Reviews - Borrel
Reviews summary
Tucked in Toronto, this cozy Dutch eatery charms with warm service, authentic bar snacks (bitterballen, kaassouffles) and a rare genever selection, making it ideal for first-timers and groups. While fried items and Dutch bites often hit the mark, the Indonesian-leaning dishes are uneven—some lack spice, balance and generous portions—and fries and nasi goreng drew criticism. Prices and portion sizes occasionally disappoint, but friendly service, intimate atmosphere and standout Dutch offerings keep customers returning.
Reviews from various users
Last update : 25.03.2025
Lovely rijsttafel dinner. Great service and food. We will be back!
Absolutely delicious food, great drinks and cocktails, and wonderful friendly service. Great atmosphere and can?t recommend this place nearly enough!
One of my friends wanted me to taste Dutch food. We were in big group and order many different things to try as many dishes as possible. They were all delicious, specially the deep fried ones.
My girlfriend brought me out here for my birthday as we are both second generation Dutch. It was well worth the drive from Courtice/Oshawa! Even though no staff were there to help them that night, Alison and Justin nailed it. We had about 4 or 5things from the menu and each was delicious and left us wanting for more until we were too full to eat anything more. Alison wascharming and attentive and we were happy to have a chance to speak with her about their backgrounds and the history of theirrestaurant. Highly recommended!!
I came here once for genever, once for rijsttafel, and finally here just for dinner. I really wish it was better. The flavours just don't cut it for Indonesian food. We had a lot of indo food in Amsterdam, including rijsttafel a bunch of times at variousplaces. This was as good as the worst place we tried there. I do recall (pre-COVID) the rijsttafel here being disappointing butthis city is incredibly limited for this food so I was just grateful to have it at all. This time... as nice as the staff are,they can't make up for the poorly flavoured food. The satays were edible, but not good. Tasteless. Just some overcooked chickenskewers. The nasi goreng was bitter and bland, and the plate was just ugly and brown. Not even a cucumber for colour. And wherewas the egg?! The bitterballen were actually perfect. I don't know why I ordered them though because I didn't really get thehype about them in Netherlands, so I don't know why I thought that would change. I'll say Borrel's are almost identical to theones we had in The Hague. So, they do succeed there. Very authentic. The fries were just terrible. They tasted and felt likethey had been fried, cooled, and refried about 10 times and then sat out all night under the headlamp. Rock hard and full ofgrease. And didn't even taste good. We had loads of Dutch fries in our visits and to say these are anything like the ones thereis not even reasonable. I don't really know what to make of it if they can't make good fries It's hard to find goodIndo/Malay food in Toronto, so I appreciate Borrel trying by doing not only the white Dutch food but also the Netherlands greatIndonesian cuisine culture. I just think there are other restaurants in Toronto that do Indo flavours so much better. Also, ifyou haven't had genever... do it when you're here. It is almost impossible to find in Ontario, and it's not available in anyLCBO or any other Toronto bar as far as I know. I have to give kudos to Borrel for going through al
Last update : 01.01.2024
Great small place for authentic Dutch food!
Visited on july 21 service was excellent Good wholesome food. Enjoyable evening.
Cozy space with great vibes. Finally came to try the food after being curious about the space for awhile. We had a great time! The tables are close together but we got to have a nice chat with our table neighbour and share recommendations on the menu.We ended up ordering 2 appetisers and 3 mains the Indonesian fried rice dish was our favourite! Super fragrant and was the perfect combo of salty, sweet and spicy. Definitely get this with the satay chicken skewers (that house made satay sauce yum! . We can’t wait to come again to try the rest of the menu! Service was great and food came promptly! We spent less than $100 on the food for 2, and were stuffed!Highly recommend this local gem! Thank you to the team that served us and fed us!!
Very authentic dutch bites to enjoy, maybe even more delicious then you would get back in the Netherlands
Loved it here! What a great vibe and delicious food. Come here to re-live or get a small taste of the Netherlands. The service was great and the staff were ready and open to recommend cocktails based on your taste. If you're a cheese fan like I am, try the Kaassouffles which is deep fried cheese. Yum!
Last update : 21.04.2023
My girlfriend brought me out here for my birthday as we are both second generation Dutch. It was well worth the drive from Courtice/Oshawa! Even though no staff were there to help them that night, Alison and Justin nailed it. We had about 4 or 5 things from the menu and each was delicious and left us wanting for more until we were too full to eat anything more. Alison was charming and attentive and we were happy to have a chance to speak with her about their backgrounds and the history of their restaurant. Highly recommended!!
The food was absolutely delicious, the drinks and cocktails were fantastic, and the service was wonderfully friendly. The atmosphere was excellent, and I highly recommend this place!
I came here to the Genver once for Rijsttafel, and finally here for dinner. I really wish it was better. The aromas simply do not cut it for Indonesian foods. We had a lot of indo food in Amsterdam, including rijsttafel a few times in different places. That was as good as the worst place we tried there. I remember (before COVID the rijsttafel disappointing here, but this city is incredibly limited for this food, so I was only grateful to have it at all. This time... as beautiful as the staff is, they can't choose the poorly flavored foods. The Satays were edible, but not good. Tasteless. Just a few overcooked chicken spits. The nasi goreng was bitter and bland, and the plate was only ugly and brown. Not even a cucumber for color. And where was the egg?! The bitter bales were really perfect. I don't know why I ordered them because I didn't really get the hype about them in the Netherlands, so I don't know why I thought that would change. I say Borrel is almost identical to those we had in The Hague. That's how they succeed. Very authentic. The Pommes were just terrible. They tasted and felt like they were fried, chilled and about 10 times refried and then sat under the headlight all night. Rock hard and full of fat. And didn't even taste good. We had many Dutch pommes in our visits and to say that there is something like those that are not even reasonable. I don't know what to make of it if they can't make good pommes... It is hard to find good indo/malay food in Toronto, so I appreciate Borrel by not only the white Dutch food, but also the Netherlands great Indonesian cuisine culture. I think there are other restaurants in Toronto that make Indo flavors so much better. If you don't have Genever, do it when you're here. It's almost impossible to find in Ontario, and it's not in any LCBO or any other Toronto bar, as far as I know. I have to give Borrel kudos to go through all the difficulties of bringing this spirit to us. I think it seems that Dutch food is generally good, so if I ever return, I will just stay on it (and Genver! elsewhere for Indonesian foods.
One of my friends encouraged me to try Dutch cuisine. We were a large group and ordered a variety of dishes to sample as many flavors as we could. Everything was delicious, especially the deep-fried items.
Charming local spot. It was my first time trying Dutch cuisine, and I was excited to sample it. My favorite dish was the split pea soup, which I might say is even better than Canadian split pea soup. The staff were welcoming and friendly, and the atmosphere was really cozy.
