Pop-up: Nareshtaurant at Lola Luid!

At pop-up lunchroom Nareshtaurant in Amsterdam, you eat things you don’t often see on lunch menus in the Netherlands. And we’re very happy about that.

Behind the temporary lunchroom, which will be open for two months starting February 1, is Naresh Ramdjas, whom we all know from MasterChef and FavorFlav. Nareshtaurant is nestled in Lola Luid!, a creative hub, as it is called these days. You can go there for yoga, (vintage) fashion and art galleries. And soon, for the most delicious lunch on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

We asked Naresh: What’s on the menu?
“I’m very fond of food that isn’t standard, but which I actually find it very strange that you don’t come across it at lunch. A good cacio e pepe, for example—I want to eat that for lunch very often, so why can’t you get it anywhere? So I’m going to serve dishes like that.

I once also made a seaweed burger for a tofu brand with roasted cauliflower, aubergine, tahini, miso and pomegranate. Completely vegan and incredibly delicious. So there will be something for every group.

There will also simply be sandwiches on the menu. I can think of a hundred million things, but ultimately it will be a compact menu with quick turnover and lots of changing dishes. I’m also known for my soups, so there will always be a good soup on the menu, depending on what I have available.

I always focus very much on warm, homemade food. Ideally, I’d wake up every day to fresh banana bread and cornbread, so we’ll be serving those too. I think pop-ups are actually the most fun thing there is; they keep me on my toes.

I’m also quite a sustainable guy, with a background in the Youth Food Movement. I’m also thinking about how I’m going to give that substance there. For example, by cooking with ingredients that are technically past their sell-by date but that you can still eat.”

So it could still go in any direction, but it will definitely be delicious. If you find Lola Luid! too far away, bicycle couriers will also be used; you can simply order through Foodora, Deliveroo and UberEats .

From April 1, Nareshtaurant may open permanently. But then at the marine grounds near Makerversary, a place where many flexible workers are based. Until then, however, all eyes are on the pop-up at Lola Luid!

Lola Luid!, Piet Mondriaanstraat 140, Amsterdam
For more information, visit nareshraurant.com or Facebook.