Novels Zaandam in Wijk 21 Oude Haven

Unfortunately, everything seemed a bit disorganized and confusing. I can't comment on the food, as we didn't eat there. The drinks were okay. The children's play area was a plus.

Good food, top-notch service, and we create the atmosphere together👌

Located in the center of Zaandam, this place has a slightly more local feel. There's an open-air terrace-like area in front. It was quite crowded when we went. The atmosphere is nice, calm, and relaxed. We ordered sushi and fries; unfortunately, I don't remember the names exactly. Although I'm not particularly familiar with sushi, the food we ate was quite delicious. I also liked the fries. The service was a little slow, but considering how crowded it was, this can be considered normal. The staff were also very friendly. Overall, it's a nice place in the center of Zaandam where you can sit outdoors and enjoy a meal. I also liked the local feel of the place.

Very good food, nice place, I recommend it.

This place was rated lower than it needed to be. It is a super atmospheric place where you can have a delicious lunch or dinner. Great place! Desserts are recommended ;)

We had lunch here, specifically the surprise lunch for 2 people. The surprise was certainly there. The taste was good, but considering what you got on your plate, the price was totally out of proportion. I would say, don't do it.

Very good food, nice service, I recommend.

Large pub with a large terrace. The food is good. The toilet could use a renovation.

Wow! What a place! A really beautiful and atmospheric restaurant. It looked incredibly cozy with all the lights outside and inside the restaurant. The menu was very varied, so there was something for everyone. The starters were really perfect in terms of portion size; truly a small starter, just as a starter should be, like the chicken tacos in the attached photos. The waiters were also incredibly hospitable, friendly, and sociable. Very nice! Definitely recommended for a bite to eat!

Cozy atmosphere, with the right service. Ordered a drink and it was served within a few minutes.

After an afternoon of shopping, we headed into the entertainment district to relax and then grab a bite to eat. Novels immediately caught our attention. Lovely seating with a view of Dam Square. The staff was extremely polite, helpful, and very friendly. We first enjoyed two delicious glasses of wine and then ordered two chicken satays with fries. Superb quality for a great price (by today's standards). I hereby express my compliments on everything; this establishment knows how it should be done. We will definitely be back.

A terrible experience with the supposed manager, a Black woman. If she's your manager, I recommend you find other staff. The customer service couldn't be worse—completely unprofessional, disrespectful, and unacceptable. She can't speak rudely to a customer or kick them out of a restaurant after they've waited a long time just for an order. There are too many waiters, and staff management is undefined. They don't know how to use trays properly or basic waiter etiquette. Unfortunately, this isn't the place to go. Staff need to have customer service experience, and this woman clearly lacked it. By the way, working in the hospitality industry with such long fake nails is unprofessional. I will be emailing the company and filing a complaint against her for her behavior. I hope you take action if you truly care about your business.

We ate here with a Social Deal voucher and it was absolutely fantastic. The selection was extensive with plenty of variety, so there really was something for everyone. The staff was extremely friendly and we were able to enjoy sitting outside. We will definitely be back, even without a Social Deal offer!

We really wanted to come and eat here on Friday. We arrived around a quarter past seven and took a seat inside, close to the bar where the drinks were being poured. We waited for about twenty minutes, but unfortunately, no one from the wait staff came to us, even though we were clearly visible. The staff behind the bar also seemed to pay no attention to us. In the end, we decided to pack up our things and go somewhere else. We found this very disappointing and unprofessional. We got the feeling that we were being completely ignored. Based on this experience, we do not think we will be coming back here.

A nice restaurant with unusual decor. The staff are quite pleasant, and the food is decent. Prices are a bit high, especially for children...

Located in the middle of a square, this restaurant is beautifully decorated and fits in the city of Zaandam. I ate the chicken wrap and it was delicious ! The price is reasonable.

This restaurant is an absolute treat! My partner and I booked a High Cocktail experience and were absolutely blown away. The food was delicious and the cocktails were exceptional. We weren't rushed and felt very welcomed, thanks to our amazing server Alex, who made the evening one of a kind. Would highly recommend both the experience and the overall restaurant, and the vibe is really fun.

