Eating outside: unique outdoor restaurants, these are our favorite places in the Netherlands with a large terrace
No idea about you, but when we look at the weather forecasts we only want one thing: to go outside! Playing outside, walking outside, outside terraces (in Amsterdam or nice through the rest of the country) and outside at the table. If possible, do the latter afterwards, in the green. You know them, those outdoor places where the tables are surrounded by flowers. Where? Well here! Unique outdoor restaurants in the Netherlands: our favorite restaurants with a large terrace.
This summer, chefs Joris Bijdendijk and Thomas Val are setting up shop in the meadows of Baambrugge. Never heard of it? It is a small village between Amsterdam and Utrecht. A nice central location, then. For five weekends, the team from restaurant Wils is opening an exclusive summer restaurant on the grounds of Lindenhoff Farm: Wils at the Farm. An ode to the outdoors, cooking over an open fire, and the origins of the food. While you enjoy the view over the meadows, the chefs will serve a five-course menu three evenings a week. You will take a seat at one of the long, communal tables (cozy!) among the pigs, Gasconne cows, and vegetable garden. The ingredients are harvested on the day itself and prepared directly over the open fire, just as we know Wils. The chefs have been dreaming of such an outdoor pop-up for years. “For five weeks, we get to cook with our feet in the field, surrounded by the scent of smoking wood and fresh herbs.” We were already fans of Wils, but with this pop-up, the party gets even bigger.
Sipping good wine and enjoying delicious food all evening (or afternoon) is already a treat, but doing so literally in a vineyard is at least double the fun. From July 2 to 26, you can once again take a seat at Wine Restaurant in the Countryside. A pop-up concept by Wine restaurant Mes Amis: A beloved restaurant from Maastricht. Located in the heart of South Limburg, you take a seat in a stylish pavilion amidst the vines. Your lunch or dinner revolves entirely around wine, with carefully selected (local) wines that perfectly complement the multi-course set menu (with a vegetarian option). Even if you don't drink wine, it is well worth a visit: the focus is just as much on the food and the overall experience, ensuring you want for nothing. Sold? Understandable.
Bonfire is a fantastic pop-up event – something a bit different from a regular restaurant. Chefs Frank and Thirza had a dream: a culinary experience in nature. Thanks to the coronavirus (yes, some really good things came out of it, occasionally...), they could finally make it a reality. No fixed location or set menu, but cooking where you can, when you can, and especially with who you can. Hoguera means bonfire, and you can see and taste it: dishes are prepared over an open flame, and the atmosphere is cozy and campfire-like. Each edition is limited in time and therefore special. You need a bit of luck or just keep an eye out for the next edition. For now, we'll give you a helping hand: the spring edition is coming up on April 16, 17, and 18.
We love finding fun and surprising places, and sometimes you find one that makes you think: this is going to make people really happy. Cul Sec is one of those. You really need to know about it, because you won't just stumble across it. It's very central, but few people will happen to pass by. No problem, because we'll show you the way. This time, towards the corner of the industrial estate in Culemborg. It doesn't sound exciting, but it is. Read more about Cul Sec here.
You might know Hilvarenbeek from Safaripark Beekse Bergen… But there's more to this Brabant village just outside Tilburg! And how… Hilvarenbeek is charming, hospitable, and home to restaurant ErloomThe owners run the business under that name all summer long – from early May to late September. restaurant Erloom so, one of the Netherlands' most fun pop-up restaurants. Every weekend is a party during those months, and it's a success.
It has long been indisputable that Monnickendam is a cute village and worth a visit just because of its location on the water, but the presence of Strandvier makes us want to go even more. The beach tent is located in the Hemmeland, a green area right next to Monnickendam, and was built by the owners themselves. A real one labor of love, if you like. The products the chefs work with are largely local and attention is paid to sustainability: no large-scale products here tourist trap, but a delicious place with Mediterranean food from the Argentinian barbecue (which was also built in-house). Sit on one of the wooden chairs on the veranda and look out over the Gouwzee or use it as a resting point during a day of sailing. Either way, you'll leave happier than you came.
