The Netherlands, ZaandamAugust 16, 2019, by Michel + Renske

On to Zaandam, on to Het Hem culture house and Europa Zaandam restaurant

Weekend tip
The Netherlands, Zaandam, August 16, 2019, by Michel + Renske

On to Zaandam, on to Het Hem culture house and Europa Zaandam restaurant

The program Hemterrein in Zaandam is already a reason on its own to cross to Zaandam, and quickly. Here read why, just saying.
Now there is another reason: On the Hemburg site in Zaandam, a former artillery storage site of the Dutch army, on the border between Amsterdam and Zaandam, opened the cultural center Het Hem in the former bullet factory. Holla. And: run. Because we are talking about a very beautiful, raw, rugged warehouse with art (by the men of steet-brand Patta) and catering (by five friends who worked for Amsterdam restaurants such as BAK and Hotel de Goudfazant), everything more than beautiful furnished with industrial accents. On to Zaandam, on to Het Hem and restaurant Europa Zaandam, we already said it.

The Him Zaandam

The Him Zaandam

The living room of The Him in Zaandam, that's what we're talking about here first. Because that can be on your to do for the weekend; perfect relaxing weekend material. You can also stroll around the entire, once again, beautiful warehouse (hello wedding location!). The living room is freely accessible (a small entrance fee is charged for the exhibition, which is logical because it maintains the place, and the exhibitions, have to be financed from somewhere) and the operators serve coffee, soft drinks, snacks and dishes here throughout the day. from a small menu.

Restaurant Europa Zaandam

Restaurant Europa Zaandam

The raw warehouse was claimed by the founders of streetwear brand Patta who set up an exhibition space there, a underground bar and Restaurant Europa. The latter is run by five friends who worked at restaurants such as Bak and Hotel de Goudfazant and FC Hyena in Amsterdam - all of which offer creative and contemporary cooking. All tables in Europe – there are only 26 place settings – are at bar height around the open fire so that there is interaction between the guests and the chefs. The show starts at 19 p.m. and a changing 8-course menu is served with a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian: the sirloin steak is good, the mushroom tamales are even better. The vintage wine cabinet is full of vin naturel, plus fermented beer from Nevel from Nijmegen (a nice, fresh summer beer).
So make a reservation. For 60 EUR you get that eight-course surprise menu. Party.
Bringing kids? Sure. Absolute. There is a large drawing corner for them and plenty of fun things to see. Wherever you look. Because the entire Het Hem is spacious, the entire exhibition is easy to visit with small children (read: foolproof and small sticky-finger-proof). There is also an outdoor bar where you can look out at the passing boats and cruise ships that enter or leave the country via IJmuiden.
Fun fact: there is also great photo art in all the toilets! Calling all art houses and museums: why not clean up the toilet a bit too?! It's possible and it's great fun!
To? From 17:00 PM there is a boat every hour from Amsterdam CS that takes you to the Hemterrein. It returns every hour from 18:30 PM.

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