Smit's Paviljoen in Giethoorn

We celebrated my mother's birthday here, and it was simply perfect. The ambiance is beautiful and immediately creates a special atmosphere. The food was outstanding—fresh, flavorful, and prepared with love. A big thank you also to our waiter, Kelvin, who made the evening even more special with his warm manner, attentiveness, and professionalism. Thanks to him and the entire team, my mother's birthday was an unforgettable experience. Thank you so much—we'd love to come back on our next vacation in Giethoorn!

Pleasant location, nice staff but bad price-quality ratio. We visited the restaurant as a group of more than 10 people and ordered several pork skewers besides many other dishes. All of the skewers where too dry and the meat was not very tasty. Besides the small amount of sauce just pommes frites with mayonnaise (in tube) and 3 green beans were served with the skewers. The ribeye steak arrived on our table was ridiculously small. Unfortununately, several of my friends had wet trousers after a few minutes. Obviously, a lot of moisture was inside the chairs' cushions even though we sat inside the restaurant. When mentioning the borderline quality of the food we received the staff just thanked for providing this information. Nonetheless, we were still asked to pay a portion of tomato ketchup. That speaks for itself.

Good service. Not a long wait for food and it was nice and hot

Friendly staff and a nice spot on the lake.

The food might not be amazing. The atmosphere is a 100. But the service is a 100. There are lots of baby geese, hot air balloons to see, and beautiful boat views. The weather and sunset are beautiful. It's incredibly impressive and romantic.

Tomato soup tasteless. Prices are too high for the quality of what's served. The crowds are a real hassle.

Very nice location like you are sitting in pennesula or icland with view of people having fun riding small boats and ducks swimming . With exellent food and service , hieghly recomended 👍

Beautiful location on the water. Good and fast service. The food was very limited: 4 pieces of pork tenderloin on a skewer, the mushroom sauce was very sparse, and came with half a basket of fries for 25 euros. I ordered a salad on the side. The pork tenderloin was unfortunately dry. I think you're paying for the location.

Simply great Delicious food by the water

Faded glory! Terribly bad food, absolutely terrible service! Will never go here again. One menu was thrown on the table (there were four of us), took ages, and it wasn't friendly. The satay was stringy, impossible to eat, and the sirloin steak was a cheap, fatty steak. What a disgrace.

We had beautiful weather and lunch. Beautiful surroundings.

We booked online because Google indicated a location near the RV area where we were parked. The boat pick-up was a 40-minute walk away. We picked up the boat and after 10 minutes it stopped working and was going at minimum speed. We called the phone number they gave us and they didn't answer. We didn't complete the 1-hour excursion because our speed made it impossible. A disaster. I don't recommend it.

The boat ride between the houses was quite crowded. Many boats had little space. Everything else was great!

One of the most beautiful spots in Giethoorn, overlooking the water. Delicious food, but after we ate, they had electrical problems. It is what it is.🤷🏼‍♂️

Long waiting times for which apologies were offered several times

Nice location, very poor and expensive crepe. They bring you the mini Nutella on the side and you have to fill it yourself. This is the result.

Sat on the terrace for 15 minutes but no one came to take my order. I left again.

Food was not edible. I ordered ratatouille which was presented as a plate of defrosted vegetables then burnt under a grill. My friend got chicken sate that frankly , smelled and looked bad.

On Wednesday, October 16, 2024 we were lucky to have a fantastic late summer day with beautiful sunshine and a temperature of 20 degrees in the afternoon. Ideal for an outing. This time we chose the (world famous) Giethoorn. You can of course rent a boat there to take a trip on the canals of Dutch Venice yourself. That was of course quite an experience and hilarious with all the amateur skippers.....Of course we stopped at Smit's pavilion along the way. This catering facility is located on a large lake and you automatically pass it. Relax on the very large terrace (or inside). Hospitality is of paramount importance here. Extremely friendly staff and good humor. We decided not to order the sandwiches, because of the (sorry) high price (€17 - €18). We may have missed something unique, but we don't know. The "loaded fries" and the bitterballen became the alternative. In any case, they were both delicious. Accompanied by a really nice cold Grolsch bock beer and a Grolsch radler. It was nice to sit at the window in the sun. Super. Maybe we'll come back again for those sandwiches.

