We have another great addition for your greener list: the travelling restaurant De Maaltuin. At special locations you wouldn't normally visit - let alone where you dine - the red carpet is rolled out for you for an unforgettable culinary experience. We had the honour of dining in the Knights' Hall of the Muiderslot. Yes, pinch us, we really did dine in the knights' hall of our favourite castle.
Bucket list thingy though, that dinner at the Muiderslot
The evening begins with an exclusive audio tour of the castle, open especially for guests of The Grind Garden. You will stroll quietly through the centuries-old corridors and rooms, normally only accessible during opening hours, and feel history come to life. Then take a seat in the impressive knights' hall, at long tables where once luminaries such as P.C. Hooft, Constantijn Huygens, Casper Barlaeus, Gerard Vossius, Joost van den Vondel and Hugo de Groot dined and celebrated.
What the menu will bring us? A five-course dinner inspired by the seasons and the castle's history. So we got straight into the mood with a starter of carrot tartare with Amsterdam sour and horseradish, followed by a soup of porcini mushrooms and Dutch lemon beans. Are you vegetarian or vegan? No problem, just let us know when booking, as the standard menu is not vegetarian. Between courses, the host tells fascinating stories about the castle and its famous guests. As you look around at the paintings depicting events from this room, the realisation hits you: you are in the middle of a living work of art. Wow, this is truly a bucket list experience.
Sustainability in the kitchen of the Meal Garden
‘We are trying to zero waste cooking and using everything from each product. Is there anything left over anyway? Then we try to ferment it again or dry it out for a topping of another dish. Furthermore, we pick the herbs from our own vegetable garden and we keep the chain as short as possible by working with local farmers and entrepreneurs’.’
The Meal Garden is a travelling restaurant, i.e. a pop-up restaurant that descends on special locations such as the Knights' Hall of the Muiderslot (main photo), in the castle's plum garden (photo 1), but also in the coach house of Soestdijk Palace.
Are you also coming to the Grind Garden
Do you now think ‘shit, I don't live near the lock at all’. No worries, the Meal Garden is a travelling restaurant that creates culinary experiences at special locations throughout the Netherlands. Think Koepelgevangenis in Arnhem, where you dine amid impressive architecture, or the botanical gardens of Trompenburg in Rotterdam, where nature surrounds you. Royal Delft, home of the iconic Delft blue, and the coach house of Soestdijk Palace with its royal allure are also magical places where De Maaltuin descends.
Each menu is inspired by the seasons as well as the unique atmosphere of the venue. The stories and history complete the evening. By dining in these special places, every edition of The Meal Garden becomes an evening to remember.
See more about this travelling restaurant, including its current schedule and prices, at their website. Also cool: you can also gift a dinner at the Grind Garden with a festive Grind Garden gift voucher!
More greener fine dining tips
- Also very nice is an evening vegan fine dining at restaurant Bonboon in Amsterdam's Jordaan district.
- A golden oldie to us, but if you haven't been there yet, a bucket list restaurant. We are talking about the Greenhouse in Amsterdam.
- In Utrecht, we like to visit restaurant Le Jardin if we want to be pampered.
Photo credits: The Grind Garden & thegreenlist.nl.
