Haarlem - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 237

choices, daily 13:00-23:00, facing V&D department store at
Verwulft 7, tel. [phone]). You'll feel like you're in Rome at a
good indoor table, or sit outdoors in a busy people-zone.
La Plume Restaurant steakhouse is noisy, with a happy, local,
and carnivorous crowd (€15-20 meals, daily from 17:30, satay and
ribs are favorites, Lange Veerstraat 1, tel. [phone]). The relax-
ing outdoor seating faces the church and a lively pedestrian mall.
Lange Veerstraat Restaurant Row: If you don't know what
you want to eat, stroll the delightful Lange Veerstraat behind the
church and survey a fun range of restaurants (from cheap falafels
to Cuban, and much more).
On the Spaarne River Canal: Haarlem seems to turn its back
on its river with most of the eating energy a couple of blocks away.
To enjoy a meal with a fine canal view, consider the Spaarne 66
Restaurant Bar. The Lemmers girls (a mom and her daughters)
run this cozy eatery, with a woody, old-time interior and fine,
outdoor canalside seating (light €7 lunches, €20 Mediterranean/
Dutch dinner plates, Wed-Mon 11:00-24:00, closed Tue, Spaarne
66, tel. [phone]).
Dressy Splurge: Romantic Lambermon's has tables gathered
around a busy, modern open kitchen and an intriguing and popu-
lar-in-Haarlem formula. Chef Pascal Smit offers a kind of “cook-
ing theater” that serves up an orderly succession of eight French/
Dutch courses (€10/course, optional paired wines-€5/glass). Each
successive course is served on the half-hour starting at 18:30. You
only get what's served that day, and you can arrive when it suits
you. Jump in at the cheese and/or dessert course, then finish when
you like (closed Sun-Mon, Spaarne 96, tel. [phone]).
De Lachende Javaan (“The Laughing Javanese”) is a long-
established Indonesian place serving a memorable rijsttafel
(€20-24, Tue-Sun 17:00-22:00, closed Mon, Frankestraat 27, tel.
023/532-8792). The jury's still out on the new Indonesian place
in town, Wisma Hilda, which is closer to the station and has a
cheerier interior (Kruisweg 70, tel. [phone]).
La Place dishes up fresh, healthy, budget food with
Haarlem's best view. Sit on the top floor or roof garden of the
V&D department store (Mon 11:00-18:00, Tue-Sat 9:30-18:00,
Thu until 21:00, closed Sun except for first Sun of month 12:00-
17:00, Grote Houtstraat 70, on corner of Gedempte Oude Gracht,
tel. [phone]).
NIGhTLIFE
Haarlem's evening scene is great. Consider four basic zones:
Market Square in the shadow of the Grote Kerk; Lange
Veerstraat; Boter Market Square; and Vijf hoek (Five Corners).