Britta and Yuri Wattimena to open restaurant YANO in Rotterdam in autumn 2022
Yuri en Britta Wattimena van restaurant YANO - credits: Nanja Valenteyn-Wattimena fotografienanja.com 
Yuri en Britta Wattimena van restaurant YANO - credits: Nanja Valenteyn-Wattimena fotografienanja.com 
restaurant YANO - Hamachi bieslook sambai
Restaurant YANO - makreel tomatenbouillon boemboe
restaurant YANO - Geitenyoghurt, magnolia-kombucha, witte aardbei, dille
Restaurant NOYA has a new name because another party claimed the name, so the owners changed it to restaurant YANO. Britta and Yuri Wattimena will open restaurant YANO in Rotterdam in the autumn of 2022. It is the first restaurant of the couple, who have extensive experience in Rotterdam’s top segment restaurants. The fine-dining restaurant will be located at Straatweg 114 in Hillegersberg, on the site of the former restaurant Zotte.
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Experience as base for starting restaurant YANO
Restaurant YANO seats 35 guests, has a terrace and looks out over the water of the Bergsche Plassen at the front. Britta (33) and Yuri (39) Wattimena have gained extensive experience at top restaurants in Rotterdam. Britta worked as a hostess at Michelin star awarded restaurants such as FG Restaurant, Food Labs by François Geurds and Amarone. In the past six months she has continued her expertise in the world of cheese at cheese specialist De Kaashoeve in Rotterdam. Yuri has FG Restaurant, Food Labs by François Geurds, Amarone and The Millèn on his resumé, where he worked as sous-chef in the last three.
Fine dining without boundaries
The name YANO is an amalgamation of Yara and Noah, the children of Britta and Yuri Wattimena. Yuri Wattimena: “YANO will be an accessible fine-dining restaurant with a worldly cooking style. I cook from a classic French base and then give it my own twist with international products and my own flavour combinations. I cook without borders and get inspired by everything I like, whether it comes from the Netherlands, France or Asia. And I’m half Moluccan, so the guest will also get a taste of the flavours of the Indian Archipelago.”
Interior in Japandi style
The interior design is done by Jeroen Smeele of SMEELE Design, who has designed interiors for various top restaurants. Britta Wattimena: “Jeroen has incorporated our personal taste in the interior very well. It will be an elegant, modest interior in the style of ‘Japandi’, which is a mix of Japanese and Scandinavian influences. A nice detail is that Yuri is half Moluccan and I am half Finnish, so Japandi partly reflects our origins. A lot of wood is used in the interior and part of the walls are covered with wooden panels on an acoustic background of recycled materials.”
Opening restaurant YANO planned in November 2022
Britta and Yuri Wattimena: “We are very much looking forward to starting and shaping our own business. We hope to open in the course of October 2022, depending on the availability of professionals and delivery times of, for example, furniture. As soon as reservations can be made, we will let you know on our socials and website.”
They are also still looking for staff for their team, including a sommelier, a waitress, a chef de partie and dishwashers.
Website: Restaurant YANO
