Enjoying pancakes at Little Amsterdam Banbury
We love pancakes in our house. As with most people it’s rare we have them more frequently than the lemon and sugar ones on pancake day. But sometimes you just fancy them at other times. Locally we’re lucky enough to have a dutch pancake restaurant, Little Amsterdam Banbury.
N had never been before, but we went to the cinema to see Paddington 2 (how cute is that film, we loved it…and I shed a tear or two at the end) and wanted to have lunch afterwards. With Little Amsterdam just a short walk from the cinema it was the obvious choice. And mentioning pancakes to N, his eyes lit up. Until we got inside and he realised that they don’t have lemon and sugar on their pancakes.
It’s not often he misbehaves, but there was quite a strop once we’d sat down with him refusing to choose anything else. In the meantime I was watching all the other delicious toppings on other people’s pancakes and wishing he’d just decide.
I’ve eaten a few times in Little Amsterdam and people obviously go regularly as the staff do chat to quite a few of the people eating there. Or maybe they’re just chatty with customers asking questions.
The one thing is that the service is slow. I’ve been 3 or 4 times with a group and with just one other person, and there’s always been a wait. For the time you wait, the pancakes are demolished so quickly, so going with friends to chat with rather than children who don’t like waiting, is probably a better idea. However, there is a small area with some younger children’s toys in so they can enjoy that. For older children the kids menu has some activities on it, but we had no pens or pencils provided so it caused some moans.
The menu is predominantly pancakes of course, but there are other dutch specialities on it like omelettes, open sandwiches and more. You can choose your own toppings or choose from the menu variations. I decided on a bacon and pineapple one – the pineapple is juicy enough to give a bit of moisture to the pancake. And then you can drizzle over some dutch sauce which is their version of a syrup a bit like maple syrup.
As I mentioned, N wasn’t happy with the choice. Children can similarly build their own toppings – he didn’t want a sweet pancake, and eventually after moaning about no lemon, chose ham for his, with cucumber on the side. Once it arrived, he proclaimed it ‘delicious’. Other dishes on the children’s menu include croquettes, hot dogs, omelettes, waffles or soup. One thing if you’re used to eating out in other places with children’s menus, Little Amsterdam don’t have a set price children’s menu, it’s all A La Carte. So if they want main and dessert you could be paying over £8 for the 2 courses, and then drinks on top.
We were debating desserts – it’s not often we turn them down, but 2 pancakes was a bit overkill and we didn’t fancy waffles. Little Amsterdam do serve Gelato, and N had decided on a milkshake for his drink, which was more like a pudding with a thick gelato shake and cream on top. There’s no children’s sizes for these, but I’d asked to have a half size one and the staff happily made one for him, charging me half the price.
Little Amsterdam is a lovely restaurant to sit and eat, relax with a coffee, and take your time while out. But if you’re eating several courses with children, then prepare to wait a while, and pay more than you would in other family friendly places with set children’s menus. If you have allergies, this is a great place to eat, as they cater for allergies and intolerances really well.
Have you visited a local pancake restaurant or Little Amsterdam Banbury? What would you have on your pancakes?
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