A surprisingly beautiful location in a place where you wouldn't expect it; just outside the center of Doetinchem. You can dine in that beautiful glass greenhouse, in the middle of nature. Fun when it rains, fun when the sun shines, but also fun when it is crystal clear and you can see the stars during your dinner. You're always in a different setting, isn't it cool? You choose from 4, 5 or 6 courses, yes please. You can taste the seasons in the menu. The kitchen is modern with as many regional products from the beautiful Achterhoek as possible. Curious? We understand, read more here.
Wait a minute, a roadside restaurant and farm-to-table and a must visit? That sounds like a triple contradiction, but it is actually true: the Zacht Staal roadside restaurant is a greenhouse restaurant on the Rorik estate. Opened in the sunny, fertile months, when the food from the land ends up on your plate immediately (okay, after some input from the chef). Go back ten gears and live with what the country gives you. They do it at Soft Steel. Farm to table? This means that we cook with what comes from our own land or greenhouse. That own land, and that own greenhouse, belongs to the Rorik Estate and that is where vegetables, sometimes some meat, fish, fruit and cheeses come from. Oh, and it's very cozy there too.
Achterhoek it is. well-located in Groenlo you will be more than pleasantly surprised when you enter. A garden and veranda with a view over the canal of the historic fortified town. There is also a greenhouse in the garden for your own fresh herbs (it is the same as at the Rijksmuseum but even bigger, ha!) Kids can play in the riverbank garden. A menu with fine classics. You taste the sun in your glass. Celebrate life and enjoy is what they want to convey at Welgelegen, well believe us, they more than succeeded, congratulations! Oh, and while you're there, the toilets are a treat. Also nice after lunch or drinks to go boating with family or friends. Book one of the many packages at Welgelegen, with one you get a well-filled picnic basket and with the other you start with a drink on the terrace and after sailing you settle down in the restaurant for a dinner with you. loved ones. Nice detail: the skipper tells you everything ins and outs about the fortified town.
At well-located can do it all.
The bright greenhouse (or conservatory, you can also call it that) called Proeflokaal de Serre, in the middle of the nature of 's-Graveland, half an hour's drive from Amsterdam, near Hilversum, is exactly such a holiday address with-without holiday. You drive onto the estate via a forest path – nature all around. Park, pass the vegetable garden, the horses and the goats, and follow the buzz. There is Tasting Room de Serre. The menu is determined by the aforementioned nature: what comes from the land at that moment is on your plate. They pick all the vegetables, fruit and herbs themselves from the Land & Boschzigt estate, which is located next to the greenhouse. In the summer months you can enjoy a delicious lunch from Wednesday to Sunday.
The award for Terrace of the Year 2025 was presented to Noble Kitchen, in an iconic building on the grounds of Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt. And man, what a lovely place to be in the green. Typical case, holiday in your own country.
You really flop down here for a good, extensive lunch or a long dinner. And for what you sit down? Robata-yaki: the Japanese way of barbecuing. The sushi chef prepares sushi and sashimi on the spot. They do it right, because it is not for nothing that they received a Michelin star.
One of the country's best-kept secrets must be Priona's magical garden room. The gardens, the Priona Gardens, where the garden room was located designed by artists Anton Schlepers and Henk Gerritsen. The men created a green part of the Netherlands where everything revolves around the ecological balance of the plants. The restaurant is open in the summer months and the summer restaurant serves fresh produce from the gardens and the surrounding area. Edible works of art made mainly from flowers and plants, depending on what is available at the time. The Priona Garden Room can be found in Schuinesloot in Overijsel, half an hour from Zwolle. Read more
Restaurant Bij de Tuinman can be found on the grounds of Buitenplaats De Hoorneboeg, a beautiful and inspiring place for a photo shoot or company meeting, for example. The polek is beautiful, and more people should be able to use it. So the people opened Bij de Tuinman, a vegetarian (with vegan options) restaurant with products from their own vegetable garden. You eat outside when the weather is nice, under a cozy tent canvas and lamps - nice and fresh in the open air. If the weather is bad, you can sit in the greenhouse on the site. If we had to choose what is nicer or more beautiful, we wouldn't be able to do that. You eat delicious and fresh dishes, the service is friendly and after or before dinner you can take a walk on the grounds or the heath around the corner.
