Restaurant Karel 5*

Fine dining restaurant · Springweg en omgeving Geertebuurt

Restaurant Karel 5*

Fine dining restaurant · Springweg en omgeving Geertebuurt

Geertebolwerk 1, 3511 XA Utrecht, Netherlands

Highlights

Exceptional dining with creative dishes, wine pairings, and attentive service.

Geertebolwerk 1, 3511 XA Utrecht, Netherlands Get directions

karelv.nl

@restaurantkarel5

€100+ · Menu

@michelinguide

"Leave Utrecht's bustling city centre behind for a while and let yourself be swept away by Karel 5's medieval charm. Luxury meets authenticity in this historical oasis, where you can admire old paintings and sculptures as you dine beneath crystal chandeliers, and, when the weather is fine, have lunch on the beautiful garden terrace. Leon Mazairac and his team conjure up cuisine that does justice to the setting, for a true fine dining experience.Game from the Veluwe, Belgian endive, saffron from Herentals: Chef Mazairac makes a point of working only with top-quality produce that he sources as locally as possible, and he is also passionate about vegetables. As an amuse-bouche he serves a bouquet of seasonal vegetables accompanied by a classic, delicately acidic vinaigrette. The freshness of nature and the richness of the sauces are the hallmarks of this chef's cooking. He has a penchant for vegetarian dishes, and a meat- and fish-free set menu is always available. But when he serves sole, for example, it is poached to perfection and comes into its own thanks to a beurre blanc sauce with vin jaune and fresh trimmings. Karel 5 embodies a marriage of tradition and innovation." - Michelin Inspector

https://guide.michelin.com/en/utrecht/utrecht/restaurant/karel-5

View Postcard for Restaurant Karel 5*

HM Corp.

Google

It was precious time with amazing dinner. beautiful dishes and delicious cuisine. I had dinner with opera singer, have traveled to many countries as working, among them, this restaurant was totally great. staff is friendly and kind to child too. Thank you. from Japan.

Nanita

Google

Lunch at Restaurant Karel V was memorable. The interior was closed on this warm autumn day, meaning restaurant guests ate outside on a terrace in the garden. The two-course lunch menu for €42 consisted of a starter and a main course. The starter was a seafood and lobster bisque with corn cut from the cob that was nice and crunchy. Even on a warm day, the bisque was light and fresh on the palette. As for the main, it was an off-menu alternative as I asked for vegetarian and am so glad that I did. This sous vide cooked kohlrabi had been marinated in a mushroom sauce for several days and then roasted before it was sous vide with spelt, tarragon and morels served with beefsteak tomatoes, white bean purée, green tomato salsa and chanterelle mushrooms. Yes, the main course was the wow factor at Karel V! Sitting in the garden admiring the lovely property of the Grand Hotel Karel V was an added bonus as was the attentive service. Highly recommend!

loveislikeakiss

Google

Really nice fine dining, had pleasant interactions with almost everybody who worked there. Showed interest in guests and made small talk. Near the end of the night it was a tad busy with the cheese boards, so we had to find a staff member to get more wine, other than that it was great. The food was really nice, a bit too much at times. Not so much I'm quantity, but pairing high flavor profiles like rabbit, lobster, seasnails, and more can be a bit much. Would have liked it if there was just one Pathé kind of dish, to give more texture options. Loved the spring theme with all the edible flowers.

Rychard de Jong

Google

All though the atmosphere, food and service at the table were of good quality, we had a less pleasant experience. We dinned at the restaurant as part of a champagne Michelin 5 course arrangement with an overnight stay and were unpleasantly surprised by the lack of knowledge of this case when we were welcomed to the restaurant and at the end of the evening when presented with the bill. When having dinner and a stay at this caliber hotel and restaurant these matters are presumed to be in order. Of course honest mistakes happen and are human, but not 3 times during one dinner and with a wrong bill the next morning at the front desk. We were very appreciative of the front desk employee who sorted out the matter and kindly helped us.

J DB

Google

Our issue is the same as we've had at all Dutch Michelin rated restaurants we've eaten at. In the US, the experience is all about the customer. When you're done eating it is taken away immediately and a brief pause built in before the next serving. If you want to have your five course meal in 2 hours or 4, its up to you. At Karel 5, and indeed all Dutch 2-3 stars we've tried, it is all about them, and when they are ready to serve you. At hour #3 were on course #3, and with two more courses to go, we decided to leave early, paying for food we never received just to avoid a 5 hour long dinner. We've come to believe that the Dutch culture of gezelligheid, where you can go to a restaurant and order a tea and sit for 3 hours, has taken a form in these Michelin restaurants where you are essentially paying by the hour for the privilege of sitting in a beautiful atmosphere to eat quality food without pressure to finish. To ensure you feel you've received your money's worth, service is strung out over a painful number of hours...whether you want it or not. Nice historic building, not much of a view, thoughtful tasy food.

Tom M

Google

Beautiful execution. Memorable evening even. Plan on a 3 hr to3.5 hour meal - since Covid all these places overworking the limited qualified staff available who I think deserve 20% US level tips as a result, especially given the crazy low reasonable pricing for the exceptional food they created. Not one dish was anything I’ve ever had before. I thought the serving sizes were perfect, not too little not too much and you still have room for 2 of their sourdough breads mini loafs. Beautiful setting, hard working, competent and trying to please staff and consistent and creative kitchen. Loved it. Recommend staying in Hotel, nice to just go 50 meters to relax after a great meal like that.

Yuliia Shevchenko

Google

I’m really like this place with so nice view. I would like to oder ice-coffee in a such hot day but this restaurant doesn’t have it , of course it is ok. I odered normal coffee and asked about icecubes. But ice-cubes was included in my bill with price of 3,50 . And even no one before did not tell that it is extra high price. I find this inhospitable.

Gabriel Martins Moreira

Google

Honestly it had a good start, but from the "star" course and going on it wasn't so good. Exception would be Raviolo, probably the best of the night. The main course (beef or asparagus) was one of the worst and we couldn't even finish it. I was surprised for the lack of flavors in some foods. Great quality of ingredients, incredible textures, but without taste. The wines (with or without alcohol) were the Stars of the night, we were completely amazed for all of them. The service was elegant, very pleasant, but the extremely long time between courses killed the experience. Between the omnivore or vegetarian courses I would recommend the vegetarian better. And between the alcoholic and the no alcoholic I would recommend the non alcoholic. These choices are surprisingly better experience overall.

Sam S.

Yelp

I was invited to dinner here by a local colleague and enjoyed it. I wouldn't say the food wowed me but it was good and well executed. They have an a la carte or set menu option and I chose the set menu. The wine list was also extensive and had some nice options that were reasonably priced. For starters I had the ceviche which was ok and tasted fine. Nothing special about this dish. The main was beef and it was really nice albeit a bit too salty for me. The white chocolate dessert was divine and I really enjoyed it. Service was a bit slow to start but then it picked up and was very good as time went on. The dishes were delivered in good timing and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the bistro. I would come here again. It's a decent bistro in a charming hotel :-)

Craig B.

Yelp

Amazing appetizers and a WAGU beef entree to die for. A lovely evening with exceptional service. The meal was memorable from start to finish. This is a dining experience not to be missed if you are visiting Utrecht.

Den B.

Yelp

Sometimes its just nice to not get punched in the face when you go out for a meal. The Grand Old Karel V is a five star hotel, the staff here are all wonderful and warm friendly nothing is to much of an effort and they are the consummate professionals in their jobs. This makes the experience for me, great service. I can even forgive shonky food when the service is impeccable as it is at the Grand old Karel V, The thing is the food is great too. Recommended for a special evening with loved ones or even people you just mildly like, any opportunity you have to come here jump on it with two feet.

Dinesh S.

Yelp

The hotel is in a perfect location and there are a lot to do within the close vicinity. I enjoyed my 2 weeks stay in september/october in this hotel. As a five start hotel, the food and service is up to the mark. There is a theater right next to the hotel and a lot of good restaurants and pubs by the canal if you like to go out.10-15 mins walk to the train station but the hotel is close to the heart of the city. I would recommend staying in this hotel for people who want to explore this min Amsterdam. Dinesh Sah President Tech Peers Inc