My partner chose Charelli as the venue of choice for my birthday dinner (actually our first and second choices were closed on Sundays so it was third choice!)
Having visited Charelli Breda before, for coffee, we already knew it had a nice atmosphere. Located close to the city center, this restaurant was very convenient for us. We found out on arrival that it was quite busy. About three quarters of the tables were full. There was a bit of confusion as to where we would sit and we had to wait about ten minutes to get a menu and order something to drink.
Browsing through the menu (mine was in English, which is always helpful since I haven’t lived in the Netherlands for that long!) I was happy to find that there were oysters there. My partner loves them too so we ordered a dozen oysters to start and a glass of white wine each. You can buy wine by the glass or by the bottle. There are usually four whites and four reds to choose from, if you want to buy wine by the glass.
poor service
The service was already getting a bit annoying because it was so slow. It took them about ten minutes to bring our drinks. The Riesling was too cold but it tasted good. The oysters were fantastic and I highly recommend them.
Main races
For our main meals I chose the tournedos which were very tender and came with potatoes (which didn’t taste all that fresh) as well as a nice salad, fries and a vegetable omelet on the side (which was actually very tasty). My partner also had a steak, although my truffle mushroom sauce was much better than his roquefort sauce.
We had a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon with the meal, which was also good. For dessert we had a “chocolate delight” which is chocolate mousse with fruit sorbet and a rhubarb crumble. Desserts were great. All the food was really good. It’s a shame the service was so mediocre.
General impressions
We sat at the table for a long time with empty plates and glasses, trying in vain to get the attention of one of the waiters and once we asked for the wine list and the waitress forgot to bring it. It’s often the little things that matter in restaurants and the service really let Charelli down. In the end, after paying the bill, we were completely ignored so we had to go find our own coats from his cloakroom, which I wasn’t too impressed with. So much for safety!
I would give Charelli Breda’s food an eight out of ten and the service three and a half. The place was not fully packed and there were quite a few staff. Unfortunately, they were distracted and it was difficult to attract their attention. I’m not that fussy normally, and quite forgiving if the food is up to par, but the service was really bad and I probably wouldn’t go to Charelli Breda again due to the very poor service.