Lets go Dutch? (My Old Dutch (London))

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	My Old Dutch (London)
Date:	15/05/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: quick, friendly service, huge panckes, good value

Disadvantages: Not much on main menu if you don't like pancakes

Pancakes should be simple to make since they are only flour, egg and milk right? Well I do like pancakes and not just on Shrove Tuesday but very rarely make them myself. When I fancy a fix I will go to a pancake house or creperie. I have fond memories of the Pancake Place in Scotland and the now sadly gone Dutch Pancake House in Manchester. Now I am in London I do not have to go without my pancake fix as I have discovered My Old Dutch Pancake House.
My Old Dutch Pancake House is a mini chain of Pancake Houses with branches in Holborn Central London, Ealing and Chelsea with a new one in Kensington recently opened. I've only visited the Holborn one but if the others are as good I would happily visit them if I was in the area. The Holborn branch is super easy to find, as it is located on High Holborn just two minutes walk from the Holborn underground station (Piccadilly and Central lines) heading west towards Oxford street. Various buses also go past the restaurant so it is easy to get to by public transport.

The occasion for my visit was a girly Saturday night, as I was meeting up with some female friends to catch up, gossip and have a nice relaxed meal. I arrived around about 8.45 but not all my friends had arrived (they can be a tardy bunch most of the tiome) so I was seated at the comfortable sofas at the front of the restaurant whilst I waited for them to arrive. Although it was Saturday night the restaurant was not that busy. Covent Garden and the West End are just down the road so "My Old Dutch would be an ideal place for a dinner before or after visiting the theatre. I think it would have been busier earlier in the evening or perhaps later. It's an ideal place for families to eat as pancakes are fun and very child friendly (the website has a number of activities for children to download such as make your own pancake) so again early evening would suit them better.
Once the rest of my party had arrived we were promptly seated at a pine table with matching pine chairs. And then we went about he serious business of choosing and ordering our food. My Old Dutch does do a range of traditional Dutch starters such as Dutch meatballs and marinated herring alongside the more ubiquitous nachos and potato wedges (priced round about the £5 mark) but we skipped these to go for the main courses. At My Old Dutch there really is a pancake topping for everyone from lamb stew to smoked salmon and chicken curry complete with mango chutney and rice. Vegetarians are not left out a there are five veggie options. For those that are really picky and can't find any combination they like there is a make your own pancake option where different toppings are different prices and you select your own combination. Prices range from £7.95 to £9.95 , which is good for central London and the pancakes are so filling you don't need side orders. If you really do not like pancakes there is a small number of salad option such as Caesar salad and Greek salad which cost around about £6. There is also a children menu on request.

I like the drinks menu , as there's something for everyone. I particularly like it, as it has a selection of beer from neighboring Belgium, including Duvel, Hoegaarden and four fruit beers. I ordered a passion fruit beer, which was light sweet and fruity . It was £3.95 for a smallish bottle but I would expect that for a specialty beer in London. There is also a decent wine list and a nice range of soft drinks including smoothies and milk sakes.
I was very impressed with the service at "My Old Dutch. Our waitress was only too happy to help and advise when it cam to the menu. One of my friends was torn between the four cheese and smoked salmon pancake and she happily answered all question. I fancied the Asparagus pancake but one of the ingredients was mushroom. I am not keen on mushrooms on things like pizza and pancakes although I like garlic mushrooms (I'm weird) so asked if i could substitute them fro olives and they were happy to do so.

Our enormous pancakes arrived ultra quickly. It was nice not to have too long a wait. They arrived looking very tasty on bowl like plates that are 39cm in diameter. They are big enough to baptise a small baby or for a guinea pig to go for a paddle. They really are huge. The pancakes are light and fluffy and you feel that they will not be filling. Mine had four or five sticks of asparagus alongside peppers, sweetcorn n and slices of tomato underneath a thick coating of melted cheese with olives sprinkled all overit. My friends' pancakes looked equally tasty. They did taste pretty good an they were very filling. I just about finished mine.
Here lies a problem there is no room for dessert. You can get sweet pancakes in a variety of toppings from the traditional sugar and lemon or maple syrup to fruity treats such as apple and cinnamon or you can make up your own concoction.(prices vary from £5.75 to £7.50) If you've had enough of pancakes there are also Belgian waffles with various toppings for £5.75. if I had not been totally stuffed I quite fancied a waffle with berry compote and ice cream! There are other not so Benelux such as ice cream and chocolate fudge cake. I think if I were to visits again I would share a savoury pnacake with a friend or else just go for coffee and dessert, as I would love to try their sweet creations, as they look and sound so good

Our total bill for four people including four pancakes and three drinks came to just over £50 including service charge. For those who want even better value for money all pancakes are £5 on a Monday or there is a loyalty card scheme to get your tenth pancake free. There's also a meal deal Tuesday to Friday 11am to 5 pm where one course is £5 and two courses £7.95 which would make an incredibly cheap meal.

I will certainly be going back to My Old Dutch, as it was good value for money, the service was good and most importantly the pancakes were tasty, tasty, very very tasty!

131-132 High Holborn
Holborn
London
WC1V 6PS
Tel: 020 7242 5200
http://www.myolddutch.com/default.asp

Summary: huge Dutch pancakes at reasonable prices