Barts Best of: restaurants in Tilburg
Tilburg it's fun! More and more fun. And especially the restaurants. Like Breda interesting catering establishments pop up from the ground and one place is even nicer than the other. Star-level food, long summer evenings dining on the water under a roof of lights, drinks in an old train shed... So it's all possible in Tilburg. These are the nicest restaurants in Tilburg.
Okay, you have to go to Hilvarenbeek for it. But if there is one restaurant where you want to make a reservation this summer, it is Erloom. Erloom? What? Well, Erloom is *the* one. farm to table, head to tail, fine dining Outdoor and seasonal restaurant that has the heart of our Barts Boekje. On this page, you will find all our tips from our own soil, with tips on where the food comes from., from the farm and the farmers to what happens before the food is on your table.
In a nutshell: from May through September, you can visit Hilvarenbeek in Brabant for a picturesque outdoor setting (farmhouse wedding style, only without a couple, but with nothing but good people and like-minded individuals at the table). From Friday through Sunday, prominent, often well-known chefs from both home and abroad (!) cook lunch and dinner. Their assignment: source your ingredients from local farmers and cook on-site over an open fire. Andddd: good luck! It will come as no surprise that the result is the most amazing lunches and dinners. It is an all-inclusive experience for a fixed price, including a unique menu, careful beverage pairing, and table water (lunch €99, dinner €129), all in tune with nature.
Of course, you're already a big step ahead if you open a catering business in a beautiful building in the Amsterdam School style in one of the nicest places in Tilburg (the Piushaven, duh), but then you have to make it happen. De Graanhandel does that more than once: the food and drinks are really good, the service and the atmosphere are very relaxed and the interior (dare we say it) un-Tilburgish handsome.
If you want, you can spend the whole day at the Graanhandel. You start the day with coffee and breakfast, stay for lunch and end with a cracking dinner. The menu changes every season, but a fixed item is the flatbreads from the large pizza oven topped with, for example, nduja butter and mussels or sage butter, mushrooms and old goat cheese. We like! Many of the dishes on the lunch and dinner menu are vegetarian, but can be expanded with meat or fish. Also fun: in addition to an extensive beer and (natural) wine menu, you will also find a wide range of jenevers here. Because what is jenever made of? Exactly, grains.
De Graanhandel is open from Tuesday to Sunday. You can reserve a table, but they keep most of the tables available for walk-ins. Perfect for spontaneous dinner plans! We love it.
At Piushaven, just a little further than you'd normally go, you'll find Villa La Vida. A restaurant and boutique hotel where you'll instantly experience that holiday feeling without having to leave the city. The hotel has five unique rooms and a spacious loft, each with its own unique style and cozy details that will make you feel right at home.
And then there's the restaurant: a mix of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with dishes that will take you on a culinary journey around the world. From shared dining to a chef's menu with 4, 5, or 6 courses, everything is prepared with care and love. This includes a bright, sunny atmosphere in the restaurant and a lovely waterside terrace where you can watch the boats sail by and life seems to stand still for a moment.
Villa La Vida is also ideal for drinks and groups: from a pleasant afternoon with friends to an extensive dinner or a special occasion.
As Pulcinos When you try something new, you almost know it's going to be a hit. And sure enough, Thomas Derks, the passionate mind behind Pulcinos and the man behind their own liqueur line, opened this SatiataAn intimate space where Italian delicacies, natural wines, and Pulcinos liqueurs come together. Think: cheeses, hams, pastas, olives, and sauces… plus beautiful kitchen tools to play the chef at home.
In the kitchen? Handmade, fresh dishes that will make you happy. From green asparagus with pecorino, lima beans, and lemon to oyster mushrooms with soy caramel, bok choy, and papadoms, or birria tacos with salsa verde. Everything tastes even better with a glass of wine from their own liquor store, literally right next door.
And because good food tastes even better with good music, it's on weekends vinyl timeSoul, jazz, and old-school hip-hop fill the space, and every now and then a live band joins in.
Butt-free is a creative coffee café, but actually a good place for a nice lunch. Not only lunch, you can also drop by for breakfast and coffee. At Buutvrij you can live as if it were your second living room. Everything here is super fresh, such as the healthy yogurt bowls and homemade cakes, sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, soups and salads. The truffle tantastic is recommended. Buutvrij is also a showcase for designers, artists and music makers. On the small stage you often find acoustic sessions and other performances.
This business is located on Noordstraat: on the left The Bourgeoisie A shop where you can pick up everything from various types of mustard to caviar; on the right is the restaurant, which is one of the best and nicest in Tilburg. The menu changes every three months, and that is the perfect time to join in: under the name Burgerij Primeur, you can taste the new menu. Every Thursday evening, there is the Oyster Drinks outside. Sample different types of oysters while enjoying a glass of Sec or another matching wine.
Read more: The Bourgeoisie
Maybe The Houtloods is the best restaurant in Brabant. In our experience that is. The business is beautiful: the business is located in a building that, with its origins in 1867, is the oldest building on the creative Spoorzone, although you wouldn't say that about the light, industrial restaurant that opened in 2015 around a large open kitchen. Highly recommended all year round, but when the sun shines even a little bit, you definitely want to be here: the terrace is just as fantastic as the food.
