Gastrobar Elvy - nhow — Restaurant in Rotterdam

Elvy Bar? Seriously? Don't Bother Unless You Enjoy Being Ignored.

Right, let's talk about Elvy Bar. I actually remember liking this place way back in 2014. Decent vibe, decent service. Fast forward to now? It’s gone completely downhill. My friend, for some reason, still loves it, but my last few visits, especially this year (2025), have been infuriating.

The only thing Elvy still has going for it is the view. That Rotterdam skyline is great, sure. But is it worth the absolute shambles of service you have to endure? Absolutely not.

Earlier this year, dragged there by my friend around 5 PM, we walk in, bartenders are just messing about on their phones. Then some woman tells us the cash register's broken so... no drinks. Just like that. No "sorry," no "maybe try this," just basically, "get lost." We left, obviously.

Strike two, again following my friend's lead. We get up there only to be told, "Oh, private event." Was this mentioned anywhere? Website? Social media? A sign downstairs? Of course not. We had a friend visiting all the way from St. Maarten, excited to see the view, and that's the welcome they got. Again, zero apology, zero F's given. Unbelievable.

Then came the last straw – this past Monday, April 21st. My friend's birthday. The place wasn't even that busy, maybe 30 people max, but there were like 6 or 7 staff members just wandering around. We sat down and were straight-up ignored for a good 10 minutes until I practically had to wave my arms like a lunatic to get someone over. No "hello," no welcome, nothing. Ordered a drink. And waited. And waited. A ridiculous 20-25 minutes later, it finally shows up. I told the staff this was unacceptable. Their brilliant excuse? "Oh, it's busy, we had a big group." What big group? The place was half-empty, and they had more staff than customers! And did they offer a discount? A real apology? Don't make me laugh.

Honestly, the whole place feels like it needs a management overhaul yesterday. The staff are clueless and unfriendly, the seats suck, the food menu is garbage, and the vibe? It's just gone. It’s turned into some sad Instagram backdrop for kids taking endless selfies. There's zero atmosphere, zero warmth.

So, yeah, if you want to take a selfie with a nice view, knock yourself out. But if you want a decent drink, actual service, or a place where you feel remotely welcome? Forget Elvy Bar. Seriously, save yourself the hassle. After this last time, I'm done. I will never set foot in that disaster of a bar again. What an...

I hope this message finds you well. I felt compelled to share my recent experience at your venue, which unfortunately left me deeply disappointed. As someone who has never left a 1-star review before, I want to emphasize how significant this experience was for me.

Your venue, known as a major tourist attraction and boasting significant value, I called twice to confirm the opening hours. On both occasions, I was assured that the venue would be open to the public and would start operating from 12 pm.

Regrettably, the reality was far from what I was told. Despite traveling a long way, we arrived at 2:00 pm only to discover that the venue would open at 4:00 pm (the information I received earlier on the same day. I was unhappy with this turn of events, although I appreciate the effort made by your staff to compensate us with vouchers for two free drinks.

After waiting for two hours and returning to the venue, we were met with another disappointment. A woman informed me that the venue was closed for the day. The feeling of wasting time, waiting, and being treated poorly as a customer who genuinely wanted to spend money at your place are truly ruined my day.

In reflecting upon this experience, it became evident to me that there are serious communication issues between your staff members. It's pains me to see a place with great potential fall short due to internal communication problems.

I genuinely believe that with the necessary changes, your venue has the potential to provide remarkable experiences and create lasting memories...

I’ve thought about this before posting it here. Even though the place was great as well as the view, we were left feeling a little disgusted and disappointed by the treatment. Mind you we’re brown people and I’d brought my parents to show them the view as they’re visiting and we ordered 3 coffees. Our tab was around €13. The young lady who served us was incredibly sweet but once we finished and we waited for the bill to be brought to us and no one did, we decided to pay at the register and then walk to the balcony where you can look out and see the Erasmus bridge for the view. When we got up, we were rushed by a young man, who then stood directly in front of us and we were unable to even take another step and said, “can I help you?” In a very strange manner and I absolutely felt shamed. I said “I want to pay the tab and he simply said “okay” and held the device out. Maybe do better Elvy? Train your staff better and help them assess situations better? A table with 2 visibly elderly people are not skipping out on a bill and neither are people...