Restaurant Fico — Restaurant in Utrecht

We were deeply disappointed with our experience at Fico. We booked a 67-euro-per-person menu consisting of six courses. Our reservation was at 5:45 PM, but by 7:30 PM, we had only received two of the six dishes. We had to wait almost an hour before even receiving the first course, which was part of a pre-selected menu. To make matters worse, six tables that arrived after us were served before us, which made the long wait even more frustrating.

After two hours and only two small dishes, we politely asked to pay for what we had eaten so far, as it was clear that the rest of the meal would take even longer. Rather than offering an apology or showing any empathy, the waiter said he would check if this was possible.

While we must acknowledge that the two dishes we did try were flavorful and of good quality, we ended up paying for half the menu and left without receiving any apologies for the poor experience.

When paying 67 euros per person, one expects not just good food, but a complete dining experience. Unfortunately, that was not what...

First impressions: The menu was too complicated and convoluted. We had to have the waitress explain it three times. Some of the dishes and sauces were very nice, but really small portions. I understand fine dining, and food as art but this restaurant seemed to be trying too hard. Some of the flavors missed. I had the same feeling when I was at the MET in NYC looking at a white square on white canvas. If you don't understand it, YOU are the layman. Sitting on the water was lovely, but as soon as the sun goes down you are basically 'dining in the dark'. A major part of dining is being able to use all of your senses and Fico's strength is defenitely in their presentation. Some of the younger servers seemed to have little patience for the customer. I don't know if this is a specific Dutch trait or the heat index that day. We were all sweating bullets with no AC anywhere. I...

This place serves great food! It is important to come prepared with an appetite. You could indulge in a 4 course meal or you could get greedy and go for 6. Of course each course is paired with a different wine!

The food looks great and each dish is worthy of an Instagram picture. Everything tasted right for me. Each course brought with it newer textures and a different set of flavours. And this interplay only created an anticipation for what was supposed to arrive next.

In a meal with many courses, I think the biggest competition for a chef is that would the next dish top what was just served our will the guests come back and say that the earlier dishes were better! The chef won!

So great food, great wine, great service and you know...