Service Rating: 3/10
A waiter's job is not always easy. He or she (he, in this case), is the crucial link between the restaurant and the kitchen. He can make or ruin an evening. He has to stay in the background but still be available. He has to let the food do the talking. I do not believe it is a job for people who have failed in other professions. You need to have a lot of self-respect to be able to have the right amount of personality and the right amount of servility. The waiter is not a part of the table and not your co-diner. He does not have to get involved in your conversations. His job is to ensure that the customers have a positive dining experience. Period.
I had heard a lot of recommendations about this restaurant. The moment we stepped in, the waiter was overbearing. The restaurant is rather small with about 20 seats or so. We were the first visitors and we were told while making the reservation that we had a time slot between 7 and 9 pm. We were gently reminded of this again when we came in. However, in a span of 10 minutes or so he came about 3 to 4 times around our table to ask whether we have chosen. He was loud and intrusive. The restaurant was too small for his personality.
When the service is bad, there is always an added pressure on the food to be very good. This was not the case here. We had one course, 'Patatje uit Zeebrugge' (Potatoes from Zeebrugge). A simple dish of baked potatoes and prawns. The portion size was too big and tasted very average. It was like a big blob of mashed potatoes on the plate. I finished half of it. With a dish like this, if you do not like it, you are too filled up to order anything else. I saw our next table eating 'mergpijpjes met toast' (bone marrow with toast), which looked rather tasty. I regretted my decision not to order this. The diners (4 old women), seem to be enjoying this. I do not want to write off this restaurant based on just one experience and want to go back and try the 'mergpijpjes', but the prospect of having to face the waiter again makes me think twice.
Address: Steendam 66, 9000 Gent
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