Café Sjiek — Restaurant in Maastricht

interesting to note that the " excellent" reviews are all in dutch, possibly the locals, and therein lies the problem; at the sound of English, be prepared to be treated like dirt. This isn't a review for the food, which I'm sure is delicious, but we never got that far. Arrived famished around 6 pm, ros of people occupying tables but also lots of empty ones too. Our first warning sign should have been within of 10 seconds arriving, when, after asking politely, first in stilted Dutch, and then, when greeted with what could only be scorn, in English, " would you have a table for 2", the server gave what is routinely referred to as a grunt and swept his arm in the general direction of, well, everywhere. No words, nothing. We sat. We waited. We waited some more. The table we originally choose was a communal one, and when we saw a table for two free up, we took it, (and there were plenty of free tables elsewhere, b this one was just away from the draft of the door.) We moved. We sat. We waited. 10 minutes. Server 2 came over with menus. Laid them down. My wife opened her hers. It was blank. At same time, server b asked if we wanted a drink. My wife, pointing to the lack of any menu, n said " I'd l Like to see the menu first for the drinks list." Server b looked at her with id assume was complete disdain. " there is no drinks menu", she says. Meanwhile, in my menu, there was the drinks list. Server b left. She just left. Not a word. Didn't get another menu. She just left.

And so then did we.

I get the sense this is a local establishment that loathes outsiders or anyone not speaking ditch. There is simply no other manner to explain abhorrent service like this. That server should not be in the service industry. We went a nearby restaurant, walked in, were warmly greeted like we were regulars and had a lovely and...

Went there two nights in a row. First night, we sat inside, ordered food and drinks and were eating and drinking within 15 minutes of arrival. Service was fast and efficient, not amazing, not terrible and so we were happy enough that returned the next day. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. We lined up for a good 20 minutes to be seated in the outdoor area. We were then directed to the small tables to wait until a dinner table became available. We waited 15 minutes without being acknowledged by any staff. No drinks were offered. Around 20 minutes sitting down, being ignored by staff we see a famous lawyer coming in cutting the line and being served immediately and attentively by several staff. He was sat in a dinner table within seconds. Meanwhile myself and my partner are thirsty, hungry and ignored. As if our business was worth less than the famous lawyer? 25 minutes in, we are asked what we wanted to drink while we wait. Drinks were delivered after 5 minutes, then 15 minutes later we were escorted to our dinner table. Finally! But as we sat down, our waitress left and never came back with a menu. We waited around 20 minutes. We waived at a busboy, as our waitress was busy laughing and chatting woth colleagues and friends. He kindly brought us a menu. We selected our food and eyed our waitress, who smiled and continued her lively conversation with our neighbouring table. This went on for around 5-7 minutes. She finally came, we ordered and everything went quite smoothly once we put our order in. I will NEVER go back. And the food is honestly not worth the wait and utter mistreatment. A myriad of better restaurants where my business will be appreciated. They are kind and engaging as long as you are a regular customer, or someone famous, other than that you will be ignored until they are finished making everyone else...

Disclaimer: I am mostly posting this review because of the previous English review.

The service we received at this eaterie was both friendly and welcoming. We were only on a weekend trip and my Dutch is appalling, yet my attempts at simple questions, please, and thank you were met with smiles and verbal appreciation.

We had a late lunch of zoervleis (horse stew), and my boyfriend had a grilled poisson. Both our dishes came with sides (including Belgian fries and that amazing mayonnaise). The lunch menu only came in Dutch, whereas there is an evening menu in English, yet our hostess happily did some translating for me, and when I asked for a hearty local dish, suggested the zoervleis, which was delicious. Portions were generous, and good and hot.

The establishment was full of lively conversation, with groups ranging from large family groups, to smaller groups of friends.

We also partook of two excellent Dutch beers with our meal, making things, all round, very tasty indeed.

In short, an eaterie not...