Cozy pavilion, nice atmosphere. Nice and smooth service. Good food. Fast service.

Too expansive for what they have to offer. But has a nice view to the lake.

After seeing the beautiful scenery of Giethoorn, we chose this restaurant for dinner near our accommodation. First of all, it has a great location right by the lake. At dusk, there are a large group of swans with the sunset, which is very delicious. . We chose an outdoor location. It may not be that there were not many people dining on holiday, but the waiter was still very enthusiastic and let us choose the location we like. We ordered a salmon steak and a pork rib steak. Both staple dishes were handled very well. Great, the heat and flavor are very good, the fries and vegetable salad as side dishes are also quite satisfactory, and the pickles in the salad are a little surprising. We finished our dinner by the lake view at dusk and were very satisfied.

Reasonable, price-quality ratio was a bit on the high side and this is mainly because normal side dishes are charged extra under the guise of combating food waste.

Not recommended. The burger was tasteless and the bun was crumbly. The service was also substandard.

Don’t bother. There are much better places in the local area. Food was dry, overcooked and overpriced. Very poor quality. Very disappointing.

Very nice Paviljoen, great panoramic view, top service, also great for renting a boat

Wonderful view, the service was very nice

A very spacious restaurant and café inside the main lake. The service is good and the quality of the food cannot be evaluated because I have not tried it. The coffee and desserts are good.

Delicious food on the sunny terrace, excellent service .

Wonderful view of the water at the boats and a delicious meal

Great view of the water and leisurely watching the boats while having a wonderful meal

We sailed past here and it looked nice. As usual, ordered a drink after arriving. After this I looked at the menu and what struck me were the high prices for sometimes simple dishes. There is not much choice for vegetarians: two dishes, one of which is a burger (which I don't consider dinner). So the choice fell on the other veg. dish, the ratatouille. But unfortunately they didn't have that! You're already sitting there with a drink. And then the already not so friendly waitress thinks it's strange that the partner doesn't need anything anymore: no, we're leaving. We went to eat somewhere else.

Well.. We had moored our boat and sat on the terrace. Because yes... Of course it's fantastic outside there. What are we going to eat? Well... After looking at the map I ran away again. 18.50 for a carpaccio sandwich? Prices there are bizarre. If money is no object, you can probably enjoy eating and drinking there.

Very tasty food, friendly service and very special to eat in the pavilion

Pork ribs plate was amazing.. And the view or location of the restaurant is the best you can enjoy on your geithoorn trip..

Delicious meal on the lake, with the boat moored. Smooth and friendly service!

Unfriendly staff. Eating was manageable. Many signature drinks were not available.

On the last evening spent in Giethoorn we decided to have dinner at sunset on the terrace overlooking the lagoon. The staff was friendly and despite the late hour we ate an excellent salmon fillet and appetizing salad. To finish, a glass of Apfelkorn. Evocative atmosphere, the harmony of silence interrupted only by the sounds of ducks and birds in flight.

Beautiful view, you could stay there all day, friendly staff

Food not particularly recommended, schnitzel cold and hard. Salad without sauce.

Food was fine, service was not up to par at all, long wait...

Food was fine. Servants seemed not to want to earn anything. Took a long time before you were contacted, took a long time before the order was taken. And while it was very quiet on the terrace. Inside, the staff were practically in each other's way, and outside there was only 1 person walking around... Mediocre for a tourist attraction.

We recently visited this restaurant, and unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment. The brownie we ordered was old, dry, and completely inedible. It felt like it had been sitting out for days. Such a waste of time and money (

Nice place to have a drink on Giethoorn Mainly they are serving fast food

It has a nice view on the lake, prices are normal, service is ok, you can walk to there or use the boat, if you go by back you can store the bike in a storage room about 100 meters before the restaurant, but is on the same path

Nice case, looks nice and cozy! 3.19 pm Saturday August 10 Can only order drinks, no food... very bad that you can't order food because it is supposedly busy... enough tables available... time for more staff as the prices are very exaggerated... far from enough!!!

