Radio Royaal Restaurant Review

I'm generally too embarrassed to take photos inside restaurants but recently I've started to do so at some of the more interesting locations. I think it started in Eindhoven at this place called Radio Royaal. It was a unique experience and really stood out in more ways than one (some good and some bad). This is sort of a review of the restaurant, my thoughts and my experience dining there.

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The restaurant is located in the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands near the main square of the Strijp S district inside an old factory building. Its very close to the Trudo Vertical Forest behind the white factory in the photo below. It's not super easy to find so hopefully that description helps a little.

I generally do all of our trip planning for our vacations but my wife is much better at finding good restaurants than I am so that's become her unofficial job during all of our trips. The only dud meals we have had were when we've walked in randomly off the street or when I myself have researched the restaurant. Nearly all of the ones she has chosen have been quite good overall.

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We got to the restaurant around 6:30pm and surpringly for the Netherlands we were the first to arrive. We walked into the doors and saw a man folding towels and aprons and I had to confirm with him if we were in the right place. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was a restaurant or some sort of laundry facility.

Me: "Hello, ummm... is this a restaurant?"
Man chuckles a bit: "Yes."
Me looking around, seeing no one inside: "Umm, are you open?"
Man chuckles again: "Yeah, would you want a table?"
Me: "Yes, thank you."

He was super casual but super friendly and helpful. He was also our waiter for the first half of the meal and really made the experience somewhat special. Like I said, there were no other customers in there when we arrived and by the time we left around 8pm there were only two other couples eating dinner. I don't think it is a very busy location, probably because it's so far out of the way of the downtown.

The interior was super unique though. It was basically decorated by only the original factory machinery, along with an open kitchen and some basic tables.

I had a beer and my wife had a gin and tonic while we perused the menu.

Like I said, our waiter was super accommodating and helpful and really elevated the experience of the restaurant. I ended up ordering all of his recommendations, which were a leek appetizer and white asparagus and ham main. He explained that both the leeks and the asparagus were in season in the Netherlands at the time and both dishes ended up being very delicious.

My wife and I ordered wine with our mains and after we chose what we wanted the server suggestion that we get a different glass that he thought would go better with each of our meals. He came back to the table with four bottles of wine, two red and two white, and let us each try both to see what we liked better, our original selection or the one he recommended. We both preferred his suggestion. The wine wasn't an upsell either, the glasses were the same price, he just wanted to go out of his way to help us enjoy our meal.

He ended up leaving half way through though, before our mains had arrived. It was a bit disappointing really, especially since he was replaced by another man that was no where near as good. I don't know if it was because there were barely any patrons in the restaurant or if he was just over the day but the second server wasn't very good at all. He wasn't rude or anything, but he was a stark contrast to the first man. He was abrupt when bringing the rest of our food, he didn't saying anything to us at all and he was impossible to get a hold of for the remainder of the meal. He just stood at the bar talking to his friend. My wife went looking for the bathroom at one point and he just watched her wandering around aimlessly without offering to help or pointing her in the right direction. She actually never did find the restroom and had to hold it until we got back to the hotel. After trying to get his attention from our table for 10 minutes at the end of our dessert I ended up walking up to him at the bar to request our bill and to pay.

Again, he wasn't rude or anything, he just seemed to be non-existent. It was probably amplified by the fact that his collegue was so attentive and accomadating.

My Takeaway

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My wife and I never review restaurants online because generally neither of us care enough to take the time to do so. I was surprised at the begining of the meal when she told me that she was going to review the restaurant that evening and give it a five star rating for food and service. She said that she was really impressed by everything so far and thought that at a minimum it deserved some accolades online. After the meal was over though, during our walk back to the hotel, I asked her if she was still going to review the restaurant. She ended up shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head no, "Why bother?" I chuckled a little. "Yeah. I wouldn't waste your time with it."

So overall I would say that the food at Radio Royaal was decent and the ambiance was unique and interesting but the service was so hit or miss that it completely changed our perspective on the entire experience. I'd personally give the restaurant a 3 out of 5 stars and probably wouldn't bother going back.

Well thats it for now. Until next time, thanks for stopping by.