The Church - Restaurant

Nice, beautiful place, but big disappointment, sorry to say that, but having 12 course dinner and stay hungry? Also calling CHEF TABLE, had no any vibes, no any interactions from chefs, dishes explaining super fast, because looks like there not much time, they are in the rush. Dishes and combinations are nice, but to serve each portions about 50-80g and for €150pp Not coming back…

➖️ The waiters explain the food too fast. If you are someone who wants to know and remember what you eat, you would have to ask a few times to catch it all. 💡 Small cards with an explanation of what diners are eating could be great. ➕️ Took the 6 course chef experience. Interesting combination of flavours. I especially loved the savoury in sweet or sweet in savoury twits. ➕️ Great service. Friendly waiters without being suffocating. ➕️ The ambience and setting of the restaurant is a strong point.A lot of the old church building has been maintained. Unique experience. ➕️They ask If you have dietary requirements or preferences. In my case I'm not big on raw proteins. They provided alternatives to suit by preferences.

Buying indulgences has never tasted so good! I was fortunate enough to sit at the Chef's Table where I got to watch the careful preparations and ask questions about my 9 course tasting menu. Bart Leussink's team creates very careful compositions with beautiful ingredients, sometimes using delightful contrasts in texture. Highlights for me were the yellowtail in a umami-bomb broth, the smoked thinly sliced rib eye, lamb with crunchy chimichurri, and lobster with gel topping. I was happy to have the sommelier lead me through a variety of excellent wines. A divine experience in a heavenly space, highly recommended.

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.

The best restaurant for fine dining in Arnhem. Bart his food is very creative, in balans and with high quality ingredients. The wine and service was also great. They thought about every detail of the experience.

The skill of combining the flavour was just one of the top achievements in The Church. As a first timer it was just one of the best eye opening events I experienced in the restaurant industry. The attention to detail, service, passion and interaction from the employees was amazing. Highly recommend the experience.

Very very tasty food! I took 4 courses menu. Highly recommended!

We did the Chef's table with 9 courses and simply wow! An amazing variety of food and techniques and they are super accommodating towards dietary restrictions (in my case, vegetarian). The service was also outstanding, from the lady who welcomes you, through each of the chefs who explain each course thoroughly, to the sommelier. A truly unforgettable experience, if you want to do something special, this is the place to go. Do keep in mind, for Chef's table you need to book quite a lot in advance if it's on popular days.