Club Cantina — Restaurant in Haarlem

I wish I had read the more negative reviews before I booked a table here. I assumed the 4.6 said enough, but we were sadly very mistaken.

Food: it doesn't even deserve 1 star really. We had the pork tacos ("Al pastor") that are supposed to have been cooked sous vide and thinly sliced, but it certainly was neither. This resembled shoarma, both in consistency and taste, it definitely was not even remotely as described on the menu. Also, the "pollo fuego Mexicana" was served lying in a tomato sauce that didn't add spice nor flavor, it just made the chicken soggy. The nachos were okay, so I suppose that's what the 1 star is for.

Service: The service was very slow and very inefficient. The best way to make money is by selling drinks, and we were happy to drink a lot, but we were left waiting too often. The staff explained it was busy or they didn't have enough staff (I overheard), but there was plenty of staff, they just didn't work efficiently. Why was only one person pouring drinks at the bar, or so it seemed?! I was left waiting for my Irish coffee for over 5 minutes while I could see that some staff was standing around idly, so I decided to cancel it when we left. Two stars only because they were friendly.

Price-quality: the quality of the food does not reflect the price, not does it warrant it.

Overall: I am sorry to say that this was the worst dinner I have had at a restaurant. I would not recommend...

Not a celiac heaven, but a good choice.

I have symptomatic celiac disease and previously asked if they could cook gluten free. They said that they have had people with celiac disease there before and they haven't had any problems, but that they can't rule out contamination.

But they knew that everything that goes into the deep fryer is contaminated, as bitterballs, etc. are also fried there. It's great that the staff is so knowledgeable!

I was a little sad not being able to eat the truffle fries which looked amazing or the quesadillas which looked also nice.

In general, nachos and tacos are gluten-free, but the minced meat also contains gluten, which is why we didn't order the loaded nachos, but rather simple nachos with guaccamole and black bean paste.

The food was delicious and I had no problems, despite being highly sensitive (celiac disease).

The staff was super friendly and we had a nice place. There are pens to keep children busy.

Overall a...

Unfortunately we had a really bad experience at Club Cantina. It started poorly and got worse unfortunately. The Quesadillas for starters weren't quesadillas (they were 3 tiny hard shell tacos) and the cocktails were weak (small pours of the spirits) despite being 10 or 11 Euros each. That was frustrating but not the worst part. We waited a long time for our mains. I'm vegetarian and when they arrived I was served a meat bowl of nachos (seemed to be pulled chicken) rather than jackfruit. I only realised half way through. Furthermore the guacamole was a very bright green and lacking any flavour - I'd be astonished if it was home made. The manager was very apologetic and gave us the food for free.

It's a shame because I was really looking forward to some good Mexican food as were my friends. In fairness there's a good atmosphere - that was the only positive from...