Vegan fine-dining in an industrial area in The Hague? Yes ma’am! This time in a former paint factory of The Hague. The outside of the restaurant definitely still has that factory look, but oh man, the inside is very modern and stylish. But how’s the food at Capriole?

At a glance 

• Location: The Hague (Binckhorst) 
• Cuisine: European modern
• Price: 45 euro for a 3 course meal
• Rating: 8.5/10

Capriole Café

This restaurant is located in a former paint factory stemmed from 1920s, at a harbour of The Hague (Fokkerhaven). The outside still looks like a factory, but the inside is beautiful. It’s modern, minimalistic, stylish, but yet cosy or ‘gezellig’ (as the Dutch say). I loved the big windows that allow lots of light into the restaurant.

And a big bonus as they are laying at a harbour: they have a nice terrace at the water as well. It was a real treat to enjoy one of the last summer dinners outside, with the sun still shining on my face with a fantastic view on the water.

Capriole started as a coffee bean roasting company back in the ‘70s (Capriole Coffee Service) and to date they have their own brand of coffee beans and supply it to different companies. I also bought a bag to try!

The food

The cuisine is modern Europe prepared with local and fresh seasonal ingredients.

We opted for the 3-course meal for 45 euros. I do like when restaurants do not have a large menu. For me, it’s an indication of quality as I expect they pay time and attention to excel in their dishes rather than to only produce quantity.

As a starter we had fresh bread of a local baker served with vegan butter. It was honestly the best vegan butter I have ever had, it had the creaminess of the butter and it literally melts in your mouth (will post a reel on my Instagram about it soon!), I think I could have had many more knobs.

The appetizer I choose was the cauliflower with almond, mushroom, Capriole Flores coffee, black garlic, mustard seed and chives. This was so tasty! The veg was really well cooked and the flavours and textures were honestly so surprising. Visually very appealing too.

As the main course I choose the carrot with vadouvan, roasted corn, black quinoa, marinated shallot, Indian cress and foamy coconut sauce.

Well, this was interesting..The carrots were sweet, were well cooked, but still had a crunch. But, something went wrong with cooking the quinoa, because it seemed that they have added a whole kilogram of salt into the quinoa. At first, I thought I was going mad, but then my fiancé tasted it, and also almost spitted it out. Luckily the waiter sent it back quickly, apologised and told us indeed something went wrong when cooking the quinoa. And they made me a new one quickly. An honest human error and they solved it quickly, so totally fine. The rest of the dish was delicious, so balanced. Especially loved the combination of marinated shallot and the coconut sauce.

As a sorry-for-the-accidental-kilo-salt-in-your-quinoa-gesture, the waiter brought me a gazpacho of cucumber, avocado, tomato, dried black olive, lovage and pea on the house. This was refreshing, flavourful and had the right amount of umami (thank you sundried tomato) and creaminess (hello avocado).

The fresh potato fries were really good as well. The mayonaise is vegan and reminded me of the Belgium mayo (more on the sour side, which I like).

For dessert I choose the raspberry and beetroot mousse with rosewater jelly, cherry sorbet, beetroot crisp, sorrel, black pepper tuille and redcurrant and elderflower vinaigrette. This was the big winner for me! At first I was hesitant, I mean, beetroot in my dessert? But it was so subtle, yet flavourful and sweet. The texture of the rosewater jelly was lovely, it was not like your average Jell-O from a pack, it was softer and melted in your mouth. Not a heavy dessert at all and a great end of a lovely dinner.

My fiancé chose the grilled peach with parfait of yoghurt, cream of coffee praline, gel of grapefruit and Hermit gin, crumble with Capriole Brasil coffee and verbena espuma. I tried this too, it was good, but after we both tried the raspberry and beetroot dessert, this one was not as special.

The staff

The staff were very friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. In the beginning we had to wait for quite some time before they took our order, but it was understandable as it was so busy. They were pro-active, interested and really have passion for their work. It was a great experience.

Final verdict 

8.5/10. A hidden gem for vegan fine-dining for sure in The Hague. The food was fresh, balanced and flavourful. My first vegan fine-dining experience, but I think it would be hard to top it easily. I especially recommend the raspberry and beetroot rosewater jelly as dessert. The staff was great and friendly. I really enjoyed having a summer dinner on a nice terrace with a view on the water. The price-quality of the food is very reasonable. A good spot for a celebration or a business dinner as well. Would def visit again.

Information

Address: Fokkerkade 18, The Hague (The Netherlands)

Website: https://www.capriolecafe.nl/

Follow me on Instagram for more foodspots reviews and recipes! The reel/video of Capriole Café will be posted soon on my Instagram! 😉