De Pizzabakkers Herenstraat — Restaurant in Leiden

Food was good - as it was the last four times I have been here - but this one evening (07-10-24) the service was very odd and just left quite a bad taste. We waited just under an hour between ordering and the food arriving - which is not a problem; it happens, and was explained that there's delays because of a lot of (delivery?) orders at once. I work in Horeca too; its not any one person's fault - and we said as much.

Then the order came wrong; again, it happens, and is not a big deal; (even though we talked about the options for a few minutes to make some veggie-based ajustments, so was explained multiple times). But the waitress' response was 'ah'. No, apology or basic courtesy. Just 'ah - do you want to see the dessert card'?

Then, we overheard that the table next to us was offered free dessert as compensation for the (just under an hour) wait - they arrived and ordered slightly after us. No such offer for us, though, despite being the only other ones there, ordering first, and being entirely in earshot. Then when we tried to pay, she made sure the other waitress paid with us, and seemed to stared at us as we left (can't confirm this but seemed like it).

I have absolutely no idea what we did to offend the waitress so much so as to treat us so differently to the table next to us - we made zero complaints and are both very polite by nature - but out of principle it's just not very nice at all. Maybe classic tip-seeking since the other table was obviously older? I have no idea, but its a real shame, as this used to be my go-to spot to catch up with friends over...

Made online reservations for 20.00, 2 persons. Staff appeared slightly busy and chaotic; we told them to just take it easy; might've been they were still a bit stressed due to dinner time rush hour (18.00 - 20.00). The restaurant is cozy (but not in the way real estate agents call a 8m2 apartment cozy, thank god); plenty of room to navigate and a simple interior, and very kid friendly. The selection of pizzas was small, but it's definitely standing out in comparison to -all- other pizza restaurants in Leiden I've ever eaten. Tasty, Italian, original ingredients, almost all with a vegetarian option which replaces the meat or fish with something else, make this place appealing to nearly every pizza lover. Bonus: they offer prosecco for 3,50E a glass, which is relatively cheap, and the price =/= quality of the beverage is fair. The staff was so nice (and goodlooking

There are many good things to say about de pizzabakkers. Despite being a chain, there's a nice intimate feel to the place, the service is excellent and full of smiles, and the ingredients are top notch. There's a real wood oven and that's of course fantastic for the pizza. But there's room for improvement regarding the pizza. Toppings are excellent, including a perfectly delicious tomato sauce, but the dough was definitely not developed enough and has not been given enough time to fully rise. One could see it already on the focaccia, which was flatter than what it should be, and repeated with the pizza, of which the edges were not the typical "bubbly" kind with hint of scorch that is the added deliciousness in Neapolitan pizza, and the central part was definitely too tough. You almost had to fight with it to cut it. Great antipasti, and as for the dessert, the calzone al cioccolato left us divided in opinion. I will certainly come back but wishing they keep improving the pizza, the centerpiece of...