Mikhail Dzuba
Google
Wow, what an excellent experience we had at The Church. The chef’s dinner experience was simply superb. We chose a nine-course meal but in fact it ended up as eleven dishes (counting in mouse bouche at the beginning and a cheese platter added at the end). Each dish on the menu was carefully prepared and well-studied in advance to deliver beautiful presentation plus a fine balance of flavours. One of our favourite dishes was the yellowtail sashimi with dashi broth. I grew up in Japan, so I know well the fundamental taste of dashi, and the chefs at this restaurant nailed it. It had a complex umami profile like traditional Japanese dashi, but they made it gentle enough to work with a raw fish. It was a good surprise and creative, especially when we are often fixated with the idea that sashimi goes with soy sauce and wasabi. Bravo!
What also makes this restaurant unique is the fact that it’s inside a historic building that was a former church in Arnhem. The property even has rooms to book and stay so it operates as a boutique hotel as well. Even though the main space which is used as the reception/kitchen/dining room is fashionably renovated with playful and modern touches, we could feel the calm and divine energy of the space as soon as we entered the building. A truly surreal and remarkable place to drink, feast, and dream.
We chose to dine at the special counter seating where we had a front row seat watching the well-orchestrated team prepare food. And of course, they were happy to interact and communicate with us as well, making the experience feel like you were being served a private meal in an exclusive kitchen. Chef Bart obviously is skilled and talented and busy in the kitchen. But also very open, he knows how to make his guests feel welcome. Our sommelier was also friendly and fantastic. She had no problem answering all our silly questions and delivered wines that paired in perfect harmony with dishes created by Chef Bart. We highly recommend reserving a seat at the chef’s table for these reasons.
We were also very touched by their gesture to honour Remembrance Day (May 4th). We were informed in advance that at 8pm, they will stop working to respect 2-minutes of silence and remember those who lost their lives during WWII. This is a Dutch tradition that happens throughout the Netherlands. When the time came, the music stopped, and the restaurant staff removed themselves from the service area. The dining space became a chapel again for these two minutes. It is touching when much of the world seems to have forgotten the tragedy of the war but here the Dutch still remember. I respect them for keeping this tradition in practice.
Thank you Bart and Janiek, and of course your fantastic team, you all went beyond and above and we had an amazing evening. We think The Church deserves great recognition, which we are sure is coming at large in the future. We will definitely come back again when visiting the Netherlands next time.
