Spectacular start of the Christmas season at festive restaurant Grace
23-10-2023
We can’t say it often enough: celebrate the start of the Christmas season! Festive restaurant Grace is leading by example.
A festive moment will take place at festive restaurant Grace on November 19: the tree-lighting of no fewer than thousands of lights in the giant 6-metre-high Christmas tree. This iconic moment not only marks the start of the festive Christmas season, but also unveils the largest Christmas tree that has ever been shown in a restaurant in Rotterdam. Situated in the centre of the restaurant, the tree rises from the ground all the way up to the 6-metre-high ceiling of the recently renovated premises on the Coolsingel. A walking lunch on a Sunday afternoon in dinner jacket or cocktail dress with acts including Mariah Carey look-a-likes, dancers, Mandy McCandy and singer Frank in Person.
Cheese fondue restaurant Smelt returns to the Westerpark in Amsterdam
19-10-2023
Cheese fondue restaurant Smelt (Dutch for melt) reopens its doors for their second season in Amsterdam. After a six-month absence from the Westerpark, the restaurant is back. Smelt will once again serve its classics, such as Swiss fondue, Dutch fondue and new this year the Italian fondue, during the dark winter months.
Gastropub Dutch Dukes hosts the first Christmas party of 2023
17-10-2023
Pepernoten (Dutch Saint Nicholas treats which are traditionally eaten in December) hit the stores in August and easter eggs in January. This will not surprise the average Dutch person anymore. So why would anyone be surprised with the first Christmas party of 2023 in October? That is right, on the 18th of October the gastropub Dutch Dukes in Rotterdam is organising the first Christmas party of the Netherlands. The gastropub is completely decorated for Christmas, just for the party! Whilst it is still fifteen degrees Celsius outside, Rotterdam is taking out their Christmas sweaters and is heating up the glühwein.
EdelBites | A modern twist on the traditional Austrian ‘Käsnudel’
3-10-2023
The first EdelBites pop-up takeaway location has opened its doors in Amsterdam, offering a range of fresh and nutritious filled dumplings with unusual flavours. From cheese-mint and tomato-mozzarella to spinach-cheese, prosciutto-parmesan and apple-cinnamon, there is a variety of sweet and savoury fillings available to enjoy. The dough base of each dumpling is the same, they are inspired by a traditional recipe using Hüttenkäse, filled with a fresh stuffing and coated with butter and chives. Served in portions of three or five, EdelBites are a nutritious alternative to a daily meal. Discover a world of flavours, a culinary twist with every bite!
Veggie Weeks at Family with the ‘Autumn Burger’
2-10-2023
Family is a snackbar-restaurant formula known for its delicious burgers, fries specials and other tasty meals. It is a franchise formula of the formula house FHC Formulebeheer and Veggie Weeks will take place there in October. In line with the ongoing commitment to provide a suitable offering, they are introducing a ground-breaking veggie variant of the most talked-about burger in the Family range; the ‘Autumn Burger’ in Dutch ‘de Herstburger’.
Trends we spotted | Week 39
2-10-2023
At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about among others an elevated pickleball and eatertainment facility ‘At Fault’ in the USA and the ‘Kids Own Mondays’ at BurgerFi, with a free kids meal with an adult meal.
Why haven’t we seen products made with Ube in Europe yet? In the USA ube is available dried, as an extract or frozen, must be easy to import this purple coloured Filipino delicacy this way! In London a new hotel opened, Hotel The BoTree. The interior design has been done by Concrete, the Amsterdam based design firm.
Shell Café X chef Herman den Blijker – the chef created Flaguette steak tartare and brioche saumon fumé. October 6th you can taste the sandwiches in his presence at one of the Shell Cafés.
Are you a fan of model trains? The “Meat & Beer On Rails” restaurant Výtopna has arrived in Vienna, Austria. Check out the embedded Instagram post in the article, it looks great!
Grow Up, Don’t Grow Old is a great viral campaign by GiG Hard Seltzer in which 2 old ladies speak Dutch street languages. Coca Cola has released Y3000, a soda co-created between humans and AI that is meant to taste just like in the year 3,000.
Your Very Important Pet is welcome at Beagles & Beans
2-10-2023
Wednesday October 4 is Animal Day. A day to pamper your favourite four-legged friend! At Bagels & Beans, extra attention and love come as standard. That’s why they don’t celebrate Animal Day but Animal Week: from October 4th to 11th , your Very Important Pet (V.I.P) will receive true VIP treatment. Their two-legged companions too, by the way, they receive a VIP card full of moments of enjoyment. They even have a temporary name change to Beagles & Beans.
Planet Ardbeg Tour | For lovers of smokey cocktails
28-9-2023
For cocktails you had to be in Amsterdam this month, cocktail month September started with the Amsterdam Cocktail Week and now ends with the special whisky experience the Planet Ardbeg Tour. From September 28 untill the 30th , experience four special signature Ardbeg cocktails at the famous cocktail bars: Flying Dutchmen Cocktails, LuminAir, J.D. Williams whisky bar and Bar Feijoa. Each cocktail bar serves a cocktail based on one of the three editions of whisky brand Ardbeg, on which the ‘Planet Ardbeg’ comic book is also inspired.
Trends we spotted | Week 38
25-9-2023
At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With links this week to articles including an initiative by DoubleTree by Hilton in Amsterdam that allows people to give away 100 litres of water per hotel stay. They have also used advanced Orbisk technology, powered by AI, to reduce thousands of kilos of food waste.
For the first time, there is now also a list of ‘The World’s 50 Best Hotels’ and Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel is launching a ‘Gouden Brood’ beer, a sustainable beer concept made from leftover bread from their kitchens.
Bijou Patisserie in Dubai is serving ‘Le Goûter Vault’: high tea from a jewellery vault. And in Venlo, the Daily Trade Fair Venlo has opened, over 15,000 square metres of exhibition floor with showrooms and a culinary stage!
McDonald’s Japan has added ‘Shrimp Nuggets’ to its menu, we think that many people in the Netherlands would like this menu item as well! At the Horecava, you can check out the pop-up of BUNKR, the first AI-controlled restaurant in the Netherlands.
New owner for tea and spice shop ‘De Droom van Utrecht’. It’s the fourth business of Dineke and Marc van Bommel now. They operate two Betjeman & Barton shops selling tea (accessories), crockery and delicacies in The Hague and one in Amsterdam.
And on Instagram, we came across a cool way to serve burrata – a burrata bar!
The Bocktoberfest at House of Bird
22-9-2023
On Friday October 6, House of Bird will open the bock beer season with the Bocktoberfest in the Diemerbos (forest near Amsterdam). It promises to be a great kick-off including the launch of the new beer ‘Kaketoekomst’, a charity auction, the Open NK Rodeobock and various DJs. Block 6 October in your agenda if you don’t want to miss this fest or compete in the NK Rodeobock!