René Poeltl
Google
We were guests of the 1 star Guide Michelin restaurant in the hotel ML in Haarlem. We were there for dinner. We didn't stay in the hotel.
The restaurant in the hotel ML in Haarlem is situated in the middle of the hotel. It has an open kitchen - you can sit on bar stools next to the kitchen and the cooks, we sat in one of the two guest rooms which have a nice combination of historic ambiance with modern design. The restaurant is chic, modern and pleasant, with dark green walls, you feel there very well and like at home. We had the chance to watch owner and chef Mark Gratama and one of his colleagues working in his kitchen - professional, calm and concentrated. Mark Gratama is well known and respected as a cuisine chef in Haarlem and the Netherlands.
The service was simply perfect. Our female host on this evening did a very professional, friendly and attentive job. The explanations were very good and enlightening. The proposals for the wine were perfect and fitted very well to the different dishes of our menu.
The dishes of our 6 course menu were all very impressive. They were all made from very fresh and many regional products. We had for example a perfect prepared langostine with pork belly and ssamjang. The combination of the langostine and the pork belly seemed to be uncommun but worked really fantastic, both flavors fitted perfect and reinforced each other very special. A real surprice was the zucchini flower with wild garlic and celeriac. The zucchini flower was deep-fried and filled with ricotta and spinach, tasted with the other components very fresh and triggert a lot of umami. Fantastic was also the entrecote with churros (!) and chinichurri, a creative combination - perfectly made. At the end Mark Gratama joyned our table and we had the chance to talk with him about his creations which was very kind.
At all a really good gourmet restaurant with a modern, creative, tastily and impressive cuisine. A real 1 star Guide Michelin restaurant for special and exciting moments. We will always like to visit again!