What terrible service today at Novels It’s just unbelievable I never wish I had to experience anything like it was tonight at Novels again Had a nice meal on Friday, Boxing Day at Novels in Zaandam However, the food was a bit too much to finish it all. It is not permitted here at Novels Zaandam to harass other customers Will the one lady with long hair in a ponytail & a man with a grey coat with a hood who, on Saturday, September 27, with a group of 5 in total at the round table who ordered, among other things, 2 bottles of wine, and who were sitting at the round table with a long bench by the side of the road, never do this again. Also, the blonde lady with a long white sweater and glasses on Saturday, September 20, during the Dam tot Dam By Night, who was sitting at Novels and harassed someone This lady is also kindly requested never to do this again. Had a delicious meal at Novels on Boxing Day Had a truly delicious meal at Novels Zaandam Highly recommended !!!! It was noticed, however, regarding the smoking policy at Novels here at Novels The area where smoking is not allowed is not even 5 steps away from where smoking is allowed There are people who are not really sitting in a nice spot to their liking and who move to a seating lounge where smoking is not allowed and are immediately told by the Novels staff that smoking is not allowed here, so they just go back to the spot that isn't really to their liking and go back to where they were already sitting & from now on always a Latte Macchiato even during the last round no more coffee during the last round is no longer accepted by the regular customer of Novels Coffee Machine is always cleaned only after Novels closing time so NOT earlier Today Friday 29 March 2024 Extremely busy and it felt like a sauna here at Novels Order a Latte Macchiato, then another one, and I am told that the Coffee Machine is broken So I'm not falling for that In this mess You shouldn't go to customers with such a mess Monday 13 May Unfortunately staff too today Had to wait a very long time for an employee near Novells Wishing for quick service next time Friday, October 11, 2024 Novels feels like a sauna

Had lunch with my mother and sister. I've been coming here for a while, so I knew the food would be good. In the past, the service wasn't great. That was quite different today. The young man who served us was helpful with our choices and topped it off with some humor. It remains a nice location for a drink on the sunny terrace, lunch, or a nice dinner!

I went for lunch with my family, and the place is perfect. Great atmosphere, delicious food, and very friendly waiters.

We had a delicious meal!! Evi served us incredibly well; she is very friendly and good at her job! Thanks, see you next time! Djes & Dje

If you want to wait more than an hour for your food, go here.

A high tea with eleven 13-year-old girls. Everything was organized really well, and the staff were incredibly nice. There were two girls with allergies, and they wanted for nothing. It was a great success; we will definitely come back more often.

Had a wonderful evening! Very good service, Sara ... you're a star.

I've been here a few times for drinks, but when I came for dinner for my birthday, I had the absolute worst food experience. My friend and I ordered spare ribs... worst choice ever. You get a whole cow on your plate that you can't even eat; it was so hard you chew on a single bite for an hour. And it tasted terrible. I sent it back after the first bite. And I was told it would be taken off the bill, well... When paying, it was still on the bill, but it was taken off the bill afterwards. The second time I came to eat, I had the edamame beans as a starter; they were dipped in oil, which made me not like them very much. I sent that back again too. And I still had to pay for it. The sushi is presented nicely but tastes meh. The service is okay though, they did forget my drinks a few times... don't go for the sangria because you pay a fortune for it, but you basically get very sweet red junk and a drop of alcohol. It's such a shame because I often came here for drinks. Never again..

Came here for dinner our first night in Zaandam. We were in the mood for sushi and this seemed like a good place. It was pretty busy on a Saturday evening. We sat out on the patio. We enjoyed an appetizer as well as our sushi. Despite picking "spicy" options, it was the least spicy sushi I've ever had. Even the wasabi was pretty bland. Service was fine. We were able to flag down servers pretty easily although it was never really clear who we should be asking for things since they all seemed to just float around helping each other.

I can often be found at Novels for the high wine, for example, but today I was alerted to a review by Thomas from about 7 months ago in which it is stated that all the meat at Novels is halal and what Novels' reasoning is for this. I must say that I am deeply disappointed that unnecessary animal suffering is supported by Novels and that people who do not want a ritually slaughtered animal are forced to eat vegetarian. Why isn't the reasoning done the other way around: if you only want to eat halal, then order something vegetarian. I have been a fan of Novels for a while, but now that I know this, the love has cooled.

