01
Eating here
One kitchen, four rooms, no table cloths
The kitchen is the old school kitchen, rebuilt in the same spot, and everything served in the building comes out of it. The cooking is northern Dutch: mustard soup, smoked eel when the smokehouse has it, Groninger mustard on most things, bread from a bakery four streets away and plenty of root vegetables between October and March.
Breakfast doesn't need booking. For dinner in De Kantine, ask reception for a table in the morning, especially on a Friday.
02
De Kantine
The old canteen, ground floor, serving hatch intact
A long room with windows down one side and the original serving hatch down the other. We kept the hatch because the kitchen staff like it and guests always ask about it. The tables are wooden, the chairs bentwood and the floor the same terrazzo as the corridors, so the room gets loud when it fills up, though nobody has ever complained.
Breakfast is a buffet with eggs cooked to order. Dinner is a short card that changes with the market: four or five mains, two of them meat-free, and a cheese board from a dairy in the Westerkwartier.
| Breakfast | 07:00–10:30, daily |
|---|---|
| Dinner | 18:00–22:00, Tuesday to Saturday |
| Seats | 74, plus two long tables for groups |
| Booking | Through reception or at the door |
03
Krijtlijn Coffee
Nine seats at the porter's counter, by the front door
The porter used to sit here and watch who came in. It's the same counter, cut down and topped with oak, now with nine stools, beans from a Groningen roaster, one cake a day and a stack of newspapers that never get put back in order.
Reservations aren't taken, and laptops are off limits after eleven in the morning, a rule that's written on a chalk board and politely enforced.
| Open | 07:00–17:00, daily |
|---|---|
| Seats | 9 stools, standing room by the window |
| Takeaway | Yes, in a cup you bring or one you borrow |
The chalk board
One cake a day, written up at seven and crossed out when it goes. The beans are roasted in Groningen and change twice a year.
No laptops after 11:00, because with nine stools every seat counts.
04
Two more places to sit
One indoors all year, one only when it is dry
Conciërge Bar
Behind reception, in what was the caretaker's front room. It has twenty-two seats, a fire in winter, Dutch and Belgian beer, jenever from a distillery in Schiedam and a short wine list. The kitchen sends out small plates until midnight, and it's the only room in the building where the lights are kept low on purpose.
| Open | 16:00–01:00, daily |
|---|---|
| Food | Small plates until 00:00 |
| Age | Over-18s after 21:00 |
Binnenplaats Terrace
The courtyard where the playground was, now with hornbeam, birch and forty chairs. It opens in April and closes when the weather decides, usually late September. Service comes from De Kantine, so the card is a shorter version of the same one. Blankets are in the box by the door, and guests do use them.
| Season | April to late September |
|---|---|
| Open | 11:00–22:00, weather allowing |
| Seats | 40 |
Both are served by the same kitchen, so if De Kantine is full the bar can feed you the short version of the same card.
05
Diets and allergies
Best mentioned when you book
The kitchen keeps a written allergen list for every dish on the card, and staff will bring it to your table. Vegetarian and vegan mains are on the card every night. Gluten-free bread is baked in a separate oven. For anything severe, a day's notice makes life easier, so mention it when you book a room or ring the desk.