A recent visit to De Beren restaurant in Almere reveals a significant gap between its popularity and the actual dining experience. The review highlights issues with food quality, service, and overall execution at this location of the well-known Dutch chain.

The reviewer describes a deeply unsatisfactory meal, citing several specific examples of poor food quality. Tomato soup arrived with a thick skin, carpaccio was made with watery beef and stale bacon, and salmon was dry and overcooked. A ribeye steak, ordered for €39, was described as the worst the reviewer had ever tasted, being both burnt on the outside and undercooked inside. The Berenburger shared the same unpleasant taste and texture as the soup meatballs, further compounding the disappointment.

Service was also a major concern, with slow response times and a general lack of attentiveness. The reviewer recounts a half-hour wait for a bottle of water and waitstaff who ignored dirty dishes and customers attempting to get their bill. A request to substitute a dessert was met with resistance and confusion, ultimately resulting in no change to the final bill.

While De Beren has grown into a successful chain with fifty locations across the Netherlands, this particular experience in Almere was far from positive. The reviewer acknowledges the restaurant’s affordability and accessibility but emphasizes that the poor execution and lackluster service significantly detract from the overall dining experience. The reviewer questions the quality of ingredients, suspecting central purchasing of the poor-quality meat. Despite the restaurant’s popularity, this review paints a picture of a restaurant that fails to deliver on even basic expectations of food quality and service.