Southern Cross

Southern Cross is located on Zandvoortselaan in Heemstede, just outside the center. The interior exudes calm: wood accents, soft green wall coverings with a plant motif, green sofas and beige chairs, a dark tiled floor, and Aboriginal artworks on the walls. The overall design is stylish and meticulously maintained, featuring an inviting inner courtyard for warmer evenings. As the night goes on, the volume rises, making the acoustics somewhat challenging at times. The kitchen under Peter Edwards is firmly rooted in Australian tradition, enriched with Asian, Mediterranean, and European influences. The menu features a multi-course surprise option, also available in a vegetarian version, alongside à la carte dishes and small plates. The wine list stands out: exclusively wines from Australia and New Zealand, surprisingly affordable. We begin with a glass of Premium Cuvée Jansz from Tasmania, lively and refined. There is no amuse-bouche, but excellent bread with miso butter is served. Next come the starters: Patagonian scallops with kumquat, sweet potato, and watercress foam, small in portion but tender and nutty, beautifully balanced with a Misty Cove Grüner Veltliner 2022. The yellow kingfish with tom kha, coriander oil, and pickled mushrooms is perfectly cooked, harmoniously accompanied by a full-bodied Y Senel Chardonnay. For the main course, the quail comes with smoked apple and spicy beetroot XO; the spice level slightly overwhelms the dish, though the cooking itself is flawless. The Bremerton 2021 Tempranillo-Graciano delivers bright red fruit notes and soft tannins. The flank steak with caramelized kimchi and gochujang sauce unfortunately loses some balance due to excessive heat, but the robust Spice Trader 2021 Shiraz-Cabernet holds its own. The dessert is a pandan and lemongrass semifreddo with coconut, lychee, and palm sugar crumble. Tasty, if a bit firm in texture, yet beautifully paired with the amber-hued Noble d'Arenberg Riesling 2024. Service, led by Natasja Edwards, impresses with warm hospitality, knowledgeable wine guidance, and a sharp eye for detail. Despite a slightly hurried pace during a full house, the atmosphere remains polished. Southern Cross thus proves to be a reliable and atmospheric destination: a slice of Australian identity in Heemstede, where cuisine, wine, and hospitality seamlessly blend into a relaxed evening.

On the main road leading to Zandvoort, Australian Peter Edwards and his Dutch wife Natasja have brought Australian cuisine to the Netherlands. The menu offers plenty of options: you can choose a multi-course surprise menu, order à la carte, or enjoy various flavorful small plates perfect for sharing. To start, a chilled Coopers Pale Ale paired with siu mai (steamed shrimp dumplings). A lovely beginning. Natasja pours a crisp Misty Cove from New Zealand alongside the warm-smoked salmon with soybean cream, pomelo gel, dill, fermented chili-citrus dressing, almonds, and ginger. Heavenly! The kangaroo pastrami is melt-in-your-mouth tender and served with popped millet, tomato compote, and lettuce cream. The 300-gram sirloin steak, grilled on a kamado at high temperature, is served with quartered romaine lettuce tossed with bacon bits, spicy anchovy mayonnaise, and potato wedges with cheddar cheese. The meat is pink and ranks among the best steaks we’ve had in ages—tender, with a wonderful barbecue flavor and beautifully rendered fat. Natasja pairs it with a full-bodied Australian Shiraz from Heartland in Langhorne Creek. For us, the definitive wine-and-food pairing of the evening. After some delicious iced coffee and homemade chocolates, we almost feel like moving to Australia now. By the way, it’s wise to book well in advance, as the place fills up quickly with enthusiasts right through to the end of service.

Dining at Southern Cross is an experience, as there are very few restaurants in the Netherlands that feature Australian cuisine. However, this charming establishment by Australian chef Peter Edwards and his Dutch wife Natasja has been a favorite for years and offers ample alternatives alongside its extensive international menu, should crocodile, kangaroo, or barramundi prove just a touch too exotic. In terms of hospitality, it is a pleasure to be at Southern Cross. The skilled team, led by hostess Natasja, ensures you are pampered in every way. We choose a table in the well-kept inner courtyard, given that evenings suitable for outdoor dining are rare. A good choice. With a cozy, bustling terrace, an intriguing menu, and an Australian sparkling wine from Deakin Estate as an aperitif in hand, we peruse the options. They offer a five-course tasting menu, also available in a plant-based version, along with a generous selection of individual dishes. We choose à la carte, beginning with a delightful starter of oxheart tomato confit with burrata and marinated silver onions in a jus made from collected tomato juice. Fresh and beautifully balanced in flavor. The pièce de résistance is pan-seared barramundi fillet with fennel sauerkraut, lamb ear, and a spicy sauce made from Spanish 'nduja sausage. A flavor explosion. The naturally oily scale fish pairs perfectly with a generously poured glass of Mollie & Merle Verdelho 2020 white wine from South Australia. This Portuguese grape variety brings the perfect acidity and forms a harmonious duo with the main course. To finish, a light pavlova with red fruit and raspberry sorbet ice cream. Beautiful and delicious.

Kangaroo meat and crocodile bitterballen are hardly the starters you would expect Kennemerland locals to flock to Southern Cross in Heemstede for, but the rest of the menu is highly appealing. Australian chef Peter Edwards and his Dutch wife Natasja certainly draw a full house with this concept, spread across several cozy living-room-style dining spaces. Additionally, you can order roughly a dozen dishes à la carte at a single fixed price, which is very appealing. For twenty years, Edwards has been presenting a blend of local cuisine influenced by European, Asian, and Mediterranean flavors, complemented by excellent and affordable wines. In our case, a delightful 2021 d’Arenberg Chardonnay from McLaren Valley, served with warm bread and miso butter, and alongside an appetizer of celeriac mille-feuille. It consists of thin blanched slices with dried blueberries, a cold almond and garlic soup, apple purée, and chive oil. Delicious! Just like the chicken liver parfait with pistachio yogurt on the other plate, accompanied by sour cherry gel, mizuna (Japanese pepper lettuce), and mustard sorbet. The barbecued Black Angus steak follows, served with nut purée, golden beets, sauerkraut, and apple cake, alongside quail breast braised in five spices with parsnip cream, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese plum sauce, and a walnut and blood sausage crumble. Both are excellent, served with small bowls of jam and potato on the side. To finish, chocolate cake with cherry compote, coconut cream, and chocolate ice cream. Intriguing, beautifully crafted dishes.