Fancy enjoying an organic, locally sourced dinner on a balmy summer evening at a beautiful estate (which is normally closed)? After four highly successful years, Landgoed Bleijendijk, in collaboration with Bosque, is once again hosting their estate dinners in July. From a traditional bakehouse, trendy meals will be prepared while you wait, with relaxing live music playing in the background. If that doesn't sound cozy enough, the venue also offers campfires, a cozy tent, and cheerful lights.
Bleijendijk Estate certainly doesn't stop at their country estate dinners. They also offer accommodations, a farm shop, and workshops (if you ever want to try your hand at baking in that little bakery)!
Reservations for the dinners are not yet possible, but keep an eye on us for updates. the site of the Bleijendijk Estate closely monitor!
House Frankendael: deep in Amsterdam East and whoever drives past probably thinks: nah, not today. Or: nice to get married. Missed opportunity! Just do it, walk into that fantastic building - probably one of the most beautiful in the city - where a family lived not so long ago and where a young chef now stirs the pots of the Merkelbach restaurant. That young chef put together a fresh seasonal menu with original dishes (jubile o jubel) and ditto wines (e.g. a pear cider, not wine, but very tasty). You can sit comfortably in the cozy restaurant, and in the summer it is even more fantastic in the enormous garden. The house has a number of meeting rooms, from a businesslike one in the ridge of the roof, to a rough stable at the back of the room (perhaps unintentionally oh so modern, very cool) and, my favorite, an old kitchen in the front of the store that can be rented for 16 men (less is also possible). You can go there every day of the week for coffee, lunch and a delicious drink. But that's not a problem, just go in the afternoon. merkelbach
The nicest places, as has been said a lot, are those places where not everyone goes, and certainly not every day of the week. One of those places where you have to cycle around and where time seems to have stood still. If you are in Utrecht, or near the city in the middle of the country, and you feel like getting out into nature for a while, then follow this detour tip: De Veldkeuken in Utrecht. Read more
Special dishes, bubbles, fire pits, live music and a still unsurpassed location in the middle of the North Holland greenery: restaurant Buitenplaats Plantage in Vogelenzang is a perfect base for Christmas with the whole family. In a large former greenhouse, the kitchen team provides an extensive and delicious breakfast buffet, brunch buffet and four-course surprise dinner during Christmas. As always, all dishes are 'organic'. Homemade from organic and fresh local products. Santa Claus comes to visit and there are fun activities in the Yurt on the estate. And if that's not enough, Christmas movies are playing non-stop in the back box.
Also read about these great addresses on the Dutch coast: sleeping by the sea by Barts Boekje
Not necessarily a country estate, but these terraces throughout the country are more than worth it: the growing list of terraces in the Netherlands
It is one of those locations not to be missed tasting room House of Bird in the Diemerbos, opened by the people of the Bird Brewery brewery. A brewery, yes, specialty beers galore, and a heck of a terrace under whispering trees.
The Diemerbos you say? Yup. We have to admit that we didn't know it either, but it is a young forest three kilometers from Amsterdam East. The forest has a recreational function and House of Bird Diemerbos is the epi-center (or so we think). The tasting room is open seven days a week and is a place for young and old. A bit like Kraantje Lek, so to speak, but with beer and completely new.
