We have recently learned from Eftelist that the White Horse restaurant is getting a renovation. Quite a few years ago it had a clean-up, and it looks a lot better than it did, but it is lacking something Efteling-y when you take a look at other similar restaurants such as the Octopus and Station de Ooste.
There are two main issues that we have with the White Horse (Het Witte Paard). Firstly, it can get a little draughty; it doesn’t feel cosy, as they always seem to have the doors open on each side of the building. Secondly, the toilets. They are tiny, and every time we have visited, they haven’t smelled too great either! Otherwise it is a nice enough place, lots of food variety and lots of tables.
Some better theming would be nice in the restaurant, and we know that Efteling can do theming really well, just look at Polle’s Keuken! At the moment, there are chairs that don’t match, and of course, a White Horse shoved in the middle of the floor. Just in case you forgot that you were in the White Horse, maybe.
Hey, those chairs don’t match!
The renovation is due to take place in February, and we look forward to seeing what they do with the place!
So, we are about 6 days away from heading to Efteling (happy faces!) and we’re trying to book a couple of restaurants. The only option to add on to your booking is the Raveleijn dinner package; aside from adding golf and champagne etc. On the ‘restaurants’ section of the site, you can however book other restaurants, but once you get them to the checkout, they won’t take your credit card. Maybe you must have a Dutch card to book them? Either way, if anyone else is thinking of doing the same from the UK, I advise calling Efteling directly!
A couple of years ago, I was wandering around one of those discount supermarket type of places, and out of the corner of my eye, I could swear that I saw the Efteling logo. Was I having withdrawal symptoms? Was all that studying at University driving me crazy? Well, yes to all of the above, but I was right! There it was in the freezer aisle, glistening like a jewel in a frog king’s crown, the Dragon Tart.
To the majority of us in this country, it could best be described as an Arctic roll. Green sponge cake wrapped around pink ice cream, with a swirl of jam (or dragon blood, if you’d like to think about it like that) in the centre. The thing even had scales printed on the sponge! That wasn’t all. There was a little bag containing those little pieces of candy that crackle when you put them in your mouth, and those were to be sprinkled on top of the cake.
And was that all?
No!
Something that was almost as good as the cake, free stickers!
So how was it? It was pretty tasty. The fact that it was Efteling-related probably made it more tasty, and the crackling stuff just made it even better! Heck, even the box looked good!
The cakes were made by Maître Paul, who make frozen cakes and pastries.
If they were still around, we’d tell you all to buy one. Or maybe you could make your own?!
We’ve recently mentioned some of the drinks that you can find in Efteling that will keep you nice and warm in the winter months. And now, onto the food!
In particular, Grootmoeder’s Keuken. Here you can get sandwiches which contain:
meatballs with cabbage and red onion sauce, satay and meatballs with pickles and fried onions. If that didn’t make you hungry enough, we’ve shared a photo too!
Grootmoeder’s Keuken is located between het Witte Paard and the Carousel. There are a few places to sit nearby, or you could cross the train tracks and eat your sandwich while you take a stroll through the Fairy Tale Forest.
Another good place for hot food is the Unox cart which is located in front of the Flying Dutchman building. Hot sausages in buns make for some very tasty hot dogs!
One last one for now, and that is the ‘Cheeky Monkey’ Döner Kebab counter in the East Station building, near the Python. Here they serve Turkish pizza, and of, course, döner kebabs. There is a ton of seating inside and outside of the station too.Plenty choice there for food on chilly days!
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The Raveleijn Restaurant is the place to be for warming food. A board is on the table when you are seated, which contains salmon, rocket, pickles, onions, bread and butter. The main course is chicken with vegetables:
Den Suykerbuyk sells ice cream and waffles. One of their specialities is the ‘Oubliehoorn’, which is a large cone, with fruit, 2 scoops of your choice of ice-cream, and whipped cream on top; all for only 3.10! We highly, highly recommend these, as they are very tasty, and at a great price, too! They are located at Anton Pieckplein.
Aside from the obvious hundreds of great reasons to visit Efteling, Polle’s Keuken is high on the list of must-dos! It only opened on March 30th of this year, but the frequent line of customers waiting to get in tells us that it is already a favourite of Efteling guests.