Completely bad service! I waited for 15 minutes to order something and no one comes to me! And they all had a few tables busy! I felt really racist behavior!

Nice pavilion. Very nicely located on the water. Service friendly and quick in English. After ordering, the drinks and food arrived, reasonably quickly for the business. After that, unfortunately, the attention of the service was lost. The food looked good. It was beautifully presented. It tasted ok and was ok for the price, but nothing special.

After sailing we sat on the terrace and had a delicious meal. Beautiful terrace on the lake. Excellent menu and good service.

Their burger was exceptional than the rest of the menu. The burger was amazing. The downside is that they charge you extra if you want to have ketchup, which in other restaurants usually are free.

Beautiful location! The service is great and the food was really perfect!! The steak I ordered medium rare was really medium rare! Many restaurants can follow this example. The red wine sauce that they make themselves was also very tasty. The service was passionate and extremely friendly. This restaurant is highly recommended!

First you walk along a nice/beautiful road to this restaurant with a beautiful terrace on the water, then you get super friendly service who knows what they are talking about and also chefs who still know how to really cook! (You don't see that much these days) If you want to enjoy a day/evening on the terrace with good food, then this is highly recommended!

Nice location. Everything looks good. I thought the food was pricey. You pay almost 20 euros for a salmon sandwich. You do get 2 slices, but that is quite a lot for a lunch. It was a shame that we asked for light bread for 2 people and got dark. We just ate it, but this is something to keep an eye on. Everyone liked the food. From pancakes to salmon sandwiches or croquettes. Everything looked good too. Friendly staff. It's a shame that you cannot pay splitly and this is only pointed out at the back of the menu. You don't read the dinner menu at lunch, for example. And when you ask about it, the response is grumpy that it is clearly stated on the menu. It would have been nicer if this was mentioned upon arrival.

Staff very friendly and approachable

I've been coming here on and off for about 50 years. Always a nice place to stop, in the summer but also after skating and with the belter blues. When I'm in Giethoorn I always go to the pavilion.

Food was good and fast. Nice staff. Superb location.

We were there with a group. The service went reasonably well. But the communal barbecue was not well tailored to the large group.

We moored here and immediately I liked the ulcer and the food was great, I have a tip: take the chicken strips and the employees are nice too

Too noisy to have a drink. Fortunately the local sailing club was there with 80+ DB

Great place to enjoy coffee and apple pie, watching the boats sail by.

What started as an excellent lunch with great tasting food ended up with a member of staff being exceptionally rude to us trying to split the bill when we were told by our waiter that it would not be an issue and that it would be easy to do inside at the counter. We only acted on the information provided to us by the waiter but it was evident, despite a near empty restaurant, that we greatly inconvenienced the other staff member when we didn’t know their rules on splitting the bills and how much of a difficult endeavour this would be. The staff member only got more angry as we tried to explain our misunderstanding. The manner we were spoken to was hopefully not reflective of the general attitude of people from the Netherlands and we look forward in experiencing far more friendly hospitality elsewhere. We also hope the waiter providing the information to us will not be berated because their service was friendly and welcoming. All in all good quality food marred by service delivery right at the end at the time of payment.

What a beautiful location with beautiful views over the water. Bungalows, boats and delicious hot chocolate, what more could you want!

The location is better in Giethoorn, next to the big lake The burger tastes delicious and the portion is quite generous. I drank a cup of ginger tea after getting caught in the rain. The fried fish is just so so, you can skip it and try something else. Spicy chicken sandwich available until 16:00 pm The environment is open and suitable for leisure

Friendly staff delicious dishes

Cozy and lovely to sit outside.

Tasty food. Respect the religions. Good atmosphere

Staff looks the other way if you want to ask something and after 4 times you get the answer: my colleague will come to you shortly... Then I think: Yes, what are you doing here??? The Black Angus burgers are very tasty (well done), worth the price, you have to wait an hour but then you get something

Nice view but bad service coz it's too much people

Enjoy a nice beer with bitterballen Nice weather, nice terrace with top view over the lake

Nice restaurant, water view. Good food and very nice, courteous staff. Would love to come back

3 days in a row there were 3 tables full, with 4 people serving, you still have to go inside to be helped. They do everything they can not to see you. The boy behind the bar even looks down. Jamner, because the location was great and Giethoorn was fine for the rest. Maybe things are going too well.

