Paviljoen de Colonie, Breda, The Netherlands

...'''THE RESTAURANT'''

Paviljoen de Colonie is a chain of restaurants in The Netherlands, other locations other than Breda being Houten, Maarssen, Utrecht, 's Graveland, Amersfoort and Waardenburg. Nope, I've not heard of most of those either. Not for the first time here, I can almost hear the distant twang of a Deliverance like banjo.

The restaurant appears to be done up in a style that is a mix of eras; the overall effect ...
...'''CONTACT INFORMATION'''

Paviljoen de Colonie
Grote Markt 26-28
4811 XR,
Breda.
The Netherlands.

Telephone (+31) (0) 76 - 52 140 82
Fax - (+31) (0) 76 - 514 34 63
Email - breda@colonie.nl

Website (Mostly in Dutch but English menu is on there too) - http://www.colonie.nl/  ... more

INTRODUCTION

The main square of Breda, South Netherlands has a plethora of restaurants on it. Being here for a while means that I can try pretty much all of them if I fancy, and so in the interests of consumer research I have started to go to some of the places I have not been before, mainly because I have had low expectations of them. Only one way to find out I guess!

THE RESTAURANT

Paviljoen de Colonie is a chain of restaurants in The Netherlands, other locations other than Breda being Houten, Maarssen, Utrecht, 's Graveland, Amersfoort and Waardenburg. Nope, I've not heard of most of those either. Not for the first time here, I can almost hear the distant twang of a Deliverance like banjo.

The restaurant appears to be done up in a style that is a mix of eras; the overall effect is, I think supposed to be what I can only describe as colonial, I suppose a literal interpretation of the restaurant name. There are some interesting artefacts dotted around for the observant. Old style picture portraits of grand looking people (most of them looked like old aristocrats) are dotted around the wood panelled walls. One pillar has old newspapers glued to it. An old storage cupboard with small glass fronted drawers sits in a corner, filled with interesting old boxes for Sunlight, Persil, safety matches and the like. Sit atop of this was some old crystal decanter and optics bottles. But that's just the start, there was a scale model of an ocean liner in a glass display case; some sort of little chest being carried by what appears to be 2 African gentlemen (colonial exploitation is well represented, then); a world globe; a couple of pool cues. At this point you begin to wonder where colonial ends and where car boot sale begins. I was almost expecting price tags on some of the objects, like in Jim Thompson Thai restaurants where most things not nailed to the floor are for sale.

As well as wood panelling some walls had old fashioned wallpaper. There is a decent wooden floor throughout, and the wooden tables are either tables for 2 variously pushed together or left for 2, and oval tables to seat bigger parties. The building is pretty sizeable so I'd guess it can seat at least 50. The chairs seem randomly picked; some tables had variously coloured leather backed ones, others chairs with arm rests (we had these and I found them a bit uncomfortable when pushed against our table). Each table had a candle on it, perched on a fancy, old fashioned candlestick holder. A few fancy chandeliers were on the ceiling, along with, in one part, a yellowy orange stained glass section with a fan underneath it, which I found quite spectacular. Stained glass was also on one or two of the walls. Where there were gaps in the restaurant partitions there were velvet drapes.

The bar area is to the right of the main restaurant section, and is surrounded by stools, lots of those old style portraits and a huge antique cupboard that the optics sit on.

It seems that this is also a hotel, and a reception booth with even more stained glass is towards the middle of the restaurant. It looks like something for a Victorian period drama and I was really impressed by this, as it gives the place a real unique quality.

Two of us were dining, and when we arrived we were greeted with a smile from a waitress and were asked if we wanted to be in the smoking or non smoking section. The smoking section was relatively small, in a separate section at the front of the restaurant, which had a big window looking out onto the Grote Markt (main square of Breda). There was also an inside window, so you could at least see this view past the smokers if you were in the non smoking section. Both sections were actually quite empty at about 7pm on a Sunday night, which was a bit strange as other restaurants were packed out, as was one quite similarly themed one a few doors down.

The vibe seemed quite laid back and informal. Next to us a family with a small child amused themselves and I saw one of the waitresses chatting to the mother for a while and she ran around after her toddler. And why not, the place was quite empty, I got the impression this is a friendly kind of place, nice to see.

We were shown to a non smoking table with the aforementioned dodgy seating, and a huge plant almost in my face which separated us from the next table. As non obtrusive easy listening music was piped through the restaurant, we perused the Dutch menus. Our waitress returned a while later to ask us if we actually wanted English menus, but my friend and I can more or less make sense of Dutch menus and so this faux pas of not giving us them in the first place passed without incident.

A while after we ordered, 3 slightly warm breads rolls, 2 white and 1 brown, arrived, with some butter and some kind of tapenade (mostly sundried tomatoes, I noted). This was pretty nice, so no shocks so far. Our main courses arrived not long after, and I concluded that this was the second mistake of the night, as the bread should have arrived much sooner, but since our waitresses were showing general good intent and attitude, we didn't really mind.

