When you think about the Netherlands, what is the first that comes to mind? Yes, bicycles of course! Marike combined her love for food and the classical way of transporting yourself in the Netherlands, and so – one and a half year ago– the SmaakMakers Tour was born! During this tour you cycle about 12 kilometers through Utrecht and visit 4 different restaurants. We love to take you on this journey with us…
Costs: €46 for a tour without a host, €56 for a tour with a host
The SmaakMaker Tour is all about the idea that you cycle around Utrecht from restaurant to restaurant. We did the tour without host, which means that you have to navigate yourself via Google Maps. Marike had mapped out several routes that, according to her, are ‘the most beautiful’ to cycle. When you book a tour without host, Marike made sure it still felt like you where on a tour. She arranged different movies from the restaurants you visit with some additional information about the neighborhoods in which the restaurants are located.
We started our tour at restaurant Camping Ganspoort. After a warm welcome of Marike and an explanation about the tour we took our bikes to the first stop: restaurant Kantien. This restaurant is located at the Ravellaan and was the former canteen of the Gemeente Utrecht (what’s in a name he!). After we were welcomed, they served us a dish with beetroot, dill mayonnaise, toasted bread crumbs and baked fried mustard. Besides this we’ve got a refreshing lime and ginger lemonade. It was a delicious starter!
After Kantien, restaurant Instock was on the schedule. We cycled a beautiful route through the neighborhoods Oog in Al, Nieuw England and Lombok. The concept of Instock is to stop food waste. Unsold food of the Albert Heijn is brought to them and they make their dishes of the food they receive. The dish we’ve got consisted of chicory prepared in 4 different ways: grilled, oven-dried, poached and lacquered. By this way the chicory became very sweet and tasty!
The next stop was Goesting. The route between Instock and Goesting crossed the city center of Utrecht, so that was fun! We got to see all the beauty of Utrecht like De Oude Gracht, Domplein and many more. When we arrived at Goesting the first thing we noticed is that the building is amazing! Now we also know why: It is the former dog stable of the Veeartsenijschool. After a glass of delicious red wine we got a game meat platter with different kinds of game meat. We forgot about the time a little, so we had to hurry up to our last stop!
Last but not least we ended the tour at Piatto at Vredenburg. At first sight you think it is a small restaurant and not that interesting. But our tip: go inside! Their ambiance is in one word: amazing. The restaurant is much larger than you might think and through the mosaic wall in the back there is a lot of natural light. We tasted 4 different bruschettas, accomplished with limoncello and prosecco. At Piatto Marike welcomed us back to ask what we thought about the tour and gave us a sweet surprises to take home. We had an amazing afternoon in Utrecht and discovered so many new and nice places. Big recommender for every foodie!
Pros
- Definitely a full afternoon with a lot of food fun
- Nice way to discover Utrecht and its restaurants
- Great activity to do as a date, with your family or with a group of friends
Cons
- We think the tour with host could be more fun because you have the opportunity to ask more questions
Also interested in attending a tour? On the 24th and 25th of November there is a SmaakMakers Tour in English. If you are interested you can apply by sending an e-mail to: info@smaakmakerstour.nl or take a look at their website.
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