Very nice place with a beautiful view. The food was a major disappointment. The steak and spareribs were both gray in color and tasteless. Shame.

Nice place on Bovenwiede. Beautiful view over the lake. Friendly service.

If you come here, do not order any of the burgers. The burger called “The bast@rd” is extremely spicy and not indicated on the menu. The service is average

The staff are not welcoming and they are not helpful 👎🏻

Great place, lots of seating, nice service. Good snacks and good beer.

Restaurant inside a lake formed by the dikes that make up the Dutch geographical structure.

Great chicken burger as well as veggie burger, fish and chips, pancakes weren’t as great. Really friendly staff, we were seated immediately and very well taken care off, and enjoyed stunning views of the lake.

Beautiful restaurant, great menu options and hardworking staff. I would definitly recommend the fish and chips! The menu has something good for everyone, vegan options, meatless options & halal options! And the view is amazing!

Yesterday coffee was nice. And nice view. Today we came in the morning, restaurant was empty 0 customers and waiter said we can sit only outdoor. She didn’t let us drink coffee for 30 min indoor due to all tables reservation.

Very nice view of the water, with its own jetty that can also be reached by boat. The service was nice and tried hard, but not always professional and seemed like a temporary worker at the beginning of the season. The food is "OK", price-performance is borderline.

Very nice, right on the water, top service, thank you👍👍

A young, great team led by a strong kitchen crew. The restaurant can be stormed by 100 guests and the room is managed confidently. There is no chaos, everyone gets their drinks and food at the right time. The whole thing in front of the beautiful lake ambience rounds off the wonderful day, thank you very much. See you next time!

Nice location, nice service, food is great.

Amazing location, Amazing staff, Good food I must mention the beautiful staff member with such a nice soul who helped us with the boat rental and also with other questions that we had.

The burger and fries were not a taste experience, but okay.

The atmosphere at the restaurant is great. With the view of the lake, you can enjoy the food very nicely. Unfortunately the menu wasn't right, there was a symbol for "vegan" on the chicken burger - the waitress couldn't explain that either. The fries were crispy on the outside and very, very soft on the inside - good for those who like it :)

Super nice place to stay right on the lake. Very attentive staff and a great beer selection. We'd love to come back.

We got a burger, with bacon that wasn't fried, a very boring burger bun, we ordered the steak medium but it was raw.

Belly was cold and bacon was raw

Had a delicious meal in the boat at the jetty of Smit's pavilion Giethoorn. Service right into the boat @enjoy. Super friendly and flexible staff👍 thanks we enjoyed it!!

Excellent for a break on the lake.

One of the first days of the year when the weather is nice and the terrace is somewhat occupied. We still wait 20 minutes for our drinks, the waitress is grumpy, 25 euros for a cold burger with cold fries and uncooked bacon. It's not really anything, especially for what you pay. Location is really great, that's why they get away with it. Won't come again myself.

Very nicely located on the large lake.

Everything was good. But they didnt mentioned the kind of meat in the menu. So I found out that pork meat is inside the plate when I was eating the forth rib!! But totally it was fine and I will go there again.

A real treat! I stayed here with my family and we were not disappointed. The food was delicious and of the highest quality. The cleanliness of the restaurant was remarkable and the service was simply excellent. Our waitress was not only quick, but also extremely attentive and friendly. We paid a reasonable price of 120 euros for a fantastic dining experience. We look forward to trying more dishes on our next visit. Highly Recommended!

Super hospitable and nice staff. Small but very good menu. Very nice view and location.

At the time of our visit this place was overrun by several buses of older school or college children who were totally out of control. There was little supervision from their responsible adults and as a result it was difficult to gain safe passage into or around the central facility Very disappointed ☹️

Potatoes are good Chocolate cake, may God honor the blessing as well as coffee, expand your chest. The place is on the lake, but the view is poor. The place leading to the restaurant is more beautiful. The one who serves takes orders while biting a lemon, and your understanding is enough.

Had a great meal there! Service could have been faster. It's a bit pricey, but it makes sense given the location