The Berchem district is often skipped during a visit to Antwerp, or you should treat yourself to an evening at The Jane, Sergio Herman's go-to restaurant. But beyond that? No. A shame, because the district also houses De Koninck City Brewery. There you can take guided tours and taste beer, great after a tour of King Albert Park. It gets even better thanks to the entrepreneurs who have gathered around the brewery: a cheese shop, a bakery, a chocolatier, a publishing house and a butcher's shop. And barbecue restaurant Black Smoke. But the best part can be found a little further on: walk all the way down the street, around the corner, around the corner again and you are at PAKT, a more than nice square full of catering establishments run by young entrepreneurs.
Officially the location of the Emperor's Empire is still Amsterdam (-West). There is a messy forest on the waterfront around the gypsy wagon, hammocks hang, large seat cushions lie, long tables stand and small intimate benches have been made between the trees, plus a sawn-through Mercedes that serves as seat. During the day you drink one), but many find the former ammunition depot of the Ministry of Defense a long way away. Still: do it.
If you don't know where to go and you want to dine in a nice green country estate, look for a castle nearby! The surefire recipe for success if you ask us.
For example, check out the fun and oh-so-sweet Kasteeltje Hattem in Limburg! A list of really nice castles (with those just right terraces, of course) throughout the country? We have! The most beautiful castles in the Netherlands
Kraantje Lek behind the dunes of Overveen in North Holland has always been a household name, but since the takeover at the end of 2019 it has really become a vibrant place. Two incredibly enthusiastic entrepreneurs adopted the sweet, historic building on the beautiful spot in the dunes and transformed it into a easy access café for young, old and everything in between, just a stone's throw from the beach. Right on the cycle path, Kraantje Lek is attractive with its red shutters, enormous terrace and new playground. An iconic building next to the climbing dune and a favorite among walkers, cyclists and young parents who let their offspring get some air while they do their own well-deserved order coffee. The renovation also included a new menu: pancakes used to be the mainstay, but now you can (also) have lunch with a deer ham sandwich with figs, mushrooms and chestnuts or a salad with grilled tuna, bok choy and sesame seeds. Early in the evening you can enjoy the whole meal and there is a children's menu for the little ones. Lots of meat and fish for the grown-ups, but in our opinion a vegetarian surprise could be added. You won't necessarily find that vegetarian hit at Loetje in the same Overveen, but it is tasty here. The business has been a household name in Amsterdam for thirty years and, with no fewer than fifteen branches, can now almost be called a chain. Almost, because Loetje gets it, don't ask us how, to keep an Amsterdam drawl, proverbially. A slap on the shoulder, a sign in front of you and a picket mission for anyone, also in Overveen.
Brasserie Buitenhuis is located in Valkenburg, not to be confused with Valkenburg in Limburg. This brasserie is located in the mini-Valkenburg near Leiden. I didn't know either, but it exists. Brasserie Buitenhuis is exactly that: a country house on the Valkenburgse Meer on the edge of the always fun area Leiden . A beautiful location with a terrace that you can admire, overlooking the water and with sun for a very (very!) long time. A bit chilly? Heaters on. Even fresher? On to the fireplace inside. Which, by the way, is also a beautiful picture. On the menu are dishes that you expect at a brasserie, but that are not boring and out of the ordinary. Goat cheese sandwich, pasta vongole and a very good chicken. The staff is sometimes allowed to take tutoring, but anyone who adjusts their expectations (and ignores the sometimes justified, and sometimes downright far too sour, reviews on Facebook) can only be pleasantly surprised at Brasserie Buitenhuis. In case you're wondering: YES. Brasserie Buitenhuis is extremely child-friendly. And YES: Brasserie Buitenhuis is also a very excellent wedding or party location, summer and winter.
Plenty of beauty in the countryside of Zeeland! For example, read about it The 6 Linden, a lovely new restaurant with an outside as far as the eye can see.
And also Uitspanning the Houtzagwerf is un-Dutch good in the Netherlands: thanks to the cozy tables spread around the main building, the chickens roaming around and the always good-natured staff, it always looks more like a mini holiday in the South of France than in our own Zeeland.
But we haven't had everything yet. Are you crazy? Just take a look at this list: the best of Zeeland
