De Stadshal

I came for a special occasion, made a reservation, everything was great. We arrived, the lady up front asked to take our coats and took us to our table. It took a while to get the attention of a waiter, but after a while we got around to ordering our food.
I had cod on grits, and I was sorely disappointed. I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of the cod, since it tasted like it wasn’t fresh and had been frozen. The grits were also cold when the dish arrived to the table.
However, the waiters are very polite and are very knowledgeable about their wine selections and the menu items.

I would totally give this restaurant a 5 Star review if the service was better. Part of the service is Dutch style service which means that they don’t come to your table often and you have to flag them down to get their attention. But if you get the server named Mark, then you will receive impeccable, attentive service (US standards of great service). Now, that’s talk about the good things:1) Convenience — if you are staying in the Hilton hotel then the convenience is the best because it is inside the hotel. Breakfast is FREE if you are a Gold hhonors member. 2) Food– Although the portions at times are gourmet style (which means you can pay up to 30 € for 5 bites of food)… it is consistent with great taste and presentation. 3) Ambiance — it is simply beautiful. A nice bar area with mood lighting and leather couches, lots of glass, and just a beautiful restaurant.

First of all, I’m usually not a fan of hotel restaurants but this one is really an exception. Granted the prices are pretty high but the meal was worth every cent. I started with the house red wine and it was a nice wine to go with dinner. My first course was a beef carpaccio which was wonderful. It tasted like it had some truffle oil, pistachios, and awesome Rotterdam cheese. My main meal was the salmon. All I can say is that it was perfectly cooked with crispy skin and inside was a nice medium rare center. I love when a restaurant can cook fish correctly. Mashed potatoes and the leeks were tasty. Everything was delicious.
Service was good, not as attentive as I would expect for a nice restaurant. I asked for a quiet area and they were able to accommodate. The food took a long time to come out roughly an hour as it was pretty crowded on a Wednesday night for some reason. My meal with a starter, main dish, and 2 glasses of wine came to 78 euros. Expensive but I’m willing to pay for excellent food. Overall, I would definitely come back to try some more dishes.