Chapter 05 · Oost & Plantage · Javaplein

Wilde Zwijnen

8.2 /10

The Javaplein pioneer that proved modern Dutch cooking is a real thing.

When Wilde Zwijnen opened on Javaplein in 2010, this end of the Indische Buurt was not where you went for dinner. Sixteen years on it's still the neighbourhood's anchor: rough wooden tables, green enamel lamps, chalk scrawled on tabletops, and a kitchen that has quietly done more for the phrase 'modern Dutch' than any government campaign. The menu is set-course only, built from Dutch soil and Dutch water, seasonal vegetables, sustainable fish, and in autumn the game that gives the place its name. Cooking is precise without being precious; Gault&Millau keeps it rated, and the front-of-house keeps it loose. The heated, awninged terrace on the square works most of the year, and the adjoining Eetbar takes walk-ins with oysters and small plates when the restaurant is booked. Which, on weekends, it will be.

Come in October and let them serve you the wild boar, it's the house namesake for a reason.

What to order

Surprise menu (3–5 courses)€48–65
Pick meat, fish or veg per person; 'nouveau ruig' Dutch cooking, raw with finesse.
Wild zwijn (in season)
The namesake: boar stew or boar-caraway sausage when game season hits, the dish reviewers hunt for.
Zeebaarstartaar
Sea bass tartare with pickled cucumber; the starter that keeps resurfacing in reviews.