Yesterday Maaike and I hopped aboard the dinner train. Our destination? Den Haag (and back to Utrecht again). We enjoyed our dinner while gliding through the Dutch landscape during sunset. A great experience!
Unique dinner experience in a train
At 20:00 we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Dinner Train at track 11 on Utrecht Central Station (as announced on our tickets). While waiting we noticed a blue train entering the station, but not on the platform we were waiting on! Luckily we had some time to cross over and be there on time. In every compartment, the staff was ready to help guide us to our seat and we had a lovely chat with some of them while waiting for the next course. Driving through the Netherlands we noticed a new found appreciation for our small country, all those windmills, meadows, rivers and stations look really pretty while the sun sets.
Dinner with a view
While the environment is something you’ve not experienced before, the food is standard but not top of the bill. We shared the vegetarian and fish menu. Both good but not special. We started out with couscous, chickpeas, and pistachio had salmon sashimi as a starter with the beetroot and mozzarella as a vegetarian option. Our main course was mostly alike: glazed carrots, with asparagus, crumble and puree. The fish menu had red mullet, the vegetarian dish offered some chicory. We finished our meal with vanilla ice cream, topped with either Cassis or Leffe with red fruit flavor. We were satisfied but not impressed, but to be reasonable: it is quite hard to have a real kitchen in a moving train.
Pros
- A unique experience: having dinner in a train
- The staff is lovely and attentive
Cons
- The food is good, but since we are pretty high maintenance 😉 not the best we ever had
More about the Dinner Train
Location: Leaves from Utrecht Central Station (from the 3rd of July until the 14th of July). After this the train leave from another city in the Netherlands (you’ll find the full planning on the website).
Opening hours: You have the option to dine at 5 pm or 20 pm. It will take you about 2.5 hours to get back to Utrecht Central Station
Price: A table for 2 or 4 people is € 59 p.p., a table shared with others is € 49 p.p.
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