De Waterreus — Restaurant in The Hague

I don’t like ruining my evening — usually I make sure to choose a good place in advance.

And yes, I did consider your restaurant to be one of those good places. That impression was based on my first visit, when I ordered lunch to go along with a bottle of wine and a cocktail. We were welcomed warmly, and the male manager was an absolute professional — someone who truly understands what a guest needs and can offer alternatives if something is unavailable. We had lunch by the sea and planned to come back for dinner — which we did.

Unfortunately, the team on duty in the evening was completely different, and so was the level of service and communication.

This time, the manager was a woman who offered no alternatives, no help with selection — just a cold: “This table is reserved, you can sit here.” But we all know that true service starts with how guests are greeted — even from the first phone call.

We chose our own table and mentioned a few minor needs in advance — just to ensure we could relax and enjoy the view and food later. But even these simple requests turned out to be too much for the team to handle: A blanket (we sat on the terrace) Charging two phones (we had one fully working charger, the second was just a cable without the plug)

What disappointed me most was how unprepared and unempowered the staff were. They couldn’t make the simplest decisions — not even about something so basic as whether we could charge our phones — without asking the manager.

And when they did ask, the answer was a flat no, with the excuse: “We don’t have a charging block or any available outlets.”

It was almost comical — especially since the waiters take orders on gadgets made by the same company as our phone. When I pointed that out, the server was clearly confused and had no real answer, because, well — it made no sense.

The manager never came over to speak to us directly — we had to communicate everything through the waiter, and each simple question required a long wait for a response.

We decided to leave — and frankly, that was the right call.

But what truly shocked me was the way two waiters looked at us — exchanging judgmental glances and fake smiles as we walked out.

Service is not just taking orders and bringing food. It’s about communication, from the moment a guest walks in.

It’s sad to see that half of your team doesn’t care about genuine hospitality, but simply rides the wave of tourist traffic...

Avoid this restaurant at all costs!

I had the absolute misfortune of booking WaterReus for my birthday dinner last night — a table for 14 people at 8:00 PM. What was meant to be a joyful celebration turned into an infuriating experience, and I feel compelled to warn others.

First, we were left completely ignored for 45 minutes, only being handed menus at 8:45 PM. For context, I’m eight months pregnant and another guest at the table was also pregnant, making this long, unexplained wait even more uncomfortable.

At 8:50 PM, a different waiter showed up, already irritated, and barked at us to hurry up with our orders because “the kitchen was closing soon.” Mind you, we had just received the menus. We scrambled to order under pressure.

When the food finally arrived, all dishes were dumped on the table at once. Not even five minutes into eating, the same rude waiter marched over with the manager and demanded to know “who had ordered the second burger.” Noticed how all our food had already been served — yet instead of calmly clarifying, they immediately showed up accusingly with the manager in tow, clearly anticipating an issue on their end.

From there it only got worse. Both the waiter and the manager were shockingly rude and unprofessional, essentially blaming us for their mistake and insisting we pay for the extra item. Their tone and attitude were hostile, dismissive, and frankly, borderline discriminatory — we were a diverse, international group and their behavior felt targeted.

To add insult to injury, we were a large party ordering mains and drinks across the board, yet treated like an inconvenience from the moment we walked in. Having worked in customer service and hospitality myself, I can confidently say this was the worst dining experience I have ever had.

WaterReus completely ruined what should have been a special evening. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone — especially if you expect even a bare minimum level of professionalism...

Bad service and overpriced! We went with friends from Texel to Waterreus for lunch with 7 people on Sunday afternoon. We sat inside. The waitress came relatively quickly to ask if we want to drink anything, which we ordered immediately. When she brought drinks she did not ask if we want to have a look at the menu - we needed to ask her (apart from that the spoons from the hot chocolate were dirty)! Whilst ordering a club sandwich we specifically asked her (giving the option choosing between brown and white bread) for white bread for one of the kids (who is 12 years old, does not like brown bread AND is allergic towards it (depending on which cereals are involved). When the food arrived she brought the club sandwich with BROWN bread (!) and we immediately told her that we ordered specifically white bread. She took it away to the kitchen and came 2 mins later back to the table with exactly the same club sandwich (still made with brown bread), telling us they are out of white bread !!! Waitress did resist to bring a substitution nor made a suggestion we were happy with. She instead started an argument that she told us taking the orders the white bread was out. (which obviously was not the case as otherwise we would have picked something else from the menu). Ridiculous. Poor girl was left picking the chicken breast and cheese from her plate without any kind of apologise or asking how she is. NEVER GOING TO GO BACK THERE ! Apart from that, I find it ridiculous to charge 1 EUR for a little plastic tube of ketchup for the children and 18,50 EUR for a very small portion of...