Coffee, coffee and more coffee, that's all a person needs. They know Locals only too good. The smell of good coffee greets you as soon as you enter, thanks to the beans that are roasted in the middle of the shop. After your lunch and a cup of coffee, you can immediately take the coffee beans home with you.
You can have a delicious breakfast and lunch in the coffee bar.
Behind Tilburg Central Station lies the Spoorzone, a raw, emerging area with a skate park, a handful of coffee shops, the Hall of Fame Culture Factory and the once-a-year food truck festival the Smaak Karavaan. A restaurant also opened here RAW, located in an amazing warehouse where trains used to be repaired. Big and cool with all the industrial details still intact. You can eat steak between the station signs and a bar made of railway tracks. Okay, something else is also allowed, but that steak, that is the pride of the five entrepreneurs behind the business. Although in our opinion it is mainly a top favorite for a (weekend) drink. Or two. Or eight. Keep an eye on the programming: there is regularly something going on at RAW. RAW? This stands for the way in which you can receive your steak, but also for Restaurant Always Welcome. Creative bunch.
The important catering centers of Tilburg-city are no longer located in the city center of the Brabant student city. Forget Pius Square and the Heuvel: the Spoorzone is the place to be. And in the Piushaven. The idyllic part of Tilburg, which was a strict no-go area during my student days, is now the ideal base for the best restaurants in the city (see also Little Escapes Nl & VL). Like RAK restaurant, which has literally been on the water like a floating pontoon since the end of 2017. A special location to start with, where you have an unparalleled view of the entire harbor. Although you can also look inside: the industrial lamps and velvet chairs around the twenty tables are impressive. The compact menu includes seared beef stew with apple and cucumber, sesame cream and garlic vinaigrette. And creamy cod with spicy Zeeland bacon and beurre blanc.
Small but nice. At Gist, it feels like you're dining at someone's home (but someone with cooking skills, which is truly impressive). The menu? It changes with the seasons, so no food-fomo Here. And as a bonus: natural wines that taste like you just picked them up in the South of France. Perfect for a casual, yet oh-so-delicious evening of dining.
NOIR is a café that has been in this location since 1977. A few years ago, the café was taken over and given a makeover, but NOIR remains just as beloved by Tilburg residents. The small outdoor terrace is always packed, even in winter, and the reason is obvious: an extensive drinks and bites menu, excellent service, and a pleasant atmosphere. Visiting for lunch? Order the grilled cheese sandwich with homemade grilled cheese sauce; a truly iconic classic.
Boho vibes onlyChef Javier (born in Ecuador, raised in Lanzarote, "paradise," as he calls it) brings his travels to your plate. Think: Japan meets Peru meets The Mediterranean. Nikkei cuisine is the star of the show, with surprising flavors and combinations you won't easily find elsewhere. Everything is made with love, and you can taste it in every bite. Bonus points for the interior: picture-perfect.
Sorry what? Beats, Auberge du Bonheur is the same restaurant as this one, La Nouvelle Auberge. The same location on the edge of the city, the same owners, a completely new look and a new name. Auberge du Bonheur was a beautiful restaurant in a beautiful location, but the young people from Brabant actually only found the place if they were allowed to get married. Furthermore, dining was mainly done by the slightly older people. No big deal! But the people behind the 'new' La Nouvelle Auberge also wanted to show the new generation what they have to offer. So there was a beautiful re-styling that of course included the well-known 2018 looks (light blue velvet, check. Plants, check. Raises for cozy seating areas, check).
Let's go back to Noordstraat because that's where it used to be City café de Spaarbank already and that was fun back then. It still is. The Savings Bank is just such a nice grand cafe for always and at any time. For young and old, for a beer and a newspaper (at the same time, that newspaper at the end of the day or that beer just a little too early in the day). The (daily) snacks are without fuss and always tasty, the service is always friendly and correct.
We also like a bit in that category Café Anvers incidentatlly! A brown cafe gone good. Even then, still now.
It's all in the name: at Hooked You'll be sold immediately. In this atmospheric restobar in a quiet 'corner' of the lively party street, it's all about good wine, fine dishes to share, and long evenings in a Mediterranean atmosphere. The interior is a successful mix of hip Barcelona and classic Paris, the music is always just right, and the atmosphere is relaxed.
Tip van flip: sla gain olive oil ice cream NOT ALLOWED over. Creamy, surprising, and with exactly the right balance between sweet and savory.
Just outside Tilburg (15 minutes' drive), but oh so nice. Trappist monastery De Koningshoeven can be found in Berkel-Enschot (Tilburg's neighbor and here La Trappe is brewed.
Various cycling routes start from the brewery, after which you can finish with a delicious lunch with (of course) Trappist beers. Or exchange the cycle route for a tour of the brewery. You will visit all facets of the production process and all the characteristic buildings on the brewery site. Of course you will also end this with beers and a delicious lunch/drinks menu.