THE MENU

The menu is divided up into lunch and dinner

Lunch menu (served between 11am and 5pm) - includes many sandwiches, some toasted sandwiches, soups and some desserts.

Dinner menu (served after 5pm) - this has cold starters such as Carpaccio, ham and salads, and hot starters such as soup of the day, scallops and tilapia. There are many main courses which seem to switch between English and Dutch names. These included chicken wok (stir fry, I assume), chicken sate, pork filet, pan fried John Dory and vegetarian pasta. Side dishes include rice, french fries, bread and salad. Desserts include brownie with ice cream, banana pie and pancakes. On the Dutch version of the menu, the main courses are divided into meat, fish and vegetarian dishes.

There are also many warm and cold drinks and beers available as well as wines and spirits.

The starters are about 8 Euros and the mains anything from 15-20 Euros, which seems quite reasonable given the size and quality of the portions. One menu that seems a great idea is the "Food and film" where a ticket to the cinema is included in the meal price, as 19.5 Euros.

As this is a hotel restaurant, there are also breakfast buffet deals for non guests should you feel the need.

THE FOOD

The orange juice that I ordered was lovely; seemingly freshly squeezed and sweet; then again, it may well have been Tropicana with bits in!

I ordered "Salmon Goes Asian" which was salmon in teriyaki sauce with wild rice. A big chunk of salmon was hiding quite a lot of vegetables buried underneath it; green beans, carrots, beansprouts and red peppers. The vegetables were tasty and crispy and complimented the salmon well, as did the wild rice. I thought this to be a small portion at first, but then remembered that this is the norm here (big protein, small carbs except for bread). The rice was in a ball and was well cooked and tasty, flecked with the black pieces of wild rice. The teriyaki sauce was excellent; whilst being sweet it also had a spicy kick to it. My only slight gripe would be with the salmon, which, while tasty and a good sized portion, had a slightly strange texture, perhaps a little bit jelly-like. I've experienced this before and never quite know what to make of it. Perhaps it's supposed to be like this. Answers in the comments please!

I enclose pictures of the bread and my main, apologies if they're a bit dark as my camera phone doesn't have a flash.

My friend ordered "Hasta la pasta" which was a vegetarian dish. Green and white tagliatelle was cooked with a gorgonzola cheese sauce, tomatoes, spinach, green beans, broccoli and red peppers. My friend says that it was tasty, and the portion was too big for him to finish, but perhaps tasted a little too much of tomato. He did concede that he possibly should have mixed it up a bit to combine the flavours better.

My friend had a coffee after the meal which was pretty OK, he tells me. I liked the way that the cream and sugar packets were served to him in a little tin that looked slightly battered with the ravages of time.

THE SERVICE

I thought the service was pretty good and our waitress was very helpful and very chatty. So chatty in fact that at one stage one of the yokels came over to complain as they weren't getting served. This cheered me up no end, I think "vengeance" came immediately to mind. We always got served when we needed and we had no problems at all; it was an extremely pleasant experience in that respect.

FUN WITH BABEL FISH

An extract from their website. This is actually quite useful once you stop laughing at the usual piffle Babel Fish gives you:

Welcome at pavilion the Colonie breda

Pavilion the Colonie have established the bell with hotel in the monumental pand to the large market in breda. _The restaurant has an unique position with view on the market and the large church of breda. __The colonial institution with glass in lead, old paintings and valid pieces from flew times gives a sociable and natural environment. __We receive you gladly in these timeless, unique ambiance to let enjoy you generous hospitality and tasty culinary creations. __You will feel yourself at our rapidly at home because the Colonie confessed state for its personal and welcoming treatment where you if guest central state._

You are most welcome for a breakfast, fast or vast lunch, a delicious diner or a sociable borrel with friends or matter relations. But also if you want once something else, you sit at the Colonie good. _For example for Coloniale high Tea or our Food & film arrangement. Above pavilion the Colonie are themselves town hotel the bell. __The ideal hotel if you there wants once nice tussenuit. Breda is a splendid city shop, taste culture and to go out! For further information, arrangements or a chamber can to book you look at on:_

www.hotel-de-klok.nl.

CONCLUSION

This wasn't bad at all and much better than I had expected when I saw it was empty. Then again, based on past experience, anywhere that the Dutch don't go and eat in sheep like droves has to be good. The similar styled placed a few doors up was packed, and I found that place to be pretentious with poor service and distinctly average food. This rather proves my theory about the local's poor taste. The prices are quite reasonable, the food acceptable and the service excellent. The quirkiness of the décor is also quite appealing to me, even if the intent is some areas is misguided and inconsistent. I'm sure I will return here at some stage (and quite possibly the place a few doors up to write a review and get my own back).

CONTACT INFORMATION

Paviljoen de Colonie
Grote Markt 26-28
4811 XR,
Breda.
The Netherlands.

Telephone (+31) (0) 76 - 52 140 82
Fax - (+31) (0) 76 - 514 34 63
Email - breda@colonie.nl

Website (Mostly in Dutch but English menu is on there too) - http://www.colonie.nl/ 

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