Sumatra House — Restaurant in Leiden

A Delightful Experience

On May 8, 2017, my wife (originally from Indonesia) and I (both familiar with Indonesian cuisine) had the good fortune to dine at Sumatra House. It is essential to us that the food served is unadulterated, authentically Indonesian-prepared. At the waiter's recommendation we had the fish soup, that unquestionably was "out-of-this-world"-super delicious! In addition, my wife thoroughly enjoyed the gado-gado and a side dish, and we were thrilled to know that the dishes we had indeed were authentically prepared! The waiter was a joy to talk with. Wish I remembered his name. He lived for several years in Banjuwangi, Indonesia, and is comprehensively knowledgable of Indonesian cuisine. He is attentive and entertaining and it was a pleasure to meet him. The restaurant has a quaint and cozy appearance, located not far from the train station. Should we be back in the Netherlands some time in the future, a visit to Leiden and dinner at Sumatra House is a definite commitment. We highly recommend it to all who cherish authentically prepared...

I made a reservation for 18.00 and when we arrived were told to wait 15 mins. by the owner. Ok. we walked around the square and returned to be told by the waitress it would be another 15 mins. and if we could sit outside and wait and they offered us a glass of wine. This is 18.40 now. At 19.00 I asked the waitress if a table would be available soon. It was our anniversary and I made a reservation. She said sorry, but they overbooked and she couldn't do anything. At 19.00, the owner delivered a drink to another outside table and my husband asked about our reservation. She said, one moment sir. She didn't bother to return but finally at 19.30 (1 and 1/2 hours after my reservation) the waitress called us in to a table. The owner didn't even come to us at all but kept sending the waitress to tell us news. We sat down and waited at least another 5 mins before they even brought us water and menus. Very bad service and I told that to the owner as well. The food was only OK....

We came here last night for dinner. The quality of the food is excellent, the waiter who served us was very sweet and customer friendly. What really caught my eye that I found very different from other restaurants: 1. Interior decor, ranging from plants to statues and paintings, the level of detail and time put into the decor is astonishing, 2. Fresh flower bouquets on the table which are not common to see as they are expensive and restaurants often tend to go for the fake ones, 3. The selection of tampons, lady pads and deodorant in the ladies' toilet was wonderful. Thank you so much for paying attention to these sorts of needs. I think I never saw this is any restaurant before! Everything was absolutely perfect! Thank...