If you’ve ever been to a classic US mall, you probably know and fear the concept of a food court. But perhaps I had just a lot of bad luck since whenever I ate at something like that, I went home with a mild food poisoning.
A couple of years ago when we went to Amsterdam and The Hague we stumbled upon something similar but also so much better: While shopping in the city, we came across “Food Hallen”, a chain of food markets that operates in The Netherlands. Going there, you basically enter a huge space with seating options all around you and stands where you can order various kinds of meals, from pizza and burgers to fusion Asian. Unlike a classic food court, the meals there are usually freshly prepared and of high quality, similar to the current style of street food. It’s also comfortable to sit there and just enjoy your time with friends.
Earlier this year we also stumbled upon “Wolf” in Brussels, which is following the same concept. We enjoyed it so much, that we pretty much spent half a day there to try meals from pretty much every stand. It certainly also helped that they have their brewery with some delicious options.
And since October 2023 there is the Gleis//Garten in Vienna, a food market built inside an old train depot that currently has 9 food stands and two bars including its own little and very good brewery. Why do I write only now about it? Well, yesterday I finally went there, alone and mostly reading books, but still! The burger was very good, the two different beers (a wheat beer and a mango IPA) delicious, and the Tiramisu from the Italian restaurant a perfect end of the meal.
Next time (and there definitely will be a next time) I need to come in the late afternoon, not alone, and just stay there for the rest of the day 😅
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