Fratelli Voorschoten — Restaurant in Voorschoten

Today was actually my birthday and I planned a dinner for 4. Our reservation was at 19:30 and everyone in my party arrived at 19:20. By the time I entered, there were 15-20 people in line. A lady told us she had a reservation at 18:30 but she has been waiting for a long time and the only reason she didn’t leave is because she has invested almost 1 hour so to leave “empty handed” is a waste. What was worse, the tables were given at random. No one checked the reservation list and the front of house person just gave away the tables based on who he knows and his familiar customers and how many tables are available (and there were clearly a few empty tables probably meant for reservations). For example, there are 3 people behind me who got a table at 19:40 even though they were much much behind in the waiting line. When asked about the waiting time, no one could give an answer. By 19:55, with more and more people coming into the restaurants with no greetings, no apology or explanation for the wait, I was very much ready to leave when my boyfriend went to ask could we please get a time to how much more we should wait, the waiter said 7 minutes. Only at 20:15, 55 minutes after standing patiently for our turn, after 5-6 tables were given to the people waiting behind in the line with us, we were sitted. At 21:00 is when our orders were taken even though we have mentioned we know what we wanted when we were seated and at 21:20 our food came, this was the pleasant surprise. I heard a lot of good reviews of the restaurant but on my birthday, I was clearly disappointed. I also wrote on the reservation that it was indeed my birthday however another table got a dessert and we all sang in the restaurant. I didn’t want to make a big deal as I was looking forward to some quality time with loved ones. We chose Voorschoten specifically to visit family and my boyfriend and I came all the way from Amsterdam as we wanted to be with family to celebrate. It was such a frustrating experience as it could have been handled better. I worked many years in horeca so I know when understaffed cause problems but today it was just a domino effect. I suggest to have a time limit and make the front of house to check the reservation slots. There was no organisation and no one even asked who came first or what. Overall, the food was okay but again a 55 mins wait just to get to our table is not worth the hassle. The service could be better as the food came before the drinks and we only got our cutleries 15 minutes after being seated. My recommendation is if your reservation is as 19:30 come at 19:00 to ensure you actually get a table at 19:30 or be friends with the waiters as that’s the only way to get...

Al bij binnenkomst voelde ik me enorm ongemakkelijk. De gasten voor ons werden veel te amicaal ontvangen door iemand van de bediening. Hij sloeg een arm om een dame heen en zijn gezicht kwam heel dichtbij dat van haar. Ik dacht eerst dat ze bekenden van elkaar waren, maar al vrij snel werd duidelijk dat hij dit met alle gasten zo deed. Althans, voornamelijk bij dames die zonder mannelijk gezelschap waren. Hij ging bij mensen aan tafel zitten, maar raakte vooral heel veel mensen aan. Gezichten. Hand over haren. Arm om iemand heen. Ik heb hem de hele avond ontweken. Als hij me had aangeraakt had ik hem aangesproken. Het was vervelend en intimiderend. Nog even los van het feit dat hij door die zaak loopt alsof hij de baas is. Enorm uit de hoogte. Mag wat mij betreft een keer goed op zijn plek gezet worden. Het feit dat iedereen die deze review leest precies weet over wie ik het heb, zegt genoeg. Ik zag in het restaurant ook dat andere gasten zagen hoe belachelijk deze meneer zich gedroeg. En kennelijk is het voor hem heel normaal, want hij loopt er rond alsof hij de baas is. Hij doet zelfs een Italiaans nep accent.

Nog een ding: de beste man loopt de hele avond met handschoenen door de zaak. Met die handschoenen aaide hij door het haar van m'n kind, raakte hij verschillende gasten aan en ik heb hem er zelfs vol in zien hoesten en buiten beeld was hij bezig in de keuken. Waarom snappen mensen nog steeds niet dat het dragen van handschoenen (en dan zeker hoe deze onprofessionele man dit deed) de voedeslhygiëne niet ten goede komen? Handschoenen zijn schijnveiligheid. Was gewoon je handen (zie momenten van handhygiëne WHO).

Het eten was goed. Maar deze ervaring was zo debiel dat ik daar niet de credits...

The pizza is ok (number one food of Dutchies when going to an Italian restaurant), the lasagna is better but it stays average. Great place for groups but the restaurant is well visited and when it is crowded it can take a bit longer then expected.

The desserts were below average, the "homemade" tiramisu seemed oddly perfectly square.

Final verdict the place is ok and well known in Voorschoten as a hotspot for meetings. If you're visiting be sure to also check the nearby city Leiden for more choice (and some...