Merlin’s

Terrible even with the free kids meal. Stay away get Nathan’s hot dogs instead. The park was nice.

This was our third trip to Dutch Wonderland, and wanting a little variety, we decided to try Merlin’s out, not really in the mood for another trip to Subway. «Merlin» himself was performing tricks outside, so we thought this could be fun.
First thing we noticed was the restaurant wasn’t all that full. We got seated a couple of minutes after we walked in, by a host who didn’t seem to know what he was doing or where to put us… And then the waiting began.
About 10 minutes to get our order taken. Another 10 – 15 to get our drinks. About a half hour or so to finally get our food (a burger for me, beef au jus for my wife, chicken quesadillas and mac and cheese for my daughter). The mac and cheese was clumpy and the cheese seemed to congeal into little bright orange masses. The cheese in the quesadillas was greasy. The fries were soggy, the sweet potato fries over-​fried. Our sandwiches were OK, definitely mediocre. I know I’m not supposed to expect a lot from amusement park food, but I’ve had food at Sesame Place and Universal Studios Orlando which was much tastier.
The biggest issue was the waiting. We took another 10 minutes once I gave them the credit card to ring us up. Overall, we wasted over an hour there. My daughter was thankfully very patient throughout the experience, and she got crayons to color with.
I must say that the staff was very nice and apologetic (I constantly heard them apologizing to other guests for waits and order screw ups). But the place wasn’t that busy, and there seemed to be enough staff, but it was just so slow and disorganized. Literally a bunch of kids trying to run a restaurant. Best go to the Subway or one of the other food stands, this place is so not worth it.
Also, word of warning: there are no restrooms inside the restaurant, you have to go outside to one of the park restrooms.

Average food for a theme park. Your usual chicken strips and Caesar salad type stuff. Not cheap but not expensive by theme park standards ($ 7 – 12 pp.) But I’m bumping to 3 stars because the service is generally great and because the vegetable sides are actually really fresh, surprising since 90% of people just get fries. Air conditioning seals the deal and is worth any price on a blistering day.
And if one of the characters, like Merlin or the princess, happens to be around? They are awesome, patient people who will make your rotten kid feel like royalty. :)