Brasserie Het Gemaal — Restaurant in Haarlemmermeer

I am disappointed. Not my first time in "Het Gemaal '' but definitely the last. Location and the view are amazing. Food is a bit above the average. The service is typical "Amsterdam". I have to say: every single time I am there something is "off". Yet yesterday's experience broke the scale.

We’ve got seated. I’ve asked the waitress about the chef's 3 course meal of the day. I've been advised to walk down the hall and read it myself from the board. Used plates and cutlery were being picked while we were still eating. When the dessert arrived it came without any fork or spoon. Had to ask for it. The best part happened when it came to the payment. Usually, I pay with a card but this time it was cash. After waiting 10 min, I had to call the waitress to pick up the payment and I made it clear that I would like to have the rest of it. After another 10 min I had to call her again to claim my money. She literally threw that on our table like I did something wrong. I understand it was just 8 euro change and I would be happy to give a tip but not after an experience like this. I just simply hate it, that someone can assume that it's ok to take the change, even though I said I want it back. Maybe it's a language barrier, but without saying clearly "it's ok, please have a tip" you would expect to have it back.

I recommend going there for a drink or tea to have a nice sunset view. Easy, simple orders. Pay with a card. Until nothing of that changes I would recommend going to the other side of the canal “ Het Zwaantje”. View is less beautiful but the staff is more friendly, food is as good or maybe even better and prices are almost half of...

Lunch Time Guests I found this place when looking for dinner options nearby, and since it was close to our location, we decided to give it a try. We really loved the atmosphere! We visited around 14:00 on a Tuesday — it was quiet, with just a few other guests, comfortable seating, and a lovely view through the window overlooking the canal, even on a rainy day. It’s also dog-friendly, which was great since we had our furry friend with us.

There was no waiting time, and the staff were really friendly. Even though we came without a booking, we could choose our seats ourselves.

The food was nice — the burger with fries was a solid 4/5. The Tom Yum soup, however, had a bit too much lemon, which overpowered the other flavours. The goat cheese salad was simple but tasty; the cheese was nicely fried, and a big plus — the salad wasn’t soaking wet, as it often is in many places.

We’d definitely come back again, perhaps for dinner next time, as we really loved...

Sometimes I was having dinner at the restaurant, when passing by Amsterdam. Today, I had some "exceptional" experience with a guest of mine (both of us, well dressed gentlemen), when we visited the place. We were intending to have dinner, but after we were ordering in English language, we were asked to wait for a moment. Then we were refused to be served, saying that the kitchen is closed. We were clearly swing how others are served. When we were exiting, we also saw that there were dishes coming out of the kitchen. When I asked what the reason was that we were refused to be served, the waitress, in a quite aggressive language (of course in Dutch) was explaining to me that she has the right to decide whom she is serving to. I was shocked! We have been behaving respectfully and we haven't done anything wrong.. Maybe, English speakers don't have the right to...