Review of Charelli Bar Restaurant in Breda, Netherlands

My partner chose Charelli as the place of choice for my birthday dinner (actually our first and second options were closed on Sundays, so it was the third option!)

Having visited Charelli Breda before, for coffee, we already knew it had a nice atmosphere. Located near the city center, this restaurant was very convenient for us. We found out on our 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 as I haven’t lived in the Netherlands for that long!) I was pleased to discover 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 as it was so slow. It took them about ten minutes to bring our drinks. The Riesling was too cold but 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, chips and a vegetable omelette as a side (which was actually quite tasty). My partner also had a steak, although my mushroom and truffle 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 quite some 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 are important 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 get our own coats from his cloakroom, which didn’t impress me much. 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 booked and there was quite a lot of staff. Unfortunately, they were distracted and it was difficult to attract their attention. I’m not that picky 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.