Le Petit Bonhomme — Restaurant in De Panne

We visited based on positive reviews, but unfortunately, our experience fell short of expectations.

Our group of 10 was seated near the back of the restaurant, close to the basement-level restroom, where there was a very strong smell of mould — which made the atmosphere quite unpleasant.

Service was slow to begin with, even though we were the only party present at the time. That said, the food arrived fairly quickly once ordered. One meal was initially forgotten but was brought out promptly once we flagged it.

The main issue arose when we received the bill. We were charged double for four of our children’s meals — the waiter claimed they were adult portions. However, I had very clearly pointed to the children’s menu when ordering, and he acknowledged it at the time. Even the chef seemed to understand there had been a miscommunication, but the waiter insisted that despite our ordering from the kids' menu, he had served (and would therefore charge for) adult portions.

There were other billing discrepancies as well: we received three portions of fries but were charged for four, and were given four bottles of water yet billed for five. We were also offered ketchup and mayonnaise — and asked how many we wanted — but weren’t told they were €1 each. We received four in total but were charged for eight.

All told, the bill came to around 30% more than expected.

When we raised these concerns, we were told we received everything we paid for. Unfortunately, that missed the point entirely — we didn’t receive everything we ordered, and certainly not everything we agreed to pay for.

A disappointing...

Having arrived in a hot De Panne at the end of July after six hours of driving from home we tried this place after a while based on reviews. It was a Tuesday lunch time - me and the kids.

And to be honest, pretty underwhelming. The food was OK. I had the muscles in garlic and cream sauce... They were tasty apart from being INSANELY hot! At least you know they're cooked. The sauce was good and portion was generous but the frites didn't really hold the sauce, because it was quite thin - I think bread would be better.

Kids had meatballs and these went down well.

The oddest thing was the service... We were sat at the table by an elderly lady, who then proceeded to walk around and not really tend to us... It was a while before we were even offered menus. Food came out quick, so no complaints there, but we were left with dirty plates with longer than I think it should be. And same with when the bill came... we were just sat with it for a long time. Maybe everyone just hates the Brits now... 🤷🏻‍♂️

On top of this, it was really pretty expensive for a lunch for three. The saving grace was the long stay meant we avoided the searing...

Nous étions un groupe de 8 (4 adultes et 4 enfants) et malheureusement, l’expérience n’a pas été à la hauteur de nos attentes. Dès notre arrivée, la patronne nous saute littéralement dessus dans la rue, en lançant une remarque déplacée du style « Ah, voilà une bonne table, « genre ça va rapporter » ! ». Pas très accueillant…

Une fois installés, passer commande a été un vrai parcours du combattant : il a fallu essayer trois fois car la patronne interrompait constamment pour aller chercher d’autres clients en terrasse. Résultat : service désorganisé, entrées servies en décalé, tout le monde n’a pas mangé en même temps.

Côté cuisine, rien d’exceptionnel : plats très moyens, qualité vraiment décevante pour le prix.

Heureusement, un serveur sympathique a essayé de relever le niveau, mais la patronne était clairement à côté de la plaque tout le long du repas.

Et pour finir, elle insiste pour qu’on laisse un avis sur Google… eh bien...