Pastis — Restaurant in The Hague

Overall, I had a good experience. I ordered the duck confit. I had never tried this dish before, as I don't usually order duck. However, the waitress recommended this dish to me, and I love chicken, so I got it. I enjoyed it and was happy with the recommendation.

They serve bread and butter while you wait for your food, which was of great quality and delicious. They even had their own Pastis branding on the butter packaging, which was super cute and professional.

I didn't give the restaurant five stars for two reasons:

It's not the best for solo patrons.

1. Crowded atmosphere. When I got there, it was very awkward because the restaurant was crowded and the host seemed stressed from the crowd + working multiple jobs within the restaurant (She ended up serving me too. She was wonderful but I did not get her name). The restaurant is super small, so I felt like I was standing on stage and everyone could see me. I dined here for dinner, so it was dark outside. The lights in the restaurant were fully on, so sitting at the bar felt like everyone was watching. It was a bit uncomfortable, so I ate my food as quickly as possible.

2. I went to this restaurant specifically for the Côte de boeuf, which looks outstanding from images I'd seen in other Google reviews. However, at the restaurant, I learned that this dish is only served to two people. It'd be too large and expensive to order as one person. The waitress was kind enough to ask the chef if they could cook a half-order for me, but the chef declined. I was very sad. Also, this dish is not on...

We made a reservation for two last week, and when we arrived yesterday Pastis was 1/3 full. So why were we offered the worst table in the restaurant? We politely asked about any other possibility but were told that was our only choice. This was not our first visit to Pastis and in general it has previously been fine, so we stayed.

We ordered frog legs and the cote de boeuf for two, all to be shared between us, with a glass each of Champagne with the frog and one glass each of red with the beef.

Our Champagne arrived in wide, old-style glasses. Why not flutes, like others at the restaurant? Everyone knows flutes are best for this. Except, apparently, our server.

Then the frog arrived. The server set the bowl down in the middle of the table, and left. We thought she was fetching us plates to eat this from, but even after waiting patiently plates never arrived. Were we expected to eat this wet dish off the tablecloth? We then flagged her down and asked for plates, but why was that necessary? Again, we told her in advance we were splitting everything, which clearly she remembered as she did put the bowl in the middle of the table.

With the beef we had a glass each of (different) red wine. So imagine our surprise when the check said we had ordered one full bottle of red - at a much higher price.

The world is not perfect, and things happen. But so many things? At a restaurant like Pastis we should not need to constantly...

I walked in this evening at 7pm and with much fanfare was told I might have a spot at the bar for one for 60 minutes. I was surprised that all the bar seats were reserved, but ok (noted: only two places were set). I made my order immediately - oysters, soup, salad. I was anxious and did not wish to inconvenience customers coming at 8pm. Dishes arrived and at 7:30 I spoke to the person who seated me (who seemed to be in charge) and asked about the time left and she said there would be enough time (not that there was no need to rush because there were no actual bookings at the bar and no deadline - which soon became clear). By 7:50 I noted that I had not received my final course and was told, "it's ok - we will make it work." Imagine enjoying a meal under these circumstances.

Well, guess what. No one ever came for those bar seats. I left at 8:15+ and there were no customers. What could have been a lovely leisurely meal (and longer still) was a stressed-out nonsensefest. This was a miserable demonstration of "hospitality". Also - food entirely...