The Hague Restaurants

With more than twenty nationalities, The Hague offers a great variety of restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets, so you shouldn't have any problems finding and choosing something that will satisfy you. The selections are broad and sophisticated and good value compared to other top European destinations such as London. Hotel restaurant menus are aimed at tourists and tend to offer mainly European style dishes. The number of exotic restaurants reflects the many cultures found in the city. In particular, the Indonesian connection is clear in the many ethnic eateries dotted throughout the city; Asian influences are everywhere. The city centre has the normal fast-food restaurants and international chains although many of them can't be recommended as they are expensive and unmemorable. Like many cities in continental Europe, dining out in The Hague can be a smoky affair. A few restaurants are offering no-smoking sections and this trend continues to develop so be sure to check when making a booking.

Local cuisine

Traditional cuisine is rather basic and revolves around many different types of snacks. There are many influences to be found in Dutch cooking from former colonies, especially Indonesia. Restaurants and cafés have improved their offerings but still tend to stick with meat and vegetables, served with fries and salad. Highlights are mashed potatoes with carrots and bacon (hutspot), pancakes (pannenkoekenhuizen), and pea soup (erwtensoep or snert). You will also be able to find a 'frietboer', otherwise known as 'Patat' on most streets that mainly sell french fries. There is a big choice of sauces and things to add such as mayonnaise, ketchup, apple sauce and curry. They usually sell other kinds of fried snacks such as kroketten and frikandellen.