Restaurant De Beren Haarlem — Restaurant in Haarlem

First off the restaurant looked nice, not too busy, not too calm. We were asked to pick out a spot. We order cocktails and the anniversary special, unlimited spareribs for 19,95!

The cocktails were incredibly sweet, even the dark and stormy.

We tried out all sparerib flavours except for ketjap, and boy did we regret going here. We had to wait an hour for the first batch while the second batch was done within 2 minutes. I was seriously questioning whether the spareribs were heated up in the microwave, they had no texture whatsoever. I even saw a piece of mystery meat on there that was deep brown and very mushy, just like the outside of a frikandel (it had the same texture as the inside though). A sparerib "flavour" is only different in the toppings, they're all the same ribs topped with some average sauce which in all cases does not (fully) cover for the taste of low-quality-meat.

We gave it a shot, both thought it was disgusting, wouldn't even give this to a dog.

We figured we might as well try the white chocolate crème brûlée (for 9 euros?!?) to finish it off right. The crème brûlée had more of a vla texture and was yet again incredibly sweet. The sugar on top wasn't even fully melted - no satisfying crunch when tapping your spoon on top of it.

Horrible. Paid 80 euros. With this quality you're better off visiting a McDonalds for half the price and actually get what you'd expect.

Did I mention this was my...

We came here on a Saturday evening to have a nice dinner, but for sure will not come again. They were clearly understaffed, which I think is unacceptable in a big place like this. The staff was struggling, and I felt sorry for them, as me myself also work in horeca, but as a costumer I can not accept it as an excuse. We were waiting 55 minutes for 2 hamburgers, which at the end arrived cold, and in the chicken burger the chicken itself wasn't even fully cooked. We could completely see how some of the kitchen staff is working WITHOUT gloves, in an open kitchen, where all the costumers can see you. We watched for 55 minutes how they are slapping and touching everyone's food with their own hands, without any protection. Was disgusting, I'm sorry to say this, but if you have an open kitchen, at least make it obligatory to wear gloves for the staff. After almost an hour waiting the burgers were not just served cold, but also without fries, which we ordered btw. It came 10 minutes later. I feel sorry for the staff that they have to work in an enviroment like this, and they can not doo anything about it. We were only waiting because we had a giftcard to this place, but if it would be my own money, definitely would have sent back all the food and left. Definitely not recommend, if you want a nice experience...

Awful. I have no words. According to the table next to us, burgers were not available. Me and my partner chose shared dining platters. To summarise our experience. Waitress was not interested. We came in, asked if we could sit freely, and she gestured we could. 15 mins after waving her down, she finally brought a menu and took our drink order. The tequila sunrise looked like tropical orange juice, and the mojito was improperly made. Tasted like it came out of a pre made drink mix. The food was horrendous. Fried chicken with store bought chili sauce to cover it. The shrimp croquette was mushed so far up, there was no texture left. Calamares where overcooked, the sliders were store bought buns, with a burger cut up in two with a tiny piece of lettuce and the fries were cold. Tables are not being tended to correctly, cleaned improperly. And it was bloody cold in the restaurant too.

Absolutely disgrace of a restaurant. This restaurant should learn to teach their staff properly. No...