I don’t think there is anything more fun and exciting than preparing, cooking and sharing meals with people you love. (Well there is; makeup! But we need food to survive; you can’t EAT makeup now, can you?) Food unites people, and makes them come together to share stories, laughter, celebrate and sometimes even share sadness.
I must say I am not the greatest cook in the world (for that I have awesome friends that are… you know who you are!), and I don’t pretend to be either… but I do know that every time I do cook, I do so with passion and with love. I might not know a hundred ways to cook chicken, but the way I know how is unique, just because I put so much effort and dedication into it… and I know that it is always appreciated by the ones I serve it to. :-) And that’s all that matters!
However, when the wallet allows it, I love to go out to dinner! I mean who doesn’t? I love going out to cozy little restaurants, to meet up with my friends, but I also love going to regular crowded restaurants where I have to scream to the person sitting across me. I just love having dinner with friends, colleagues, family, and pets or whatever… I love to sit in a restaurant, get served really delicious food, have a wonderful conversation and pay a reasonable tab.
So, because I like eating out so much, I have put together a list of some of my favorite “local” restaurants. “Local” because they are all situated in The Hague, and there is where I live, so there you go! It wasn’t really hard to compile this list; I’m a creature of habit, and once I like something I stick to it. That’s just how I roll.
Below I have my 5 favorites, in random order. From Cuban to Japanese, to English and Italian. There’s something there for anyone… I think. I’m pretty sure, a lot of people who have had dined out in The Hague or are familiar with the restaurants, will agree with me… On the other hand I’m pretty sure some won’t, but this is my personal opinion. And if you ever happen to be in The Hague, you should probably check them out! :-)
La Cubanita
Noordeinde 138A
2514GP Den Haag
Tel: 070-3605428
Love the coziness of dark candle lit restaurants… with the rustic setting of being in an old Cuban house complete with salsa music, “cuba libre’s” and cigars? I know I do! Sans de cigars of course, not really my thing.
Even though “Tapas” are known to be a Spanish tradition, La Cubanita is a tapas restaurant. And they are a pretty good one too! If you were expecting to hear all about me eating “aroz con pollo “guess again.
La Cubanita offers a variety of 50 Tapas in a range of types. For instance you can have cold tapas, meat tapas, or fish and even vegetarian tapas. The great thing about La Cubanita is, for those looking deep in their pockets, they offer ALL YOU CAN EAT tapas on Monday’s through Thursday’s for the low price of €17,50 per person. You can have 2 tapas per person per round, and even if desserts are not included, believe me after 2 or 3 rounds you won’t be able to stand up! (I speak from own experiences). Also drinks are not included, but surprisingly they are not as expensive as one might think.
The restaurant has a really cozy interior, I mean if you like rustic furniture, dim lights, Che Guevara posters and writings on the walls, it’s really snug and it gave me a real Cuban feeling.
The tapas are really nice, and because of the large variety I wasn’t sure what to pick, but if you are with a group, you can always choose a bunch of things and share it, so that everyone gets a taste of everything. Sharing is caring people!
Overall the service isn’t too bad either, unfortunately the waitresses don’t speak Spanish (as far as I know; that would have given me a real Cuban feeling!), but it was okay. I used to be a waitress myself, so I know how much hard work it is to serve people and I won’t trash talk on the waitress, she did a pretty decent job. :-)
Check out the website for the Menu, locations, game rules etc.
The restaurant is to be found in over more than 10 locations across The Netherlands, so I’m pretty sure there is one near you!
If you have ever seen how Italian families dine together; everyone comes together, loads of laughter, loud shouting, and a HUGE amount of food… You will definitely LOVE VIP!
It’s very hard to find an authentic Italian restaurant here, or maybe I wasn’t looking… You might think that since we live in such close proximity with Italy, we would have loads of authentic Italian restaurants scattered all over the city. If you consider the pizza from the “Shoarma Boer” a real pizza, than I’m not sure how I would respond to that. But then again I’m not the type that goes out to a restaurant to eat Pizza… I would much rather have that delivered. But in any case, on to VIP.
VIP falls in the category of large, noisy restaurant. Situated in the city centre of The Hague, it has a perfect location for when you just finished your shopping spree, or if you decide that afterwards you want to grab a cocktail or go dancing.
Having as much as 17 different pasta dishes and more than 20 pizzas to choose from there is definitely something there for anyone’s taste buds. Not only that, but they have amazing antipasti, salads and soups.
There is one thing that I really like about this restaurant; they have the option of sharing your pasta! Say for instance you and your friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, or whomever you decide to have dinner with, choose the same dish, like perhaps, one of my favorites Tortellini Prosciutto e Panna, which is tortellini filled with Parma ham in cream sauce, YOU can SHARE a bowl! The bowls are for 4 people, and not only is it convenient, less expensive, it’s cozy!
