The Hague restaurant Botanica serves Dutch Cuisine with vegetables in the starring role
The Hague has gained a hotspot: Botanica Kitchen, Garden & Bar in voco The Hague hotel. This is the former ABN AMRO bank building, right in the Hofkwartier. The ambition is bold; Botanica aims to become a top restaurant where vegetables and Dutch produce take center stage.
Deliciously light
Dutch food culture is characterized by creativity, originality and diversity, and that is exactly what chef Bas Hoog wants guests to taste. Our rich Dutch food culture deserves to be reappraised. Bas is no stranger to the culinary world, either: among other places, he cooked at Michelin-starred restaurants Seinpost*, Niven* and Fred**. At the latter two, he increasingly focused on lighter cooking and lots of vegetables. At Botanica, he continues this approach. All the seasonal produce used comes from Dutch soil and waters, such as the North Sea and the Westland.
Vegetable heroes
Dutch Cuisine at Botancia, then. The menu is based on the five principles of Dutch Cuisine (which you can read about here), with vegetables as the hero in every dish—the menu consists of 80% vegetables and 20% protein. Bas is not afraid to use traditional kitchen techniques, either. He makes botanical infusions from herbs grown in the restaurant’s own garden, and enjoys fermenting and pickling.
Seaweed butter
Botanica is light and green, with an open kitchen and striking bar. The staff are enthusiastic and incredibly friendly. We choose the tasting menu. Cornbread with seaweed butter arrives at the table. Delicious.
Butter sauce with mandarin and seaweed
Next comes a dish of thinly sliced kohlrabi with mackerel, strands of sheep’s cheese and buttermilk. A colorful dish that is both rich and fresh, beautifully balanced by the crunch of sunflower seeds.
The dish of yellow beetroot slowly cooked in its skin with a cream of yellow carrot and turmeric is delicious, especially because of the truly divine butter sauce with mandarin and seaweed.
Sous vide
The guinea fowl that follows is prepared sous vide, a technique in which vacuum-packed food is cooked in a water bath at a constant, relatively low temperature for an extended period—in this case at 36 degrees, resulting in incredibly tender meat. It comes with turnip and celery; a stock is made from the celery peelings, and the whole dish is served in it. A refined, understated dish.
Local beer
Finally, the dessert is dominated by sea buckthorn and also features pumpkin, yogurt and caramelized white chocolate. A fresh dish served—with a delightful touch—with The Hague rosehip bread beer. This beer is made from discarded bread. And with that, the circle is nicely complete. At Botanica, they deliver on their promise: this is high-level cooking with lots of vegetables, and deliciously light at that. The Hague has gained a fine new addition.
Botancia, Kneuterdijk 8, The Hague
Read also:
