Triptyque

High quality cooking

Less is more. The absolute leitmotif of chef Niven van Bronckhorst-Kunz, who, together with his wife Virginie, runs this elegant restaurant. Niven works in the kitchen, while Virginie, alongside her career as a doctor, works behind the scenes. The modern interior, housed in the former town hall, exudes tranquility, and the tables set with white linen are generously spaced to guarantee privacy. Niven follows an 80/20 philosophy: 80% vegetables and 20% meat and fish, champions Dutch Cuisine, prioritizes sustainability, and prefers cooking with ingredients from the Westland and Midden-Delfland regions. An à la carte menu is available, and several of those dishes reappear in the Menu Triptyque, built around a selection of small starters, a meat, fish, or vegetable main course, and dessert. With or without an alcoholic or non-alcoholic wine pairing. The wine list offers excellent selections from Dutch producers such as Apostelhoeve, Wijnhoeve de Kleine Schorre, and Betuws Wijndomein. Paired with a crisp Auxerrois from Apostelhoeve, we taste a delicate starter of hay-smoked cauliflower roses with walnut and pink pepper foam infused with sage and cinnamon. Elegantly presented and refined in flavor. An Italian pepperonata of pointed peppers follows, stewed in pepper juice with cumin and shallots. Accompanied by a vinaigrette of reduced pepper juice with preserved lemon and shallots. Beneath the peppers lie Dutch buffalo mozzarella and arugula. Served alongside is sourdough bread to mop up the remnants (scarpetta). A real find is the leek baked in clay. Cooked in the oven for an hour with salt, pepper, thyme, and lemon, it is cracked open at the table and served with vichyssoise cream and a caviar-style garnish made from summer cypress finger lime, green tea, and ginger. A pure taste sensation. After a tender piece of polder chicken and the renowned string bean carbonara with truffle and guanciale, we finish with a paper-thin crepe atop vanilla ice cream and cream cheese. Each dish delivers an unexpected taste sensation. Class! Rises to number 63.

In the chic and lightly furnished basement of the former town hall in Wateringen, it is bustling with guests coming to enjoy the Dutch cuisine of one of its founders, chef Niven Kunz. The dining room is in good hands with hostess Eveline Rotteveel, who tonight, in the absence of Sigurd Snoeys, has also taken on the role of sommelier. The three amuse-bouches themed 'butter, cheese, and eggs' are well received: beurre de Paris on a crisp cracker, an elegant cheese biscuit, and a classically filled quail egg mark the start of the amuses, accompanied by an outstanding alcohol-free grape cider from Jörg Geiger C-Bratbirne 1797. We take the menu and enjoy three preparations of cucumber: fermented cucumber with Dutch goat cheese, pizzette made of laminated cucumber and basil, and a cocktail of cucumber juice with yuzu and tonic. After the delicious, rich brioche bread with salt, honey, and lavender, it is time for the main course: Dutch lamb with potato, rosemary jus, and a mustard mousseline. A special mention goes to the wine: Prunotto Barbaresco Bric Turot from 2020. What a fantastic companion for this dish. In between courses, co-owner Virginie van Bronckhorst-Kunz wanders into the dining room to chat with the guests. The dessert is introduced impressively: an authentic Japanese ice shaver is rolled in on a large trolley, and sous-chef Robert van Ede shaves fresh berry ice cream into a coupe, tops it off with yogurt mousse, and serves the entire presentation with a smile. We treat ourselves to a remarkably beautiful Château d'Yquem Sauternes, and every sip is a feast for the taste buds. Alongside the granité, we enjoy cream ice cream with Dutch vanilla, a fresh broth, and spun sugar. Triptique is on a real rise. Rising to 70.