Pancakes are available from 11:30 am, just in time for a late breakfast. We were there bang on that time, and it was very quiet the whole time we were there. Most of the lines forming outside seemed to come later in the day, for lunch and dinner. The first thing you’ll notice when entering the building is the theming.
The ‘Oven’
There is a massive ‘oven’ in the middle of the floor, with tables surrounding it, a bar to the far left of the room, and on your immediate left as you enter, is where the pancakes are born. There are a lot of tables inside and out, so don’t worry about getting a table! The waiters and waitresses are dressed in traditional chefs outfits, to complete the theme.
You will be handed a menu upon arrival at the restaurant, and then you can pick your table. Menus are available in English if you ask, which is great news, because there are a lot of items on that menu! There are savoury pancakes such as salmon with rocket and cream cheese, goat’s cheese with honey, apple and pecan nuts, and bacon with onion. The sweet pancakes include apple with cinnamon and raisins, pineapple with ginger, and hot cherries.
The Menu. Click for a closer look!
Got a child with you? They feed those here too! Children can get a heart-shaped pancake with toppings such as sprinkles that they can put on themselves; this is known as the ‘Pimp Your Own Heart Pancake’ option, and comes with a drink and a ‘surprise’.
Don’t like pancakes? You’re in the wrong restaurant! But joking aside, there are options at Polle’s Keuken for the folks who don’t fancy nibbling away at a pancake. You can order a ‘Family Cake’ or a ‘Royal Dessert’, which are for between 1 and 4 people. There is also a cake carousel located to the left as you enter.
Drinks include the usual tea, coffee and hot chocolate, but also available is a fresh mint tea or a latte macchiato. Beer and wine are also available from the bar. Another neat idea that Efteling had, was to bag up the special pancake mix and sell it in bags for 2.95 in the restaurant. You can also buy gift packs of the mix which comes with a chef’s hat and a wooden spoon (also available at the main entrance for around 6.95).
We had the Pineapple and Ginger pancake, and the Hot Cherries pancake. The Hot Cherries were snuggled inside the hot soft pancake, with whipped cream on the side, and it tasted divine!
Hot Cherries
The Pineapple and Ginger pancake was also surprisingly nice, considering the rather unusual combination. There was sugar and syrup on the table, along with salt and pepper, in case you ordered a savoury pancake.
Remember that ‘oven’ we mentioned that is located in the centre of the restaurant? Every now and then, it does something special…
We highly recommend Polle’s Keuken if you love pancakes, or cakes in general!
It is now open! Yesterday, the Eigenheymer cart opened to guests, selling (what I believe to be) curly potatoes on sticks. It appears that you can choose various toppings for the potato such as cheese or barbecue. At a cost of 2.75, many people seem to think that these are a little expensive, but we shall reserve judgement until we can try one ourselves!
…but what is it selling? It does not open until July 18th, but Efteling posted a picture of the cart to their Facebook wall. It is hard to tell what it will be selling, though the image on the top of it looks like fries on a stick. It appears to be located outside and to the right of the Villa Volta. Any ideas as to what it is?
Well whatever food it will produce, it does look very nice!
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Maybe you are wandering around Efteling and find yourself feeling peckish, but not hungry enough to go and buy a whole meal. That is where these little wonders come in! Automatiek machines dispense food, in small quantities. Items such as corn dogs, curried sausages and mince sticks are all included in the machines, as well as a couple of vegetarian options. There are even bread buns available to accompany your snack! Each snack is priced around the 1.70€-1.90€ mark, and there are also sauces available for 50¢.
The idea is simple: you put your money in the slot and then choose which snack you want by simply opening the little door and taking it. It isn’t something we experience much of in the U.K, but it is a great idea, especially if you don’t want to stand in line for food on a busy day!
It wasn’t until my most recent trip that I tried using these machines, and now I wonder why I never did! The food from them was really nice. The only slight drawback for anyone who does not speak Dutch, is that you probably won’t have a clue what you’re getting. The only thing I was sure about was that broodje was bread. On the up side, I used the machines twice, and both times I ended up with something really tasty; it was quite a nice surprise! There are a few sets of these machines throughout the park, usually at counter service eateries.
For a closer look at what you can find in the machines, click here!
