Restaurant De Heihoeve — Restaurant in Kalmthout

We went to this restaurant after visiting the Kalmthout Arboretum. We arrived around 5:15 pm and asked if there was a possibility of having a table for two for dinner. The day was very sunny and the temperature was over 30 degrees. They told us they had only one table available, but it wasn’t in the shade; instead, it was fully exposed to the sun. After considering it, we accepted the table, which we later regretted since the sun was too strong and shone directly on our heads.

We noticed that there were many shaded tables that were unoccupied, and we saw small signs on them that said “reserved from 6 pm” and others that said “reserved from 6:30 pm.”

There were two of us, and we ordered fried calamari with “homemade” tartar sauce, a goat cheese salad, and Asian-style mussels with French fries. The fried calamari was frozen and of poor quality, and the tartar sauce had very little “homemade” about it. From the goat cheese salad, we only enjoyed the cheese and the nuts; the tomatoes were cut so small that it seemed as if they had been chopped for tomato sauce rather than for a salad. The fries that came with the mussels were frozen, not fresh.

By the way, when we were leaving the place, the tables that were supposedly reserved were still empty. A pity, because I think if they had been more flexible, they could have seated us at another shaded table, and we wouldn’t have had to endure so much heat during our dinner.

All in all, a place I would not...

Unfriendly personnel, and even total incorrectness of one waiter. Avoid this place if you can.

First, the personnel simply ignored our polite questions when we arrived: they were just answering without looking at us with answers like "no orange juice.", "no takeaway food.", in an unfriendly way.

Next, we had kindly asked the waiter with long hair if it was possible to move some tables on the terrasse so that they would be partially in the shadows. He angrily answered that we were not here to rebuild "his" terrasse, in a truly aggressive way.

Next, the "waffles" are brusselse waffles (the dry ones), but neither the menu nor the personnel warn you about it.

Finally, everything was super expensive for such a countryside location, with no real added value nor anything special with the...

Unfortunately the service made the experience a disaster. The food was good, the setting was warm and welcoming, but we waited over an hour to be served while the tables all around us, who came after us, were served and finished eating before we even received our meal. If they forgot our meal, it is ok, it happens. But when we asked about it multiple times the server was so rude and behaved as if we were at fault for asking where our meals were after 1 hour of waiting! No apologies, no compensation. We were there with our toddler and waiting over an hour with a small child is ridiculous. If you are actually hungry and expect to be served at a normal time interval, go...