Niven Kunz and Virginie van Bronckhorst-Kunz have formed a strong team for several years now. Together with their regular crew—sous chef Robert van Ede, maître and sommelier Leroy Pechler, and back-office staff member Eveline Rotteveel—they run their elegant restaurant located in the basement of the former old town hall in Wateringen. He is the gifted chef, while she is actively communicative behind the scenes. Niven cooks according to his 80/20 philosophy, which roughly translates to placing great emphasis on vegetables in his menus, complemented by modest portions of meat or fish. This approach has certainly paid off, as his kitchen boasts a large following of regular guests. Niven is also one of the founders of Dutch Cuisine, a concept that represents the identity of the Dutch culinary scene, where nature dictates the menu. The sustainably produced menu, printed on uncoated paper containing local tomato fibers, features many dishes prepared with regional products, as the surrounding Westland and Midden-Delfland regions are rich and generous. The carefully curated wine list, assembled by Leroy, offers a wide selection from both Old and New World producers. We begin with three beautifully presented amuse-bouches. Butter served on toast with no fewer than twenty-five ingredients, a Gouda cheese wafer, and a stuffed quail egg. A sorbet made from various herbs, a crispy tartelette with eggplant purée and a light cucumber gazpacho. And finally, crispy shiso leaf tempura with ginger jelly, Japanese custard with mushrooms, seaweed crunch, and jasmine tea poured over dry ice alongside Greek basil. The introduction is definitely successful! For the starter, beetroot slices presented in a floral arrangement with cubes of Opperdoezer potato, crème fraîche, and 63-degree egg yolk. Followed by perfectly pink-cooked duck with a crispy five-spice powder crust, al dente wheat, velvety pea purée, and silky confit white onions. Simply divine. Leroy pairs this with a pleasant, full-bodied, oak-aged Cossetti Barbera d’Asti from Piedmont. The dessert earns applause: parsnip caramel cream with a subtle salsify jus, accompanied by Gouda-style stroopwafels filled with creamy white chocolate mousse and divine hazelnut crunch. Triptyque’s rating rises to 75.

Niven Kunz, a native of the Westland region, is a 'green' chef, and his restaurant Triptyque is, in that respect, an oasis in the Randstad. He cooks primarily with vegetables, employing surprisingly inventive recipes. Three-quarters of what you eat here is plant-based, while the remainder consists of fish, meat, or other ingredients. Following a welcome bite of aged cheese with fennel, he serves a carrot tartelette, a zucchini mini-pizza, and a pepper cracker, all presented from a picnic basket. What stands out, aside from the flavor, is their unpretentious, everyday quality—they don't overtly announce themselves as vegetarian. The knowledgeable and welcoming maître-sommelier Leroy Pechler pours delicious Rhône wines, starting with the Cairanne 2021 from Busset, alongside three notable starters: a juicy tomato with Westland watermelon and yogurt, a briny Gillardeau oyster with radish and yellowtail, and an earthy trio of roasted eggplant, goat cheese, and fig. Simply delicious. Next comes North Sea crab topped with a cap of golden beet and a dollop of caviar, paired with a surprise glass of 2021 Feinherb Riesling from Nahe Dörnhoff: mineral-driven with a light sweet-acid balance, an excellent match. With the chawanmushi—a savory steamed Japanese custard made from dashi and kombu, featuring pieces of eel and seaweed—Pechler contrasts the deep umami flavors with the sweetness of a Gewürztraminer from Alsace, Jean-Paul Ecklé Cuvée Stein 2020. Another excellent pairing. This is followed by two more non-vegetarian dishes: sole with courgette blossoms, and butter-malt sukade meat with oyster mushrooms. To finish, a spongy, soft French toast infused with chestnut and truffle. Triptyque enters our Top 100 at position 86.

Niven Kunz is back in the Westland. As the country's youngest Michelin-starred chef, he once embarked on an adventure at the Rijswijk golf course, but now more mature (and considerably more relaxed), he cooks as usual on the ground floor of Wateringen's former town hall, supported by co-owner and wife Virginie van Bronckhorst. The premises have been refurbished, and Niven's brigade focuses on a menu concept that is roughly three-quarters 'green' to one-quarter fish, meat, or something else. This results in surprising textures and unexpected flavor accents. It begins immediately with starters like tomato steak tartare, sweet pepper relish, and a mini pizza of eggplant, smoked paprika, and goat cheese, plus a cucumber gazpacho with melon and cucumber balls. Exquisite! Maître sommelier Leroy Pechler pairs it with a fine bottle of Rhône wine (Carianne, Les Travers, Domaine Brusset, 2019) made from grapes such as Clairette, Marsanne, and Roussanne. Eggplant with goat cheese and balsamic follows, along with a plate of six flat Zeeland oysters that have formed a beautiful flavor marriage with thin slices of Westland table grapes and a tableside-poured beurre blanc with verjus. Next comes Zeeland kingfish served in pancakes with dill and horseradish, alongside pan-fried pikeperch with capers and young forest carrots. To finish, regional cheeses with accompaniments. Simply superb!