La Place Fonteinlaan Haarlem Haarlem

Maybe La Place will finally keep Dreefzicht in business? This used to be one of those places where only the elderly would eat. You 'd show up for lunch and dinner, half the place would be empty, and everyone would be over 70. Unsurprisingly, that iteration of Dreefzicht didn 't make it. What did surprise me, was that La Place of all places moved in here. Wow what a change... who knew the restaurant most people see as the department store cafe would want to move into a building like this? The location of Dreefzicht is great, lot of traffic comes by, they have ample parking, and you can go for a lovely walk in the park afterwards. They seem pretty busy for weekend lunches, but last time I went on a week day, the monumentally large and stately restaurant was virtually deserted, with all those stands filled with prepared food going unused. The food itself is reasonable. You can choose from different cuisines, have them make stir frys Mongolian Grill-style, get sandwiches, hot meals, cakes and pastries, etc. Great in principle, but I found their stir frys very bland. They need better sauces. And sitting in that enormous space with most tables empty felt a little sad too, not very 'gezellig '. I just don 't get the whole idea of buying this gorgeous, historic building, and then putting what is essentially a food court in it. Good lunch option though, especially with kids or if you 've been walking in the park!

La place is the ultimate experience. we enjoyed the fresh food and good coffee as always

Very spacious, located in the city park. I like the location and interior design, but the service is slow and inefficient.

This location is one of the nicest ones in terms of the building itself and the interior design. The quality of the food is up to the LaPlace standards. Unfortunately this cannot be said of the kitchen staff. Every time I have visited they were slow and there is a lack of professional management guidance. Some of them try but they lack basic knowledge and have no clue how simple improvement in efficiency and logistics might be a major enhancement of customer experience. Having a dustbin at the entrance full of garbage and stuff around it is unforgivable. This location could triple their income under the right management.

It 's oke ... staff was really good though and attending. The location is really nice and large and in luck they have a parking space available. But Foccacia 's that look great but are only half way 'filled ' ... not good. Also they could use an upgrade of their coffee. Pastries on the other hand are perfect.