More space for restaurant Elea by moving to The Hague
Rendering of the new restaurant Elea credits Manon de Groot
Rendering of the new restaurant Elea credits Manon de Groot
Bibi Kuyp en Takis Panagakis of restaurant Elea credits Vincent Basler
Celeriac Wellington by Restaurant Elea
Kingfish with Greek Salad by restaurant Elea
Sweet Tzatziki by restaurant Elea
Relocation – Restaurant Elea is moving from Rijswijk to the Noordeinde in The Hague. The restaurant of hostess Bibi Kuyp and chef Takis Panagakis will close its doors in Rijswijk around the end of December 2022, to reopen them on the Noordeinde in the Hofstad early 2023. With more space for the kitchen and the ability to host more guests!
At restaurant Elea you can enjoy delicious food with subtle Greek influences!
2 minutes read
About the new location of restaurant Elea
The new location at the address Noordeinde 142 measures 300 m2 and is spread over two floors. Takis Panagakis (40): “After six years, we were ready for a new step. In the existing premises, we are outgrowing our space, for example the kitchen is too small for our kitchen team of seven. At Noordeinde, in addition to the spacious kitchen, we also have a separate production kitchen and can accommodate 55 guests, instead of 36. Here, we can grow and have more kitchen space to further raise the culinary level. It also allows me to pay more attention to the menu, which will include a written-out vegetarian menu in addition to the à la carte section and the seasonal menu.”
Timeless interior
The new restaurant Elea will feature an open Palux kitchen, in which cooking will be done on induction. Next to the open kitchen is a chef’s table. Manon de Groot is responsible for the interior design, she also did the design of restaurant Noor. Bibi Kuyp (32): “We did chose a timeless interior with natural materials such as wood and soft fabrics and colors. Olive trees in the interior refer to the name Elea, which means olive in ancient Greek and is also the term Greek philosophers once used for innovation, freedom and challenge. There is also space for wine climate cabinets and a cheese trolley, both long-held desires.”
Innovative cuisine with subtle Greek influences
Restaurant Elea opened in 2016 on the Herenstraat in Rijswijk and is known for its creative and innovative cuisine with subtle Greek influences, referring to chef-owner Takis Panagakis’ Greek heritage. With distinctive, high-level cuisine and top-notch service, Elea quickly secured a place in the leading restaurant guides Michelin, Gault&Millau, Proefschrift Restaurants and Lekker. As a competition chef, Takis managed to win many cooking competitions, including Variatiechef 2013, the press award of Slag op de Schelde 2017 and the Zeeland Mussel Trophy 2022. In 2017, Elea won first prize as the best reviewed restaurant in the Hague edition of the Algemeen Dagblad Gouden Pollepel.
Reopening restaurant Elea will be early 2023
Bibi Kuyp and Takis Panagakis: “We have enjoyed working in Rijswijk all these years, and the Herenstraat in Oud-Rijswijk is a nice environment to do business. But now we are looking forward to moving to The Hague, where we have all the space we need to realize our ambition to grow. We are still looking for a tenant to take over the operation of our current restaurant. Interested parties should contact Horecamakelaardij Knook & Verbaas.
The plan is to close the doors in Rijswijk around the end of December 2022 and reopen in The Hague in the course of January 2023, but it could well be somewhat later. For the planning, we depend on several factors, such as delivery times of materials. As soon as we have more concrete information about the planning, we will let you know via our website and socials. By the way, we are still looking for a sommelier and a waitress for our team at the new location.”
About Bibi Kuyp and Takis Panagakis
After her hospitality training, Bibi Kuyp worked, among others, at restaurant De Zwethheul in Schipluiden and Sea Grill in Brussels, both of which had two Michelin stars at the time. While working as a hostess at restaurant Mazie in The Hague, she met Takis and the idea was born to open a restaurant together in the future.
Takis Panagakis has Michelin-starred restaurants like Basiliek in Harderwijk and Brouwerskolkje in Overveen on his CV. He was chef at restaurant Mazie in The Hague for six years, after which he and Bibi opened their own restaurant Elea in Rijswijk in 2016.
Website: Restaurant Elea
