Our First Restaurant Experience (Loetjes)

Aweh, guys!

In order to recover from the hell that is IKEA, Hubby decided that he would like steak before returning the car. Apparently, the best place to do so is a place called Loetjes in Utrecht. We made our way there and every so often I would need to get out of the car to guide Hubby through a particularly tight passageway (the Dutch are not so roomy in the driving department and he was still nervous driving on the right side of the road). We also passed the stunning St. Martin’s Cathedral but since we were driving the pictures I took did not do it justice.

Eventually we found our target. We parked the car but noticed that we would have to pay for parking. We had trouble finding the meter but figured it out eventually. We needed to input our registration details and estimate how long we would be parked there. We estimated 2 hours, paid upfront and received a slip. Apparently, you should put this on your dashboard, but we didn’t know that and took it with us… luckily, we didn’t have any trouble.

The day itself was quite nippy but the second we stepped into the enclosed foyer we felt a rush of warmth. We were seated and were offered the menu in either Dutch or English. In fact, we had a table of German diners right behind us and they rustled up a German menu too! We both ordered cokes and perused the menu. Hubby couldn’t bring himself to order the steak at the price they were charging (standard by Dutch standards but we were still paying using our SA card… the exchange rate sucks to say the least), so he ordered “2 Kroketten van Loetje op Landbrood” and I got the pastrami club sandwich. We also got fries to share.

Do you play Kroket?

The sandwich itself was wonderful. The bread was lightly toasted with oodles of salty pastrami which was offset by the acidic gherkins. It also had a slice of sharp cheddar and red onion which complemented each other. Hubby also really enjoyed his krokketten. The fries were crispy and golden and served with what else but mayo. We were glad to have shared it because it was a huge portion.

I would join this club… sandwich

When we received our bill there was no line for a tip as it isn’t expected here as they earn a living wage, but we did thank our waiter for his service. Overall it was a great experience and I would be happy to return.