Update Aug 2023: permanently closed – Fine-dining on the Plein in The Hague at Bar & Restaurant Season
At Bar & Restaurant Season The Hague On the Lange Voorhout you can enjoy a damn good cocktail at the bar, but you have also come to the right place for an extensive lunch or dinner. The atmosphere? Chic, modern and relaxed at the same time. Yes, the owners René and Danny turned the former restaurant Kabinet upside down 360 degrees, and knew exactly what restaurant Season should look like. With a nod to a more international cuisine, you can mainly expect modern, French fine-dining dishes. And everything is in season, of course.
The idea is that you share the dishes (although you really don't want to, we can't tell you). The location is also top notch: in the heart of The Hague on the Lange Voorhout next to the Plein with two parking garages fifty meters away (and you finally don't have to drive ten laps to find a spot - yes!). Do you want to relax a bit after dinner? Then you can easily roll yourself to the cozy catering industry on Lange Voorhout. Even if you don't want this, because at Season you have the white chocolate Pornstar Martini and you have to taste it. And also for a dance to the music of owners René Ameling and Danny Slijngard, you still stay that unexpected hour(s) longer than expected. Season's cuisine is classic French, but with Japanese and Mediterranean influences. The menu has been put together by the chef who has followed cooking courses in Japan.
On a summer evening at Season you sit outside on the terrace until the late hours, and you don't want to go home anymore. Danny and René, both with a history in the catering industry, have so much passion for the business that you can see this in every detail. From the best sound systems, a completely renovated kitchen to those wine glasses that you dream you had at home. Inside is lit by candles in alcoves and the colored lights from under the bar that seems to have no end. Enough room to start here with a special cocktail that is shaken in front of you. Spoiler: the negroni sour, white chocolate pornstar martini and classic paloma – all tested and tried and double and straight through the inspection.
What makes Season special in our opinion is the combination of fine dining and shared dining. Every opportunity to taste all the high-quality dishes. Every ingredient has been carefully thought through, and artwork after artwork comes to the table with combinations that you would never think of yourself. The 'snack' menu alone is surprising, and we ordered the croquettes with cod ragout no less than three times. From hand-cut beef tartare with a pickled aspic, to gently cooked octopus with crispy saffron rice with an octopus mayonnaise. There is also more than enough choice for the vegetarians among us. Then you go for the chocolate fondant with miso caramel ice cream and gingerbread and you are a satisfied person.
A good dinner is of course accompanied by a good glass of wine. That is also fine with Season. The menu varies from house selections by the glass or bottle, classic wines, what they call funky and more exciting wines and the real top of the top. So something for everyone. We opted for a Don Alvaro Albarino, which paired well with the first dishes due to the smoothness of the wine. We then switched to a slightly fuller Chardonnay from Slovenia (which positively surprised us!) and finished with a Coteaux Bourguignons Pinot Noir that paired perfectly with the gently cooked short rib. So put Season high on your list, because the dishes adapt based on the season, and we are already eager to come back.