It took a long time before we were served The steak was tough, overcooked, the satay wasn't really done, and that for a lot of money, sorry, not recommended

I had arranged to meet friends here, but when I saw the reviews below, I had a bad feeling. Well, I have to tell you, the food, the cocktails, and the service were all top-notch. What a nice, atmospheric place. We will definitely go there again. I can recommend it to you.

The food is delicious. The atmosphere and outdoor seating are also well-designed.

We had a very nice time. The food and service of Evi was lovely! Xxx Macarena and Ruben

Warmly decorated, delicious high tea

Very disappointing experience at Novels in Zaandam. For a €15 smashburger, you expect at least a decent portion, but what I received was an extremely thin piece of meat that, in terms of quantity, barely amounted to more than a cheap fast-food burger. When I indicated that I found this very little for the price, the response I received was that this is “just part of a smashburger” and that I had to pay extra if I wanted more meat. That struck me as quite absurd: first paying a premium price and then having to pay extra for something that feels more like a normal portion. What made this experience particularly unpleasant was the attitude of the staff. The communication came across as arrogant and not very customer-oriented. The moment I indicated that I wanted to write a review based on this experience, the burger was basically just handed to me and the service ended there immediately. No attempt was made to politely wrap up the conversation or do anything with the feedback. High prices are fine if they are matched by quality, service, and customer friendliness. Unfortunately, in this case, that was completely lacking. For me, no reason to come back.

Had a delicious meal on the terrace and friendly service

Nice and beautiful, perfect dishes, great drinks, and a hefty price tag... but worth a visit.

Amazing food! That isnt even enough description to accurately paint a picture of what we were served. Atmosphere is great. Our server seemed to be quite checked out and pretty useless. Aside from her, this is a great spot!

The waiter spilled beer all over me, then brought four napkins, three of which he used for the table, and afterwards said with a way too big smile that he hoped for my sake it came out of my pants. I felt humiliated and left immediately.

Just a quick trip to the toilet on King's Day! 2.00 for just one time!!! €5.00 for the whole evening, but we were going home... At any other pub it's about 50 cents! And whether you got your beer there or not, they made no distinction. Two security guards with a card machine outside the toilet, which also created a very unpleasant atmosphere! And was it clean? Not even! What a shameless price!

2 euros to go to the toilet ONCE, what a rip-off

Yesterday I visited Novels, where I spent a long time enjoying King's Day. Ideal spots, really enjoyed the music. Inside, you could use the toilet: €2 for a single use and €5 for the whole day. We opted for the latter. We received a wristband and, we thought, could use the toilet effortlessly and unlimitedly. However, the toilet attendant made a fuss during every toilet visit because he didn't believe the wristband belonged to him. Yes... perhaps it would have been more convenient if you had had a Novels logo printed on the wristband. Every single time, the toilet attendant tried to get us to pay for the toilet visit. Or did he just want to earn more money?

What an incredibly bad experience at Novels. I had planned a dinner here for my birthday with my family (7 people), but things went wrong from the moment we walked in. Two separate tables were set up for us, and when we asked if we could all just sit at one table, this was flatly refused. No effort whatsoever to be considerate, absolutely no flexibility. As if that wasn't bad enough, the manager also reacted extremely rudely and angrily when we discussed this. Instead of customer friendliness, we were met with an attitude as if we were the problem. Truly totally disrespectful. It is incomprehensible that a restaurant treats customers like this, especially when it comes to a birthday. You expect at least a bit of service and understanding, but that was nowhere to be found here. We eventually left and ate somewhere else — and that was the best decision of the evening. I will NEVER come back here.

Kyra was the best. Incredible service from her and love her personality. So kind. Followed by amazing food. We will be back.

The sushi boat was delicious! Friendly staff!

When we go out for dinner on Monday evenings, we love going to Novels for sushi. Particularly tasty sushi at a very nice price. A wide variety of choices. It is especially nice when Chris serves us. Always a bit of recognition, friendly and exceptionally nice. Another reason to go to Novels.