And don’t worry about your pocket. Prices range from €6 to €10 per pasta dish and depending on which pasta dish you and your entourage choose, your bowl of pasta can range from €21 to €36 per bowl.
Did I mention that their pizzas are “steen oven”? Oven-baked! The pizzas are made according to original and traditional baking processes.
The service in VIP is sublime,-like you would expect to be treated in a place called VIP!- not only do some of the waiter/waitresses actually speak Italian, but they are actually really friendly and don’t mind me saying they are cute. Simply because they have this Italian charm, that just makes any girl blush.
If you want to see more of their menu please don’t hesitate to check out their website for more information!
Lei sarà impressionato! You will be impressed!
Los Argentino’s
Kettingstraat 14
Den Haag
Tel: 070-3468523
www.los-argentinos.nl
Anyone who knows me really well knows how much I love meat and how much I love Argentina. I have never been there, but at a very young age I discovered that Argentina would be my ultimate destination and I am one of their BIGGEST fans not only in producing good meat and tango, but also in SOCCER! Yes, I said it, I’m for Argentina…! And I have some other great teams I love but we are not going to talk about soccer.
We are going to talk about one of the greatest steak restaurants in the centre of The Hague! Just writing about it makes my mouth water, seriously!!
In any case, this is one of my favorite meat restaurants, even though I know there is one really good on the beach (AHUM!). What prices concern this particular restaurant might be a little bit more on the pricier side since we are talking about meat, however, compared to some other restaurants it is still pretty affordable. There is steak available from €8 to €20 and there is also a salad bar to enjoy from. The one thing I love about this restaurant is the comfortable atmosphere.
Like I said before I love snug restaurants where you feel like you are somewhere else instead of being where you actually are. The service is really amicable, and that is one thing I really appreciate, besides the food of course! :-)
This restaurant is in the heart of The Hague city centre; actually it is right across from VIP. Be sure though to make a reservation because I have seen people get turned down many times, and also people who have waited a long time to get a table.
Shabu Shabu
Torenstraat 138
2516BW Den Haag
Tel: 070-3628679
www.shabushabu.nl
Sushi became a trend in a matter of seconds. I remember eating sushi back in the day and people thought I was gross for eating raw fish. It’s funny how celebrities have such an influence on people, since they are eating sushi, everybody else wants to eat sushi now. Thumbs up for that! ;-)
There is this one awesome sushi restaurant in The Hague that I absolutely LOVE! But since we are doing things on a budget, I’m not even going to mention it!
Shabu Shabu is one of the biggest all you can eat Japanese restaurants in The Netherlands. I have eaten there numerous times and I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed it!
Having an all you can eat restaurant just makes you want to pig out and eat as much as you can… sounds disgusting but it’s the truth!
By paying €21,50 on Monday’s through Wednesday’s and €23,80 on Thursday’s through Sunday I say that’s a pretty amazing deal! And if you decide to lunch there the deal is even better! You only pay €16,95!
You can pick 5 items per person per round and in this case keep a small space in your belly, because dessert is INCLUDED! I can’t even go 3 rounds without finding my way to the bathroom or outside for air. You can really stuff you ass in this restaurant. And you might ask…is it worth it? HELL YEAH! I mean obviously it isn’t the BEST sushi I have ever tried in my life -since they are mass producing- but still, it’s really good.
It is advised to make a reservation especially if your party is bigger than 4 people. The service is quick, polite and friendly. There is not much to say about that!
There are 7 Shabu Shabu restaurants in The Netherlands, so I’m pretty positive there is one in your or near your region, so go check it out!
De tanoshimo! Enjoy!
Scallywags
Scallywags Tearoom is tiny cozy restaurant that offers English food mixed with creative cooking. This restaurant specializes in brunches and lunches and offers a variety of sandwiches, tosti’s, salads, melts, crumpets, and an extensive selection of tea. Also, in the midday High Tea is served with delicious scones, cake and of course a hot pot of tea!
There are two Scallywags restaurants in the same street in The Hague, and even though I always visit the same one (creature of habit much?) both restaurants offer the same good service, coziness and delicious English food.
Since the restaurant is pretty small it is always advised to make a reservation to make sure you don’t get left outside drooling in the window. That would be a shame!
The one thing I absolutely adore of this bistro is the interior; it must be the cutest thing I have ever seen. Diana Princess of Wales is a focal point of the decoration style and there are many little ornaments that give you a cottage-like feel. As if you were right in London or in a rural location outside of it. What prices concern, it is pretty affordable. And even though the prices are not listed on the menu provided on their website, you can rest assured in knowing that you won’t spend more than 25 quid (haha I mean €) for 2 people. At least I have never spent more than that. And also they have great Specials!
So, if you are into tea, scones, BLT’s and fresh squeezed juice, this is a great place that you should check out! ;-)
All restaurant related pictures were taken from their respective websites and Google.
