The Governor — Restaurant in Haarlem

Terrible experience. Half of our orders were incorrect. My friend ordered salmon, which was very raw. Had to be sent back to be cooked. Waiter even admitted it was very undercooked. I ordered a entrecôte steak and got what was very clearly a pork chop. White meat, tough texture and flavor of a pork chop. I asked the server if I had been sent a pork chop instead, and he told me no, it was steak. He kept insisting. So i asked to speak to a manager. Manager finally appeared and again said it was steak. No apologies that I didn’t like it, no offer to replace it with a different item. Just basically tough luck that’s what you get. Then I was charge 27.50 for the meal that was definitely not what I ordered. I am including a picture of my “steak” with one of many pictures I found on the internet when I googled entrecôte. You can see the difference. We also were angry enough that we brought the leftover meat back to our hotel and ask the lady at the desk what she thought. She told us she worked as a chef previously at various restaurants and that it was definitely not steak. She also said that she would never recommend the governor because she has heard shady things about them. Lots of fantastic restaurants in Haarlem. This is not one of them. 0/10 do...

Having lived in Haarlem for over 15 years, I can honestly say this best restaurant in the city and surrounding areas. I really should have written this review ages ago - but always hesitated, only because I want to make sure I can reserve a table whenever I want. The restaurant is slightly set back from the road, and is attached to the Ambassador hotel, which means it is a secret gem that you need to spot - even though it centrally located and has amazing views of the medieval St Bavo cathedral.

What makes The Governor so special, apart from the setting and lovely decor both inside and out? Quite honestly the staff - this is evident in the excellent service and excellent food and wine. Everyone is passionate about making sure the guest has the best experience ever, and this is truly what makes the difference. My personal favourite is the Flat Iron Steak and curly fries, with an amazing house Chardonnay - but absolutely everything I have eaten there is sublime!

A big thank you to the staff for many memorable times in your...

I have been here several times, but at my last visit, our server was extremely rude and incompetent. She assumed we didn't speak Dutch and was saying rude things about us to her colleagues right in front of us, which we understood clearly because we do speak Dutch, though we were hosting family who did not that night, so we were speaking English. She was annoyed that we asked for carafes of water when we sat down, despite the fact that we also ordered other drinks and a lot of food. In fact, our bill was well over €200. We were very respectful guests, as it's important to us to be kind to others, even when they are not kind to us. She then took about 30 minutes to deliver our drinks and had an attitude with us. Throughout the visit, she spent a lot of time chatting with her colleagues and ignoring or complaining about her guests. My 12 yo daughter was very shaken by the server's behavior and felt so uncomfortable she began to cry and asked to leave. Really, her behavior was disrespectful. I hope management sees this and...