly. We had our cappuccino’s and checked out the menu.

Bert deciden on the tomato soup that, according to the menu, has an asian twist to it. The waitress said the mention of asian is because it is rather spicy. I decided on a steak sandwich with steak strips, mushrooms, onions, paprika and HP Sauce.

The tomato soup was served in a big soup plate. We couldn’t find anything asian about is. It wasn’t spicy, and the added zucchini and rocket salad are definitely not asian. You wonder why the description on the menu doesn’t match the product.

The steak sandwich contained plenty of steak. Unfortunately just a few onions and mushroom. The tast of the HP Sauce got lost because of the salad on the sandwich.

All in all nothing special. Fair product for reasonable prices. Next time I visit Enkhuizen I’ll try another restaurant.

Eighteen restaurant lounge  |  Melkmarkt 4  |  1601 HC Enkhuizen

Posted on

De Kooi – Bunschoten-Spakenburg

Ratings : F-D – 3.5/5 | TripAdvisor – 3.5/5 | Facebook – N/A | Google – 4.3/5

During our trips through the Dutch country side we often passed De Kooi. It’s a big venue a bit isolated just outside the village of Bunschoten-Spakenburg. It never really appealed to us, but everytime we said we should find a moment to stop and visit.

On friday the 21st of July we decided to have a lunch at De Kooi and check it out. We parked at the back and entered the big terrace. The tables were clean but the chairs a rather bulky plastic and difficult to lift. They produced a lot of noise scraping over the surface of the terrace.

Staff is friendly and quick. We enjoyed a cappucino and a latte machiato, both with milk that was heated properly. Bert had two slices of bread with warm meat and a peanut sauce. Big portion of meat, good regulare sauce and very tasty and fresh bread. I had a club sandwich with was supposed to be smoked chicken. It’s always dissapointing when served with chicken roulade instead off a thicker sliced chicken breast.

De Kooi  |  Zevenhuizerstraat 1  |  3751 LC  Bunschoten-Spakenburg

Posted on

Wilma’s Place – Almere

Ratings : F-D – 3.5/5 | TripAdvisor – 4.0/5 | Facebook – 4.9/5 | Google – 4.3/5

Very  close to our house is Wilma’s Place, located in a industrial/business zone very typical to Dutch cities. We have visited this place for the first time years ago. We were thinking about a place for a quick lunc and Wilma came to mind.

We sat at the terrace on a round, threelegged table that required some searching where we would be able to lean without tipping the table. Finaly we found a more or less stable position.

We both had the meatball sandwich. One dressed with salad, baby mushrooms, bean sprouts and peanut sauce. That was one of Wilma’s weekly specials. The other regular. Nice meatbals, with nice presentation and everything to taste. Good place for a quick lunch.

Wilma’s Place  |  Markerkant 1123  |  1316 AK  Almere