One of the better restaurants on the square. A bit pricey though. €20 for an 8-piece sushi roll seems quite steep to me. But it was fine, not super special.

Good service and delicious food!

Had a super fun and delicious wine tasting, helped by Jair.....what a star he is!

Had a fantastic wine tasting at Novels. Jair combines knowledge with enthusiasm and makes it a fun experience. Jair is the best!

We had a very enjoyable wine tasting. Jair helped us well and explained the wines. Highly recommended!! Good service.

Our waiter was Chris; he was very friendly and helpful. The food was delicious. There was nothing to complain about and the atmosphere was great!

The food was good. It was very hot though, due to the heaters. It is a shame they serve Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola.

The food was delicious, the staff did an excellent job, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Definitely recommended! Super tasty American Cookie for dessert!

What an amazing high wine! 🍷 We were served by Sara, a super nice and friendly girl who was spontaneous and just very pleasant to be around. She immediately created a nice and relaxed atmosphere. She also gave a nice and clear explanation of the wines and the accompanying dishes, which made it even more enjoyable. The high wine was truly top-notch: delicious wines and perfectly matching dishes. Everything was spot on, and every round was a delight. I have experienced quite a few high wines, but this one is definitely one of the best, and that was certainly also thanks to Sara. Highly recommended!

Local cat on the terrace always gets 5 stars

Kyra is the best staff at Novels, really top-notch service, had the best evening, super nice, sweet lady

Always good!! I come here often. We had a surprise party and you were super chill with our requests. Thanks Sara for the great service :)

The meat was tough, but the service from Evi was incredibly fun and good!

Very tasty, good service, nice staff, 10 stars for Saar

Due to the corona measures, we took advantage of the option to have the food delivered today. The food was delivered on time, very well packaged and arrived hot. We ordered satay and the truffle burger, among other things. Very tasty! The cheesecake also tasted good. We will definitely order again.

A very pleasant experience. Excellent help from Evi.

I ate a variety of foods, and they were all delicious.

It's a fantastic taste and decoration of food, and very nice harmonies of taste of each dishes. I will visit again~~~~

Good food and nice people working there.

Excellent restaurant with an extensive menu. The restaurant has a charming and attractive interior. At the front is a conservatory and terrace. Good wines and friendly service. For lunch, try the chef's sushi, highly recommended!

We reserved a high tea via Social Deal. Instead of 29.95, it was 19.95 p.p. The first photo is what is shown on Social Deal. And also on Novels' own website. What we received was a real disappointment. The club sandwich was dry and tough. My knife couldn't get through it. It was richly and nicely filled, though. The wrap was hard. I couldn't get through that either. It was so meager that I wondered if it would have been different if we had booked directly. The scone was dry. Very unfortunate. It really is a beautiful place to eat. Very warm and cozy. But the food, pfff, a waste of money. The service was acceptable. The young man was friendlier than the lady, who immediately indicated that she was working alone. I stood at the front for at least 15 minutes before she came to get us to take us to our table.

Excellent service from Kyra !!!

We had a great time at Novels. Jair was a good host and very friendly, with cute dimples in his cheeks. We even tried to set him up with my niece Naysa.

Jair is a very friendly young man with a passion for the business, who takes compliments well. The food was tasty and the atmosphere is good.

good service, food was tasty and a nice waiter

The waiter was a lovely sight, with a beautiful smile, and helped us sooooo well. We will definitely be back!

The food was truly delicious and the service was excellent. The managers, in particular, deserve an extra compliment! They helped me very well with my specific requirements and really did their best to make everything to my liking. All in all, a very pleasant experience, until next time!

Never again! The manager lacked communication skills and did not listen to our wishes at all. She could not answer simple questions and kept repeating herself; she was completely unsuitable for her role as a manager. We left the restaurant without eating and went to a restaurant across the street.

Booked via Social Deal. The family was split between two round tables, even though a long table had been booked and discussed. While unwrapping a gift together, with everyone at one table, the manager completely lost it. We were told we had to remain divided between two tables. The manager kept talking without listening. It was impossible to have a conversation with her; she was downright rude. Eventually left Novels. Didn't order anything! The manager is not exactly a good advertisement for Novels. A shame...