Australian chef Peter Edwards and his Dutch wife Natasja have set up a lovely restaurant on the busy main road from Heemstede to Zandvoort. The venue has been buzzing with life for years since its recent complete renovation. Beautiful, comfortably upholstered benches line the walls, paired with light-colored tables. The walls are painted a soft green with a botanical motif, set against a dark tiled floor, with beautiful artwork displayed throughout. On fine days, guests can dine in the romantic inner courtyard. Peter serves Australian cuisine with an international twist. Dishes arrive at a brisk pace. They are creative, well-seasoned, surprising, and presented on exquisite tableware. We would gladly return tomorrow just for the bread, baked to the chef’s own recipe by the local bakery. It arrives with creamy whipped butter enriched with a touch of soy sauce. The starter features tomato-poached prawns with pickled galangal, concentrated watermelon, and matcha mayonnaise, garnished with pea shoots and pepitas. This is followed by a perfectly cooked Black Angus steak accompanied by a refined green lentil salad and a light curry sauce. Simply delicious. To accompany the meal, we enjoy a quintessentially South Australian, deeply purple, and charming 2018 Langhorne Creek Shiraz, with notes of ripe plums and chocolate. The service from the front-of-house team, led by Natasja, is exceptionally warm and welcoming. A wonderful spot with reliably excellent quality.

Peter Edwards once moved from his native Australia to the Netherlands for his love, Natasja. They have since been running a thriving restaurant for years where – yes! – Australian cuisine takes center stage. Peter works behind the stove, while Natasja serves as hostess and sommelier. Southern Cross is charmingly designed, featuring light wood square and oval tables, wood paneling, and soft green wall coverings. Green, cognac-colored, and beige upholstered benches and chairs sit atop a dark tiled floor, complemented by intriguing Aboriginal art on the walls. The restaurant and terrace have recently been renovated, and in accordance with coronavirus guidelines, the still-popular tables are now spaced further apart. Natasja says, “We’ve realized we have an enormous number of regular guests, which is wonderful.” Staples on the menu include barramundi, crocodile, kangaroo, and pavlova, alongside a blend of international influences. The dishes are beautifully presented, with flavors in perfect harmony. Natasja pairs each course with exquisite – strictly Australian and New Zealand – wines. Kudos to the restaurant team, who work with precision and are above all incredibly friendly and attentive. That’s exactly what we love!

Chef-owner Peter Edwards and his wife, hostess-sommelier Natasja Edwards, serve Australian cuisine. Barramundi, crocodile, kangaroo, and pavlova are permanently on the menu here. Peter and Natasja have just finished giving their atmospheric restaurant a makeover and are celebrating with a “See it First five-course menu”. The dining room has become cozier, featuring cozy seating nooks, beautiful wood accents, calming greenery, and original Aboriginal artwork on the walls. Plus framed jerseys from rugby players, another of Peter's passions. The dishes feature a mix of international influences. For the starter, a ceviche of yellowfin tuna with peach salsa, jalapeño peppers, mint purée, and young spinach. Awesome! In the glass goes an – how could it be otherwise – Australian lightly chilled Viognier from The Y-Series 2018 with fresh citrus notes. We continue with lightly sautéed scallops, accompanied by creamy pea purée, foamy masala curry, pickled mushrooms, and daikon. Beautifully presented and delicious in flavor. The grilled Black Angus steak delivers beautifully marbled, perfectly medium-rare meat with sides of broccoli, wasabi purée, radish, caramelized shallots, and an aromatic jus with smoked onions. One minor point concerns the portions: they could be slightly more generous. A 2016 Virginia Vineyard wine is poured alongside it. A full-bodied dark wine, rich in red fruits, dates, and figs. Once again, an excellent choice. A lovely spot with a relaxed atmosphere, attentive young staff, and excellent hospitality.

This restaurant run by Australian Peter Edwards and his wife Natasja is such a wonderful spot. The decor is natural and unpretentious: a stone floor, wooden tables, and cognac-colored upholstered chairs. The walls feature plenty of wood, interspersed with stone niches. The Australian character is enhanced by Aboriginal art. The modern Australian cuisine that Southern Cross prides itself on is evident from the presence of items like crocodile and kangaroo. In addition, there are culinary influences from Asia and South America. We enjoyed excellent appetizers, one excelling in freshness and the other in well-balanced spice: house-smoked corvina served with salt-baked beets, labneh with baharat and pomegranate dressing, alongside char siu-style roasted crocodile, pickled lotus root, black bean-ginger cream, and sambal badjak emulsion. The main courses were also very good, but for one of them—the barramundi (an Australian freshwater fish)—the menu description differed quite a bit from what actually arrived on the plate. The wine comes from Southeast Australia, sourced from the Tahbilk estate about 120 kilometers from Melbourne, and is made from the Marsanne grape. The dessert is simply perfect. It is a variation on the classic Australian dessert pavlova, the meringue cake named after the eponymous ballerina. The chef has turned it into a roll, filled with fennel seed cream, and served it with an orange and grapefruit compote, sugared citrus fruits, and biscotti ice cream. Simply superb!