Madam Kroket — Restaurant in Ostend

There's definite effort in the presentation of the restaurant itself. Comfy seats and a somewhat nice atmosphere. The customer service was heavily lacking. I informed the young lady behind the counter that it was my first time here and I didn't know how it worked... she literally said nothing back. She gave a half-hearted and seemingly forced smile and then ignored me and started calling her friends up to the counter to offer them candy...I spoke in English and Nederlands to give a fair chance. The young girl behind the counter seemed much more interested in hanging out with her friends who were seated at a table inside. She took my order very quickly and went right back to sit with them, only standing up about an hour later when another client came in. They received the same treatment I did, from what I saw. Half-hearted and disinterested.

The croquettes had hardly any flavor at all really. I tried three different ones: Langoustine: basically mush with no flavor. Very greasy. Lobster: Tasted VERY mildly like lobster bisque but mostly like garlic. Again, very greasy. Ham and cheese: the only one with a bit of flavor. Still not really enjoyable.

All of them were lacking salt.

I didn't finish my plate of food.

Also, I paid €18 for 3 croquettes and a Cola. This, to me, would not be overpriced if the food had tasted good. Overall it was flavorless and greasy. I asked for sauce and they don't offer any. Again, if the food had flavor, it wouldn't be necessary. But the food was very flavorless.

I was really looking forward to eating here but I have to be honest and say that I am sure that I won't...

The kitchen of Rubens across the street was closed and I was desperate for some food so I ended up here (nothing good ever comes out of a situation like that). The concept is cool but I won’t be coming back for several reasons: the quality of the croquettes is underwhelming (take it from a Belgian who ate croquettes and fries her whole life). The shrimp croquette is filled with a mush that tastes just as much like mediocre shrimp shell as it does like even more mediocre shrimp meat. The goat cheese croquette barely tasted like goat cheese. All of the fillings had a weird drippy texture. Fried parsley as a topping is a nice touch but the stems aren’t removed. Furthermore the place just seems badly managed. The garbage station is dirty and tables aren’t cleaned well. Doors are slamming, boxes are thrown around and there’s uncomfortable shouting going on in the kitchen at times. The cash register where you order is unattended frequently so a lot of customers had no idea what was going on. It’s a shame because I was genuinely excited about the...

Update, Second Time, 3 years later: New place! They definitely made good business after appearing in the local newspaper. Lot's of merchandise and other extra stuff they sell, and also have a big space Here you can dine in. Unfortunately, if you evolve that way I would expect that the cutlery evolves along. Now everything gets still served in single use dishes, cutlery and plastic cups. It's very wasteful, it is not in synchronicity with the evolution. This is the cause of a loss of one star on this review.

First time: Super lekkere verschillende soorten kroketten en vriendelijke bediening....