We ate dinner here without a reservation. It wasn't busy, and the food arrived after about half an hour. The sushi was tasty but not worth the original price. On Mondays, it was 10 euros per roll, which is good. Additionally, we had the Parmesan fries and spare ribs. Although the ribs came off the bone very easily, the meat was dry and tasteless. We were therefore very disappointed with this dish. We paid 92.50 for 4 rolls, spare ribs, fries, and 4 drinks. This was fine, but you had to pay an extra 1.50 for oat milk with the cappuccino. I found this particularly high. After the meal, the plates were cleared away, and we were asked if we wanted dessert. We declined. Two minutes later, we were told that we had to leave due to a reservation. At this point, we had been sitting for less than 1.5 hours, and it was just after 7:00 PM. I find it strange that this wasn't communicated beforehand, and it seemed more like the waiter wanted us gone because we hadn't ordered anything extra. The waiter was not hospitable from the start anyway. The room was large and beautifully decorated. However, it was very dark and warm. All in all, the food was tasty, but the spareribs were very bad. The service is poor and we felt rushed.

What a mess!! A 16-euro burger, raw and even smaller than a Big Mac. Disinterested and unfriendly staff, never again!!!

Delicious food, good fast service, a bit noisy

Think you're having a nice dinner and looking forward to it? Receive the worst service, and the manager sends a server to resolve the complaint. Manager ignores you after nodding a hundred times. Bread was old and hard, impossible to break. Dirty used spoons with food residue stuck to them. Carpaccio was bland. Tournedos were overcooked and very tough. No steak knife was provided as it should be; it barely cut through. We both asked for rare once, but the manager said it wasn't possible (it was apparently already pre-cooked and thrown back in the cupboard). The starter wasn't even on the plates; it was taken away right in front of us, and the main course arrived without any service or attention to whether it was to our liking. I will definitely never come back here. I will think three times before setting foot in here 🤨🤨🤨

Five dogs were present, wandering through the restaurant and near the kitchen, dropping clumps of hair. These clumps fell from upstairs onto us, our food, and our table. Hanging planters were covered in clumps of hair. Totally unhygienic. The food was nothing special.

High tea was delicious. Lots of choices. It's a shame some dishes were a bit dry because they were already waiting for us (open kitchen). Friendly staff.

We ate here on the second day of Christmas, great service, delicious food, nice atmosphere!

Other than the fact that they have in-house pets for cuddles and entertainment, the food is affordable for its portion and quality. We ordered the Club Sandwich, Truffle Shuffle, Salmon Ebi Torch and Crispy Chicken Sandwich alongside Nachos Pulled Chicken. The staff were extremely nice, introducing us to their in-house furry friends and checking in in us.

Good food, nice atmosphere and we had a good waiter.

I've had delicious sushi here three times now during Monday Madness. The ambiance, with its many lights, is also good at Novels, and the staff is friendly but not very service-oriented, or perhaps too busy. Last summer, I left the terrace after half an hour without being spoken to. Yesterday, I waited 45 minutes for the menu; the menu (sushi special) wasn't explained, the drinks I ordered weren't brought, etc. All in all, poor service. We also moved because we smelled cat urine at our seat. Not a great experience.

Enjoy a delicious meal at Novels With a social deal

Impeccable service. Warm and friendly. Delicious food. Incredible value for money. Special mention to the servers, all of whom were perfect.

Nice high tea, the tower with food was good, choice of tea types was a bit limited but generally fine and a beautiful decor!

Warm and inviting and the bar cat is lovely.

Disgraceful. Empty terrace, you practically have to use a megaphone and flaunt your hand at the servers to get them to help you. They're far too busy with themselves or showing off with the ladies. It's really ridiculous that you have to get someone's attention before they'll come help you. And when you do get helped, they're all completely disinterested. They don't even ask if everything is alright or if we'd like another drink. And it was very quiet on the terrace. I think this is truly terrible service; you're approached more often at a supermarket.

