De Dutch — Restaurant in British Columbia

De Dutch Pannekoek House has been a staple in the Columbia Square complex in New West for a number of years but I never found a reason to drop by here until recently, when I discovered my planned destination was closed (that actually happens to me more frequently than I care for).

The interior is a bit tired but relatively clean and what you’d expect of most chain breakfast joints such as Ihop or Denny’s. I decided to order their DeBakon Avocado Benny ($16.25) on rusk with fruit. For those unaccustomed to “rusk”, it’s a Danish staple made with double-cooked toast that resembles hardtack and is quite dry and crumbly. Because of this, I ordered my eggs to be poached soft, so the runny yolk would be able to offset the dryness of the rusk.

Unfortunately, what arrived at my table was what could only be described as a hard boiled egg. I could tell immediately when my knife touched the centre of the egg that it was way too firm for a soft poached egg. I mean seriously? It couldn’t have been any harder if it was on Viagra. While I’m not one who usually sends back food… I just had to in this case.

My replacement dish (which did arrive fairly quickly) was much better and had a soft poached egg that yielded the requisite runny yolk to coat my rusk. As for the rest of my meal, the potato hash was okay but lacked crispness to the exterior (I like my hash a bit crispy) and the fruit wasn’t as fresh as what you get at Angelina’s nearby.

Overall, the rusk probably wasn’t the best choice but I’ll take ownership on that one. I decided that I should probably come back for a revisit to see if the issue with the egg was just a one-off thing. This time, however, I opted for one of their signature pannekoek (a thin, Dutch-style pancake which can either be served sweet or savory).

The Boer Pannekoek ($20.75) roughly translates to “Farmer’s Pancake” and is a hearty meal comprised of ham, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and eggs on top of the pannekoek. I’ll give this for them… they really know how to make a pancake. It’s a very thin and soft pancake – almost like a creamy crepe. The eggs this time, had a nice runny yolk and crisp edges and the ham and bacon were on point. The only things that I thought needed more work in this dish were the hash browns (not crispy) and the sausage (seemed too much like a hot dog). It’s not really a cheap breakfast but it is quite filling.

On my next visit, I picked a dish which isn’t normally associated with Dutch food… the Chorizo Quesadilla ($17) made with black beans, cheese, onions, corn, and quinoa filling and served with a lemon and avocado cream sauce as well as salsa. For my side, I picked the kettle-cooked chips and dip. The best part of this dish has to be the kettle chips in my opion… a nice crispy/crunchy bite to the chips (the dip was very similar to tartar sauce). The quesadilla was what you would expect from a place that doesn’t specialize in Mexican food… I thought the addition of the quinoa in the filling was a bit of an odd choice and the sliced/diced chorizo sausage was a bit lacking (wish they used crumbled chorizo instead).

Overall, very hit-and-miss here. If you do visit, go for...

Well, I went here to celebrate my son's dad's birthday for the first time since we've been living in New West for a while.

I am honestly surprised about the friendliness of the staff, how well we were treated and how tasty the food was. I am just gonna say it might be a bit pricey, but to go and celebrate, hang out with friends or just to try it out, it's amazing.

Since we walked in, the greeter gave my son a bucket with crayons and drawing paper for him, so, he was very happy about this.

I had an omelette with ham and pepper that came with fruits and mini hash browns very well done. Not salty but very flavourful, same with the eggs and a really pretty presentation.

I believe I'm gonna go back again for a special occasion since the staff was very kind and smiling at all times. I don't know why, but, even if the place is expensive, and the staff are always smiling, it's a reason enough for me to feel treated like they care about the customers. So, this made me feel acknowledged and welcomed.

Highly recommend especially going with your family or friends. Thumbs up...

I’ve been working in the restaurant industry for quite some time now, and I have been to this De Dutch on several occasions and can I just say I’ve never felt so much love and strong service at any other restaurant. This restaurant goes out of their way to ensure all guests get the best service possible, and takes top priority of meals coming out with high quality.

This restaurant truly sets the standard for what good service is suppose to look like. Today was just another day my family and I came in, and unfortunately there was a medical emergency. As if I didn’t love this location already, but to drop everything and ensure the safety of your guest first over anything else in my eyes is unmatched. I always like to put myself in the shoes of others, and if this happened to one of my family members I would expect the same care.

Thank you for your endless kindness, and your ability of making people days better with just a 30-40 min stay at your restaurant. Once again the meals were incredible and we can’t wait to...