A Beautiful Mess

Last week I had a business diner with AG5 here. We were with about 40 people with partners. The format is lovely. Refugees and migrant in the kitchen that decide about the menu with flavors from where they are originally from. We loved it! Service was not fast and because we kept changing seats, it was very difficult for the staff to bring drinks to the right person. But we managed and had great fun. Dinner was colourful, tasteful and just amazing. But it took quite some time to get served. Second time we were with 5 and it was a lot quicker, but still a bit slow. First time around: We started off with soup and after that, we got flatbreads with salad. After 15 minutes without anything else on the tables, colleagues started eating the flatbread with salad, but I just couldn’t believe that that was it. It wasn’t apparently. About 20 minutes later, dips and other food arrived. The cauliflower and eggplant tasted amazing! It was so pretty and colourful. Rice with lentils was also jummy. We had hummus, baba ganoush, muhammara, köfte, chicken. That’s what the flat bread was for! Luckily, we could get more. I especially loved the salad with sumak and roasted flatbread. The tree of dates drink with cardamom was very nice as well. We enjoyed it so much, we went back with our family within a week. That was yesterday. But with 3 children, slow service is not a good combination. The soup tasted a bit burned. What a shame! Just a week ago, it was my favorite Pakistani lentil soup! The cauliflower I loved so much just last week, was served in huge chunks and raw. When it’s your first encounter with a place, and your first 2 elements are not good, you are not so optimistic about the rest of the meal. So our children wanted to go elsewhere…. Big bummer. We didn’t Ofcourse. Luckily, the kids loved the chicken and köfte. Desserts were nice as well. the children wanted chocolate cake. It had baked banana on top. Looked delicious and tasted delicious. We all loved it. I had a kind of butter cake. A strange mouth feel, nothing you have ever tasted before. A kind of sandy feel, but very soft. The honey and icecream matched wonderfull and it was very nice. We got the dessert for free which was a nice gesture. Both experiences were very different. First time it was amazing. If I posted this review a few days earlier, it would have been 5 stars for everything. Everything tasted great and you just wanted more. The slow service would be on the account of being a large group. The second time in merely 6 days, wasn’t a big succes. Not only because of our children, but because of the burned soup and raw cauliflower in huge chunks. But! We saw amazing potential and loved the first time. So we will go back some other time, without children.

A Beautiful Mess truly lives up to its name! The atmosphere is super cozy, with music at just the right volume so you can still have a great conversation. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive throughout the entire visit, which made the experience even better. The menu offers a great variety, and the oyster mushroom shawarma was amazing — packed with flavor and perfectly prepared. Everything felt thoughtful and high quality. Definitely a place I’ll be coming back to. Highly recommended!

A bit dissappointed in the meal folks, went here for lunch and ordered the Saffirs pakistani lentil soup, which was amazing. Cant say that for the flatbread with olive oil and zataar which was just plain white bread that has not even passed close to olive oil or zataar. Make sure your menu description relates to the food served. Other than that the service was quick, friendly and the atmosphere and location is pretty cool.

A happy vibrant place, relaxed atmosphere, busy on a weekday. Nice to come after work or with your family.. they have a soccer table. We ordered various plates from the menu to taste and it was all delicious. The ethiopian chicken was a favorite and the rice with lentils. Very nice dips with flat bread. Staff was friendly and helpful. We will be back.

Turkish/Middle Eastern cuisine. Very lovely ambience and a nice staff. There is indoor and outdoor seating. It’s a great place to kick back and relax and have some reasonable eats. It feels like a college vibe there is entertainment inside of the restaurant plus there is a variety of dishes/meals that are authentic. We give this experience a 4 out of 5.