Queens Tearoom Haarlem — Restaurant in Haarlem

‘One of the best place for scones in Netherlands’

We came across bij Babette when we visited Haarlem a few months back. We got some fresh scones for take away and the moment we had it, we were amazed. The combination with jam and cream was so awesome. Since then we never had a week without discussing those scones l. And, yesterday we decided to travel all the way to haarlem to eat the scones.

I believe the best time to have the fresh scones without the hustle of finding a place to sit (inside) is around 10 in the morning. This place is otherwise very busy after noon (atleast on weekends). We ordered traditional scones and enjoyed them with homemade strawberry jam and clotted cream (which has consistency of butter). The scones were soft inside and warm; definitely the taste we were missing for weeks. I have had scones from many different bakeries and cafes in netherlands, but this one is legendary. As it is a tea room with english decode, I had white tea Gaiety which was recommended by the staff as it goes well with the scones. And that was true! My wife had chai latte which she enjoyed. We also ordered food because we wanted to explore other items in the menu. We got leek and cheese pie, and Cheddar cheese and onion chutney on baked potato. Both of them were tasty. I must mentioned that the lady who were baking got the fresh leek and all the ingredients from the market in front of us and prepared the amazing pie. I highly recommend their savoury pie. They were quite different and much more tasty that i imagined. We also wanted to try cakes but we were so full. We came back in the afternoon and got chocolate cake and banoffee pie as take away (the tearoom was full). They were good and special mention goes to chocolate cake which had right amount of sweetness to our liking. I will be visiting this place often to try their other cakes, of course alongside scones!

Hand drawn illustration in the images by...

We recently had lunch at "Bij Babette". We were excited to have tea there but unfortunately the experience turned out to be a disappointment.

The shop is located on the corner of a quaint little street in Haarlem. The interior is cute with an old charm feel but unfortunately the food was not what we expected. We were barely seated, and while still taking of our jackets, the waiterss asked if we are ready to order without even having seen the menu.

The waitress forgot one order and simply said that she forgot. The bread was dry and stale and definitely not a BLT "tea sandwich".The whole experience was not like an English tea should be. We expected English tea sandwiches and not a stale "American style BLT" with a tough crust, badly cut lettuce and tomatoes that were all over the place with every bite you took. I lived in the UK and very familiar with English tea and BLT's are not part of the English tea repertoire.

The waitress was friendly but had no serving skills. When we ordered a second glass of juice, she wanted to remove the half full glass to replace it with the new order. This is not done when the glass is still half full. The website is not informative and apparently not up to date because the telephone number was out of service.

Unfortunately it's not a place I can recommend or...

Went here with a couple of girlfriends to celebrate my birthday. We were not disappointed, that’s for sure! Two of my friends are vegetarian and Sarah was very accommodating for us. The assortment of “lekkers” was immense and needless to say we all left stuffed to the top! Plus, it doesn’t stop there, the owner told us that we’re welcome to take home whatever we couldn’t finish. This was definitely what we did. LOL

I would totally recommend this place in a heartbeat! The atmosphere was charming and inviting, and the food was delicious! Two “min punts”, we were there on a Sunday and it was extremely busy so I recommend going during the week if you can. The second was that we were served two pots of tea that were preselected. I think we would’ve preferred if we had a choice. It was clear that they had a great assortment.

Last but not least was the scones, they belong with “Afternoon Tea” after all. They were delicious!! So good that I had to order some to take home afterwards. So happy that I did this. It was wonderful to have a reminder of my “birthday party” the next day. I’m looking forward to going here again, but mid week when it’s less busy. You definitely want to make a reservation ahead of...