SAINT-JEAN Deli — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Awful experience, AVOID, AVOID, AVOID!!!

After paying a silly amount for some overpriced vegan pastries (looked nice, but were dry and very disappointing), the staff were absolutely hopeless and left a customer in tears!

This is a form of complaint: After paying over €35+ for a few pastries we were told that if we wanted to sit we had to go across the road (which we and the other customers did). After waiting patiently for around 25 minutes to be seated, a blonde female staff member (sounded like she was from Manchester) said we couldn’t sit down unless we bought something, which was confusing and incredibly frustrating that she decided to only tell us after a seat became available when she knew we were all waiting to sit down right from the start. Other people overheard what she said and frantically ran to the till to buy something to skip the queue and have preferential treatment. Of course this resulted in people being very annoyed and specifically with her! She was rude, unapologetic and did not have a handle on what was happening and should NOT be in hospitality without proper training on how to deal with avoidable challenges such as this.

Due to her shocking management of the situation it resulted in people crying and several people storming out in outrage! I am incredibly tolerant of people, but without doubt, I will NEVER step foot in this disgraceful place again, and would urge people to go elsewhere, especially when there are plenty of other options in Amsterdam that I would strongly argue are much nicer!

Sort it out Saint-Jean, as other reviews have commented saying the same thing, which makes it 10x worse!!!

P.S. there is space in both buildings to add further seating, especially if you remove some of the oversized furniture. Can’t image how dreadful it must be during winter when everyone wants...

So it is really take and go, as there is mostly a line therefore there is almost no chance to dine in especially with those prices you want to sit till it is worth it. Compare to the bakery is you get more upgraded pastries and lunch options. Think like soup salad, sandwhich. Compare to the bakery the line is shorter as the hype is around the pastries and deli because it is upgrades more expaneisve. Compare to other bakeries in Amsterdam this bakery is for sure high as for danish you pay 5 euro already. I really recommend the amount spots to sit as the pastries are oily when you get them in the brown bag without really touching them you already see the oil spots. service is lovely but way too slow, taking their time.

Savoury danish Very flaky, nice texture of pastry but also the ingredients are lovely balance not too salty just good enough great balance in flavours. with pesto. 4/10

spicy cheese crossaint Really hard to find that well holding its shape crossaint making you enjoy the flakiness but also the airiness even though it have more airiness ones before but it is lovely that when you bite in it it holds it shape instead of just flatten. Like the seeds that are on top give other texture and does not fall off. The cheese is nowhere to be find maybe once in a while you got some. The spiciness is really far but when you got it, it brings that heat element to your dish. But still having that element is lovely. 2+/10

Danish the pastry is lovely flaky nice texture not too compact or moist. They have baker's cream but also red fruit sauce is such pity as the moist of the fruit could also have the same effect. With that the combination of the dressing and the cream makes the pastry way too...

Very disappointing experience at the deli. After spending €30 on pastries from the bakery, we were told to sit at the deli for coffee. We found an empty table inside but were told we couldn’t sit there, so we moved outside. We asked for a plate and knife to eat two creamy pastries, used the knife inside and brought the pastries out. Moments later, staff rushed out to say plates weren’t allowed outside. When we asked to go back in, we were told we couldn’t because four small tables were full and standing wasn’t allowed either. At that point, I asked what the solution was: no answer. So I asked for a refund since we had no way to actually eat the pastries. Instead of helping, the staff member walked away and left us standing there with all of our appetite gone.

This was our second bad experience here. The pastries themselves are great (giving 1 star for those), but the deli is disorganized and extremely unwelcoming. Would not recommend if you’re expecting basic hospitality and value...