I was here for a private birthday party. The space was super cozy and beautifully decorated. I was pregnant at the time, and the staff were very accommodating, offering drinks and a delicious non-alcoholic cocktail.

I never really write a review, but this time I just had to. The food at Novels is so incredibly delicious. The service is super friendly and fast. The drinks and cocktails are incredible. I highly recommend coming here. And a tip: if you do eat here, try the Parmesan fries with truffle mayo! They're truly addictive.

Cozy restaurant. Lovely heated patio. My husband's club sandwich was very tasty. Unfortunately, the gluten-free bread with egg salad was truly awful. It was clear no one in the restaurant had ever tried the bread itself. Dry gluten-free bread can be somewhat edible with a generous topping, but the egg salad was very meager. I simply ordered an extra drink to wash it down. The egg salad was quite tasty, though. Tip for the restaurant: try the gluten-free bread they serve yourself. Then you'll know what you're selling. These days, you can find quite tasty bread and rolls. For example, the fresh gluten-free bread at Albert Heijn.

We had a delicious high tea. Good service and friendly staff.

Eight of us were at Novels, but left when it turned out the entire menu was exclusively halal. According to the staff, "so Muslims won't have a problem with the food." When I explained that I have a problem with ritual slaughter and unnecessary animal suffering, the response was: "Then you should just order vegetarian." In other words: halal or nothing. In a secular European country, it feels strange that you're essentially forced to eat halal, otherwise you won't get any meat. Under EU regulations, slaughter without stunning is normally prohibited, but the Netherlands allows it for religious reasons, and in this restaurant, it seems to have become the standard. We left. Not out of intolerance, but out of principle: animal suffering isn't freedom of choice, and freedom of choice shouldn't be limited to just one religion.

The ambient lighting inside and the heated patio are very pleasant. Inside, you sit very close together on the benches or close to each other. This is cozy as a group, but not so cozy when you can literally hear everything the conversations next to you. Unfortunately, the food was disappointing. For these prices, we expected better, tastier, and more. It was a nice try, but we won't be back.

Disgraceful, my daughter treated me to a high tea ordered through Social Deal...never again! The food was like yesterday's and truly subpar. Normally, when you order a high tea, you get really tasty and varied food, but this was not good: plain scone, canned croissant, cake was a mere morsel, bread was stale, and the toppings were definitely not fresh. It was my daughter's treat, and I'm grateful for that, but normally, I wouldn't have eaten it. If you eat here, definitely don't order through Social Deal, because you won't get what you think you're getting.

We only received six small appetizers per person, which was far below expectations. The food wasn't fresh; the carpaccio was brown, the bread tough, and the vegetables on the wrap discolored. The tart was literally one bite. The presentation didn't match the photos shown at all. What was especially disappointing was the difference from my previous visit (without the Social Deal). Back then, we received considerably more and much fresher produce. This time, it felt like we were getting leftovers from the day before. For the price you pay, you should expect much more. You come for a relaxing experience, but unfortunately, this was definitely not that.

We sat outside, kind of covered. Very friendly service. Food wasn't overly expensive. Not very busy, but it was a Tuesday afternoon.

Four of us went for lunch. The place has a very large outdoor area. The inside is also quite large and decorated to a high standard. It's very high-quality and elegant. The menu features most items from around the world. We tried the sushi, which was quite good and delicious. It's a luxurious restaurant perfect for dinner on special occasions.

My girlfriend and I were really looking forward to a pleasant high tea, but what we got was downright embarrassing. The scones were served without jam and without clotted cream—the very essence of a scone! When we asked for jam, we were simply told it was gone. We ended up sharing a dry, half-frozen scone, silently hoping it would get better. Ten minutes later, we were presented with a pathetic cup of whipped cream as a "solution." As if that weren't enough, the restrooms were downright filthy: a foul smell, broken lighting, and an atmosphere that felt anything but welcoming. In short: this wasn't a relaxing high tea, but a complete disappointment. Save yourself the disappointment and choose a place where they understand the meaning of hospitality and quality.

Great restaurant and wonderful service from Sara. A very sweet, friendly, and experienced girl! Excellent service.